Expert's Rating
Pros
- Good performance
- FireWire 800
- Huge memory and hard-drive capacity
- 8x SuperDrive
- Gigabit Ethernet
- PCI-X
Cons
- Extra performance and features compared with entry model’s may not justify $500 price premium
- Extremely large size
Our Verdict
This dual-2.0 GHz Power Mac G5 is the middle model of the second round of Power Mac G5 models, which were introduced in June 2004. It is largely the same model as the original dual-2.0GHz Power Mac G5, but with a different stock video card.
For the graphics and media pros the Power Mac G5 line is designed for, we think the clear speed advantage of the dual-2.5GHz model makes it well worth its $2,999 price tag. But if your budget is tight, you can live with a little less than maximum performance, and you don’t foresee any need for PCI-X or more than 4GB of memory, then our recommendation is the $1,999 base model. It’s only a little slower than Apple’s midrange offering, and even after you add some RAM and maybe a larger hard drive, you’ll still save several hundred dollars.