Apple moves desktops to dual processor

Apple Computer Inc. today released new desktop machines, moving the entire line to dual processors. The new machines range in speed from a dual 867MHz to a dual 1.25GHz, the latter being the fastest chip Apple has ever put in a desktop.

The new machines also feature Xserve architecture with support for up to 2GB of Double Data Rate (DDR) memory at up to 333 MHz, the industry’s first ATI Radeon 9000 Pro graphics card and an enhanced enclosure with increased storage up to nearly half a terabyte, according to Apple.

“You can now get a dual-processor G4 system with Xserve architecture and DDR memory, pre-loaded with ‘Jaguar’ for just $1,699,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “These are the fastest Macs ever, and ‘Jaguar’ really makes the dual processors sing.”

Mac OS X 10.2 “Jaguar” will come pre-installed on all of the machines — taking advantage of “Jaguar’s” advanced UNIX-based architecture and symmetric multiprocessing capabilities, the Power Mac G4 line delivers over 18 gigaflops (18 billion floating point operations per second), and runs applications like Adobe Photoshop up to 90 percent faster than a 2.53 GHz Pentium 4-based PC, Apple said in a statement this morning.

“These new Power Macs run Adobe Photoshop faster than any PC we’ve seen,” said Bruce Chizen, president and CEO of Adobe.

Each Power Mac system has two 400Mbps FireWire ports and four 12Mbps USB ports (two on system, two on keyboard). In addition, the systems have a front headphone jack; Stereo audio line in and line out minijacks; Built-in 56K v.92 modem; and an Apple speaker minijack. Currently the v.92 modem is available on the PowerMac and the eMac — the iMac is still equppied with the v.90 modem.

Using graphics cards from Nvidia and ATI, Apple’s desktop systems feature dual display support across the product line. A single AGP 4x graphics card has both the Apple Display Connector (ADC) and a DVI connector.

The dual 867 MHz Power Mac G4, for a suggested retail price of $1,699, includes:

256K on-chip level 2 cache and 1MB of DDR SRAM backside level 3 cache per processor;

256MB of DDR SDRAM;

NVIDIA GeForce4 MX with 32MB DDR SDRAM in 4x AGP slot;

60GB Ultra ATA/100 7200 rpm hard disk drive; and

Combo DVD-ROM/CR-RW optical drive.

The dual 1 GHz Power Mac G4, for a suggested retail price of $2,499, includes:

256K on-chip level 2 cache and 1MB of DDR SRAM backside level 3 cache per processor;

256MB of DDR DRAM memory;

ATI Radeon 9000 Pro graphics card with 64MB DDR SDRAM in 4x AGP slot;

80GB Ultra ATA/100 7200 rpm hard disk drive; and

SuperDrive DVD-R/CD-RW optical drive.

The dual 1.25 GHz Power Mac G4, for a suggested retail price of $3,299, includes:

256K on-chip level 2 cache and 2MB of DDR SRAM backside level 3 cache per processor;

512MB of DDR SDRAM memory;

ATI Radeon 9000 Pro graphics card with 64MB DDR SDRAM in 4x AGP slot;

120GB Ultra ATA/100 7200 rpm hard disk drive; and

SuperDrive DVD-R/CD-RW optical drive.

The Power Mac dual 867MHz and dual 1GHz processor models are available this week through the online Apple Store, at Apple Retail Stores and through Apple Authorized Resellers. The dual 1.25 GHz processor Power Mac G4 is expected to be available in the second half of September.