MacComparisonZone: Power Mac Dual G4/1.25 GHz vs Power Mac G5/1.6 GHz- A Performance & Feature Comparison
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Created: 4/25/04
Introduction
This Guide compares the Power Mac Dual G4/1.25 GHz, to the Power Mac Single G5/1.6 GHz. The 1.6 GHz is the low-end model of the current G5 Power Macs, and the Dual 1.25 GHz G4 is a build to order option on a carryover model from the previous generation of Power Macs.
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 graphics slot
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 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
SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
Writes DVD-R at 4x
Reads DVDs at 8x
Writes CD-R at 16x
Writes CD-RW at 8x
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
2 USB 1.0 Ports (12 Mbps)
2 FireWire Port (400 Mbps)
Stereo analog audio line in and line out minijacks
56k V.92 modem
Optional AirPort Extreme
(102.11g)
10/100/1000BaseT
3 USB 2.0 ports (one on front)
1 FireWire 800 port
2 FireWire 400 ports (one on front)
Optional Bluetooth 1.1 module and antenna
Optical digital audio in, optical digital audio out ( Toslink connectors), analog audio in, analog audio
Video
Support for digital resolutions up to 1920 by 1200 pixels
ADC and DVI connectors
DVI to VGA adapter included
Dual display support for extended desktop and video mirroring modes
Support for digital resolutions up to 1920 by 1200 pixels
Support for analog resolutions up to 1600 by 1200 pixels
ADC and DVI connectors; DVI to VGA adapter included
Dual display support for extended desktop and video mirroring modes
Specification Notes
Weight: 42 pounds (19.1 kilos)
Weight: 39.2 pounds (17.8 kilos)
Performance
Machine
Power Mac G4/1.25 GHz
Power Mac G5/1.6 GHz
Processor Normal
83.47 seconds
68.20 seconds- - 22% Faster
Processor Dual
21.21 seconds
46.26 seconds- - 54% Slower
Graphics Gaming
25 frames per second
28 frames per second - - 12% Faster
General - Interface
26.34 seconds
27.20 seconds - - 3% Slower
MS Excel Macro
38.60 seconds
50.41 seconds - - 23% Slower
MS Word Macro
59.91 seconds
59.44 seconds - - 13% Slower
Photoshop
31.85 seconds
36.81 seconds - - 13% Slower%
Notes
In basic processing the G5 Power Mac will be faster, and because of its better graphics card it will also perform better in some games. However in applications that can take advantage of dual processors, the G4 will outshine the faster clocked G5.
Also, because of its better processor caching scheme, the G4 shows better performance in the Excel and Word tests above.
The Dual Processor score is based on the Altivec Fractal program. which you can freely download and run on your own machine
The 'General Interface' test is based on Let1kWindowsBloom, which is freely available
The Photoshop score is based on the BareFeats Photoshop Action Script, which you can download and run on your own machine, if you have Photoshop.
For more detailed performance results see this page
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MacComparisonZone: Power Mac Dual G4/1.25 GHz vs Power Mac G5/1.6 GHz- A Performance & Feature Comparison
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Base Machine
DeskJet 5850 wireless printer, $100 after rebate ($199 up front)
512MB RAM, free after rebate ($40 install)
