Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

madmanXwater · Nov 21, 2005, 11:48 PM

Hi, I'm a 17" PowerBook owner and am thinking of moving to a 17" iMac G5. I need the performance but still need to be able to move it around, so the PowerMac is not a choice. My question is how stable is the iMac on it's stand? How easy is it to knock over? It looks like if you bumped it on a desk it could hit the floor pretty easy, am I wrong?

Also, has anyone taken the stand off on one of the new iMacs? I'm wondering if I could take the stand off and lean it against something or make a portable stand to make moving it easier. Could that be a problem for airflow?

Thanks,

Mike
Canada

MaxPower2k3 · Nov 21, 2005, 11:59 PM

The 17" iMac may not be physically very large, but it's still ~16 pounds. I guess that's portable enough for occasional moving, but it's not like a laptop. My rev. B 20" iMac is very stable on its stand. The stand is 8" or so deep, with the iMac balanced in the middle, so pretty much no amount of pushing front to back will knock it over. side-to-side force might tip it, but the most that would happen is it would fall to one side and just be leaning. I don't think you'd ever send it off a desk without some great force.

Since the iMacs draw air in through the bottom and vent it out the back, taking off the stand and leaning it up against a wall would not be recommended (since that would most likely block both the air intake and outlet). I also wouldn't recommend making your own stand. The included stand is quite sturdy; a single piece of bent metal about a quarter of an inch thick, and i wouldn't want anything less supporting a $1500 machine.

mduell · Nov 22, 2005, 01:21 AM

If you buy one of the older iMac G5s you could get the VESA mount kit for it, and then put it on an easy to move VESA arm.

MaxPower2k3 · Nov 22, 2005, 12:41 PM

Originally Posted by mduell

If you buy one of the older iMac G5s you could get the VESA mount kit for it, and then put it on an easy to move VESA arm.

except the portability is reduced a bit when it's bolted to the wall

P · Nov 22, 2005, 04:35 PM

Originally Posted by MaxPower2k3

except the portability is reduced a bit when it's bolted to the wall

It's eminently portable within the swing radius of the arm...

MaxPower2k3 · Nov 22, 2005, 07:09 PM

I got the impression that the original poster needed to be able to actually pick it up and carry it to other locations, but maybe I'm mistaken.

madmanXwater · Nov 23, 2005, 01:21 AM

Yes, I do need to move it around. Like I said, I have a 17" PowerBook 1.33 that I think is great, I'm just like many PowerBook owners in that I need more CPU power! I tried a rockin fast PC laptop for a while but came back to my PowerBook and OSX with a new respect. I look at the 17" iMac and am trying to convince myself that I could drag it to work and back everyday like I did my Mac SE many years ago. The speed and cost of the iMac are very, very tempting. I'm not good at waiting and it could be two months to a year before a Macintel PowerBook arrives. Not to mention all my software to take advantage of the Intel chip. What to do.....

Mike

P · Nov 23, 2005, 06:37 AM

Removing the tiny aluminium stand is not your problem, then. There are (I think, anyway) bags that you can use to carry the G5 in - look for one of those - but beware that the iMac is not as luggable as the SE was (I had one too). The iMac is harder to lift, for one thing, and I worry that you might damage the LCD when moving it around. It's not the weight so much as the shape - there is no good way to hold it!

I know it's hard, but I'd either wait for the first Intel Powerbook or do a dual setup with two machines and sync info between them.

Kurt · Nov 23, 2005, 07:56 AM

A quick Google search turned this up:

http://luggerbags.com/G5.htm

David Thompson · Nov 23, 2005, 08:46 AM

Well, you could have a mac in each location and then just transport your files in a small firewire drive. I did that for years. That's certainly a more expensive solution, though.

madmanXwater · 02:12 PM

I have a Dual 2Ghz G5 at work, but I use it as a dedicated Final Cut Pro system. I have a big PC at home as well but don't use if for much at all. I've had so many Macs over the years (over 20, I know it's sad) but the last while I'm finaly starting to like just using one computer for everything. My PowerBook has been that computer for me, I guess I'm just fighting the "I wish I had a G5 in my PowerBook blues".

Mike

quiklee · Nov 23, 2005, 12:32 PM

My stand's pretty solid. It's my desk that sucks!

brokenjago · Nov 23, 2005, 03:26 PM

If you can wait until MWSF, do so, and see what it brings.

If not, bite the bullet now and tell us how it goes.