Apple Adds 1.8 GHz Model to Power Mac G5 Line at $1,499 (UPDATE)

Apple Computer announced Tuesday the addition of a 1.8 gigahertz (GHz) single processor Power Mac G5 desktop priced at US$1,499.

The new entry-level model joins three other existing tower models - the dual 2.5 GHz, dual 2.0 GHz and dual 1.8 GHz Power Mac G5 models.

The 1.8 GHz Power Mac G5, which is available immediately, is identical to its 1.8GHz dual-processor cousin, except for its slower 600MHz frontside bus. The dual-processor 1.8GHz model has a 900MHz frontside bus/processor.

The main features of the new model are:

Single 1.8GHz PowerPC G5
600MHz frontside bus
512K L2 cache
256MB DDR400 SDRAM
Expandable to 4GB SDRAM
80GB Serial ATA hard drive
8x SuperDrive
Three PCI Slots
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra
64MB DDR video memory
56K internal modem
$1,499

The company released the new pro system less than week after delivering its fiscal fourth-quarter results. During the quarter, Apple reported shipping 156,000 PowerMac units, down from 173,000 a year ago.