[milo]

...

[volcano]

Apple plans to begin the transition of PowerPC based Macs to Intel processors sometime mid-2006. They'll start off with the basic consumer division products, such as the Mac Mini and iBook. Powerbooks and Powermacs aren't slated to start utilizing the Intel processors until sometime in mid-2007 if memory serves me correctly.

Does this mean you shouldn't buy a Mac now? Of course not. Think about it - why would they introduce a revised iMac line if they just wanted to "ditch" the PowerPC entirely by next year. It wouldn't make sense. PowerPC-based Macs will still be supported and software will continued to be developed for BOTH Intel and PowerPC -based Macs well into 2008/2009. Developers were given a kit to start work on converting their programs to be supported on Intel processors, and this kit also included a new mode that will make it possible for future software to be supported by both processors.

Unless you plan on keeping your iMac for over 5 (or even 6) years, you have nothing to worry about. This Intel change is a major one - but it's not the end of the world. I just purchased my first Mac ever, an iMac G5, this past June even with rumors of the Intel switch. It's still the best purchase I've made this year and I don't regret it one bit... and I doubt I will. I loved my iMac so much that I purchased an iBook in August. More than likely, I will be replacing it with an Intel-based iBook model when they come out next year because of there price... it will be easier to replace my $999 (well.. it was a bit more than that - since I have a 60GB hard-drive and an additional 512mb of RAM I installed) iBook next year rather than my iMac which cost me over $2,400 when I purchased it.

Don't worry about it. Buy the iMac now and enjoy it. It's a great machine.

[Paco Loco]

Something that most people seem to overlook is the fact that when the Intel Macs come out they will not be worth buying unless you plan to buy all your software again. Your old software will still run on them but it will be running on some kind of emulator so it will probably run slower than a non-intel mac anyway. It will only be worth buying an Intel mac when you are going to buy the Intel versions of all your software too, which may not even be available for some time after the intel macs come out (depending on what software you use).

[Paco Loco]

P.S. I plan to buy a new mac soon, and I don't expect i will want to replace it for at least two years, minimum.

[milo]

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[Kyros]

Buy now, software will still run natively on PPC for many years, as others have stated. Companies would not code only for intel macs when only 10 percent of mac users are using intel macs. Once the intel macs come out, it doesn't mean suddenly everyone switched to intel, the companies still have to sell stuff to PPC users.

[milo]

...

[P]

Originally Posted by volcano

Apple plans to begin the transition of PowerPC based Macs to Intel processors sometime mid-2006. They'll start off with the basic consumer division products, such as the Mac Mini and iBook. Powerbooks and Powermacs aren't slated to start utilizing the Intel processors until sometime in mid-2007 if memory serves me correctly.

This is all just rumors, but they way the rumors have it the Powerbook is going to be among the first to go Intel. This is because of the way Intel's Centrino has improved and continues to improve x86 laptops - they're faster than Apple's Powerbooks, run longer on the same charge and the CPU is much cheaper than the G4. For the Powermac and iMac, however, the G5 can hold its own against anything Intel has at the moment, and it's only with the next generation Pentium M-based architechture that is replacing Netburst that Intel will have anything competetive. My guess is that we will see an iMac G5 Rev D and possibly Rev E as well before the Intel switch.

[hardcat1970]

the 2gb ram stick is rare to find, that is why it is so expensive. I would wait until it is cheaper to replace it. 1.5 gb ram should be fine.

[voth]

I'm tempted myself to pick up an imac (20"), won't happen til Christmas or mid-March. My quicksilver (DP 1.0Ghz) still has some life left in her. Just waiting for them to show up at the local retailer so I can take it for a test drive.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by milo

one more quick question though. is there a logical reason why upgrading the memory to 2.5gb is an additional $1,200, while 1.5gb is only $200?

it doesn't really effect me as i don't need 2.5gb, but i was just curious. not really knowing anything about it, it seems a bit excessive.

2GB DIMMs are expensive, and the prices Apple charges for RAM are insane to begin with (double the retail price from quality brands).

The switch to chips from Intel is major, and scheduled be complete by the end of 2007. Future software support is a big unknown in two ways: How many developers will release updates so that your current software runs on an Intel Mac, and how long developers will continue to support PowerPC Macs. I think all medium to large developers will release free Intel compatability updates, but PowerPC support will end relatively quickly (before the end of 2009) because of the difficulty of optimizing for both VMX and SSE.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by Paco Loco

Something that most people seem to overlook is the fact that when the Intel Macs come out they will not be worth buying unless you plan to buy all your software again. Your old software will still run on them but it will be running on some kind of emulator so it will probably run slower than a non-intel mac anyway. It will only be worth buying an Intel mac when you are going to buy the Intel versions of all your software too, which may not even be available for some time after the intel macs come out (depending on what software you use).

I'd expect to see free compatability updates from all medium to large software developers because they don't want to piss their customer base off. Even without updates, most of your current software will run in Rosetta, which doesn't appear to be that slow. Of course all of the Apple apps will run natively.