Customer Reviews

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)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The dual 2GHz CPU Power Mac is simply the most well made computer I've ever owned, and it features the best operating system I've ever used.

The Power Mac is so quiet that I have to hold my ear next to it to hear it at all. And the operating system was clearly designed to make the user experience less of a hassle than that other computer operating system.

I've worked full time in the computer industry since 1978. I've seen and used more operating systems than I can even remember. For years I've been stuck using Windows because I needed high end web design, digital photography, and graphics tools.

I finally got a chance to use OS X 2 months ago when I received a Mac Mini as a gift. I loved it so much that I ordered this Power Mac. Now all of my Windows PCs are shut down. I have switched, and I just wish I had done it years ago.

Safari is a better web browser, Mail is a better email client, Dreamweaver is faster on this Power Mac then on my fastest Atlon 64 PC. Even iPhoto is a joy to use.

If you are using a Windows PC and considering switching to the Apple world, this Power Mac has plenty of speed and power, and it is lovely to look at as well. It just works.

Finally!

I love my new PowerMac. This thing smokes! It's a rarity to get the processing power much past 50% of capacity and I do a lot of image editing and application development. And pairing this with the Apple display is a thing to behold!

having owned some 7 computers in as many years, i have to say that this is clearly the best by a long shot. it's my first mac and experience with the (formerly intimidating), tiger operating system. (i was brainwashed into believing windows is the most stable and user friendly os, hence its popularity and ubiquity).
i can safely say that i was grossly misinformed and my only regret with this purchase is not having made it sooner. this machine kills lawyers and all other pretenders within 100 yards.
no matter what you use a computer for, do yourself a favor, spend the extra money and get yourself a macintosh, and if you can afford it, make it this powermac. you will not be disappointed.

I've been using both Macs and PCs for about 12 years now. I prefer the Mac ten-fold over PCs. My latest Dual 2 Ghz G5 just reinforces that.

Among other graphics jobs, I edit video and create 2-D animation for broadcast, CD-ROMs, corporate, and internet. Yea, you can do this on the PC, but I get work done faster on my Macs.

This G5 is the third Mac in my arsenal, succeeding my Mac G4. As far as working with a dual processor machine, the Mac OS decides which application uses which processor. There are applications that can split work across both processors. These do benefit greater from a dual processor machine. But these are programs like Final Cut Pro and Photoshop that will benefit from splitting work across two chips. MS Word will not benefit. I've never waited for MS Word to finish rendering a document.

Adding on to the G5 is a breeze. With USB 2.0 and Firewire 400 & 800 ports, I have 4 external hard drives, a miniDV camera, my USB hub, scanner, and memory card reader all hooked up in harmony. Inside I have room for another hard drive and three PCI expansion ports. I upgraded the RAM to 2.5 GB for lots of work space those beefy video apps. Also, right out of the box (well, with an adapter) I'm running dual monitors. Not that I couldn't do that before since the Mac has been able to do that for about 12 years or so.

I can't tell you how much trouble I've had with my PCs and curse them every time something goes wrong. I don't have issues with my Mac. This is why I continue to buy Macs. Yes, they can be more expensive than a lot of PCs, but that's why people buy a BMW rather than a Hyundai. Besides, any cheap PC that is tricked out to do high-end work isn't going to be cheap very long.

Bottom line is if you want to get work done, buy a Mac. If you want to worry about crap infecting your machine, fiddling with spyware, and just use MS Word and surf the internet, get a PC.

Bought this when my old G4 got hit by lightning and I'm very pleased. Was going to wait for Intel machines, but...

I use Photoshop a lot developing web sites, and what a difference!! It screams though anything I want.

Great machine, reasonable price, especially with the rebate.

This is a great computer for video editing and working with images in Photoshop. I haven't had a single problem so far running Tiger and adding a second hard drive. The only negative was lack of installed memory and not including an Airport/ Bluetooth card. 512 just won't cut it. As for the previous review of Applecare, it has been great. Though I haven't had to use it with the G5, I did use it for the G4 Powerbook. Response time was fast (less than 10 minutes), my problems were resolved. I had my laptop back in 3 days. My experiences with local reselers does not compare. I would never purchase a Mac or any other PC without an extended warranty. With one repair or the price of two service calls it pays for itself.

I use a dual 2GHz powermac every day doing java and Objective-C development. Pair this up with a nice monitor, like a 20" cinema display, and you have a very nice system to use for just about anything. There are a ton of great development tools available for it. You can use Apple's own xcode or download eclipse, a superb and free java IDE.

The OS is just a dream to use. Unix doesn't have to be clunky!

My only advice would be to upgrade the memory if you can afford it.

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.

I use Mac's and PC's for work, and keep this as my computer for home. Both have there uses, but I like the OS for the Mac alot better.

This G5, replaced an old B/W G3, I had upgraded with a 600 MhZ G4. Night and day difference between systems.

The G5 runs really good, and fast; except for boot-up which seems to take about 40 seconds . . . but I have yet to see a computer boot up much faster then this anyway.

The software that comes with this computer is really good stuff. I was very impressed.

Apple is, quite simply, the best and most innovative computer manufacturer. Consumer Reports recently identified Apple computers as the most reliable computers currently available and a PC magazine user survey reached the same conclusion. Also PC magazine has picked a Macintosh G5 as the best multi-purpose desktop computer. Now Apple has this new Power Mac G5 computer with dual 2.0 GHz processors.

Yes, most people use Windows-based PCs, but do you want to be just another member of the PC herd -- with all of the problems and frustrations (including frequent crashes and virus attacks) presented by Windows-based PCs -- or are you looking for a computer which is user friendly, seldom crashes, and is virtually impervious to virus attacks? If these virtues are more important to you than being one of the crowd, please seriously consider buying an Apple computer. The Power Mac G5 is Apple's top-of-the-line computer series -- essentially desktop supercomputers. Like all Power Mac G5s this computer is more than twice as fast as a Pentium 4 with the same clock speed and has dual 64-bit processors. All computers will have 64-bit processors some day but very few PCs, except for Mac G5s, have them at this time. If you're looking for a super fast, versatile, easy to use computer (and want to stop worrying abut virus attacks) and are willing to try something off the beaten path, you'll love this new dual 2.0 GHz processor Power Mac G5. If you want still more power consider the still faster Power Mac G5s with dual 2.3 GHz or dual 2.7 GHz processors. On the other hand, if you want the virtues of Apple computers and G5 power at a lower price consider the Power Mac G5 with a single 1.8 GHz processor or the new G5 iMacs.