MacComparisonZone: Power Mac Dual G5/1.8 GHz vs Power Mac Dual G5/2.0 GHz
Specially prepared for Vinayak ... Request your own Custom Comparison
Created: 3/27/04
Introduction
This Buyer's Guide compares the Dual G5/1.8 GHz Tower which has the SuperDrive, to the Dual G5/2.0 GHz. The G5 Towers now top out at a Dual 2.0 GHz, and include a Dual 1.8 GHz and Single 1.6 GHz model.
Below you will find specifications and features, performance, and price comparisons. We also provide further links where you can do additional research, should you so wish.
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NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra
64MB DDR SDRAM
AGP Pro 8X slot
ATI RADEON 9600 Pro
64MB DDR SDRAM
AGP Pro 8X slot
Expansion
Slots
Two hard drive bays (one filled)
One optical drive bay filled)
One 133MHz, 64-bit PCI-X slot
Two 100MHz, 64-bit PCI-X slot
One AGP Pro 8X (filled)
AirPort Extreme Slot
Two hard drive bays (one filled)
One optical drive bay filled)
One 133MHz, 64-bit PCI-X slot
Two 100MHz, 64-bit PCI-X slot
One AGP Pro 8X (filled)
AirPort Extreme Slot
Hard Drive
160GB Serial ATA
7200 rpm
160GB Serial ATA
7200 rpm
Optical Drive
SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
Writes DVD-R at 4x
Reads DVDs at 8x
Writes CD-R at 16x
Writes CD-RW at 10x
Reads CDs at 32x
SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
Writes DVD-R at 4x
Reads DVDs at 8x
Writes CD-R at 16x
Writes CD-RW at 10x
Reads CDs at 32x
Clocked in at 10% faster than the 1.8 GHz machine, the G5/2.0 GHz Tower turns in just about 10% in improved raw processing performance. It should be noted that the processors were not saturated with data to work on, during the Photoshop, iMovie and QuickTime tests. This means that there is some kind of bottleneck in providing data to the processors fast enough, in a non-multitasking environment. Thus they are not fully utilized. During our Multitasking test the processors of each machine, were saturated with work to perform.
The Processor Single, Processor Dual and Graphics test results above, are based on the Program CineBench 2003. You can download and run it on your own machine, and compare your results to the results above.
The most curious results above, are for the drive test. The 2.0 GHz came out 30% slower. You should know the 1.8 GHz machine was running OS 10.2.x and the 2.0 GHz 10.3. This should have made no difference in the outcome of this test (we tested for this), but we cannot totally discount the possibility that it may of, somehow, been a factor. The other point to note is that the Dual G5/1.8 GHz Tower was released 6 months after the 2.0 GHz, and there may have been some improvements in the drives of both machines, since we initially tested the G5/2.0. Our guess is that the two current shipping machines are much closer in performance than our drive test results above would indicate.
The Dual G5/2.0 GHz should also be significantly faster in on-screen graphics, and gaming performance, as shown above.
For more detailed performance results see this page
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For Latest up-to-date prices check the online Buyer's Guides
Base Machine Epson Stylus Color C84 Inkjet Printer, free after mail-in rebate ($99 up front) Epson Stylus CX5400 All-in-One, $50 after mail-in rebate ($149 up front) Epson Stylus CX6400 All-in-One, $100 after mail-in rebate ($199 up front) Epson Stylus Photo 1280 Inkjet Printer, $300 after mail-in rebate ($399 up front) Epson Stylus Photo 2200 Color Inkjet Printer, $600 after mail-in rebate ($699 up front)
Base Machine Epson Stylus Color C84 Inkjet Printer, free after mail-in rebate ($99 up front) Epson Stylus CX5400 All-in-One, $50 after mail-in rebate ($149 up front) Epson Stylus CX6400 All-in-One, $100 after mail-in rebate ($199 up front) Epson Stylus Photo 1280 Inkjet Printer, $300 after mail-in rebate ($399 up front) Epson Stylus Photo 2200 Color Inkjet Printer, $600 after mail-in rebate ($699 up front)
Shipping charges are to California - your mileage may vary. Also prices quoted are for the bare machine and do not reflect RAM installation charges (usually $40), nor the in-store prices of add-on products for which there is a rebate. Shipping charges (if any) for bundled products , also are not reflected in the prices above.
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- Available
- Unknown
- Unavailable
Base Machine
Epson Stylus Color C84 Inkjet Printer, free after mail-in rebate ($99 up front)
Epson Stylus CX6400 All-in-One, $100 after mail-in rebate ($199 up front)
