It had to happen sooner or later - Apple is finally shipping
something with a CPU faster than 867 MHz, a speed it's been stuck at
since July 2001. Today they announced a
new set of Power Macs at 800 MHz, 933 MHz, and 1 GHz (with
dual processors).
G4 History: Round 1
Motorola has caused Apple numerous headaches with their inability
to offer faster G4s in a timely manner. When Apple announced the
first Power Mac G4s on August 31, 1999, they offered a 400
MHz "Yikes!" model, a 450 MHz
"Sawtooth" model, and promised a 500 MHz Sawtooth Real Soon.
Real Soon translated to Apple finally getting the G4/500 out of
the gate on February 16, 2000. In the meantime, Apple was unable
to meet demand for the G4, since Motorola couldn't provide the speeds
and quantities necessary. On October 13, 1999, Apple had reduced the
speed of the Yikes! model to 350 MHz at no change in price,
introduced a 400 MHz Sawtooth at the previous 450 MHz price, and
offered the 450 MHz model at the proposed 500 MHz price.
Although this made G4s readily available, offering reduced
performance without a price reduction didn't make Apple many
friends.
The low-end Yikes! model (based on the Yosemite
G3 motherboard) was retired on December 2, 1999, and replaced
with a 350 MHz Sawtooth model. (Sawtooth motherboards offered faster
memory access, an AGP slot for a faster video card, and AirPort
support.)
The G4/350 with AGP lasted until February 16, 2000, the day Apple
finally released the 500 MHz G4 it has promised five-and-a-half
months earlier.
G4 History: Round 2
Five months later, Apple introduced the "Two Brains Are Better
Than One" Power Mac G4 MP, a
dual-processor model running twin 450 or 500 MHz G4s. If Motorola
couldn't provide a faster CPU, Apple could darn well give users two
G4s at the same price as the earlier single-processor models.
It sounded nice, but except for Photoshop and a few other
applications, Mac users would have to wait for OS X to have an
operating system and a lot of applications that could benefit from
that second processor.
G4 History: Round
2-1/2
We really can't cover the history of the G4 without looking at the
unmarketable Power Mac G4 Cube. It
was a piece of art, a brilliant design, and had extremely limited
expansion options. Performance tended to be a bit slow, about the
same as a 50 MHz slower Power Mac G4, so it was quickly labelled
overpriced.
Apple eventually trimmed the prices, but even Steve Jobs and his
famed Reality Distortion Field couldn't make the Cube a success. The
Cube was introduced on July 19, 2000 and discontinued on July 3,
2001, just before its first birthday.
G4 History: Round 3
Six months later, Apple finally broke past the 500 MHz mark with
a new series of G4s built around
a 133 MHz system bus. Breaking with tradition, Apple offered this
model in four speeds - the 466 and 533 MHz models shared one
motherboard, while the 667 and 733 MHz machines shared a different
one. They all shared one more new feature: a fourth PCI slot.
From a marketing standpoint, Apple called these five-slot
machines, since the PC world had long counted the AGP slot in
addition to PCI slots.
There was a dual processor 533 MHz model, but if two brains had
been better than one, why did only one of the new models have a
dual-processor option?
G4 History: Round
4
Like clockwork, Apple replaced that series with the Quicksilver
G4 six months later. Suddenly 733 MHz was the entry level, 867
MHz provided the highest MHz rating, and a dual-800 MHz model
reinstated the "two brains" philosophy.
And that's where we've been for the last six months.
Let's take a quick look at the three models we've had available in
both their base configurations and ones that more-or-less match the
new G4s:
Entry Level: G4/733
128 MB RAM, 40 GB hard drive, CD-RW, $1,699
256 MB RAM, 40 GB hard drive, CD-RW, $1,749
Middle: G4/867
128 MB RAM, 60 GB hard drive, SuperDrive, $2,499
256 MB RAM, 60 GB hard drive, SuperDrive, $2,549
Top End: G4/800 Dual
256 MB RAM, 80 GB hard drive, SuperDrive, $3,499
512 MB RAM, 80 GB hard drive, SuperDrive, $3,599
Nice machines, albeit hard to market in the day of 1.3 GHz
Celerons and 2 GHz Pentium 4s. Sure, we all know the G4 is much
more efficient, but the Pentium 4 is approaching 2.5 GHz.
G4 History: Round 5, the LCD iMac
Huh? Why mention the flat panel
iMacs here? Because they're running G4 processors, just like the
Power Mac. Apple now offers 700 MHz G4 performance for as little as
$1,299 - and an 800 MHz model with a SuperDrive for $1,799. You
can't look at the new Power Macs without taking a sideways glance at
the G4 iMacs.
G4 History: Round 6
Today Apple finally hit the gigahertz mark - and doubled it. The
latest incarnation of the Power Mac G4 looks just like Quicksilver,
but inside you'll find a single 800 MHz or 933 MHz G4 - or a pair of
1 GHz G4s.
Entry Level: G4/800
256 MB RAM, 40 GB hard drive, CD-RW, ATI Radeon 7500 video,
$1,599. That's $150 less than the old entry-level Power Mac for 10%
more horsepower. Or it's 92% of the G4/867's performance at $950
less. Value: excellent if you need a Power Mac and don't need a
SuperDrive.
It's also every bit as fast as the top-end iMac, but lacks the
SuperDrive and 15" flat panel display. Of course, you can add Apple's
15" flat panel display to the Power Mac for $599 and qualify for a
$100 mail-in rebate. However, you cannot order the Power Mac G4/800
with a SuperDrive. Unless you need the expansion slots or internal
drive bays, the iMac is a better value.
Middle: G4/933
256 MB RAM, 60 GB hard drive, SuperDrive, nVidia GeForce4 video, 2
MB level 3 cache, $2,299. That's $250 less than the old G4/867, give
you 7% more CPU horsepower, and the brand new GeForce4 video card. An
excellent value, especially since you can add a 15" LCD display for a
net cost of $499 or a 17" one for $799.
Top End: G4/1 GHz Dual
512 MB RAM, 80 GB hard drive, SuperDrive, nVidia GeForce4 video, 2
MB level 3 cache, $2,999. That's 25% more CPU horsepower than the old
G4/800 Dual plus GeForce4 video - at $600 less than a comparably
equipped G4/800 Dual would have cost you last week. Value: fantastic,
especially if you're running OS X to take advantage of both
processors.
Dan Knight has been using Macs since 1986,
sold Macs for several years, supported them for many more years, and
has been publishing Low End Mac since April 1997. If you find Dan's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
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unable
to meet demand for the G4, since Motorola couldn't provide the speeds
and quantities necessary. On October 13, 1999, Apple had reduced the
speed of the Yikes! model to 350 MHz at no change in price,
introduced a 400 MHz Sawtooth at the previous 450 MHz price, and
offered the 450 MHz model at the proposed 500 MHz price.
Round
2-1/2
Round
4
