How fast is the G5 Quad?
- Article 7 of 89
- MacFormat, January 2006
Apple has been kind enough to lend us a new G5 Quad for a whole week. So, naturally, we're going to put the pedal to the metal with the fastest Mac ever made
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Of course the time for the Quad to go soon came and while it was tempting to follow the philosophy “you can have my Quad when you prise it from my cold, dead hands”, I eventually conceded that Apple, with its billions in the bank, couldn’t possibly let me keep one of their computers. With it gone, I began to wonder if perhaps it was time for an upgrade. But with Intel Macs around the corner, was there much point and could I get something even faster – heaven forefend – in the PC world?
If I were a power user, then I’d be selecting my options in the Apple Store right now. Power Mactels won’t arrive until the end of 2006. Even once they do, it should be a good year or so before Intel-native power applications are available, given both Quark’s and Adobe’s tracks records and the fact that Adobe will be busily gobbling up Macromedia for most of the year. Until then, nothing Apple produces will be so powerful that it stands a chance of wiping the floor with the Quad. So that’s two years with a Quad or sticking with what I have now – I know which one I’d go for.
As for moving over to the dark side, I could, but amazingly my trip over the Styx would cost me twice as much as a Quad. Without the drain of Aqua, Windows and Linux nip along for most tasks, even on slower machines. But for pure processor work, you’re going to need your own electricity generator and to be cracking open the nitrogen canisters, ear protectors and oxygen masks before you’ll be able to cope with an ultra powerful, wallet siphoning, custom-built PC behemoth that could match the Quad.
I’m not a power user and my needs are small. As wonderful as my brush with Quad-dom has been, I can’t really afford a Quad of my own. But if you can and you need one, get it.
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