[azukizero]

I'm just wondering what the discerning feature will be on G5 revision B's. As soon as they're available, will stores just pull the Rev A's off the shelves and the only thing available will be the Rev B G5's?
Will they include a processor upgrade or just some minor changes?

I'd like to wait for a Rev B before I buy one but since it will be my first Mac, how will I know if I'm getting one?

thanks!

[Lateralus]

We don't know what will be different about them anymore than you do. The only things that might change could end up being the processor speed, RAM and storage space. The motherboard and case itself are almost perfect, especially for Revision As. I don't see how Apple could improve on them.

That said, I really don't see why people are so wary of Revision As all the time. The Revision A G4s for example, the Sawtooth line, is probably the best line of computers Apple has ever produced.

[ourisman]

The rumor I've heard is the capacity for dual optical drives. This would be a welcome feature!

[jld]

I've heard rumors of quad G7 processors in the next revision, each running 2.3 terahertz, but these rumors never seem to work out in the long run... I guess we'll just have to wait.

[djohnson]

If you want it to be your first mac, then wait for the dual 3Ghz G5's that are always just around the corner!

[The Placid Casual]

Funny jld.

azukizero, it is always hard to tell what Apple will do next! The only thing that can be certain is that there will be a processor speed bump.

As for architecture, I suspect that to save R&D $, things will stay the same optical drive and Hard Drive wise for a good while yet... It makes no economic sense to change even if Apple acknowledged there was a need for some more features!

All you can do is wait, and see what is released, and not have any preconceptions.

As for stock, Apple usually waits until there are few items in the retail channel of the product they are replacing. A good sign is to look at the estimated shipping times on Apple's site, and also the resellers.. when times go up, you can usually tell something new is on the way.

This way, there are very few of the old models in stock to get rid of. All the ones that are left over may get a price reduction, or sometimes are specced up and sold that way for resellers to maximise profits.

Enjoy your first Mac, rest assured, the wait will be worth it!

Peace,

Marc

[TiDual]

There are two issues here: rev. B may well have some changes, including space for an extra optical drive. My hunch is this won't appear until Fall, when the 3GHz chips come. I don't actually believe any rumours about changes are well-founded (i.e. based on inside knowledge) ... they are simply sensible wishes from users.

However, it is almost certain that speed-bumped rev. A machines are coming sooner. But these aren't rev. B machines. No changes to case, MP, etc. ... just increased speed, and maybe they'll throw in BT for free on the top models, or something equally trivial.

As mentioned by someone above, I really don't understand why people are worried by the current line-up. My 2x2Ghz machine has performed perfectly, and it's not like there have been lots of complaints about these machines on the boards.

If you need a machine now, there's no reason to delay. If you don't need it *now*, wait for a couple of weeks, in case the speed-bumped rev. A's appear. When the 2x3Ghz machine come along, I may have look, but I can't imagine even noticing the performance difference between a 2x2,5GHz and what I have now.

[BZ]

There are at least 4 other threads about this... but hey, I am waiting as well.

The point of waiting, for me, is I try keep my Macs for at least 4 years before upgrading them and to do that, I buy the highest model available after it is release. I pay a price premium but, for me, it lasts longer in that it has still has ability to run the OS/Software at a good speed 4 years later.

I got a Sawtooth 350 Mhz free from my old dot.com job (when they went belly up) and it has served me very well. In the fall of 2002 I put in a 1Ghz G4 chip, a new 120GB WD drive and a Radeon 8500 to give it another year or so waiting for the RevB of the next big PowerMac (now known as the G5).

So, my theory goes, if you are going to wait 4 years to get your NEXT mac you might as well wait a few weeks or a month or two to get the best Mac you can at the time.

Hoping for:
- 2 x 2.5Ghz G5
- 200GB drive standard
- BT included
- 1 GB RAM included
- Radeon 9800 Pro 256 MB (if it exists)

And... a new set of LCD screens to go with it. 20"/24"/30" would be fine by me, all wrapped in a thin metal frame with USB2 and maybe on a more iMac like arm.


BZ

[fizzlemynizzle]

shouldn't there be a rev. A before a rev B? "Rev" is short for "revision" and the powermac G5 has yet to be revised.

[BZ]

Dual 1.8 G5?

Originally posted by fizzlemynizzle:
shouldn't there be a rev. A before a rev B? "Rev" is short for "revision" and the powermac G5 has yet to be revised.

[Turias]

Originally posted by PowerMacMan:
That said, I really don't see why people are so wary of Revision As all the time. The Revision A G4s for example, the Sawtooth line, is probably the best line of computers Apple has ever produced.

What are you talking about?!? My G4 is the true RevisionA G4 (Yikes!), and it is horrible!

[Eug]

Changes?

I'd expect it to be nothing more than a speedbump (up to 2.5 GHz), with some bug fixes. Same number of hard drive bays, same hard drive sizes, same number of optical drive bays, and same speed RAM.

If they were to change anything, I think the most important thing would be to add another single hard drive bay, but nothing else is necessary (including a second optical bay). But like I said, I wouldn't count on another hard drive bay with rev. B either.

[RooneyX]

They really should stop shipping 64MB consumer level graphic cards in high end workstations.

[Eug]

Originally posted by RooneyX:
They really should stop shipping 64MB consumer level graphic cards in high end workstations.

Why? The 64 MB Radeon 9600 Pro is more than sufficient for most people, and you can get the 128 MB Radeon 9800 Pro if you wish.

Now if they got other cards that'd be great, but it'd be a big mistake to NOT offer 64 MB Radeons.

[azukizero]

Originally posted by TiDual:
As mentioned by someone above, I really don't understand why people are worried by the current line-up. My 2x2Ghz machine has performed perfectly, and it's not like there have been lots of complaints about these machines on the boards.

Thanks for the info. Since I haven't purchased my first Mac yet, I'm not concerned with getting the fastest/latest one available. I just want to be sure I avoid any hardware problems (thus starting a closer relationship with Mac Support than with my Mac). I've posted similar concerns on other threads before, and I've been warned that buying a Rev A machine is risky.

I guess this could be called PC/Mac switch paranoia (only slightly fueled by my PC using friends). I'm selling my PC tonight and most likely buying the Mac next weekend at the new Apple Store in San Francisco.

Thanks again for the helpful info

Demian

[BZ]

If that is the case, just buy a Refurbed G5 with Applecare. You will save money ($300-500) and you will get AppleCare to make sure nothing goes wrong for the next three years.

BZ

Originally posted by azukizero:
Thanks for the info. Since I haven't purchased my first Mac yet, I'm not concerned with getting the fastest/latest one available. I just want to be sure I avoid any hardware problems (thus starting a closer relationship with Mac Support than with my Mac). I've posted similar concerns on other threads before, and I've been warned that buying a Rev A machine is risky.

I guess this could be called PC/Mac switch paranoia (only slightly fueled by my PC using friends). I'm selling my PC tonight and most likely buying the Mac next weekend at the new Apple Store in San Francisco.

Thanks again for the helpful info

Demian

[Lateralus]

Originally posted by Turias:
What are you talking about?!? My G4 is the true RevisionA G4 (Yikes!), and it is horrible!

No it isn't. The Yikes! is a B&W G3 in a G4-looking case with a G4 ZIF instead of a G3 ZIF. That is all that it is. The RevA G4s are the Sawtooth machines.

[gururafiki]

Originally posted by BZ:
- Radeon 9800 Pro 256 MB (if it exists)

Oh it exists. It was demoed at MWSF. It should be in the next revision of the G5.

[Eriamjh]

There will be no Rev. B. Apple is moving directly to Rev. C.