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By John G. Spooner, 10 June 2004 08:55

NEWS Apple may have not hit the magic 3GHz mark, but moving to dual processors has given the lower-end Power Macs a serious speed boost.

The computer maker has updated its Power Mac G5 desktop line with three dual-processor models, including its first low-end desktop based on the dual model.

Although it had been offering dual-processors in its midrange and high-end G5 desktops, Apple on Wednesday began offering dual processors across its entire Power Mac G5 desktop computer line. The company also stepped up its top Power Mac to dual 2.5GHz processors.

As has been its practice in the past, Apple added features but kept prices on the three machines largely the same. The company last updated the Power Mac line in November, when it added a dual 1.8GHz option for its midrange model.

Tom Boger, Apple's senior director of desktop product marketing, said the new machines' prices are "basically the same, but with a heck of a lot more performance and a heck of a lot more value".

Power Mac G5 updates had been expected after Apple released a service manual containing pictures of the innards of an unreleased Power Mac. Meanwhile, wait times had also increased for those trying to order existing Power Macs from the online Apple Store.

The new flagship G5 desktop model will include dual 2.5GHz processors - IBM’s latest 90-nanometre PowerPC 970FX chips - as well as a faster 1.25GHz front-side bus, which is a pipeline that shuttles data to and from the processor, and a new liquid cooling system. The machine will ship in July for a price starting at $2,999, Boger said.

It will also include 512MB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, ATI's Radeon 9600 XT graphics card, 128MB of onboard RAM and an 8x Apple SuperDrive, which can burn DVDs and CDs.

But even though the dual 2.5GHz system represents the best of the best from Apple to date, the company had wanted more by the Power Mac G5's first birthday, which is this month.

At this time last year, Apple was shooting for 3GHz. Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, who introduced the first Power Mac G5 models last June, said at that time that they would be available at speeds of up to 3GHz within 12 months.

Problems with its IBM's chip manufacturing hampered that goal, however. Big Blue executives recently said the company's chip production problems have eased. At that time, however, they refused to say whether IBM would be in a position to allow Apple to meet its 3GHz goals for the G5.

John G Spooner writes for News.com