Expert's Rating
Pros
- FireWire 800
- Lots of bang for the buck
- 8x SuperDrive
- Gigabit Ethernet
Cons
- Comes with only 256MB of RAM and 80GB hard drive
- Hobbled compared with other G5s
- Extremely large size
Our Verdict
This dual-1.8 GHz Power Mac G5 is the bottom 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 mid-range dual-1.8GHz Power Mac G5.
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.