Writing for The Boston Globe , Hiawatha Bray asserts that the Power Mac G5 is “ugly” but sports “spectacular performance.” While he is unimpressed with the anodized aluminum case that he compares to “an aluminum ingot,” he says the 2.0GHz dual processor top-end system will leave you wondering “what to do with all the horsepower.” His comments come in a recent column that’s been posted online.
While Bray obsesses about design, he’s very impressed with the interior of the machine, which has been divided into different zones to help transfer air quicker and more effectively in order to keep components cool. In fact, Bray thinks Apple should have made a see-through case since “the interior layout is lovely to behold.” Regardless of what you think of the machine’s looks, you’ll love its performance, he said.
“Start up a 3-D game like ‘Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon,’ and the game launches almost instantly. Or edit some video footage with Apple’s built-in iMovie software. You can carve up multimegabyte hunks of video, import them, export them, swap them around, and the machine doesn’t even stutter. We even tried editing one video while running two others at the same time. There were no flickers, no frame drops, nothing but results,” said Bray.
Bray also crows about Mac OS X v10.3 “Panther,” which comes equipped on the latest G5s and is also available for separate sale for older Macs. Bray notes several user interface cues that Apple has borrowed from Microsoft and adds, “Apple does a better job of implementing” them. He’s equally impressed with Exposé and Fast User Switching.
“There’s that theme again, simplicity of design and function, backed up by a savagely powerful machine that looks as if it had been decanted from a blast furnace,” he mused. “Never mind. The Panther-equipped G5 makes its fashion statement when you touch the keyboard and stuff happens, gracefully, smoothly, and right now. It doesn’t get any prettier.”