Blog Shop Review

Apple Power Mac G5 Desktop M9747LL/A (Dual 2.0 GHz Power PC G5, 512 MB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 16x Dual Layer SuperDrive)
From Apple Computer
Price:

This item is not available for purchase from this store.
Click here to go to Amazon to see other purchasing options.

2 new or used available from $977.77

Average customer review:

Customer Reviews

A true work-horse!
I have been a professional multimedia artist for over 20 years. I have used both Macintosh and Windows systems professionally, and still do to this day.

I have always been more inclined to use Macintosh systems, because in the graphics world they are simply the best.

This is the 5th Macintosh I have owned, and though I have loved them all, and still have two of the older ones in service, this G5 is by far the most impressive machine I have ever owned!

For years I have heard people refer to “Multi-tasking” on both Windows and Macintosh systems. This used to consist of opening multiple applications and watching them all degrade in performance as the system tried in vain to divide up the processing power among the different applications. Basically for years I ran just one application at a time.

My G5 runs several applications at once with no degradation in speed at all!!!

I can be rendering in a 3D program, which is very processor intensive, while having my email program up and surfing the net, and no loss of speed!!!

I have played intense 3D games while having something run in the background, no problem!

I admit I was leery about OSX now using virtual memory, because I always thought Windows did a crappy job of managing virtual memory. When I heard that OSX was going to use virtual memory I thought “Oh no!”. But Apple never does anything half-baked, and I have to admit that OSX does a superb job of handling virtual memory.

Though I have decommissioned my first two Mac’s, and I will be sending my G3 to the computer graveyard soon, I know that my G5 will be around for a long time!

Ease of use? Excellent! Power? Plenty!! Viruses? None…. Ever….

Wow!
I am a professional Apple repair technician, and up until this point I had been using a 1.8GHz Power Mac G5 (single CPU) with no complaints. I hadn’t been doing a lot of heavy graphics or editing work, so there really wasn’t a need for me to get a dual processor G5 when I mostly did email, internet surfing, and word processing. Then things changed a few months ago, and I found myself doing more video and photo editing and processing. The 1.8 G5 started to show it’s limitations. Still fast, but not as fast as desired. Slow enough to notice, anyway.

Today I got my hands on a Dual 2.0GHz G5. Wow! I was expecting about a 40-50% speed bump, but instead i have received a whopping 75% speed bump! Now, I am referring to the bump seen in processor intensive editing only. I have not seen as big of a jump in internet surfing or other more simple tasks, although I have noticed maybe a 10-20% bump there. This editing/processing bump has just blown me away, though. I had to come and share it with you guys. I mean it’s really something. I’m still sitting here with my mouth open in astonishment as I watch it slash through tasks up to 4 times faster than before. And remember: I was already on a Power Mac G5. It isn’t like I’m coming from an iMac or an iBook. Amazing.

Now I just pray that it will keep working! (In case you don’t know, Apple Power Mac G5 desktops have a much lower reliability record than other desktops computers. Much lower. If you buy one of these, there is about a 10-20% chance that it will fail while you own it. I think this is compared with about 5% average in the rest of the market. I do hope Apple will do something about this going forward.) So if you are buying new or still under the one-year complimentary warranty, I highly, highly, recommend getting the AppleCare plan. I almost always preach against extended warranties for consumer electronics, but on a machine this expensive with a much worse reliability record, I think the rules are different. Plus, AppleCare treats you MUCH better than a standard extended warranty that you would get from most retail outlets.

Amazing Technology in an Amazing Machine
I converted to Apple computers back in law school, when I purchased my first Powerbook G4 (at the time, it was an amazing 400 mHz!) At first, I was very happy with Apple products: they were fast, easy to use, supported by amazing software developers, and oh so nice to look at and use.

This Power Mac DP G5, my eigth Mac computer since then, is no different. The technology powering this thing is amazing; the industrial design is incredible; the operating sound is amazingly quiet. I use this computer for anything from e-mail to Microsoft Office to web development. In every task, it purrs quietly and confidently, with tons of power to spare.

As a forced Windows user at work, I recommend every person who is unfortunate enough to have only a Windows computer at home buy a Mac. If not this Power Mac, find another Mac model for your needs. You will not be disappointed. If you are a current Mac user looking to get more from the wonderful OS X operating system and all it has to offer, I definitely recommend upgrading to something like this.