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In an announcement made without pomp and fanfare, Apple Computer Inc. Tuesday rolled out a new model in its existing Power Macintosh series and a new larger-screen version of its iMac consumer desktop computer.
The new midrange Power Macintosh G5 model sports dual 1.8GHz PowerPC 970 processors and costs $2,499. This dual-processor model replaces the single-1.8GHz Power Mac and at a slightly lower price. The new Power Mac comes standard with 512MB of DDR400 SDRAM, a 160GB Serial ATA hard drive, a 4x SuperDrive, a 64MB Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 Ultra video card.
In addition, Apple dropped the price on the entry-level single-1.6 GHz model to $1,799.
On the consumer front, Apples new $2,199 20-inch iMac all-in-one computer is little changed from the existing lines, aside from the 20-inch LCD screen. Like the iMacs with 15- and 17-inch displays, the unit is based on a 1.25GHz PowerPC G4 processor and ships with 256MB of DDR333 SDRAM (though most resellers are now offering free RAM upgrades). It also shares other specifications with the 17-inch model—a 64MB Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 Ultra video card, an 80GB Ultra ATA hard drive, a 4x SuperDrive and Apple Pro speakers. However, the 17-incher costs $400 less than its newer, larger sibling.
Early reactions on message boards across Mac-related Web sites were mixed. Many comments revealed posters desire for a PowerPC G5-powered iMac model, or a refreshing of the iMacs industrial design. Others questioned the market for a consumer machine at this price point, especially for a computer with limited upgradeability that is permanently mated to an expensive display.
Meanwhile, Apple today released to developers with an advance seed of Mac OS X 10.3.2, marked Build 7D12.
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