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Apple Power Mac G5 Desktop M9454LL/A (Dual 1.8-GHz Power PC G5, 256 MB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive) | List Price: $1,700.00
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Platform: Mac OS X
Brand: Apple
Binding: Personal Computers
Warranty: 1 year warranty
Take the negative reviews with a large grain of salt. [Posted on 2005-02-27]
It's easy to see Windows users trying to "bomb" the review of this amazing computer. Pay no attention. You see, unlike Windows, OS X never freezes. Ever. I have four Macs at home, a PowerBook, and an iMac G5 at the office, all running OS 10.3, and none of them -- none, including a dual G5 just like this one -- have ever crashed or frozen. Reviews that say different are complete fabrications. Why? Because the underpinning of OS X is UNIX, which keeps the OS running even if an individual program crashes -- which might happen on rare occasions. What do you do then? Simply relaunch the program and no problems at all.
This is terrific computer and a terrific value. It comes with Apple's unparalleled "video lifestyle" applications, too. And do invest in more RAM. It's cheap and super easy to install. In fact, the G5 is designed from the ground up for easy access and easy upgrades. Even a computer novice can install a new hard drive, updated DVD drive, memory, or a wireless card -- even the new Radeon X-800 for Mac installs like a breeze (and doesn't require it's own power supply cord like the PC version).
But don't just read this review, zip down to the nearest Apple Store and take a test drive. This is what a computer is meant to be.
Killer Machine, Just Freakin Awesome [Posted on 2005-04-07]
I love this computer. I ordered a custom one with 512MB memory and dual 2.5 GHz G5. For the most part, I find the platform to be stable, without any crashes or constant freezes as reported by other users.
I initially had serious problems with Mac OS X and games that used 3D graphics libraries. There were several notable bugs. But after cooperation between Apple and companies like Blizzard, they have fixed many of these bugs, and man oh man, the graphics are like freakin' sweeeet!!
I'm a regular addict for games like World of Warcraft. I also use this for office productivity (Office 2004), synchornization of English/Japanese data (PocketPC, iPod, and bluetooth cellphone), web page authoring (Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash), and the ocassional programming/scripting (perl, C, java, Mono .Net). All around, this is the most used system in my house amongst many Windows and Linux systems.
Obsolete Technology Even for a Mac Fan Like Me [Posted on 2005-09-19]
I am a Mac fanatic and I did some research about this so called Apple "dual processors" and I found out that 90% of the software available for macintosh doesn't even recognize the second extra processor, so it runs as if it were a single processor 99% of the time. In other words, the computer works at half the advertised speed for practically everyone. I confirmed this by speaking directly with a representative for ALIAS, makers of Maya 3D. At this time, MAYA can only use one processor!
Price: Obviously the price is ridiculous considering you can purchase a faster PC for $600 anywhere.
Operating System: I use OS X and OS 9 in my G4 and I can tell you a little secret: "system 9" is much faster than "OS X". A lot faster, but system 9 is no longer supported by Apple on G5. OS X is also much slower than any version of Windows. On top of that, most OS X applications are not dual processor aware (despite claims to the contrary) and still crash often, just like Windows, the only difference is you don't have to restart your computer when that happens. Many great games only run on OS 9. Photoshop runs much, much faster in OS 9 compared to the newer version of OS X, Panther and Jaguar.
Upgradability: Basically all Macintosh computers are unfriendly to non-Apple upgrades, but the G5 is particularly unfriendly. Apple has limitations built-in in the logic board that greatly limit the use of third party devices, specially DVD burners, go figure. So, if in the future you need to add external devices to your MAC you probably won't be able to. I also discovered that all G5 models are incompatible with your old Mac upgrades, in order words, you can't transfer your old video cards, ram memory, game cards, SCSI equipment, or any other upgrade from your old mac to the new one. Your investment is lost and you have to start from scratch, adding to an already high price tag.
So, are there any advantages in purchasing this model? None whatsoever, the G5s are a technological failure in almost every possible aspect. Thumbs down. Worse Apple model ever conceived and it is currently on his way to the museum anyway. Doesn't even deserve one star. However, the new Intel Macs may be a different story, they are still pricey but at least they run much faster that this refrigerator.
Update: So, it is 2008 now, was I right or what.
Incredible Machine [Posted on 2006-03-14]
I have had this computer for about 2 years. I could not be happier with it. The design is just perfect needless to say. It's the first time I don't have any desire to get another computer after 1 year or so, and I don't plan on changing this one anytime soon (although I am planning on getting a MacBook Pro if a 12" version is released). I upgraded the memory to 1GB by myself and the process was extremely easy (not to mention how perfectly well the computer is put together on the inside, just as good as it is on the outside).
You can't go wrong getting apple hardware. Extremely well built quality product.
A Freezer [Posted on 2006-05-23]
I work for the Gov't (NASA). We purchased this computer in July of 2005. Since then, it has frozen roughly 25-30 times. The person who writes that OS X doesn't freeze, doesn't understand Operating systems. Any OS can freeze/crash due to flaky hardware. One obvious case is that of memory. If the memory is bad, how can the OS function? True, if there's a software problem, more times than not, the OS can gracefully shut down the ill behaving application. No such luck w/ bad hardware. In my case, the last freeze has cost me 4 days of work, and a new hard drive. Apple was nice enough to send out new memory chips (the suspected culprit), though neither of us are certain this is indeed the case. The freeze happens randomly.
My warning to all who own this machine. Do backups...
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