Apple Computer on Tuesday harvested a new crop of Power Macs outfitted with faster processors and lower prices on some configurations. The high-end system tops out with twin 1.42GHz PowerPC G4 processors. The new low-end Power Mac costs $1,499–a $200 reduction over the previous starter system–and packs a single 1GHz processor. But the megahertz boost and price cut is a trade-off. The previous entry-level Mac packed dual 867MHz processors.Meanwhile, the price of a midrange model has dropped from $2,499 to $1,999. Apple also cut the price of the 17-inch digital flat-panel display from $999 to $699 and introduced a new, 20-inch Cinema Display monitor for $1,299. Apple likewise dropped the price of its 23-inch Cinema Display from $3,499 to $1,999. Like the 23-inch model, the new Cinema Display has a wide-screen ratio of 16-10. Maximum resolution is 1680 pixels by 1050 pixels.
New Power Macs Faster, Cheaper
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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> It’s outrageous to have to cough up $1,499 for a 1 GHz Power Mac, as several people before me have already said. For that amount of money, I can get a decent 2 GHz PC from a reputable company.
I’d lay that blame firmly at Motorola’s doorstep…. it’s sad how Apple have reinvented themselves in the last 5 years and Motorola have gone from bad to worse. It’s like the 680×0 all over again. The sooner Apple are able to go with IBM the better for everyone. I’d like to stick two fingers up at that company.
But that good work isn’t totally ruined and either you want a Mac or not. If you think that CPU speed is everything, then we’re not on the same wavelength….. There’s more important things in life, and for most people these should make the Mac a better machine.
Jay, can you please publish the results with the new XBench 1.0, or send me the results of the WD hard drive (all 6-7 numbers of the hdd test)?
I would like to see how WD performs, because all the rest WDs I have seen, they have a really bad performance in a Cube…
Thanks.
Eugenia, I submitted my results. The system is labeled as “Maximus”
Sadly, I don’t have the box handy but I’m using a Maxtor 120GB Drive.
Apple system profiler identifies it as “Maxtor 6Y120P0”. Hope that helps.
I got an overall score of 109.78 on the disc test (103.38 Sequential, 117.03 Random).
Yes, I have seen one more Maxtor 120 GB, getting very good results.