[g4baker]

Someone has offered me a PowerMac G4 Dual 1.25 GHz tower for my 800 MHz G4 iBook. Is the speed difference between the two going to be noticeable enough to do the trade--even though I will lose the portability?

ALL advice, suggestions welcome. Thanks!


Aaron

[reader50]

At new prices, the iBook G4 800 is $1,100 while the dual G4 1.25 is $1,600. It might be useful to find out if it's the dual 1.25 that boots into OS9 or the one that doesn't.

Yes, you will notice quite a speedup. If you multitask in OSX or use applications that are multithreaded you will notice an even greater speedup.

If portability and space are not considerations, I'd jump at such an offer.

ps - get the detailed specs on it first. Maybe they switched the Superdrive out for a CD-ROM, put a 5 GB drive in, etc.

[g4baker]

Thank you for the advice! I'm sorry--let me give the full specs:


PowerMac G4 1.25 GHz MDD Dual Processor Tower
512 MB RAM
250 GB HD
Combo Drive
MacOS 10.3.3


Still a good deal? Thank you!



Aaron Baker

[reader50]

Let's see. 50% faster CPU for any single threaded app, 200% faster CPU for multithreading. Going from zero L3 cache to 4MB (2MB per CPU) of L3 cache. Double the RAM, and at a higher speed (266 -> 333 MHz). Over 2.5x as much HD space.

Probably has a Radeon 9000 in it with twice the VRAM (64MB vs 32 for your iBook's Radeon Mobility 9200), and has outputs for dual monitors. May support OS9 boot if you need it, can take up to 4 internal HDs for RAIDs or additional volumes, can take a 2nd optical drive, can expand to 2 GB vs your iBook's 640 MB.

Make sure the dual G4 isn't stolen, see if the guy is on drugs. If it's not stolen, grab it before the drugs wear off.

Like I posted earlier, if space, portability, and noise are not a factor, this is a super performance trade. Oh, does it come with a monitor? No monitor would increase the price by $100-200 depending on if you want a 17" or 19" monitor. More if you want an LCD.

Note the noise addition, the MDD G4s are not silent.

[g4baker]

Wow--much faster!

He works in a Mac lab. Says they're moving to G5's, so they're getting rid of all of the G4's, and because he's the administrator, he can buy what he wants.


Thanks again!

[Lateralus]

If you don't take that deal, you are insane.

[g4baker]

My mistake--it's a single 1.25.

[Luca Rescigno]

That's still a good deal. The PowerMac will be MUCH faster than the iBook - not only is it 450 MHz faster, but it has a faster bus speed, a faster hard drive, a faster ATA bus, a faster optical drive, L3 cache, better graphics, etc. Basically, it's significantly better in every aspect than the iBook, and the only thing that holds it back is portability. But it's a good deal.

[g4baker]

Thank you for all of the advice!

Are these things REALLY noisy? I've owned plenty of PC's before--if it's like that, then I can deal with it. Can anyone give me an example?


Thanks!

[idyll]

It's no where near as noisy as a PC.

[Lateralus]

Well, you guys say 'PC' like there is only one model. There are PCs with craptastic fans and PCs with whisper quiet ones.

I'd rank the sound level of the MDD between craptastic and whisper quiet.

[g4baker]

Thank you guys for the advice.

There's just something....I really love this iBook, i'm finding it so hard to let go to accept this deal. This is only the second new computer I've ever owned, all of the other 9 have been refurbs or used. And it just runs so well....and it's portable. I can probably get used to the lack of portability, I mean I only use it for surfing around the house. It's tricky because I love the desktop because it feels like it's a real computer, but it lacks portability. I love laptops too, but they don't have that "firm" computer feel. Feels like a secondary computer or something. And it gets old to unplug, plug, unplug, plug, etc.

So, please help me. Any last minute advice before we make this official tomorrow night?


Thanks.


By the way, it is a dual 1.25 GHz...my mistake.

[Lateralus]

If it is, for sure, a Dualie, than as I said above... you would be insane not to take the deal.

The Dualie will feel 3-4x faster than the iBook. The CPU speed advantage and massive amount of L3 cache alone will make a massive differene (Never underestimate L3. G4s with it are 15-20% faster than ones without it at the same speed). The hard drive speed will make the rest of the difference.

Even if you don't want the Dualie, take the trade anyways. With a 250GB HDD in that baby, you could sell it on eBay for $1500 fairly easily. Then, buy another iBook and pocket the cash or buy a low end PowerBook and get a free upgrade from your iBook 800 essentially.

I'd personally keep it and thank the stars I got such a good deal, I couldn't live with the speed or storage space constraints of an iBook 800. But that is me. Either way, you're better off taking the deal if for no other reason than the Dual is worth a lot more than your iBook.