Apple Dual G5 Desktop

UK adverts are not allowed to claim that that the G5 is the fastest personal computer in the world. The independent IT consultant at the ITC (the UK’s advertising watchdog) made the completely logical recommendation that the claim could not be substantiated, as it depends on what type of comparisons are being made. In addition, the usual benchmark programs just don’t run on a Mac: they are designed for Windows, and the operating systems are completely different.

So how do you make a real comparison? It's very difficult unless you match a Windows box with a Mac one and run applications that are optimised for both platforms. Even then, you're still likely to find code that runs better on one platform than the other. Benchmarking Macs against PCs has been a problem facing the technology media for some time but ultimately the whole issue could be moot.

As mentioned earlier, choosing a Mac platform is as much an emotional choice as it is a logical one. The only difference now is that the G5 should be as appealing to your sense of logic as it is to your sense of style.

Verdict

With the G5 Apple has produced a machine that has the potential to exhibit great performance as well as good looks. So if you're a G4 user you don’t have to jump ship to a Windows platform. Instead you can migrate to the new G5 hardware platform, and in doing so upgrade to Panther, the latest OS X variant.
If you’re in graphic design and using an Intel based Windows environment, you might consider switching. You get a very stable operating system, and a hardware path that looks more able to progress, especially as it embraces 64bit architecture in its processor.
I’d say that at the moment Apple has the edge in the high end graphics market. With a case already designed to handle faster and hotter chips with ease, and a motherboard able to handle the fastest components on the horizon, the G5 is a temping proposition for the graphic artist.

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