Margin note: OS X-only Vs. OS 9-booting Power Macs

We have received several letters over the past few days noting the comparative advantages and disadvantages of the new OS X-only (Classic still available) Power Macs and the models that can still boot into Mac OS 9 - essentially re-packaged versions of the first iteration of Power Mac G4 Mirrored Drive Door systems.

The first issue is price. At first glance, the OS 9-booting models appear to carry a $100 price premium over the new OS X-only models when configured similarly. An OS X-only Dual 1.25GHz PowerPC G4 is base-priced at US $ 1999. But when configured with 512 MB SDRAM, a 120 GB hard drive and a SuperDrive - matching the specs of the $ 2499 OS 9-booting model - it carries a $2399 price tag.

While the OS 9-booting model lacks Apple's latest bells and whistles - a new thermal system for quieter operation, FireWire 800, Bluetooth, AirPort Extreme, and more - it does have one key advantage over the OS X-only model: 2 MB of L3 cache per processor.

The extra cache memory has been shown to deliver fairly significant performance gains across a variety of benchmark indicators.

L3 cache is also not an easily upgraded component. While users of the OS 9-only systems are (or may soon be) able to purchase FireWire 800 PCI cards, AirPort Extreme adapters and Bluetooth attachments, no third party manufacturer is likely to offer an L3 cache expansion kit.

Of course, for slightly more ($ 200) than the base dual 1.25 GHz OS 9-booting Power Mac G4, Apple offers the dual 1.42 GHz OS X-only model - with matching specs and 2 MB of L3 cache per processor.

Feedback on this issue? Drop us a line at late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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