PowerMacG5 Late 2004

Utilizing a cost-effective motherboard architecture derived from the iMac G5, the Apple Power Macintosh G5/1.8 (PCI) incorporated a 600 MHz (3:1) system bus. This model was powered by a 1.8 GHz PowerPC 970fx (G5) processor, which included an enhanced AltiVec \"Velocity Engine\" vector processing unit and 512k of level 2 on-chip cache. It came factory-equipped with 256 MB of 400 MHz PC3200 DDR SDRAM, an 80.0 GB Serial ATA hard drive spinning at 7200 RPM, an 8X \"SuperDrive\" capable of DVD-R/CD-RW functions, and an NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (AGP 8X Pro) graphics card with 64 MB of DDR SDRAM.\n\nIts connectivity suite provided USB 2.0, FireWire \"400\" and \"800\", an ADC port, single-link DVI, and optical digital audio in/out. It also had built-in support for AirPort Extreme (802.11g) and Bluetooth 1.1. Notably, this particular model lacked support for the higher-speed PCI-X expansion standard.\n\nThe machine was housed in the same iconic \"anodized aluminum alloy\" enclosure as its predecessors. This case design featured a sophisticated cooling system with four thermal zones and nine computer-controlled fans. For easy access to the internal components for upgrades or maintenance, it retained the signature removable side panel. A variety of custom configurations were also made available to customers.

The Late 2004 Power Macintosh G5/1.8 (PCI) was introduced as a more affordable, expandable desktop alternative to the iMac G5, with which it shared a similar internal architecture. It was noted for providing the expandability of a tower—such as PCI slots, dual monitor support, and FireWire 800—that the all-in-one iMac lacked. However, its performance was a point of contention. Due to its slower system bus, tests showed it was slightly slower than the previous year's single-processor 1.8 GHz model, and it lacked the faster PCI-X slots of its more powerful contemporaries. Reviewers concluded that it wasn't the ideal machine for users engaged in computation-intensive work. Instead, its value was seen in offering a modular, customizable system for those who prioritized expandability and flexibility over raw processing power, effectively filling a niche for budget-conscious users who still needed a traditional tower Mac.