It may seem like the iPod is the biggest thing coming out of Apple these days, but
computers remain an important part of its business.
Today, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company unwrapped what it says is the most powerful desktop line it’s ever made, as well as improved the size and performance of its PowerBook line.
All Power Mac G5 models now feature dual-core processors, a new
PCI Express architecture and higher performance graphics options, including
NVIDIA’s Quadro FX 4500
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Are the new G5s the most powerful yet? Source: Apple |
The Power Mac G5 Quad is powered by quad-core processing with
two 2.5 GHz dual-core PowerPC G5 processors. It features a new PCI Express architecture and higher performance graphics options, including NVIDIA’s Quadro FX 4500.
Dual-core systems feature two processing engines
or cores, on a single wafer of silicon.
The Power Mac G5s now come standard with either the NVIDIA GeForce 6600
LE with either 128MB or 256MB of video memory.
Both provide support for dual-displays, as well as Apple’s 30-inch
Cinema HD Display, now priced at $2,499. Also standard, 512MB of 533 MHz
DDR2 SDRAM expandable up to 16GB.
For
example, it said the Power Mac G5 Quad runs a series of 45 commonly used
filters and actions in Adobe Photoshop 43 percent faster than the
dual processor 2.7GHz Power Mac G5.
“The Power Mac G5 Quad delivers the workstation performance our creative
and scientific customers demand,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice
president of worldwide product marketing in a statement.
The Power Mac G5 Quad starts at $3,299; the Power Mac G5 Dual starts at $1,999.
Apple clarified its PowerBook notebook line, quite literally, with the
debut of a 17-inch display model with a 1680 x 1050 pixel resolution, which is 36 percent more than the previous generation.
The 15-inch PowerBook got a
resolution bump up to 1440-by-960 pixel resolution, a 26 percent
improvement.
Both models run on a 1.5 GHz G4 processor. Apple also said
it increased the battery life on these PowerBooks by an additional hour.
Prices start at $1,499 for the 15-inch model and every new
PowerBook now includes Apple’s DVD burning SuperDrive.
