[Veltliner]

I'm considering to upgrade to a WHITE iMac 24" (2.16Ghz Core 2 Duo) with the MATTE SCREEN.

I was, for a while, thinking to get a MacPro later, but then: I just love the absolute quietness of the iMac. And, after all, this is already a pretty pro machine... If I don't buy it now, I'll only have the MacPro choice in future, as I'm not in favor of glossy screens and downgraded GPUs in the new iMacs.

Current system 20" iMac G5 2.1 Ghz, 1,5Gb Ram.

Use: photo and video editing.

Mac2sell shows the value of my G5 at 1060$. (How realistic is this?) 24" iMac can be head for 1700$ new, or 1500$ refurbished.

It has a great videocard, the 7300GT, same as the MacPros. This gives a crystal clear image. The monitor is better than the monitor of the 20" iMacs, so I have heard. It will just zip through Lightroom (I'll max it out with 3Gb).

I wonder...

1. Is the 24" iMac really as quiet as my G5? 24" iMac-owners, please...

2. Is the 3GB RAM limitation a problem further down the road?

3. I have Final Cut Pro 4.0, not a Universal Binary. Will it run at the same speed on the Core 2 Duo (Rosetta, Rosetta), or will it be slower? I will get a more modern version of Final Cut, but not right now.

Alternative: to get a MacPro and a cinema display six or nine months down the road, with Leopard on board. Only thing: fan noise of the MacPro. I do a lot of writing, and fan noise annoys me.

[WOPR]

You can barely hear my dual G5 at work, I'd be surprised if the Mac Pro was noisier. But in your shoes I'd go for the iMac. My C2D iMac is very quiet and the (noisier) fan has come on twice in a year.

[ghporter]

I'd have to say that any Intel iMac should outperform a G5 iMac. And while there's a potential for the 3GB max RAM limit to be a problem eventually, remember that the newest iMacs only go up to 4GB. In the week and a half that I've had my 20" mid'07 iMac, I have only heard the fans in ultra quiet conditions and only with my ear right next to the machine. Gotta love quiet computers!

[Veltliner]

So the latest white iMacs are as quiet as the latest G5 iMac. That's good to hear.

What about Rosetta? How much does it slow things down? Is it usable at all, or just an emergency transition app?