Apple Power Macintosh G5 - Expert Reviews

Review summary: Apple's support options are decent but hampered by skimpy phone help. In the box, you'll get a slim but comprehensive user guide and a guide to OS 10.4, as well as a pamphlet on service and support options. Apple offers just 90 days of toll-free phone ...

Pros: Up-to-date graphics. Quiet. Bright, brilliant 30-inch widescreen display. Supports up to 8GB of memory. Case is easy to work in for upgrades. Speedy 16X dual-layer DVD writer.

Cons: No external speakers in package. Highest-end graphics card required for 30-inch display support. Pricey with all the options. No dual-drive RAID at this price.

Verdict: We recommend the Power Mac Dual 2.7GHz for power-hungry photo, music, and video artists who need expansion space and the horsepower to get the job done. The Power Mac Dual 2.7GHz represents the pinnacle of Mac computing.

Review summary: There are welcome advances in Apple's latest round of Power Mac updates-faster processors, bigger hard drives, and more memory. But Henry Norr finds little to get excited about in his first look at the new desktops. Read about what's changed and how ...

Verdict: Sure, there are welcome advances: the processors are a little faster, the hard drives are bigger, and there's more memory-double the video memory in the standard graphics cards, and an overdue increase to 512MB of system RAM in the $1,999 "Good" ...

Review summary: Along with the Tiger OS, Apple gives the Power Mac G5 new hardware, starting with the 2.7GHz processor.

Pros: Costs $500 less than the lowest-level dual Power Mac ; includes most of the same advanced technologies as the more expensive models

Cons: Much slower than other Power Macs ; inadequate RAM and smallish hard drive ; 4GB maximum memory ; PCI rather than PCI-X slots