Power Mac G5 Technology Overview October 2005
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 Contents Page 3 The Power of Four Inside the Power Mac G5 Outside the Power Mac G5 Page 6 Quad-Core Processing Two Dual-Core PowerPC G5 Processors Bidirectional Frontside Bus 64-Bit Processor Architecture Eight Double-Precision Floating-Point Units Four Velocity Engine Units Multiple Cores and Mac OS X Page 10 PCI Express Architecture 533MHz DDR2 Main Memory PCI Express Graphics PCI Express Expansion Dual Gigabit Ethernet High-Performance I/O Page 15 Workstation Gra
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 3 The Power of Four The new Power Mac G5 Quad delivers groundbreaking performance compared with the fastest previous Power Mac.1 Power. It gives your creativity room to play. It takes the edge o∂ supersized projects and looming deadlines. It challenges you to seek more demanding work and gives you the confidence to execute with brilliance. Creative application performance Introducing the Power Mac G5 Quad.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 Inside the Power Mac G5 The Power Mac G5 is loaded with state-of-the-art technologies that translate into blistering performance. Take a tour of this power-packed interior. SuperDrive with double-layer support The SuperDrive built into every Power Mac G5 reads and writes a wide variety of DVD and CD media. You can even author media or archive data on double-layer (DVD+R DL) discs capable of holding up to 8.5GB of data.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 5 Outside the Power Mac G5 Handsome good looks combine with a user-centered design that includes convenient ports and an easy-to-open (and easy-to-lock) side panel. All configurations of the new Power Mac G5 come with a comprehensive suite of integrated innovations. Easy-open side door A removable side panel provides quick access to slots and bays, so you can install additional memory, a second hard drive, or a PCI Express card.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 Quad-Core Processing Enter the dual-core PowerPC G5 processor: one silicon chip with two independent processor cores. Now take two of those dual-core chips and you have the Power Mac G5 Quad, for groundbreaking quad-core processing. With two independent cores on one processor, the new PowerPC G5 packs tremendous processing power on a single chip.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 7 Bidirectional Frontside Bus Leveraging the dual frontside bus architecture pioneered in the original Power Mac G5, each dual-core processor has an independent data path to the system controller running at up to 1.25GHz.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 8 Eight Double-Precision Floating-Point Units Linpack A measure of a computer’s floating-point execution performance, the Linpack benchmark solves a dense system of linear equations. The Power Mac G5 Quad executed the double-precision equations 88 percent faster than the dual 2.7GHz Power Mac G5 and an amazing 626 percent faster than the dual 1.42GHz Power Mac G4. Power Mac G5 Quad 2.5GHz 21 gigaflops Dual 2.7GHz Power Mac G5 Dual 1.42GHz Power Mac G4 11.1 gigaflops 2.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 9 Multiple Cores and Mac OS X Mac OS X is ideally suited to leverage the power of quad-core systems, since it was designed from day one for multiple processors. With symmetric multiprocessing, preemptive multitasking, and multithreading capabilities in Mac OS X, a Power Mac G5 Quad delivers groundbreaking performance. The Power Mac G5 comes with Mac OS X v10.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 PCI Express Architecture The new Power Mac G5 introduces a modern PCI Express architecture to the Mac platform, opening up a world of high-performance system technologies and peripherals. PCI Express paves the way for emerging solutions for media and networking, making it a future-savvy choice for your lab or studio. Built into the Power Mac G5 architecture is an all-new system controller.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 11 533MHz DDR2 Main Memory Up to 25 percent faster memory throughput With support for DDR2 memory, data throughput on the new Power Mac G5 is 25 percent faster than previous Power Mac G5 models and up to three times faster than the Power Mac G4. 128-bit DDR2 at 533MHz 8.5 GBps 128-bit DDR at 400MHz 6.4 GBps 64-bit DDR at 333MHz 2.7 GBps The new 128-bit memory controller in the Power Mac G5 supports DDR2 main memory running at speeds up to 533MHz.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 12 Three expansion slots In addition to the 16-lane graphics slot, the Power Mac G5 features three PCI Express expansion slots: two four-lane slots and one eight-lane slot. Each slot uses a standard connector that can accommodate a card of any size. This means a four-lane card works perfectly in an eight-lane slot. If the card has more lanes than the slot, the card adjusts to the bandwidth available and “downshifts” to that data rate.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 13 FireWire and USB 2.0 One of the most versatile standards ever developed, FireWire makes it easy to connect high-bandwidth devices such as DV cameras, hard drives, and high-performance imaging peripherals. And since FireWire cables carry power, the Power Mac G5 can recharge a portable device’s batteries, even while it’s in use. FireWire 800 doubles the throughput of the original FireWire 400, from 400 to 800 Mbps.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 Analog and digital audio The Power Mac G5 features a comprehensive set of audio capabilities not commonly found in personal computers. State-of-the-art optical digital audio input and output ports use the S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) protocol over Toslink cables for connecting to devices such as decks, receivers, digital instruments, and even home theater systems. The optical digital audio ports on the Power Mac G5 support stereo and 5.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 15 Workstation Graphics From 3D modeling applications to Mac OS X features like Exposé, Mac users enjoy fluid onscreen performance every minute of the day. PCI Express graphics in the new Power Mac G5 combine with state-of-the-art graphics technologies in Mac OS X Tiger to deliver even more cutting-edge capabilities. A new lineup of PCI Express graphics cards provides professional capabilities and programmable graphics choices at all levels.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 16-lane PCI Express The 16-lane PCI Express graphics interface provides throughput of up to 4 GBps, almost double that of the AGP 8X standard. And by supplying up to 150 watts of power to the primary graphics processing unit, the new Power Mac G5 provides the headroom for high-performance, next-generation graphics processors and applications—enabling even higher resolutions for stunning realism.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 17 • All Power Mac G5 cards support two displays: one 20- or 23-inch Apple Cinema Display and one 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Display. If you want to connect your Power Mac G5 to two 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Displays—or use stereo 3D goggles—choose the workstation-class NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500. • If you plan to install as many as three PCI Express cards in your Power Mac G5, you’ll want to consider cards that occupy a single slot.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 18 Apple Cinema Displays Featuring a compact footprint and elegant aluminum design, an Apple Cinema Display is the perfect match for your new Power Mac G5. The DVI interface transfers pure digital signals from computer to display, and each display includes two USB 2.0 and two FireWire 400 ports for connecting devices. You can even add an iSight camera to the top of the display using a sleek magnetic mount.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 19 Support for Multiple Displays Connecting to other displays, TVs, VCRs, and projectors A DVI to VGA Adapter is included with every Power Mac G5 for connecting to VGA displays, such as CRTs or projectors. Or you can order the Apple DVI to Video Adapter to connect to S-video and composite devices, such as TVs, VCRs, or overhead projectors with S-video or RCA (composite) connectors.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 20 Real-World Advantages The new Power Mac G5 and Mac OS X deliver performance and platform advantages that make it the system of choice for professionals in the creative and scientific fields. With dual-core PowerPC G5 processors, a new PCI Express architecture, and workstation graphics features, this groundbreaking system opens up a wealth of possibilities for 2D and 3D designers, video and audio producers, scientists, and researchers.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 21 Video editing performance One of the final stages of any film or video project is the processor-intensive task of rendering. Apple measured the time to render a complex video project containing multiple e∂ects and filters, including color corrections, transitions, compositing, and basic text treatments. Final Cut Pro 5.0.2 rendering results High definition video (HDV—1080i60) video rendering Power Mac G5 Quad 2.5GHz 44% faster Baseline Dual 2.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 22 Video encoding performance Apple measured the time to encode a video project from various native formats to MPEG-2, the most common format for commercial DVD titles. Final Cut Pro 5.0.2 encoding results High definition video (HDV—1080i60) MPEG-2 encoding 22% faster Power Mac G5 Quad 2.5GHz Dual 2.7GHz Power Mac G5 Baseline Standard definition (SD) MPEG-2 encoding 60% faster Power Mac G5 Quad 2.5GHz Dual 2.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 23 E∂ects and animation performance Video editors and producers add innovative motion graphics and e∂ects to film, video, DVD, and web projects using tools like Motion, Adobe After E∂ects, LightWave 3D, and Cinema 4D. To demonstrate the performance advantages of quad-core processors, Apple measured the time to render e∂ects using three application tests. After E∂ects 6.5.1 results Visual e∂ects rendering Power Mac G5 Quad 2.5GHz 69% faster Dual 2.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 24 Science and Technical Computing The Power Mac G5 gives scientific researchers the ability to achieve fast results. Whether you’re doing molecular modeling with PyMOL, searching for DNA alignments with BLAST, analyzing statistics with SPSS, or modeling equations with Mathematica, you’ll make discoveries in record time.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 25 Scientific analysis performance To demonstrate the performance advantages of the Power Mac G5 Quad for processorintensive scientific analysis, Apple used Bioinformatics Benchmark System version 3 (or BBSv3), an Xcode development test, and the MathematicaMark5.2 benchmark built into Mathematica. Bioinformatics Benchmark System (BBSv3) results Multiple-processor test summary Power Mac G5 Quad 2.5GHz Dual 2.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 26 Design and Print Bring your ideas to life with the new Power Mac G5 and publishing tools such as Adobe Creative Suite, QuarkXPress, and Macromedia Studio. Whether you’re designing for print or for the web, you can realize your ideas as fast as you can imagine them. • New dual-core and quad-core Power Mac G5 systems crunch through huge images and layouts.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 27 Image editing performance To demonstrate the superiority of the Power Mac G5 Quad, Apple conducted tests using Adobe Photoshop CS2 (9.0), the application most widely used by creative professionals. Photoshop CS2 (9.0) results 45-action test Power Mac G5 Quad 2.5GHz 43% faster Dual 2.7GHz Power Mac G5 Baseline Percent faster than the previous model The Power Mac G5 Quad ran the 45 Photoshop actions 43 percent faster than the dual 2.7GHz Power Mac G5.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 Optical digital audio specifications Input Output Data format S/PDIF (IEC60958-3) S/PDIF (IEC60958-3) Connector type Toslink optical (IEC60874-17) Toslink optical (IEC60874-17) Sample rates – External clock mode – Internal clock mode 32kHz to 96kHz 32kHz to 96kHz 32kHz to 96kHz 32kHz to 96kHz Bits per sample 16 or 24 16 or 24 Signal-to-noise ratio – External clock mode – Internal clock mode Greater than 130 dB Greater than 110 dB Greater than 130 dB Greater t
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 Configurations and Options Standard Configurations Apple o∂ers Power Mac G5 systems to meet the needs of professionals, media producers, designers, educators, scientists, and researchers. The following standard configurations are available through the Apple Store and Apple Authorized Resellers. Power Mac G5 Dual Power Mac G5 Dual Power Mac G5 Quad Order number M9590LL/A M9591LL/A M9592LL/A Processor Dual-core 2GHz PowerPC G5 Dual-core 2.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 30 Build-to-Order Options Order a custom-configured computer from the Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Reseller.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 31 Technical Specifications Processing • Single 2GHz, single 2.3GHz, or dual 2.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 • • • • 32 Support for analog resolutions up to 2048 by 1536 pixels DVI to VGA Adapter included Dual-display support for extended desktop and video mirroring modes Support for up to two Apple flat-panel displays for each graphics card installed5 Storage • Two 3.
Technology Overview Power Mac G5 For More Information For more information about the Power Mac G5, visit www.apple.com/powermac. 33 Internet access requires a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply. Product contains electronic documentation. Backup copy of software is included. 1Testing conducted by Apple in September 2005 using preproduction 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 Quad units; all other systems tested were shipping units.
