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Upgrade vs. New - Which is for you?
In the 16 previous series of benchmark tests we have performed on AGP upgrade cards, the tests were done using Mac OS X 10.1 or 10.2. With the release of Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther", we decided it was time for a complete retest of all available processors. Note that I said "available processors". We don't have all of the original speed processors available from prior tests - that hopefully will change with availability in the near future. This report is the first installation of what is bound to be another monumental round of updates to this test series, just like the last series was. New over the few updates are some of the fastest personal computers available anywhere, at any price. We have 3 varieties of Power Macintosh G5 in our testing stable and you'll be able to compare your older system with a fast upgrade vs. one of these brand new machines. Also included is the fastest PowerBook on the planet, many of our customers expressed interest in gauging how fast a portable desktop replacement would be. And, in the past two weeks, the long awaited return of DUAL PROCESSOR upgades! We have the very first published tests of the brand new GigaDesigns Dual processors, and also the PowerLogix Dual 1.2GHz(with only the 133MHz bus systems), but it is the first upgrade to use the Motorola 7457, it's results were very nice and prove why Duals are a great upgrade. Since the first series of tests were run, we've added testing with Unreal Tournament 2003, Cinebench 2003, and Adobe After Effects Pro 6.0. These tests are all very interesting, especially the After Effects Pro 6.0 testing - it's a real CPU hog. Also, starting with this new round of testing, Mac OS 9 results are no longer being obtained. We've gotten a wealth of information accumulated on Mac OS 9 and the old test results will always be available on our site, you can check back and approximate what the newer, faster processors that come to market will do using Mac OS 9 still. It's not that we don't like OS 9 anymore, it's just a time factor as these tests you see here today took 20 work days to generate as it is. That's right, 15 tests performed on 42 system configurations takes a lot of time! :>) Onto the tests. I always welcome your comments and questions, feel free to email me.
TEST SYSTEMS For testing and comparison purposes, the acceleration cards were installed into one system for each bus speed tested. The above listed components round out the installed equipment - the same test equipment was utilized with both systems tested, there are no variables other than the bus speed. Take a few minutes and check out the individual results from each test, comparing them to a stock Power Macintosh G4 system. We will be rounding out the testing of different stock factory machines over the coming weeks and try and publish updates as soon as possible. |