Writing for PC Magazine , Troy Dreier recently put a 1 GHz dual processor-equipped Power Mac G4 to the test, comparing its performance to the 933MHz model to, as he put it, “determine how much extra power buyers get for $700.” The results are in a new article entitled Dual 1GHz makes the fastest Apples yet.
Overall, the 1GHz system — Apple’s current flagship model — was a “speedy performer and well suited for graphics and video professionals.” Dreier noted that the dual system finished encoding uncompressed QuickTime video into MPEG2 using iDVD2 in 38 percent less time than its single-processor 933MHz counterpart.
Photoshop tests — run in OS 9 since they didn’t have a copy of the just-released Photoshop 7 yet — showed similar results. The 1GHz system was able to apply filters and effects to test images 43 percent faster than the slower single-processor model.
The 1GHz Power Mac G4 ships with twice the RAM as the 933MHz model — 512MB, compared with 256MB. Both systems come with 2MB L3 cache running on speedy double data rate (DDR) SDRAM, reported Dreier.
“The speed and configuration of the dual 1-GHz Mac are sure to please Mac fans and may even win over new users. We hope additional speed increases aren’t long in coming,” wrote Dreier.