[Dimitri]

I've been using an iMac G4 1.25GHz 17" for a couple of months and like it. I would like to buy a mac of my own, but prefer to have a machine that has a little more upgradability and flexibility. My budget is around $2000 - $2500. I generally would just be using office apps, web browsing, iPhoto, iMovie, perhaps iDVD. I wouldn't be doing any heavy duty video editing or anything. The iMac was pretty sufficient in speed but like I said, a more flexible and upgradable machine would be preferred. Perhaps a little snappier speed with multitasking also.

In looking at the G5's, I hear people putting down the 1.6 a lot. So I looked closer at the dual 1.8's but that's $700 more, and perhaps overkill for what I would be doing on it over the next few years. With the 1.6 and the edu discount, I'm guessing I'll have more money for a display (which I don't have). However, if it's hamstrung enough where it offers no noticeable speed increase over the G4 iMac i've been using, I may elect to go higher.

Any suggestions?

[-Q-]

The 1.8 is definitely the way to go. You may also want to consider the PM G4 that's still available. It'll offer a slight increase in speed over your iMac, but a lot more expandability.

[heresiarh]

I would suggest to save a lot of money and get the Dual G4s. Will give you plenty of upgrade options in the future. Dual G5s are only for serious gamers or heavy duty editing of all sorts. Maybe even the Dual G4 might be a bit too much, stick with the G4 Single 1.25ss.

[Dimitri]

Well, if a PM dual G4 will outperform the PM G5 single then it *might* be worth the extra money. Though in a year or two, software might take more advantage of the G5 architecture?

� Dual 1.25GHz w/ 2MB L3 Cache per processor
� Save $135 at checkout - 1GB DDR333 SDRAM (PC2700) - 2 DIMMs
� 80GB Ultra ATA drive
� Optical 1 - Apple SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
� Optical 2 - None
� NVIDIA GeForce4 Titanium dual-display w/128MB DDR
� 56K internal modem
� Apple Pro Keyboard - U.S. English
� Mac OS - U.S. English

Price $2,166.00

� 1.6GHz PowerPC G5
� Save $135 at checkout - 1GB DDR333 SDRAM (PC2700) - 2x512
� 80GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
� NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra
� 56k V.92 internal modem
� SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
� Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
� Mac OS X - U.S. English


Price $1,936.00

Is it worth $200+? Are all the ports on a PM G4 USB2/FW400?

[heresiarh]

First of all, the specs you have on the G4 are great. You've got the upgraded ram, the upgraded video card, which is great. The 5200 is a pathetic card. Yes i believe the g4s have USB2 and Firewire 400, but I might be wrong on that. For the stuff u mentioned earlier, i seriously think even a single 1.25ghz G4 is enough. I still own one of my older 867 G4s loaded with ram and it runs like a charm, plus i do hard core digital and photo editing on it.

Keep in mind, RAM is oxygen for OSX. The more you have the better.

[Leonard]

Originally posted by heresiarh:
I would suggest to save a lot of money and get the Dual G4s. Will give you plenty of upgrade options in the future. Dual G5s are only for serious gamers or heavy duty editing of all sorts. Maybe even the Dual G4 might be a bit too much, stick with the G4 Single 1.25ss.

Except a G4 would likely not allow you to upgrade to a G5. I'd suggest either the single 1.8 G5 if you can find one or the Dual 1.8 G5. The dual may be overkill now, but in a couple of years, you'll probably be happy you bought it and OS X loves dual machines.

The only reason I'd buy a G4 now is:
- budget.
- to boot OS 9.

It looks to me like you can afford a G5 so why not go that way.

Edit: Damn the dual 1.8 G5 with a CRT monitor would put you over your budget.

[heresiarh]

Leonard has a point but its totally on your budget.

[Dimitri]

That's just it. The single G5 1.6 would leave me with $500+ for a monitor, the dual G5 1.8 would leave me with almost no money for a monitor. So if the dual G4 would serve me better in the stretch than a single 1.6, I may go that route.

[Lateralus]

I'd go for the Dual 1.25 G4. It is faster than the 1.6 G5, much better looking (IMO), more expandable, and more refined.

[Dimitri]

� 1.6GHz PowerPC G5
� Save $135 at checkout - 1GB DDR333 SDRAM (PC2700) - 2x512
� 80GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
� ATI Radeon 9600 Pro
� SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
� Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
� Mac OS X - U.S. English
Price $1,955.00
Promo Savings -$135.00
Subtotal $1,820.00
---------------------------------------------------------------
� Dual 1.8GHz PowerPC G5
� Save $90 at checkout - 1GB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x512
� 160GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
� ATI Radeon 9600 Pro
� SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
� Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
� Mac OS X - U.S. English
Price $2,543.00
Promo Savings -$90.00
Subtotal $2,453.00
---------------------------------------------------------------
� Dual 1.25GHz w/ 2MB L3 Cache per processor
� Save $135 at checkout - 1GB DDR333 SDRAM (PC2700) - 2 DIMMs
� 80GB Ultra ATA drive
� Optical 1 - Apple SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
� Optical 2 - None
� ATI Radeon 9000 Pro dual-display w/64MB DDR
� Apple Pro Keyboard - U.S. English
� Mac OS - U.S. English
Price $1,960.00
Promo Savings -$135.00
Subtotal $1,825.00
---------------------------------------------------------------

So these G4 dual and G5 single configurations are about the same in price. Not sure how the 9000 pro compares to the 9600 pro, though. Is there anything I would be running that makes much of a difference between 2 G4 1.25GHz and 1 G5 1.6GHz? The look isn't too important to me, but the loudness factor kinda matters. It comes down to those two, though. The dual 1.8 is just too much money. I've also considered a 15" PB but I probably wouldn't be taking it out of the house much so not sure if the payoff in performance is worth it.

[Lateralus]

Why are you wanting to buy your RAM from Apple? Apple RAM is just Crucial RAM.

Go to Crucial.com. You could get two additional 512MB DIMMs from Crucial for less than the amount of money Apple wants for an additional 768MBs.

[Dimitri]

Actually the additional 756MB ram from Apple is only costing me about $200, which is actually a little less than 2 512mb sticks from crucial. The $135 off makes it about $200 more for the additional memory.

[Lateralus]

$1599 - $1825 = Approx $225.

[Lateralus]

...additionally: You don't pay tax on the RAM if you buy it from Crucial. You do if you buy it from Apple.

Also, I dug around and if you use coupon code 'BBUSERGROUP' at Crucial you get 5% off.

[heresiarh]

I still say stick with the G4 instead of getting the G5. 9000 is lower than the 9600pro. 9600 is a fantastic card, i own one.

[Londor]

http://discussions.info.apple.com/[email protected]

[Dimitri]

Originally posted by PowerMacMan:
$1599 - $1825 = Approx $225.

Yeah, but keep in mind I upgraded the video card and downgraded the modem which added another $20 overall. So I spend about $205 which even taxed is about equal to Crucial. I would rather have two 512mb sticks in there already than have 1 256mb and 2 512mb sticks in there because odds are I'm going to throw out that 256mb stick in the near future when upgrading to 2GB ram. I stand to lose maybe $10 doing it this way. Certainly not a dealbreaker to me.

I still say stick with the G4 instead of getting the G5. 9000 is lower than the 9600pro. 9600 is a fantastic card, i own one.

9600 is a good card, but I don't think I can have one with the G4 can I?

[DBvader]

"9600 is a good card, but I don't think I can have one with the G4 can I?"

I use a Radeon 9600 with my Dual 867 Powermac and it works fantastically. You have to tape pins 3 and 11 (If I remember correctly) and it's good to go. Unless you use some jumpers or something to connect the ADC power to the card, though, you will not be able to use an ADC monitor. That said, you can still connect 2 VGA/DVI monitors (using the appropriate adaptors) that have their own power. To get a 9600, you will have to buy it from a G5 owner. Naturally, eBay is probably the easiest place to do this (I sold my Radeon 9000 for ore than I bought the 9600 for!).

If you are a student, then maybe you can use either Student Developer Connection (where the prices for the G5s are 1299, 1999, and 2399 respectively plus 100 subscription fee) or the Educational discount (1599, 2299, and 2699) to buy that Dual G5.

[heresiarh]

u can have the 9600 and the 9800pro for the G4 i believe, all you need is an agp slot and you can put any mac compatible video cards.

[EdipisReks]

Originally posted by heresiarh:
u can have the 9600 and the 9800pro for the G4 i believe, all you need is an agp slot and you can put any mac compatible video cards.

that isn't correct. refer to the post by DBvader. in terms of the original question, i would get a dual 1.8 G5 if you are able to take advantage of any special pricing (eduction, corporate, etc). if not, i would get the dual 1.25 G4. fantastic machine. if you can find a dual 1.42 for a good price, or the original FW800 dual 1.25, that would be an even better decision if you can take a little bit of noise. personally, i would take a dual 1.42 over a dual 1.8 G5 if it meant saving a few hundred bucks.

[heresiarh]

Hmm. Dual G4s are good machines.

[Lateralus]

Originally posted by heresiarh:
Hmm. Dual G4s are good machines.

[Dimitri]

I've decided to get the dual 1.8 g5's with the ATI radeon 9600pro. This machine should fulfill my needs for a few years at least.

Now, to look for a monitor.

[Lateralus]

Originally posted by Dimitri:
I've decided to get the dual 1.8 g5's with the ATI radeon 9600pro. This machine should fulfill my needs for a few years at least.

Now, to look for a monitor.

I've never been too fond of LCDs for desktop setups. They haven't matured enough in my opinion, and for the most part even mid-range CRTs offer better color and a sharper image.

My recommendation to you for a CRT is an NEC/Mitsubishi Diamondtron. They are pretty much the finest CRT displays I have ever seen and I have yet to hear anybody who owns one say that they regret buying it.

[Dimitri]

LCD's have come a long ways but still have a ways to go. The best CRT I've owned in the past was a Mitsubishi 930 which was a 19". Text still wasn't quite as crisp as any LCD I've seen but the color and performance were great. Of course, I gamed a lot back then which I do little of now. I would love the real estate of 1600x1200 but that will either be really expensive (20" LCD) or too big (21" CRT) so I'll stick with 1280x1024(960).

[Catfish_Man]

The best CRT I've seen is the one next to me (a ViewSonic G90fb). I'm typing this on my powerbook partially because I like the screen better.

[Dimitri]

Update:

I've received my G5 1.8 dual this week and am very pleased with it. I ended up doing it completely stock so it would ship out faster. I got 2 x 256mb sticks from Crucial (btw, I DID have to pay tax on it) so it's at 1GB. Runs like a dream.

I got a Mitsu Diamondtron 930SB for a monitor and some Altec Lansing 2.1 speakers. Perhaps I'll throw a picture up later.

[Catfish_Man]

Originally posted by Dimitri:
Update:

I've received my G5 1.8 dual this week and am very pleased with it. I ended up doing it completely stock so it would ship out faster. I got 2 x 256mb sticks from Crucial (btw, I DID have to pay tax on it) so it's at 1GB. Runs like a dream.

I got a Mitsu Diamondtron 930SB for a monitor and some Altec Lansing 2.1 speakers. Perhaps I'll throw a picture up later.

Sounds like a v. sweet setup. My school just (somehow) got a 1.8 with 1GB, some Klipsch speakers, and a 17" Apple studio display, so pretty similar. Such a nice machine... have fun