CPUs: PowerPC G4

First available in the Power Mac G4 in late 1999, the G4 processor is to the G3 as the 604 was to the 603 – and then some! Like the 604, and unlike the G3, G4 is designed for multiprocessor operation. It also runs about 25% faster for basic floating point math calculations and has a built-in […]

G4 Debacle Not All Apple’s Fault

2000: Sean Terrill says that the G4 debacle is all Apple’s fault. He makes some interesting arguments in his article on Mac Junkie, The Great G4 Debacle: Why It Is Apple’s Fault (no longer online).

How the G4 Compares to the G3

1999 – I disagree about the G4 being a “marginally better” CPU than the G3. Given the 603 vs. the 604, where the 603 cannot handle multitasking properly and has a bus utilization rate that is so high that it cannot be configured for multiprocessing, nor can it handle intensive floating point calculations. The 604 […]

G4 vs. Pentium III

1999 – One little chip sure can set off a world of controversy. It started when Apple introduced the Power Mac G3 in November 1997.