Apple Power Mac G5 Quad (M9592LLA) Mac Desktop

Pros: Powerful, understated styling, rock stable, and very quiet for all but the most demanding tasks.

Cons: Some software doesn't take advantage of multiprocessor capabilities. Perceived speed differences depend on tasks.

The Bottom Line: If you need this kind of processing power, buy the Quad. If you're checking e-mail, writing, using iLife primarily, buy an iMac (a very capable machine) and save $1400.

Review: Apple's top of the line Quad Processor Power Mac is a remarkable engineering feat at a reasonable price point. For processor hungry audio and video applications, it has no peer. I purchased the Quad Mac in December of 2005, and have been very pleased ...

Pros: Stunningly fast; Absolutely stable; Butterfly quiet.

Cons: Base configuration of 512MBs RAM is not enough - Needs 1GB or more.

The Bottom Line: All in all, if you need a powerful workstation level computer for multithreaded CPU intensive tasks, the Power Mac G5 Quad is perfect!

Review: I purchased my Quad Power Mac in late October 2005, and received it four weeks later in late November. I could have received one quicker except I ordered mine with 2GBs of Ram instead of the insufficient 512MBs (2x 256MBs) base configuration. This is ...

Pros: The fastest Mac on the block. Even base configuration rocks.

Cons: Expensive, for a marginal real-life speed benefit in many cases.

The Bottom Line: The Quad is faster.. With proper software taking advantage of multi-processors... When multi-tasking power-hungry programs... A great Mac, but with so many caveats, is it the best Mac for YOU?

Review: With OS X, Apple promised a better implementation of multi-processors load sharing, and in fact did deliver on their promise. With the Quad series, one would hope that this improvement would translate into a substantial real-life speed increase. Alas! ...