Dual-Processor, Liquid-Cooled Power Mac G5s Announced -- Apple last week announced a new line of Power Mac G5 desktop computers, featuring dual PowerPC G5 processors in each model. The top-of-the-line dual 2.5 GHz configuration ($3,000) sports a new liquid cooling system, circulating liquid past the G5 processors and through a radiant grille, where the liquid is cooled by air flowing through one of the Mac's four thermal zones. Mac OS X dynamically adjusts the flow of the cooling fluid and the speed of the fans based on the temperature. A dual 2.0 GHz G5 retails for $2,500, and the entry-level model, featuring two 1.8 GHz G5 processors, starts at $2,000. These models, featuring Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 Ultra video cards, are available immediately, and the high-end, liquid-cooled dual 2.5 GHz model with an ATI Radeon 9600 XT graphics card, will be available in July. Apple has also ended production on the 1.25 GHz Power Mac G4; remaining units will be available for prices starting at $1,300 while supplies last.

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Apple has also added a nifty software improvement, too. A new Mac OS X setup assistant can migrate your data from an existing Mac - including user accounts, applications, system preferences, and permissions - to the Power Mac G5 over a FireWire connection (using the Mac's target disk mode). For now this feature exists only in the new Power Mac G5s, no doubt part of Apple's strategy to encourage customers to retire their Power Mac G4 production machines, though it will undoubtedly appear in new Mac models or in an upcoming revision to Mac OS X. [MHA]