G4 versus PIII.(Hardware Review)(Evaluation)

Is there a new hardware platform to consider for 3D CAD?

Ever since the introduction of Apple's Power Macintosh with the Motorola G4 processor, many articles have compared its speed to top-of-the-line Intel-based PCs. However, most of the speed tests have involved 2D graphics programs such as Adobe Systems' Photoshop. Some attempts have been made to rate the Mac's 3D performance (see "Rating the Power Mac G4" on pg. 65 of the July 2000 issue) but these have been relatively few and far between. Therefore, I decided to test the machine's performance on some common CAD applications.

The Systems

Apple sent an OS 9-based 500MHz dual-processor G4 with 256MB of memory and a 40GB, 7200-rpm Ultra ATA/66 hard disk. Graphics were controlled by an ATI Rage Pro accelerator with 16MB of memory.

I also tested a single-processor Dell Precision 420 with the same amount of memory. The lack of dual CPUs wasn't an issue, as none of the programs tested currently take advantage of this architecture anyway. The Dell ran at a higher clock rate, 933MHz, but because of the different technology behind each processor, the MHZ numbers are not a meaningful benchmark, especially for the purposes of this evaluation.

The Precision's graphics card, an Elsa Gloria II with 64mb of memory, was a bit more powerful than what was inside the Mac, so I made sure that the graphics tests stayed away from texture mapping routines, which is primarily what that extra memory is used for. This computer had a more modest 9GB SCSI disk, spinning at 10,000 rpm, and came loaded with Windows 2000.

Due to basic hardware differences, it is hard to compare Apples to, er ..., PCs. So while the systems weren't an identical match, the main goal was to test what both companies considered their top-of-the-line computers for 3D graphics. Both machines sell for approximately the same--S3000.