by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
"'You are a god among insects,' Magneto said quietly. 'Don't let anyone tell you different.'"
- Magneto from X2: X-Men United
Encased in shimmering aluminum, boasting of up to two G5 2.0GHz processors, a 1GHz front
side bus and up to 8 Gigabytes of DDR RAM, the new PowerMac G5 is currently the fastest
personal computer in the market and the only machine rated for 64-bit computing. This
leaves current competition's capabilities in the dust since most are still 32-bit rated machines
limited to lower bus speeds and RAM limits of up to 4 Gigabytes.
Built for speed
Everything about the G5 is built for optimum speed and performance; the new Aluminum
enclosure is connected by a large grille for the front and the rear of the machine. The grille and
the nine internal fans cool the brutally fast processors and speedy hard drives, while the four thermal
zones within the enclosure are computer-monitored and controlled to cool the gargantuan casing and its
twin processors. The engineering of this cooling system is so advanced that the G5 is actually 50 percent
quieter than the jet turbine sounding PowerMac G4. There are ports aplenty in the G5 including provisions
for USB 2.0 as well as for FireWire devices both at the front and the back of the machine.
Based on an entirely new architecture and an unprecedented collaboration between Apple and IBM
(who produces the PowerPC 970 G5 processor), the G5 is not a mere evolutionary improvement - it is
a revolutionary leap forward in computing. Based on IBM's Power4 server, the G5 is a comparatively
affordable powerhouse that brings big league computing power to the personal and professional markets.
Controversial world beater
This new architecture ensures high speed and consistent high bandwidth within the system, which means
that the usual bottlenecks that clog the computers' pipeline have been opened up. This is Apple's thinking
at its best: launch a powerhouse machine that is optimized for future standards while it works with current
standards just as easily.
Early tests between the G5 and a Dell Dimension 8300 (with a 3GHz Pentium 4) and a Dell Precision
Workstation (with dual 3.06GHz Xeon processors) proved the G5's superiority. The G5 blew away the
competition in real world tests especially in Photoshop filter tests. The advantage of IBM's new processor is
that it can manage 215 in-flight instructions - 70 percent more than the Pentium 4's limit of 126.
The G5 showed that in most tests, it was 95 percent faster than the single Pentium 4 processor and 42 percent
faster than the dual Xeon system. It must be noted that the initial test results did cause a stir with other
manufacturers disputing the configurations used, although analysts have more or less agreed to let the G5
win this round hands down. Another thing worth considering is that Apple builds both the software and the
OS, which adds a lot in terms of efficiency and calibrating performance unlike other manufacturers who
simply integrate numerous sourced components into a box.
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