Introduction
The Power Mac G5 was introduced with three models, sharing the same physical case, but differing in features and performance. The 1.6 GHz model shipped with 256 megabytes (MB) of RAM, an 80 GB hard drive, and could hold a maximum of 4 GB of RAM, and an nVidia GeForce 5200 graphics card with 64 MB VRAM with one ADC output and one DVI output. The 1.8 and dual-processor and 2.0 GHz models shipped with 512 MB of RAM, and could employ a maximum of 8 gigabytes (GB) of RAM. The dual-processor model came with an ATI Radeon 9600 graphics card with a Radeon 9800 as an option. The physical case of the Power Mac G5 was very different and unusual compared to any other computer at that time. Many potential buyers, though, were surprised to find that the attractive case, while somewhat larger than the G4 tower it replaced, had room inside for only one optical, and two hard drives.
Steve Jobs stated during his keynote presentation that the Power Mac G5 would reach 3 GHz "within 12 months." This would never come to pass; after three years, the G5 only reached 2.7 GHz (or dual-core at 2.5 GHz) and was able to support 16 GB DDR2 (PC2 4200u) RAM before being replaced by the Intel Xeon-based Mac Pro, which included processors with speeds of up to 3 GHz, and after three years is presently at 3.33 GHz.
During the presentation Apple also showed Virginia Tech's Mac OS X computer cluster supercomputer (a.k.a. supercluster) known as System X, consisting of 1100 Power Mac G5s operating as processing nodes. The supercomputer managed to become one of the top 5 supercomputers that year. The computer was soon dismantled and replaced with a new cluster made of an equal number of Xserve G5 rack-mounted servers, which also use the G5 chip running at 2.3 GHz.
Read more about this topic: Power Mac G5
Famous quotes containing the word introduction:
“Do you suppose I could buy back my introduction to you?”
—S.J. Perelman, U.S. screenwriter, Arthur Sheekman, Will Johnstone, and Norman Z. McLeod. Groucho Marx, Monkey Business, a wisecrack made to his fellow stowaway Chico Marx (1931)
“For better or worse, stepparenting is self-conscious parenting. You’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.”
—Anonymous Parent. Making It as a Stepparent, by Claire Berman, introduction (1980, repr. 1986)
“The role of the stepmother is the most difficult of all, because you can’t ever just be. You’re constantly being tested—by the children, the neighbors, your husband, the relatives, old friends who knew the children’s parents in their first marriage, and by yourself.”
—Anonymous Stepparent. Making It as a Stepparent, by Claire Berman, introduction (1980, repr. 1986)