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G5power · Apr 29, 2005, 02:25 PM

Does anyone have any thoughts or speculation on the future of the PM G5 single processor systems? It seems that it was basically ignored by Apple with this weeks product announcements / price changes.

I am ready to buy a G5 headless system for my first Apple system & have been following the forums and online stories for several months. Essentially I am in the market for a system that offers at least 4 slots for memory upgrades, space for a second internal hard drive and a video card that can be updated. Those are all things that I have upgraded on my previous Linux and Windows systems and I find that it allows me to get prolonged use by relatively inexpensive upgrades.

My preference would be for Apple to offer a 1.8 or 2 Ghz system with 512MB & 160 GB drive with at least a 64MB video card in a midsize tower. The current PM G5 1.8 is a very poor value at it's current configuration / price point. Additionally the tower size is extreme for the limited amount of internal space for drives.

This weeks updates have left me at a dead end. There is a void in the Apple product line between the mini and the base 1.8 PM and I'm surprised that Apple doesn't seem to appreciate the value of a "mid range" G5.

powertrippin · Apr 29, 2005, 02:28 PM

Get an upgraded G4 tower on ebay. Still pretty dang fast, espcially with dual processors, cheap, and you can fit a TON of stuff in them.

Lateralus · Apr 29, 2005, 02:37 PM

Originally Posted by powertrippin

Get an upgraded G4 tower on ebay. Still pretty dang fast, espcially with dual processors, cheap, and you can fit a TON of stuff in them.

macaddict0001 · Apr 29, 2005, 04:32 PM

a g4 sounds perfect, but for a headless why would you want a 64 video card, it shouldn't matter. and you don't need a fast processor.

OreoCookie · Apr 29, 2005, 05:01 PM

What do you want to do with that system?

Laurence · Apr 30, 2005, 04:25 PM

I think having a single processor G5 hurts apple's sales more than they think. My employer buys around 50 Macs a year. We always get the lowest end towers available, but would never by iMacs/eMacs. We always end up getting the singles. If the singles were not available, we would get the duals. There are many others that just want a tower and don't have much of a budget. These people are going to get the minimum configuration. I really think that Apple should do away with the singles altogether.

Eug Wanker · Apr 30, 2005, 04:35 PM

Originally Posted by Laurence

I think having a single processor G5 hurts apple's sales more than they think. My employer buys around 50 Macs a year. We always get the lowest end towers available, but would never by iMacs/eMacs. We always end up getting the singles. If the singles were not available, we would get the duals. There are many others that just want a tower and don't have much of a budget. These people are going to get the minimum configuration. I really think that Apple should do away with the singles altogether.

That makes little sense. If it weren't for the singles, a lot of people wouldn't be buying a Power Mac at all. And many of those wouldn't be buying any Mac.

Lateralus · Apr 30, 2005, 04:52 PM

I think there is some truth to that, but how much is subjective.

Where I think the single hurts Apple is on platform perception. For $1,500, the single 1.8GHz G5 really does not feel like that fast of a machine, especially with standard RAM. And unfortunately, many people's first real intro to the Mac is with Apple's lowest end expandable desktops.

Don Pickett · Apr 30, 2005, 11:44 PM

Originally Posted by Lateralus

I think there is some truth to that, but how much is subjective.

Where I think the single hurts Apple is on platform perception. For $1,500, the single 1.8GHz G5 really does not feel like that fast of a machine, especially with standard RAM. And unfortunately, many people's first real intro to the Mac is with Apple's lowest end expandable desktops.

I disagree. I have a new 1.8 G5 and it is plenty fast for everything I do at home, including Photoshop/Quark/InDesign, etc.

Lateralus · Apr 30, 2005, 11:47 PM

In comparison to what?

jasonsRX7 · May 1, 2005, 01:22 AM

Originally Posted by Don Pickett

I disagree. I have a new 1.8 G5 and it is plenty fast for everything I do at home, including Photoshop/Quark/InDesign, etc.

I agree with you, for the most part. I just went from a single 1.6 G5 to a dual 1.8 G5 and honestly in most things I can't tell much difference. iPhoto is a bit faster when clicking thru pictures, and iMovie exports are a bit faster. I do use Photoshop, but I'm not a graphics pro so I'm sure I'm not stressing it like a lot of other users would. Honestly for the plain jane stuff like email, surfing, chatting, and word processing I was totally happy with the 1.6. The dual is faster, but not by leaps and bounds. I can see the market for the single, for those of us who want more flexibility than an all-in-one.

powertrippin · May 1, 2005, 10:16 AM

JasonRX7, no offense, but why do you even have a G5? If you're just doing crap like that, you might as well sell it and get a g4 tower and take a vacation with the extra $ or something.

jasonsRX7 · May 1, 2005, 01:14 PM

Originally Posted by powertrippin

JasonRX7, no offense, but why do you even have a G5? If you're just doing crap like that, you might as well sell it and get a g4 tower and take a vacation with the extra $ or something.

I had a G4 tower before, it was loud. I don't need a G5, I just wanted one. Plus, I like really big monitors. I do networking for a living, but in my free time I like to edit home movies for friends and family for fun. I'm also a gadget freak. Just like having nice stuff.

Lateralus · May 1, 2005, 05:58 PM

Heh... All I do on my machine is listen to music, talk on iChat and browse the forums.

verbo_phobia · May 4, 2005, 12:06 AM

I had a G4 1.25 MDD, and it ran Panther okay-ish, not great. I had to sell recently due to emigrating, and now I face this same dilemma - I'd love a dual G5 but just can't afford it. I don't like the iMacs and wanted something a bit more upgradeable, so the single 1.8 is about my only option.

Zimphire · May 4, 2005, 12:08 AM

I bought my 1.25ghz G4 not too long after the G5s came out for a grand.

Got $512 megs of ram for free with it as well.

It's more than fast enough.

I may even skip the G5 all together and wait till the G6 comes out.

verbo_phobia · May 4, 2005, 12:14 AM

Originally Posted by Zimphire

I bought my 1.25ghz G4 not too long after the G5s came out for a grand.

Got $512 megs of ram for free with it as well.

It's more than fast enough.

I may even skip the G5 all together and wait till the G6 comes out.

I used a dual G4 1.42 at work alongside a dual G5 2.5, and I didn't really think the extra money was well spent on a G5.
But if you look at the technical specs of the G4 against the G5, ie FSB and AGP, the G5 *should* be much faster. I wish I understood more about how those specs really affect performance..

Zimphire · May 4, 2005, 01:00 AM

verbo things are so fast now that most tasks you wont see a difference.

I mean it could be TWICE as fast, but who can really tell a fraction of a second faster?

NOW, when doing major processor intensive things, esp with Video or Audio, or 3D rendering, I am sure a difference will be noticed.

I do mostly 2D design so I doesn't effect me.

having lots of RAM does however.

MrForgetable · May 4, 2005, 01:11 AM

Originally Posted by Zimphire

verbo things are so fast now that most tasks you wont see a difference.

I mean it could be TWICE as fast, but who can really tell a fraction of a second faster?

NOW, when doing major processor intensive things, esp with Video or Audio, or 3D rendering, I am sure a difference will be noticed.

I do mostly 2D design so I doesn't effect me.

having lots of RAM does however.

exactly. but in swimming that fraction of a second could decide who wins the race and who doesn't.

(sorry, big meet tomorrow)

Don Pickett · May 4, 2005, 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by jasonsRX7

I agree with you, for the most part. I just went from a single 1.6 G5 to a dual 1.8 G5 and honestly in most things I can't tell much difference. iPhoto is a bit faster when clicking thru pictures, and iMovie exports are a bit faster. I do use Photoshop, but I'm not a graphics pro so I'm sure I'm not stressing it like a lot of other users would. Honestly for the plain jane stuff like email, surfing, chatting, and word processing I was totally happy with the 1.6. The dual is faster, but not by leaps and bounds. I can see the market for the single, for those of us who want more flexibility than an all-in-one.

Xactly. I essentially bought an expandable iMac, and the expandability is worth it to me. I till definitely ditch the 5200 and add a 250 GB drive in the near future.

Don Pickett · May 4, 2005, 11:44 AM

Originally Posted by verbo_phobia

I used a dual G4 1.42 at work alongside a dual G5 2.5, and I didn't really think the extra money was well spent on a G5.
But if you look at the technical specs of the G4 against the G5, ie FSB and AGP, the G5 *should* be much faster. I wish I understood more about how those specs really affect performance..

My experience is that when the machine has to start moving a lot of data around � large Photoshop images and/or lotsa programs open at the same time � the G5s memory bandwidth really shines. I start to notice the G4s spend more time waiting.

ReggieX · May 4, 2005, 01:02 PM

Originally Posted by MrForgetable

exactly. but in swimming that fraction of a second could decide who wins the race and who doesn't.

(sorry, big meet tomorrow)

Don't take your Mac swimming, you will regret it!

G5power · May 4, 2005, 01:08 PM

Originally Posted by Zimphire

I bought my 1.25ghz G4 not too long after the G5s came out for a grand.

Got $512 megs of ram for free with it as well.

It's more than fast enough.

I may even skip the G5 all together and wait till the G6 comes out.

I would buy a new G4 tower with it's expansion options for $999. For example a G4 tower with a superdrive, 512MB RAM, 120 GB HD for that price. However since the G4 towers were discontinued that is no longer an option. Additionally I would like my first Apple to be a new system _ (I realize that not all of you will understand that).

The G5 single is currently sitting at a strange price point for it's specs.

Agent69 · May 4, 2005, 01:17 PM

Originally Posted by Zimphire

I do mostly 2D design so I doesn't effect me.

having lots of RAM does however.

Your experiences pretty much are in line with mine.

I bought my single processor 1.25ghz MDD in January of last year. The only modification that I have made to the unit is to max the ram to 2GB and to add a Airport card.

For me, the main reason to buy a new PowerMac is that the MDD is a bit loud.

G5power · May 4, 2005, 01:25 PM

Originally Posted by Agent69

Your experiences pretty much are in line with mine.

I bought my single processor 1.25ghz MDD in January of last year. The only modification that I have made to the unit is to max the ram to 2GB and to add a Airport card.

For me, the main reason to buy a new PowerMac is that the MDD is a bit loud.

I would do the same thing if I had the same system, drop a bunch of RAM in and then start looking for a deal on a large second HD.

I wasn't aware of the Sale page off of the Apple website and missed any deals when the G4's went away. At the time I was checking the local CompUSA and MicroCenter thinking that they would have some sort of closeout deals.