Apple Power Mac G5 Desktop M9454LL/A (Dual 1.8-GHz Power PC G5, 256 MB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive)

Amazon Customer Reviews

(5 out of 5)

Take the negative reviews with a large grain of salt.

It's easy to see Windows users trying to "bomb" the review of this amazing computer. Pay no attention. You see, unlike Windows, OS X never freezes. Ever. I have four Macs at home, a PowerBook, and an iMac G5 at the office, all running OS 10.3, and none of them -- none, including a dual G5 just like this one -- have ever crashed or frozen. Reviews that say different are complete fabrications. Why? Because the underpinning of OS X is UNIX, which keeps the OS running even if an individual program crashes -- which might happen on rare occasions. What do you do then? Simply relaunch the program and no problems at all.

This is terrific computer and a terrific value. It comes with Apple's unparalleled "video lifestyle" applications, too. And do invest in more RAM. It's cheap and super easy to install. In fact, the G5 is designed from the ground up for easy access and easy upgrades. Even a computer novice can install a new hard drive, updated DVD drive, memory, or a wireless card -- even the new Radeon X-800 for Mac installs like a breeze (and doesn't require it's own power supply cord like the PC version).

But don't just read this review, zip down to the nearest Apple Store and take a test drive. This is what a computer is meant to be.

(4 out of 5)

Great bang for the buck, if a little frustrating

I just replaced my 1.5GHz 15" powerbook with the dual 1.8, and I am loving it. The Powerbook was starting to feel really anemic, and I was getting sick and tired of the SBOD. At any rate, this machine feels about 10x faster, between the dual G5s and the SATA hard drive, it rocks... It is also aesthetically pleasing - my jaw dropped when I opened it up to add RAM (see below) - this thing belongs in MOMA...

It has a few shortcomings however:

1. You CANNOT use this machine "out of the box" with the pathetic 256megs of RAM it ships with - an immediate RAM upgrade is imperative. I tried for a day, and managed to crash OS X about five times...

Since they only give you four slots, and you must install in pairs, you may as well add a pair of 512's - so add another $250 to the cost.

2. The machine is gigantic - the biggest PC I've ever seen. On the plus side, it's also the quietest PC I've ever used, by far. I guess 50lbs or whatever it weighs - more? - of aluminum disipates heat pretty well...On the downside, for all of its size, you get lousy expansion options. They should be ashamed of themselves for only giving 2 USB slots on the back - sure, there's an extra one in front, which is handy, but you'd never want to leave anything permanently plugged in. Most Win boxes give you 6 or 8 USB slots these days. So I immediately had to run out and get a USB hub. Adding another huge power supply brick, more unsightly wires, etc. Just as bad, there's only 1 free hard drive slot and zero free CD slots - for a machine of this size, unbelievably skimpy.

3. No Bluetooth or Airport out of the box. Airport I can live without, as I doubt I'll be dragging this thing over to my couch to surf the web, as I did with my powerbook ;) But the lack of Bluetooth is a bummer, because, as far as I can tell, there is no internal bluetooth module for this computer. It seems like there should be - but I don't think there is, and I've spent time looking. So if you want bluetooth, you have to buy one of those silly USB bluetooth adapters and use - yes - one of your two USB slots. Arggghhh!

4. When is Apple going to wake up to reality and start supplying us with a two-button mouse with a scroll wheel? Every Mac app in existence has built-in support for a right-mouse button - including OS X - yet for some reason they still ship those ridiculous one-button mouses.

Bottom line: fantastic machine, with frustrating expandability shortcomings. Figure on spending an additional several hundred dollars to upgrade RAM, buying a USB hub and more if you want bluetooth and a useable mouse.

(4 out of 5)

G5 is fast; OSX is elegant; combination is easy to use

If you're invested in other platforms or can switch, Apple has finally caught up with the rest of the industry with the G5. OSX is a joy to work in: stable, elegant, well layed-out, and secure (I won't get started on WinXP vulnerabilities).

Do yourself a favor and install at least an additional 256 MB of RAM. Apple is skimpy when it comes to outfitting their computers - 256 MB is way too little. So they can save a couple of dollars on their end, you'll have to fork out multiples of that on yours.


Correction on Amazon's listing:

The current version rev.b Dual 1.8 - M9454LL/A - does *not* have PCIx slots, only regular PCI slots.

The original rev.a Dual 1.8- M9393LL/A - of the dual 1.8 has PCIx.

(1 out of 5)

"Ever feel like they just aren't trying anymore?"

I purchased 7 G5 macs for our production dept. 4 of the 7 needed major service, 1 still is in the shop (These were purchased april of 04, so SIX MONTHS and still no running machine that cost 3000.00!)

I called Apple today and asked for a new machine. I thought six months of service would be sufficient for this to be granted. I get put on hold, then a tech, who puts me on hold, new tech-reexplaint-on hold....(this goes on for over an hour and a half) Finally I get someone that seems to have a decision: "Give me your email address and I will send you an email with 'whatever' in a couple days". (Exact words).

Even purchased the 'APPLECARE' Extended service plan--I guess that referres to the e x t e n d e d service I am getting.

In closing: Apple = Sux, G5 = Lemon, Applecare = Garbage.

Good luck with that Apple. (Applecare Case #42430940)

(4 out of 5)

Great machine!

Simply a very powerful machine for the money. Compare similarly equipped PCs and you will spend approx $500 more. Apple puts care and thought into their design and you will notice it.

The only gripes I can think of are that 256 megs of ram just isn't enough. I upgraded mine to 512 from the get go and will likely double that in the coming months. Also the video card is a bit weak, its worth the extra $50 bucks to get the ATI card that apple offers.

But other than that, this is a solid machine with an even more solid operating system! So dump windoze and get a mac!