Apple's 733MHz Power Mac G4 is powerful enough for just about anything you could ever want to do--motion or still imaging, business or entertainment--albeit at a steep price. It also answers all the needs of a digital videographer, including one that many people don't consider until it's too late: what to do with the video once you've edited it.

What sets this system apart from the other models (and makes it so pricey) is the inclusion of the SuperDrive, which not only reads CD and DVD-ROM, but also writes to CD-R/RWs and DVD-Rs. So, for the first time on a Macintosh, you can burn your movies to a DVD and play them on a standard DVD player.

Apple includes several pieces of software with the system in order to make the DVD-R process possible. First, there's iMovie 2.0.3, Apple's entry-level video-editing package. Using iMovie, you can pull video directly from any FireWire-equipped video camera. Once you've edited and perfected your video clips, you'll need to assemble the DVD interface. Using iDVD, you put together the onscreen menus for your DVD, including buttons to play your movies, color themes, and background pictures. You can then preview the DVD and test it fully before burning it to DVD-R. This is a good thing, since a DVD-R can be written to only once, and, as of this writing, costs approximately $10 per disc. iDVD is likewise an entry-level package and limits the user quite a bit. For those in need of more professional options and results, Apple's DVD Studio Pro can be purchased separately.

If you don't need video creation but still need the fastest machine that Apple has to offer, the G4/733 also fits the bill. It completed our Photoshop benchmark test in 5 minutes and 33 seconds; in comparison, a dual-processor G4/500 we tested took 6 minutes and 39 seconds. To be fair, the G4/733 ships with an Nvidia GeForce2 MX 32MB video card, a significantly faster card than the G4/500's 16MB RagePro 128 card. Although graphics performance helps the speed outcome, the G4/733 is clearly a powerhouse nonetheless.

The G4/733 comes with the standard complement of ports in back, including two FireWire (IEEE- 1394), two USB, VGA, ADC (Apple Display Connector), Gigabit Ethernet, and a 56kbps V.90 modem. It ships with both Mac OS 9.1 and OS X 10.0.3. Both come installed on the hard drive, and you can boot either OS, depending on your preference. Interestingly, even though our tower shipped with the SuperDrive, it didn't ship with the iDVD software. We acquired it from Apple after the fact. We certainly hope that this was merely an oversight on the company's part.

For the fastest, most versatile Mac available, you can't beat the Power Mac G4 with the SuperDrive and 733MHz CPU. But you'll pay for the privilege.

• Fast CPU Speed
• Many Expansion Options
• GeForce 3 Compatible

• Expensive