PowerMac G4/533- the Next Generation!
Written: Feb 02 '01 (Updated Feb 13 '01)
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Pros: CDRW is spiffy, nVidia graphics rock! (more in the article)
Cons: CDRW is only 8X, expensive compared to PCs, dang thing still weighs 30 lbs
The Bottom Line: If you've been waiting for a new Desktop Mac, get one of the new ones. Don't bother with the older ones unless saving $$$ has priority over a faster machine.
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| PeteChin88's Full Review: Apple Power Macintosh G4 Multimedia |
Just like a review for Maybelline Great Lash begins: "for some reason I couldn't find a separate topic.." Since Epinions hasn't made a new category for the new MacWorld 2001 PowerMacs (hint hint, wink, nudge) it may as well go in here.
Recently, I set up one of the new Apple PowerMac G4/533 machines. They really aren't that much different to set up than iMacs; after you've hooked up the monitor, plugged in the phone line and the AC, it's almost ready to go. Once you power up the machine, Mac OS 9.1 loads up and then enters this cleanly-laid out setup wizard that takes your registration information and even tries to set up your ISP settings for you. If you don't have one already, you get a free 30-day signon to EarthSt.. er, EarthLink. Once that's done, it will automatically launch Explorer or whatever you selected in the wizard as your mail client (Outlook Express is included with the standard install.)
If you get the Apple Studio Display 15" LCD monitor with the G4, you are in for a treat- you only have to run one cable into the G4 to connect it and get power. No big dumb power brick, no having to turn the monitor on first and then the computer, no having to reach down with a cue stick to hit the 'ON' switch on that power strip on the floor.. pressing the power sensor on the monitor will turn the machine on as well, simultaneously. Another cool feature is that if you hit the brightness button on the ASD it will automatically launch the Monitor Control Panel and let you adjust it there.
You can even plug your keyboard into it via its built-in USB 2-port hub. My wife, who is leery of five million cables and wires hanging out behind the machine with two toddlers scuttling about, finds this very comforting. I like it because I get lots more slack on my keyboard cable, allowing me to haunch over more of my desktop.
Okay, first the Pros:
All the standard stuff (Office98, PhotoShop, Quark, Illustrator, Acrobat, Filemaker Pro) runs as smooth as a gravy sandwich, and the built-in hard drive (40 GB Maxtor @ 7200 RPM) is much less obtrusive than the old Western Design 2 GB clunker in an older machine I had. At 7200 RPM, Norton Speed Disk will optimize a drive faster than it takes to clip your cat's nails, depending on your cat's ferocity and aversion to having its nails clipped, and how much fresh plasma you keep on hand (for you, not the cat.)
While the cooling fan is somewhat loud, at least it's not at the level where I get seized by the urge to grab two plastic flashlights and look for something to guide to the gate. Right now, the only urge I'm getting is to pick up a copy of ST Voyager: L33t FoRcE and look for Neelixes to slay. :)
Oh, and that's another thing.. finally, nVidia, who makes killer 3D cards for the PC, is supporting the Mac. If you get a new G4 that's 533 MHz or faster, you'll get the GeForce MX card by default. My advice is to get the GeForce MX even if you get the slowest machine.. if you do a lot of video games it'll be worth it!
I've only run a couple of demos so far (Oni and Elite Force) but I'm finding that the graphics render much more smoothly than they do either on the Cube or earlier G3/G4s. Graphics which looked fake because you could actually see the 'seams' on some 3D objects now render seamlessly and smoothly on the nVidia card. This card finally puts the Macintosh on par with PCs gaming wise and gives me a fluidity in 3D games I used to have to boot up a Dreamcast or a N64 to experience.
Borgs in Elite Force collapse in fluid, smooth convulsions after being hit by the Infinity Modulator; on an old 240MHz Apple clone it was like watching a Starsky & Hutch slo-mo car crash. :)
The built-in CDRW drive is an 8X/4X/32X Sony model, meaning it can write CDR's at 8X, CDRW's at 4X, and read standard CD-ROMs at 32X. It works great with Toast Deluxe 4.1.2, or you can get Apple's Disk Burner software off the web and make data CD-ROMs with the Finder using drag-and-drop, which is nifty. You can choose to make a CD that's Mac specific or Mac/PC (ISO format.) Or even better, get iTunes from Apple for free and just start burning your own music CD's. iTunes will even keep a catalog of all the stuff you burn and let you find a song based on name, category, description, date burned, etc.. very useful for my 204 gigabyte collection of zither music. (Just kidding..)
One thing I've always liked are the funky handles on the G4s that double as a built-in stand to raise it off the floor for cooling purposes. You can detach them if that suits you using a standard hex wrench.
I also picked up the Apple Pro Speakers separately. These are different from the speakers that come with the Cube because they don't use up a USB port. However- you have to plug them into a dedicated port that was made just for the Pro Speakers. The Pro Speakers (which may as well have been called the G4 Desktop PowerMac Speakers, because that's the only machines that they'll work on) are otherwise identical to the Cube speakers, with the three exceptions being 1) it doesn't have a port to piggyback a pair of headphones and 2) the cords are slightly longer and 3) it uses a 2.5" stereo plug to hook up to the machine.
You can still plug in standard headphones into the new G4's, although it would have been nice if the jack were relocated to the front of the machine.. I'm tired of buying headset extension cables..
The new Pro Keyboard and Mouse are fairly workable, and there's kind of a shoompy feedback I get with the keyboard that I'm beginning to like. Oh, and now the Media Eject key will open and close your CD tray without having to get up from your keyboard! Another relatively neato feature, which I use to unnerve the cats to no end. Heck, first time I did it accidentally, making me think either my G4 was possessed by Teddy Roosevelt or this was another example of Apple hardware going psychotic on me.
Luckily, since this thing uses industry standard PC133 RAM, buying memory is pretty durned cheap; think I paid $90 for a single 256MB DIMM to bring me to 384 MB. For $200 you can have a 640 MB machine, fully 1,024 times the memory of a fully loaded IBM PC circa, oh, fifteen years ago?
And now, the Cons:
You kind of wish Apple had gone with current industry standard speed of 12X or 16X for CD writing speed, but they probably had to do it for cost purposes, as 12X and 16X are still somewhat expensive and would have driven up the price of the machine.
Also, as with the Cube, you will really need to pick up at least a 4 port USB hub; 2 ports aren't quite enough. Also, for some strange reason I found that an older generic USB hub disabled my ProKeyboard. After a furious race to J&R I got a newer-ish hub and now there don't seem to be any problems; it could have been just the hub itself, though.
Something weird in the manual- Apple reccommends that you keep all of the PCI slot holes covered for some reason. If you don't put one of those existing covers back it's supposed to mess up the airflow. Ho-kay, but I always thought putting more windows in a building made it cooler.
The nVidia drivers are great at 3D, but so-so on 2-D. If you play any full-screen movies or scroll through great big mamma chunks of bitmaps in PhotoShop, you may see 'tearing' on your screen, which is kinda hard to describe, but just think of the movie being projected onto a big screen and someone walking behind the screen and rippling it by the breeze they generate walking, and it's kinda, sorta, similar.
My biggest gripe has to do with the internal modem. On my old beat-up clone and a Global Village v.90 modem I used to connect reliably at 50667-51200 baud 99% of the time. With the current Apple internal modem, after countless hours spent tweaking AT commands, the best I can do is 48000 baud.. where did the 2K go?! It's the same phone line, too! It's been said that the reason the Apple modem performs somewhat poorly is because it's actually driven by the CPU and doesn't have its own processor. Yeesh! The only place Apple has cut corners.. but then again my feeling is that Apple probably thinks that if you had the shekels to pony up for a G4, you also probably could afford DSL or cable and never use your modem except in case of emergency.. Ut!
Definitely a thumbs up, overall, on this machine.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2200
Operating System: Macintosh
Processor: PowerPC G4
Processor speed: 501-600
RAM: 128
Internal Storage: CD-RW
Hard Drive (GB): 31-40
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Epinions.com ID:
PeteChin88
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Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 2 members
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