[EMC]

My mom went out an purchased a brand new G5 tower two weeks ago. After dealing with it for a week though, she hated it and exchanged it for a 15in powerbook.

Previously she used a G4 cube. She has a desk that is built into a nook in the wall, and while the cube had originally sat on the desk, the tower had to go underneath.

These were her reasons for returning the G5:

First off, the tower is offensively large. Obviously it is larger than the cube, but the thing is twice the size of my self-built ATX intel box with many harddrives and expansion drives. Sitting on the floor under her desk, the G5 nearly touches the desk itself.

It's ugly in it's surroundings. A hugh aluminum box sitting on yellow limestone floors, surrounded by beige cabinetry. Again, the size here is the real killer. The cube was maybe a quarter of the size, and the clear and white plastic did not have the same imposing look.

It's loud. Not terribly loud, but enough to hear a nice humming sound 50 feet away. What happened to all of Apple's proprietary no-fan hardware? (convection cooling?)

And finally the killer. It was heating up the space underneath the desk to unbearable levels. Working at the desk felt like you had a space heater underneath you.

Granted she stuck it out with Apple and switched to a laptop, but this really demonstrates how Apple has abandoned home users with their desktop lineup. Either you buy a unupgradable iMac with 2-year old processor technology, or buy a G5 desktop that is suited for a video production studio and looks like it belongs in a machine shop.

Take a look at the newest offerings from Shuttle PC and see why Apple's desktop marketshare is decreasing.

[videian28]

shuttle what?

[capuchin]

Sorry things didn't work out for her, but some of her problems could have been prevented if she'd considered how it was going to look, and how big it was *before* buying it. As her desk is in an odd place/odd size, I would have thought that would have been something worth investigating.

As for the proprietary no-fan hardware thing - that's not practical in a G5. The cube benefitted from having the power supply as a separate external box, thus drastically reducing the need for active cooling.

If it were my $$$ and my Mom, I'd wait for the G5 iMac in a month or so, rather than jump straight to the high-end pro box.

[Maflynn]

I shouldn't feed the trolls.

But I can't help it.

First the shuttle pc is tiny, no expandability and it too throws a lot of heat unless you get the one with the heat pipes. It is also not as nice looking as the G5.

You didn't buy the G5 your mom did, so why are you railing against it, worried she is spending your inheritance? You want a pc save your allowance and paper route money. Get a pc that will get infected with malware, viruses and needs almost daily patching by microsoft. If you want to complain about poor R&D start at M$. Whenever you point your finger at someone you have three pointing back at you.

The G5 is wonderfully designed computer, big yes, throws a lot of heat yes. Any more then a peecee, I doubt it. Look at intel abandoning certain designs because of heat.

Finally didn't you mother teach you if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything.

[osxisfun]

First off, the tower is offensively large. Obviously it is larger than the cube, but the thing is twice the size of my self-built ATX intel box with many harddrives and expansion drives. Sitting on the floor under her desk, the G5 nearly touches the desk itself.


large to whom? maybe her but not to me/. it just put it under my desk and have not moved it since.



It's ugly in it's surroundings. A hugh aluminum box sitting on yellow limestone floors, surrounded by beige cabinetry. Again, the size here is the real killer. The cube was maybe a quarter of the size, and the clear and white plastic did not have the same imposing look.


good grief. maybe that apple chamelon thing would help. just kidding. there is no way they can make an enclosure that matches everything. a cube did not have a dual g5 in it either.

It's loud. Not terribly loud, but enough to hear a nice humming sound 50 feet away. What happened to all of Apple's proprietary no-fan hardware? (convection cooling?)


not to me. its much much quieter than my hoover g4.

And finally the killer. It was heating up the space underneath the desk to unbearable levels. Working at the desk felt like you had a space heater underneath you.

at the end of the day i do notice it. point the back towards an open area. wonder how well the dual 2.5 does on heat.


Granted she stuck it out with Apple and switched to a laptop, but this really demonstrates how Apple has abandoned home users with their desktop lineup. Either you buy a unupgradable iMac with 2-year old processor technology, or buy a G5 desktop that is suited for a video production studio and looks like it belongs in a machine shop.

everyone has their own idea of good taste. lots of people listen to rap music. i think its crap.


glad she stuck it out.

[MichiganRich]

I was trying to write a concise yet intelligent response, and I narrowed it down to this. You're an idiot. The G5 is quiet cool and beautiful. Anyone who thinks otherwise should be sentenced to performing XP SP2 upgrades and video card driver installs for eternity.

[osxisfun]

>performing XP SP2 upgrades

that's cold!

[sideus]

Yup. Smells like troll.

[Sparkletron]

Originally posted by Maflynn:
I shouldn't feed the trolls.

But I can't help it.

First the shuttle pc is tiny, no expandability and it too throws a lot of heat unless you get the one with the heat pipes. It is also not as nice looking as the G5.

First tiny is good, not bad. The Shuttle is more expandable than the Mac. Let's see: memory, HD, graphics card, CD/DVD ROM, extra bay for whatever, AND the CPU. So that's more expandibility in a much smaller package. True it's not as nice looking as the G5, but it has a metal chassis and you can get one in black. Sweet.

Also, whether or not a Shuttle has "heat pipes" does not effect how much heat it puts out. The heat pipes combined with fans are simply more efficient at transfering heat from the CPU than if you merely used fans. Either way: same heat. Actually, more heat with the pipes since they require additional energy to work and produce their own heat.

-S

[cal6n]

SNIP... wonder how well the dual 2.5 does on heat.

Let's just say that winter no longer scares me!

[hmurchison2001]

<sigh> Can someone point out to me the very year the IQ of Mac users dropped. Then again this brainiac isn't a Mac user his mother is. Perhaps the fruit "does" fall far from the tree every now and then.

First off, the tower is offensively large. Obviously it is larger than the cube, but the thing is twice the size of my self-built ATX intel box with many harddrives and expansion drives. Sitting on the floor under her desk, the G5 nearly touches the desk itself.

Yes. Workstations tend to be large. Imagine that.

It's loud. Not terribly loud, but enough to hear a nice humming sound 50 feet away. What happened to all of Apple's proprietary no-fan hardware? (convection cooling?)

Yes. Workstation tend to be a bit louder and have beefier processors. Imagine that.

Granted she stuck it out with Apple and switched to a laptop, but this really demonstrates how Apple has abandoned home users with their desktop lineup. Either you buy a unupgradable iMac with 2-year old processor technology, or buy a G5 desktop that is suited for a video production studio and looks like it belongs in a machine shop.

Take a look at the newest offerings from Shuttle PC and see why Apple's desktop marketshare is decreasing.

So she chose an unupgradable Powerbook instead...makes perfectly good sense. Aye marketshare is decreasing but Apple portable have increasee nicely. Perhaps consumers are finally using their brains and realizing they don't need big towers. Only the geeks will be complaining about the new iMac G5 coming next month.

[Chinasaur]

Troll

[Lateralus]

Your mother having a fear of large electronic devices has nothing to do with Apple's R&D.