Below we list extensive performance results for all the currently shipping eMacs. We provide both the absolute score (in seconds, or in the case of the game tests, in frames per second), and also the percentage score, (with the new eMac G4/800 set to 100%).
In raw processing Power, the two 1 GHz versions of the eMac came in at a 25% performance improvement over the 800 MHz machine. Given the 25% clock speed advantage the two upper models enjoy, this performance gap is no surprise. It is also no surprise that the two GHz eMac nearly turned in identical scores in most of the tests below. The only difference between the two is in capacities and in choice of optical drive. All three eMacs come with 256K of on-chip cache. They all stumble along with a 133 MHz System bus. And each model has the same graphics card. As far as the 'Combo Drive model vs SuperDrive model' goes, as configured by Apple, the GHz SuperDrive eMac comes with twice the RAM (256 MB), 30% more drive capacity ... and of course the ability to burn DVDs.
In basic drive performance, all three machines were fairly evenly matched. Launching programs was about 25% faster on the GHz models.
In most of the tests below the GHz machines showed between a 15% to 28% performance improvement over the 800 MHz. In our game testing, the performance gap was a little wider, in some cases.
Anyway, it is all there below in orange and blue ... don't cut yourself on the corners ...
Difference and similarities of each machine
Machine
eMac G4/800 - CD Drive (6/03)
eMac G4/1 GHz - Combo Drive (6/03)
eMac G4/1 GHz - SuperDrive (6/03)
Processors
G4/800 MHz
G4/1 GHz
G4/1 GHz
L2 Cache
256k @ 800 MHz
256k @ 1 GHz
256k @ 1 GHz
L3 Cache
None
None
None
Bus Speed
133 MHz
133 MHz
133 MHz
Memory
128 MB
1 GB max
128 MB
1 GB max
256 MB
1GB Max
Graphics Card
ATI Radeon 7500 with AGP 4x support; 32MB dedicated DDR SDRAM
ATI Radeon 7500 with AGP 4x support; 32MB dedicated DDR SDRAM
ATI Radeon 7500 with AGP 4x support; 32MB dedicated DDR SDRAM
Drive
40GB Ultra ATA
60GB Ultra ATA
80GB Ultra ATA
CD Drive
Tray loading CD-ROM drive; reads CDs at up to 32x speed
Tray loading "Combo drive "
Reads DVDs at 8x
Writes CD-R at 32x
Writes CD-RW at 10x
Reads CDs at 32x
Tray loading "SuperDrive"
Writes DVD-R at 4x
Reads DVDs at 8x
Writes CD-R at 16x
Writes CD-RW at 8x
Reads CDs at 32x
Operating System
10.2.4
10.2.4
10.2.4
Price
$799
$999
$1,299
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The tests below are from our suite of real world application tests. These tests feature a diverse selection of applications commonly used by the Mac community. The test suite was designed to render an accurate and well rounded picture of a machine's performance. All of the tests below, (with the exception of the game tests), were timed with a stopwatch. The times were then converted to percentages relative to the eMac G4/800 , which is set to 100%. For all scores higher numbers are better. For our testing philosophy click here
There are two sets of performance numbers for each machine in the tables below. The first is the percentage score, and the second set below, is the actual score. The actual score is in either seconds, or in the case of the game tests, in frames per second
Desktop Tests
Reboot
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
55.74
52.60
52.54
Finder File Search
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
45.46
46.40
45.55
Mac OS X's new File Search function relies on both processor and drive performance. All three machines are within the margin of error of each other. In this test we are searching the files names of thousands of items, contained in two folders. About 45% of the processing potential of each machine was utilized during the test.
Copy 900 MB Folder
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
186.06
178.30
185.29
The copy folder test not only stresses drive performance but also takes advantage of faster processing capability & caching schemes. It is interesting that the GHz machines did not show better performance. All three machines are lacking in the large multi-tiered memory caching that can be found on Apple's higher-end machines ... perhaps this was a factor in flattening out the scores
Copy 1.2 GB File
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
80.27
75.56
76.32
In the single file test the processor & caching capability of the machine is less of a factor.
Burn CD
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
-
75.95
66.32
CD burning only uses a fraction of the processor to get the work done. The percentage difference between the two scores above is 15% .. with the nod going to the SuperDrive model. This is counter to what we expected, since the Combo drive models burns at up to 32 X and the SuperDrive model is rated to only burn up to 16X.
Let 1000 Windows Bloom
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
46.59
40.41
40.16
Let 1K Windows Bloom is a simple carbon application that opens and closes 1,000 windows. This gauges how fast screen redraws are taking place. The extra processing power pushes the two Gigahertz machines ahead. You can download the small program to run on your machine, and compare your scores to the ones here.
Import QuickTime DV Into iMovie
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
25.45
25.06
24.92
We imported a 175 MB DV file into iMovie 3
Launch Photoshop
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
22.79
17.95
18.47
We used a 21 MB files to open Photoshop 7 by dropping it on the Photoshop icon. A trial version of Photoshop 7 can be downloaded if you want to run your own test.
Large Document & Database Type Tests
Microsoft Office X Word Macro
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
106.42
90.17
90.77
A Macro (series of complex actions) was run in Microsoft's Word processing program. Word is part of Office X
Microsoft Office X Excel Macro
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
60.99
53.26
53.38
A Macro (series of complex actions) was run in Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet program on a 8 MB file. Excel is part of Office X
AppleWorks Search And Replace Test
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
233.02
215.37
222.67
This test takes place in a 3 MB AppleWorks document. Machines with larger chip caches usually do better in this test. All three machines have the same amount of chip cache
Number Crunching & Rendering Tests
AltiVec Fractal (Carbon)
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
66.52
53.15
53.06
The Fractal program has been highly tuned to take advantage of the G4 and is precisely the type of work that the G4 was made for. It will also gobble up whatever processing capability is present. This is a good test for assessing the fundamental processing potential of each machine. You can download the Fractal program and run it on your own machine to compare scores. You will need to set the fractal to maximum count of 65536, to be consistent with our testing. Who says there is a Megahertz Myth? Here a 25% increase in clock speed leads to a 25% in basic processing performance.
iMovie Effects Render
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
375.68
310.83
305.25
In this test, an Aged Effect is run on the 175 MB DV file mentioned above, with the Effect left at its default setting This is a processor intensive task
QuickTime Encode
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
43.95
38.91
39.09
A 5MB movie is converted to a QuickTime movie
QuickTime Convert To DV Stream
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
187.23
156.32
156.46
The 5 MB Movie is converted to a DV Stream ready for import into iMovie
Photoshop 7 - BareFeat's Test
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
66.14
55.92
57.84
BareFeats Photoshop Test Suite - mimics a production type workflow in Photoshop. If you would like to run this test on your machine, and you don't have a copy of Photoshop, download it from Adobe. Then download the action file and drop it on the Photoshop icon
Photoshop 7 - AltiVec Tests
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
91.38
79.21
78.50
Certain of the functions of Photoshop can take special performance advantage of the G4 processor. This suite of filters was run on a 21 MB file.
Photoshop 7 - Normal Tests
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Scores as percentage Absolute Scores - seconds
147.74
118.11
118.76
The test above consists of Photoshop filters and functions that do not take any particular advantage of the G4. Again we used the 21 MB file. You can see once more that the GHz machines are pulling ahead by about 25% ... consistent with the improvement in clock speed
Encoding/Decoding Tests
iTunes - MP3 Encode From CD
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
110.99
89.19
88.02
All three machines read CDs at up to 32X. The CD Drives appear to be getting data fast enough to the processors for the processor to be the dominant factor in this test. Four songs totaling 16.5 minutes in length were converted in this test.
StuffIt Expand
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - seconds
75.31
63.69
63.61
This is straight processor intensive work and does not take any advantage of the G4 processor... faster clock speed means faster performance. This test was performed on a 23 MB StuffIt file that contained thousands of individual files
All three eMacs have the same graphics card, so it is the processor speed which is making the difference here. Our testing with the Giants game has shown that it responds well to faster processors. To obtain frame rates we take the character out for a jog around a predetermined route and measure the frame rates at the same intervals, within the circuit. You see some variation in the scores for the GHz machines ... they are really within the margin of error - a frame or two per second is nothing you can really brag about. The important factor is that the GHz machines showed a consistent, if modest, improvement over the 800 MHz machine.
4x4 EVO2 High Quality Setting - Average Frame Rates
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - frames per second
11.5
11.5
11
As you can see at the high-quality setting, the performance is no better from the gigahertz machines ...
4x4 EVO2 Medium Quality Setting - Average Frame Rates
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - frames per second
19
25
26
... However when we dial things back a bit the gigahertz machines show their mettle
4x4 EVO2 Low Quality Setting - Average Frame Rates
Machine
eMac G4/800/800/256K
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (Combo Drive)
eMac G4/1GHz/1GHz/256K (SuperDrive)
Absolute Scores - frames per second
28
35
35
You can play 4x4 in low-quality mode .. but you wouldn't want to
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