First Quicksilver Power Mac G4 server slips out

AppleStore offers 733MHz box without fanfare

Apple is replacing its old Graphite Power Mac G4 servers will up-to-date Quicksilver models, as predicted, but sooner rather than later.

Having recently dropped the dual-processor servers from its online store in the US and UK, Apple has now replaced the 533MHz single-CPU box with a 733MHz machine in the US. As we went to press, Apple UK was still offering the old model.

In the US, the server ships with 256MB of PC133 SDRAM, a 7200rpm 80GB hard drive, CD-RW drive, GeForce 2 MX graphics and Mac OS X Server. The machine doesn't ship with L3 cache, which is kind of useful in a server, but then this is the low-end box.

The server will set buyers back $2799, some $1100 more than the regular desktop 733MHz G4. So if you're connecting ten or fewer users to the box, you'd arguably be better off buying the desktop machine with more RAM ($100 for the extra 128MB) and a bigger hard drive ($200 more for the 80GB unit), and OS X Server ($499) separately.

Of course, this stealth introduction of the basic 733MHz model will indeed allow CEO Steve Jobs to launch higher speed versions at AppleExpo Paris on 26 September while still announcing no new Macs, as he's promised not to do. We'd expect Jobs to whip the covers off a 867MHz uni-processor and a dual 800MHz machine, as per the current desktop line.

There's also a very slim chance that he'll also show off an rack-mount version, a product insiders have been hinting at for some time now that Apple has a solid server OS - OS X Server. We're sure this is something the company has toyed with, but whether it will ever make it to market is another matter. Anyone who knows more is welcome to pass on what they know. ®

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