1,250 Watts on new PowerMac G5 dual core? - THAT IS AN OVEN!

Well there are four processor cores in there. Supposedly each physical processor takes 100W max. Remember that 1200 watts means that you have a loaded quad with a couple Nvidia 4500's in there powering 30" displays, 2 hard drives spinning, an optical drive spinning, playing Doom 3 while rendering HD on the other three processors onto outboard Xsans via both ethernet ports. Now your everyday usage will have a much lower consumption especially as they can clock down (if you use power saving mode) to only consume 30W per processor. Either way, I'll be adding a new wall outlet on a 20A fuse for the G5.

As for cooling, the quad does use liquid cooling like the old dual 2.7 did. We'll all have to wait for noise level comparisons since the quads aren't released yet.

No, it's a toaster.

Dual-core seems to be more economical than heritage G5s:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300355

I think the G5 DC is probably more powerful than the G4.

Remember these are all MAX requirement - when Apple designs the platform and specs the current rating and power supplies, they need to take into account the type of accessories a user may put into a Mac.

Of course a unit that has a dual core and a single hard drive will use less power than a quad packed full with memory, dual RAID drives, and 4 of the top end graphics cards. Not every user will configure their platform like that, but they have to take into consideration the small amount of users who will.

Additionally the max ratings will only be approached when the system is laboring the cpus and generating more heat. The more a processor is doing, the more current it requires, the more power it takes, the more heat it generates, and the fans cut in to cool it down, using more power.... bit of a vicious circle 😉

Idling, the PM won't be using anywhere near 1250W. A standard PC (including monitor) consumes about 100W. I would hazard a guess that under 'normal' work load a PM is probably using around 100-120 with out the monitor.

rgds

Simon

Good guess Simon,

Measuring my mdd gives results very close to what you have. Of course an upgraded video card (like the 9800) which has it's own power tap will add quite a bit, hard drives add about 10W each, etc.

My mac uses 12W in deep sleep and 7W when turned "off". This with the monitor and peripherals on another circuit.
With my stock video card I can't get my mac to use half of it's rated power supply using programs designed to push the processors and the hard drives.

Many quad purchasers are buying it not because they need it but because they want it. I want one too but can't really justify the purchase. My "ancient" g4 dualie does everything needed.

Gabriel,

The current PowerMac G5 that's been out for over two years has 9 fans, 58 million transistors, and draws 6.5A (low-voltage range) or 7.5A (high-voltage range). It is half as noisy as the G4 Mirror Drive Door model, which had either 360 watt or 400 watt power supplies.

The dual cores appear to be just another step up the ladder.

Exactly. Just because they finally hit the magical 10A, people are getting worried about the power draw. Not only did they add another two cores but they also have PCI-E slots that can push up to 150W. Only time will tell. When the quads get delivered, someone will hook up a "Kill-A-Watt" sensor to the plug and see what it's truly drawing.