I recently bought one of the new dual core PowerMacs. Having used the machine for a couple of weeks, I thought I would share some of my observations and feelings about it. First, let me get my biases out in the open. I have, for about four years, very happily used Linux on my desktop. Doing so has made me very comfortable with the UNIX environment in general, and with GNOME specifically. During that time, I have used OS X machines on a regular basis, so I am quite comfortable in that environment as well. Since I switched to Linux, I have not used Windows for anything more than the occasional bit of software testing or lab work, and generally feel quite uncomfortable with it. Thus, this article is very much written from the perspective of someone who finds OS X and Linux pleasing on principle. I implore the reader to make his own value judgments based on my comments.
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Member since:2005-07-07
The proof of the pudding is in the eating. The X2 is much quieter, faster, has better RAM, a better keyboard, a better mouse, and a better graphics card. I don't care how much smarts went into each design --- the question is a matter of end results.
What proof? It isn't that much faster. Your benchmarks had so many variations it is hard to pick a clear winner on the facts provided. In the end we are left to your ill informed biased conclusions.
The better RAM is debateble. There are reviews showing Samsung to be superior to Corsair even for overclocking.
Better mouse and keybaord are subjective opinions. I use my apple keyboard and see no problems using it. The might mouse is good too. My logitech keyboard and mouse are gathering dust with the athlon machine the G5 replaced. To each his own.
Everything you talk about as proof is just subjective opinion and a biased one at that. Many easily conteracted with facts from sources much more reliable than you.
Shame. I thought I could expect quality from you when I saw the article was submitted by you. Reading it and seeing how you handle criticism. I am deeply disappointed.
Edited 2005-11-16 20:19
Member since:2005-07-06
What proof? It isn't that much faster.
Out of N benchmarks, the G5 won 9 decisively (by more than 5%). The X2 won 23 decisively. The G5 lost 7 by a large margin (30% or more). The X2 lost 4 by a large margin. Of the 9 benchmarks that the G5 won decisively, 3 were very simplistic (LINPACK, FFTW). The G5 lost every single integer benchmark. The X2 isn't much faster, by my generous definition of faster, but as I said, based on the results, the 970MP in the G5 hangs with chips a couple of notches down on the price scale from the 4400+ in the X2.
Your benchmarks had so many variations it is hard to pick a clear winner on the facts provided.
The benchmarks had variations because the G5 is a chip that has some obvious strengths, several glaring weaknesses, and a mediocre compiler driving it. However, it's really not that hard to pick a winner here. Basically, the benchmarks show that if your data set fits in cache, there is little integer code in your algorithm, and GCC doesn't mess up your code's scheduling, the G5 can win. In nearly every other case, it loses.
The better RAM is debateble. There are reviews showing Samsung to be superior to Corsair even for overclocking.
No, it's not. A Civic might show a better 0-60 than a Mercedes, but would anybody really argue about which one is a more "premium"?
Better mouse and keybaord are subjective opinions. I use my apple keyboard and see no problems using it. The might mouse is good too.
"Better" was probably an inappropriate term. "Higher quality" would be more appropriate. The Apple mouse and keyboard work just fine (like most keyboards and mice). They are not, however, "high quality" units. The leather in a Civic works just fine too. It's not "high quality" like the leather in a Mercedes, however.
My logitech keyboard and mouse are gathering dust with the athlon machine the G5 replaced.
They keyboard in the X2 isn't a Logitech. It's a Cherry, built in Germany and imported here by a wholesaler. I'm snobby about my keyboards, and any way you slice it, the Cherry is higher quality component. Now, many people might prefer to softer feel and lighter weight of the Apple keyboard. That's fine. That doesn't change the fact it uses cheap membrane "key switches" and lightweight plastics.
Shame. I thought I could expect quality from you when I saw the article was submitted by you. Reading it and seeing how you handle criticism. I am deeply disappointed.
I'm sorry that you're disappointed, but it has nothing to do with criticism. Many people criticized the article. You, on the other hand, went on a defensive crusade trying to prove to me, variously:
1) That I didn't hear what I was actually hearing. You even went to the length of accusing me of lying about what I was hearing;
2) That there was no way to judge the quality of particular components (namely the fan and RAM), and that obviously unequal components were of equal quality;
3) That the fact that the PowerMac used lower quality components in several places is irrelevant.
I don't have anything against criticism. Japail proves me wrong on a very regular basis on these forums. He does not, however, get paranoid and defensive and accuse me of lying.
Member since:
2005-07-06
The point that you miss, is not about how much or RAM users are going to put in their machine
You asked me why I though most PowerMacs would be used with less than 4GB of RAM. I told you why. Now you're changing the subject.
Any disussion about price is about this..
Yes, if you need more than 4 RAM slots, the X2 isn't for you. Now, for the other 90% of the world's population, that information is irrelevant, isn't it?
So you are saying that you built a better computer than the powermac G5, a computer built by top class engineers that spent many hours of hard work developping it.
Yep, that'd seem to be the case. Of course, I'd point out that eMachines are computers built by "top class engineers" (I have as much proof of that adjective as you do!) that spent many hours of hard work developing it.
Or maybe i miss the definition of hardware that you have.
It's in the article.
Hey just come back to Earth, you are a student that assembled a computer by himself, nothing more. No way that you can say that you make better work than specialized engineers in hardware design.
Assembling a computer isn't rocket science. The smarts goes into making the components, not assembling them. Component selection and assembly --- that can be done by any monkey. Most of the bits that set the X2 machine apart from the G5 (the P180 case, the fans, the RAM, etc) were made by engineers who were apparently more clever than their Apple counterparts. I just performed the job of the guy who gets paid $10/hr to physically put the pieces together.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating. The X2 is much quieter, faster, has better RAM, a better keyboard, a better mouse, and a better graphics card. I don't care how much smarts went into each design --- the question is a matter of end results.