The MacComparisonZone: Dual Power Mac G4/1.25GHz vs Power Mac G5/1.6GHz - What Are The Performance, Feature And Price Differences - Updated
Specially prepared for Marc ... Request your own Custom Comparison
Updated: 6/17/04
Introduction
This Buyer's Guide compares the Dual Power Mac G4/1.25GHz, which has a Combo optical drive, to the Power Mac G5/1.6GHz, which has a SuperDrive.
The Dual Power Mac G4/1.25GHz was released in January of 2003. The 1.25GHz was the middle machine, out of a family of three Power Macs, which also included a Dual 1.42GHz Tower at the high-end, and a Single processor 1GHz Tower bringing up the rear.
The 1.6GHz G5 Tower, was released 6 months later, in June, 2003. It was the low-end model of a family of three, which included a Dual 2.0 GHz machine at the high-end and a Single Processor 1.8GHz Tower in the middle. In November, 2003, the single processor 1.8GHz Tower was dropped in favor of a dual processor machine running at the same clock-speed.
Major Technological Differences:
Processor Speed/Type/Amount
Cache Speed/Size/Type
Current Price Difference: $111
Bus Speed
RAM Max
Graphics Card/Slot Type
Hard Drive Bays Amount
Optical Drive Bays Amount
PCI Slot Amount
Optical Drive Type/Speed
USB Port Speed/Number
Optical digital audio in and out
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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ATI Radeon 9000 Pro
64MB of DDR SDRAM
AGP 4X graphics slot
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra
64MB DDR SDRAM
AGP Pro 8X
Expansion
Slots
Four 3.5-inch hard drive bays (one filled)
Two optical drive bay (one filled)
Four 64-bit, 33MHz PCI
One AGP 4X (filled)
AirPort Extreme Slot
Two hard drive bays (one filled)
One optical drive bay (filled)
Three open full-length 33MHz, 64-bit PCI slots
One AGP Pro 8X (filled)
AirPort Extreme Slot
Hard Drive
80 GB Ultra ATA/100
7200 rpm
80GB Serial ATA
7200 rpm
Optical Drive
Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
Reads DVDs at 12x
Writes CD-R at 32x
Writes CD-RW at 10x
Reads CDs at 32x
Tray loading 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
For applications that cannot take advantage of dual processors, the 1.6GHz G5 will be faster. However when running multiple processor intensive applications, or applications that take good advantage of two processors, the dual processor machine, though clocked slower, will come out on top.
Processor performance based on Photoshop filters that do not take good advantage of dual processors
Processor G4 Tuned Test based on AltiVec Fractal program (Takes very good advantage of Dual Processors)
Graphics Gaming (Card) Test is based on the game 4x4 EVO2 .. a racing game. All settings are at highest quality. This game is more graphics card dependent
Graphics Gaming (Processor) Test is based on the game Giants.. All settings are at highest quality. This game is more processor dependent ... will also make used of dual processors if present
The 'General Interface' test is based on Let1kWindowsBloom, which is freely available.
The Photoshop (Workflow) score is based on the BareFeats Photoshop Action Script, which you can download and run on your own machine, if you have Photoshop.
Excel and iTunes both respond to dual processors
Have questions about the performance of these machines?
For more detailed performance results see this page
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For Latest up-to-date prices check the online Buyer's Guides
G4 Power Macs
PowerMac PCI Graphics G4/350 ... Original price: $1,599
PowerMax - Refurbished ... $1,549 .... 90 day warranty .... Shipping $25. Tax: None ...Trade-in Program
PowerMac G4/1.25GHz 256/80/Superdrive #Z082
Small Dog - New $1,499.... 1 year warranty ... Shipping $33. Tax: VT
Power Mac G4 1.25GHz /256MB/80GB/Combo/GigE/56K #M9145LL/A ... Original price: $1,299
Apple Store - New ... $1,299.... 1 year warranty ... Shipping Free. Tax: All States with a sales tax
ClubMac - New $1,294 .... one year warranty.... Shipping $25. Tax: CA, TN, WI ... Bundled Extras (Temporarily Offline)
MacConnection (search for item M9145LL ) - Refurbished $1,149 ... 90 Days warranty.... Shipping Free. Tax: MA, NC, OH, TN ... Bundled Extras
MacConnection (search for item M9145LL ) - New $1,294 ... one year warranty.... Shipping Free. Tax: MA, NC, OH, TN ... Bundled Extras
MacMall - New $1,294 .... one year warranty.... Shipping $25. Tax: CA, TN, WI ... Bundled Extras (Temporarily Offline)
MacZone - New $1,295 ... one year warranty .... Shipping Free. Tax: CA, IL, MO, NV, OH, TN, WA ... Bundled Extras
PowerMax - New ... $1,294 .... 1 year warranty.... Shipping $25. Tax: None ...Trade-in ProgramSmall Dog - New $1,299.... 1 year warranty ... Shipping $33. Tax: VT
PowerMax - Used ... $1,697 to $1,819 .... 90 day warranty .... Shipping $25. Tax: None ...Trade-in ProgramSmall Dog - New $1,799.... 1 year warranty ... Shipping $33. Tax: VT
Power Mac G4/1.25GhzDP 512/120/Superdrive/Radeon9000/56K #M8840LL/A ... Original price: $3,299
ClubMac (search for item Z09R ) - Open Box $1,790 .... 90 day warranty.... Shipping $25. Tax: CA, TN, WI ... Bundled Extras (Temporarily Offline)
PowerMax - Used ... $1,788 .... 90 day warranty .... Shipping $25. Tax: None ...Trade-in Program
Power Mac G4 1.42 GHz DUAL/512MB/120GB/SuperDrive/GigE/56K #M8841LL/A ... Original price: $2,699
PowerMax - Refurbished ... $1,949 .... 1 year warranty .... Shipping $25. Tax: None ...Trade-in Program
ClubMac - New $1,694 .... one year warranty.... Shipping $25. Tax: CA, TN, WI ... Bundled Extras (Temporarily Offline)
MacConnection (search for item M9020LL ) - New $1,599 ... one year warranty.... Shipping Free. Tax: MA, NC, OH, TN ... Bundled Extras
MacMall - New $1,694 .... one year warranty.... Shipping $25. Tax: CA, TN, WI ... Bundled Extras (Temporarily Offline)
MacZone - New $1,595 ... one year warranty .... Shipping Free. Tax: CA, IL, MO, NV, OH, TN, WA ... Bundled Extras
PowerMax - Open Box ... $1,629 .... 1 year warranty.... Shipping $37. Tax: None ...Trade-in ProgramPowerMax - New $1,669 .... 1 year warranty.... Shipping $37. Tax: None ...Trade-in Program ... Bundled Extras
Power Mac G5 DUAL 1.8GHz 512MB/160GB/SuperDrive/GigE/56K #M9393LL/A ... Original price:$2,499
ClubMac (search for item M9393LL ) - Open Box $2,130 .... 90 day warranty.... Shipping $25. Tax: CA, TN, WI ... Bundled Extras (Temporarily Offline)
ClubMac - New $2,194 .... one year warranty.... Shipping $25. Tax: CA, TN, WI ... Bundled Extras (Temporarily Offline)
MacConnection (search for item M9393LL ) - Refurbished $1,999 ... 90 Days warranty.... Shipping Free. Tax: MA, NC, OH, TN ... Bundled Extras
MacConnection (search for item M9393LL ) - New $2,194 ... one year warranty.... Shipping Free. Tax: MA, NC, OH, TN ... Bundled Extras
MacMall - New $2,194 .... one year warranty.... Shipping $25. Tax: CA, TN, WI ... Bundled Extras (Temporarily Offline)
PowerMax - New $2,199 .... 1 year warranty.... Shipping $37. Tax: None ...Trade-in Program ... Bundled Extras
G5/2.0 GHz Dual Processor #M9032LL/A ... Original price: $2,999
Apple Store - New ... $2,499.... 1 year warranty ... Shipping Free. Tax: All States with a sales tax
ClubMac - New $2,494 .... one year warranty.... Shipping $25. Tax: CA, TN, WI ... Bundled Extras (Temporarily Offline)
MacConnection (search for item M9032LL ) - Refurbished $2,299 ... 90 Days warranty.... Shipping Free. Tax: MA, NC, OH, TN ... Bundled Extras
MacConnection (search for item M9032LL ) - New $2,494 ... one year warranty.... Shipping Free. Tax: MA, NC, OH, TN ... Bundled Extras
MacConnection (search for item Z07K ) - Refurbished $3,869 ... 90 Days warranty.... Shipping Free. Tax: MA, NC, OH, TN ... Bundled Extras (Build To Order Item)
MacMall - New $2,494 .... one year warranty.... Shipping $25. Tax: CA, TN, WI ... Bundled Extras (Temporarily Offline)
MacZone (search for item M9032LL ) - Open Box $2,121 ... 90 Days warranty .... Shipping Free. Tax: CA, IL, MO, NV, OH, TN, WA ... Bundled Extras
MacZone - New $2,495 ... one year warranty .... Shipping Free. Tax: CA, IL, MO, NV, OH, TN, WA ... Bundled Extras
MacZone (search for item Z07K ) - Open Box $2,261 ... 90 Days warranty .... Shipping Free. Tax: CA, IL, MO, NV, OH, TN, WA ... Bundled Extras (Build To Order Item)
PowerMax - Open Box ... $2,449 .... 1 year warranty.... Shipping $37. Tax: None ...Trade-in ProgramPowerMax - New ... $2,499 .... 1 year warranty.... Shipping $37. Tax: None ...Trade-in Program ... Bundled Extras
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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The MacComparisonZone: Dual Power Mac G4/1.25GHz vs Power Mac G5/1.6GHz - What Are The Performance, Feature And Price Differences - Updated
Major Technological Differences:
... Original price: $1,599
PowerMac Dual G4/1 GHz 256 MB 80 GB, SuperDrive, 56k ... Original price: $2,499 
PowerMac G5/1.6 GHz 256MB , 80 GB SuperDrive, #M9020LL/A ... Original price: $1,799
