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videian28 · Jul 25, 2003, 12:53 PM

http://www.macconnection.com/scripts...ourceID=k15506

damn, bought mine a week ago for 2125, that was the cheapest around then

VERY happy with it

Mskr · Jul 25, 2003, 01:01 PM

Yep, there are only 10 left at [rul=http://www.smalldog.com/product/43771]Smalldog[/url] for $2125.

mikemako · Jul 25, 2003, 03:23 PM

thanks for telling me- i bought one.

mac freak · Jul 25, 2003, 04:01 PM

DP1420 for $1999 = better deal than G5/1.6 for $1999.
Too bad I'm waiting for G5 rev. 2

ulmer · Jul 25, 2003, 04:14 PM

This is actually reconditioned. Not that it isn't a good deal...but if you had your heart set on a new one, wouldn't want anyone to be surprised.

videian28 · Jul 25, 2003, 11:40 PM

ahh, thought it said new, oh well, mine is reconditioned as well and couldn't be happier

awcopus · Jul 26, 2003, 12:49 AM

First time I've bought a refurbished unit. Couldn't be happier with my brand new 1.42 duallie.

In fact, I'm having a Zen moment with it RIGHT NOW. As I type this, FCP4 is capturing video in the background. I can see the CPU monitor showing the two processors chugging away with PLENTY of headroom. W-O-W. I mean this is jawdropping for me. So THIS is what people talk about when they refer to productivity gains with a duallie.

I GET IT!!!!!

And I have to say, with just under 800GB of storage on board, I'm feeling positively exuberant about working on my current batch of projects. It's just so great not to have to even worry about running out of space.

Can you feel the love!? Well, can you?!

Is Unreal Tournament 2003 optimized for dual processors? I have to wonder, because it screams on this machine using the stock Radeon 9000. Hmmmm.....

I'll take a super-cheap top of the line dual G4 today over an overpriced first-gen dual G5 "tomorrow" any time. Get one while the getting's good!

Cleric · Jul 26, 2003, 03:43 AM

Originally posted by awcopus:
I'll take a super-cheap top of the line dual G4 today over an overpriced first-gen dual G5 "tomorrow" any time. Get one while the getting's good!

What's so wrong about a first generation G5? I had various "first rev" processors myself and never encountered any problems. This whole discussion thing about first generation cpu's seems to be a little bit exaggerated.

icruise · Jul 26, 2003, 07:13 AM

Well, we don't know what's wrong with them, I guess that's what's wrong with them...

It is true that when a product is manufactured for the first time, especially something that is as major a change as the G5, there are often little (and sometimes big) things that can go wrong. But I think that these problems tend to be exaggerated a bit. Even with machines like the original MDD Powermacs (which where very minor changes to a very old design) they managed to screw things up pretty badly (fan noise).

videian28 · Jul 26, 2003, 09:46 AM

First time I've bought a refurbished unit. Couldn't be happier with my brand new 1.42 duallie.

In fact, I'm having a Zen moment with it RIGHT NOW. As I type this, FCP4 is capturing video in the background. I can see the CPU monitor showing the two processors chugging away with PLENTY of headroom. W-O-W. I mean this is jawdropping for me. So THIS is what people talk about when they refer to productivity gains with a duallie.

I GET IT!!!!!

And I have to say, with just under 800GB of storage on board, I'm feeling positively exuberant about working on my current batch of projects. It's just so great not to have to even worry about running out of space.

Can you feel the love!? Well, can you?!

Is Unreal Tournament 2003 optimized for dual processors? I have to wonder, because it screams on this machine using the stock Radeon 9000. Hmmmm.....

I'll take a super-cheap top of the line dual G4 today over an overpriced first-gen dual G5 "tomorrow" any time. Get one while the getting's good!

these were my thoughs exactly lol

unreal reall does fly on this thing, and I have yet to max out the processors... seti @ home comes close, but it's supposed to

awcopus · Jul 26, 2003, 10:17 AM

Most problems end up being fixable, and I'm pretty confident that that will be the case with gen1 G5s. The only thing is, if you're making this purchase as a professional, I think it's a little risky to make it sight unseen. I'd say, wait for reviews and feedback from places like this forum.

There's no doubt that the G5 is going to run laps around the G4, and I'm looking forward to owning one in about 12-18 months when they're faster, more refined, duals are offered at more compelling price points, and <fingers-crossed> they allow for more internal storage.

awcopus · Jul 26, 2003, 10:23 AM

Originally posted by videian28:
these were my thoughs exactly lol

unreal reall does fly on this thing, and I have yet to max out the processors... seti @ home comes close, but it's supposed to

Actually, later last night I had the video capture going in FCP4 and a filter being applied in Photoshop. The CPU monitor showed that the processors were both essentially maxed out. In terms of real-world experience, I can happily report that the performance hit was more than acceptable. This is a level of productivity I've never experienced before, and it's got me all revved up. Work feels more like play when the machine is this robust.

I can only imagine how sweet this experience will be on my dual or quad G5 at the end of next year.

Azzgunther · Jul 28, 2003, 03:52 AM

I've got a 1.42 and when I first got it one of my favorite things to do was watch iPulse's reports on CPU usage.

Back with an iMac I could do 1/5th of what I can do with this system at once. It's amazing to have Dual-Processors and I'd NEVER go back to a single again unless it was a laptop.

awcopus · Jul 28, 2003, 07:57 AM

Azzgunther,

I admit that I see no way back to making a single processor purchase.

So that means that we basically look at each Apple desktop product offering only in terms of duals, and therefore would have to make a big honking outlay of resources right now if we wanted a G5.

Does Apple realize that once users "go dual" they'll never go back, and that's why there's only one duallie in the current G5 introduction? Guarantee you that a mid-range dual right now would outsell the high-end dramatically, but then Apple wouldn't get the sweet margins it must be getting on the high-end machine.

Glad I'm waiting.

videian28 · Jul 28, 2003, 08:06 AM

Does Apple realize that once users "go dual" they'll never go back

agree, especially now that I am in the exact same boat, dual from here on out for me.. but this dual 1.42 will last plenty long for me

*unless mac gaming picks up lol*

Eriamjh · Jul 28, 2003, 11:47 AM

Originally posted by mac freak:
DP1420 for $1999 = better deal than G5/1.6 for $1999.
Too bad I'm waiting for G5 rev. 2

That's possible, but hard to back up without real-world benchmarks of a shipping G5.

I'd probably be forced to agree that for any task that CAN use duals, the 1.42 will beat the 1.6 G5 hands down (like DVD encoding or FCP).

awcopus · Jul 28, 2003, 01:19 PM

The only thing really holding back the dual 1.42 is its absurdly slow FSB. The 1.6 may come closer to matching the performance of the 1.42 than we suspect. BUT, the expandability of the 1.42 is far superior.

Maybe Apple can manage to make a few of these machines and send them out to reviewers within August so we can see head to head comparisons by September. I'm curious.

C'mon IBM, make the G5 smaller! C'mon Apple, give us more drive bays internally! You guys have 12-18 months.