Apple Unveils Power Mac G4
September 1, 1999 Apple has introduced the Power Mac™ G4, its
next generation of desktop computers designed for professional and “pro-sumer”
customers. The Power Mac G4 is powered by the new PowerPC G4 chip architected
by Apple, Motorola, and IBM, and is the first personal computer in history to
deliver supercomputer-level performance of over one billion floating-point operations
per second.
The G4 chip incorporates a new execution unit named the Velocity Engine™—the
heart of a supercomputer miniaturized onto a sliver of silicon. This is a vector
processing unit that supports 162 new instructions. These special instructions
allow programs to exploit the processor's ability to perform operations on multiple
numbers simultaneously. This can be particularly useful for music and audio applications,
when streams of audio data are being mixed for example, as more numbers can be
computed in each clock cycle. To take full advantage of this power, software must
be compiled to use the new instructions, so it may take a while for developers
to maximize the performance of their software. In a selected set of Intel’s
own tests published on their web site where the Velocity Engine comes into play,
the 500MHz G4 chip was 2.94 times as fast as the 600MHz Pentium III processor.
“The Power Mac G4 is not only the fastest Mac ever, it’s the fastest
personal computer ever,” said Apple’s interim CEO Steve Jobs. “The
revolutionary G4 processor with its remarkable Velocity Engine is the first ‘supercomputer
on a chip,’ delivering over one gigaflop of sustained performance.”
The new Power Mac G4 line is offered in three standard models, based on 400MHz,
450MHz and 500MHz processors, and in build-to-order customer-selected configurations
from Apple’s online store. The top two standard models feature support for
up to 1.5 GB of fast industry-standard PC100 SDRAM, a new 100MHz system bus that
delivers up to 800 MBps of data throughput, Rage 128 AGP/2X high performance graphics,
an Ultra ATA/66 drive interface, and Apple’s breakthrough AirPort™ wireless
networking (optional). All models feature 1MB level 2 backside cache, dual Universal
Serial Bus (USB) and 400-Mbps FireWire® ports, internal drives from 10 GB
to 27 GB (configurable to more than 100 GB via build-to-order) and removable storage
including ZIP, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM with video playback, and DVD-RAM. The Power Mac
G4 comes in a stunning translucent clear, silver and graphite minitower that has
a side door that swings open to provide the industry’s easiest access to
internal components. The Power Mac G4 line starts at an aggressive retail price
of U.S. $1,599.
Apple today also unveiled the perfect companion to the new Power Mac G4: the
Apple Cinema™ Display. Measuring 22 inches diagonally, it’s the largest
LCD-based flat panel display ever brought to market and features a letterbox format
of 1600 x 1024 pixels. The Apple Cinema Display will be offered in limited quantities
beginning in October.
Pricing and Availability
The Power Mac G4 400MHz, priced at U.S. $1,599, is available now on The Apple
Store™ (www.apple.com) and through Apple Authorized Resellers. The Power
Mac G4 450MHz, priced at U.S. $2,499, is scheduled to ship in September, and the
Power Mac G4 500MHz, priced at U.S. $3,499, is scheduled to ship in October. The
Power Mac G4 is available in more than 8,000 build-to-order (BTO) configurations.
A complete listing of standard G4 configurations is also available at The Apple
Store.
In addition, Apple announced that two new Macintosh® Server G4s and a
new Macintosh Server G4 with Mac™ OS X Server will be available in November.
* The G4 processor, with its Velocity Engine, is an average of 2.94 times
faster than the fastest Pentium III (600MHz) in selected tests published by Intel
to demonstrate Pentium’s speed.
For more information, visit Apple Computer's web site at www.apple.com.
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