[Goldfinger]

I'm in the market for a new Mac. As a poor student my budget is pretty damn small, think max. 600 euros. I was thinking of buying a dual core Mac mini IF the new model comes out tomorrow or the 12th. But I found a second hand G5 1.6 on the internet with 2 x 80GB hd and 2GB of RAM and a GeForece 5200. My computing needs aren't huge. I need to be able to handle up to 500MB photoshop files (5400 dpi scans with a few layers) + email, msn, internet etc.

Are there any known issues with the 1.6 ? What would one be worth today ? (the second hand prices here are overly inflated)

So a Mac mini DC or a G5 1.6.
I'm coming from a TiBook 867mhz/1GB/60GB 7200rpm so I guess the speed difference would be signifcant either way ?

[newtech]

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

I'm in the market for a new Mac. As a poor student my budget is pretty damn small, think max. 600 euros. I was thinking of buying a dual core Mac mini IF the new model comes out tomorrow or the 12th. But I found a second hand G5 1.6 on the internet with 2 x 80GB hd and 2GB of RAM and a GeForece 5200. My computing needs aren't huge. I need to be able to handle up to 500MB photoshop files (5400 dpi scans with a few layers) + email, msn, internet etc.

Are there any known issues with the 1.6 ? What would one be worth today ? (the second hand prices here are overly inflated)

So a Mac mini DC or a G5 1.6.
I'm coming from a TiBook 867mhz/1GB/60GB 7200rpm so I guess the speed difference would be signifcant either way ?

Mac Mini will have a bit of an edge for speed, but the G5 SP 1.6 has advantage of greater expandability.

[OreoCookie]

I don't think there is a clear winner here. So just a few thoughts here:

First of all, I think the price is fine (judging from the German used market).

With the Mac mini, you would have to rely on Rosetta to work with Photoshop. Although the Core 2 Duo with Rosetta shouldn't be slower than the single G5, RAM makes a difference: Rosetta gobbles up RAM pretty quickly, so I would immediately add roughly 100 Euros for the 2nd GB of RAM. I'm anxiously awaiting my first pay from my second job to upgrade my ProBook …

Then, the Mac mini's internal harddrive is obviously slower than 3.5" drives -- which makes a difference when you load large images into Photoshop. It's obvious that a G5 is easier to expand, although you didn't emphasize this point as being very important to you. However, it's fairly easy to purchase a FireWire hd for additional storage (something you might have to do anyway if you want to keep both 80 GB drives in your G5).

On the other hand, the cpu is significantly faster: this should come to no surprise since the G5 has had its debut in September 2003 -- three years ago. Even if the line-up isn't updated, the Core Duo is clearly faster here. Smooth scrolling is finally really smooth

Graphics cards. In theory, you can upgrade the G5's, but practically, it will add up again to your total. Also, if you don't do too much 3d work, tooki tried a MacBook with a 24" lcd (at the highest resolution the MacBook supports) and the speed seemed to be just fine.

Personally, I would prefer to get the Mac mini (with 2 GB RAM) as most of the other apps will run faster. With the exception of Acrobat Reader and PS7 (which I sometimes use), all of the apps I need are available as universal binaries.

[Goldfinger]

What would a PowerMac 1.6 with 2GB RAM, superdrive and 2x80GB HD be worth ? In europe.

The thing is, I can't really stretch my budget too much at the moment. So the 2GB of RAM in the mini will take a few months to get in there. A hard drive upgrade is still 6 months or so off (financially).(<-- this is the central issue in my dilemma) The G5 would come with all of that out of the box so to speak. But then again. My biggest fear is that the Mac mini would totally slaughter the G5 when it comes to Unviversal binaries.

I don't think I have have a use for the PCI slots seeing that the G5 comes with everything I need (Optical audio, FW400 and USB2). Except maybe adding an ATA card later on to add those PATA hard drives I have, if there even is some way to add more hard drives in that case ?

I don't really care for the graphics card. As long as it supports all the CoreImage and whatnot eyecandy (@1680x1050). I don't do any 3D or games.

[AU_student_iceBook]

I think the fact that the mini will have dual cores, has the sing 1.6 beat.

Just my opinion.

[OreoCookie]

CPU Slaughter, that may be a bit harsh, but significantly faster, especially if you take the Core Duo.
Harddrives Well, yes, there are ways to cram in more harddrives into your G5, but it's going to cost you. It'll be cheaper to buy external firewire cases.
Graphics Stalemate. Both support CoreImage.
Audio The Intel Mac mini also features optical digital audio out.

Basically it's a decision between expandability (when you can afford it) and speed.

[Goldfinger]

Yep. You can understand that it's a tough decision to make. I'll wait and see what the buyer wants for it. She didn't mention a price in the ad, you had to make an offer and it would go to the highest bidder. (the ad's been up since the 10th of August and I'm apparently the first bidder)

If's she's willing to sell it for 500 I'll probably do it. But I doubt this. Any idea on the worth of such a PowerMac OreoCookie ?

I take that the G5 is incapable of HD playback ?

[Goldfinger]

Hah, I just got an email back. She wants €1000 for it . Mac mini here I come.

EDIT: now that I look at the prices of all the other G5s for sale.. These things are all hidiously expensive. Incredible how they retain their value.

[OreoCookie]

According to Apple's homepage, no, you need 1.8 GHz to play back large hd trailers. I have never worked on a 1.6 GHz G5 (the slowest one was a single 1.8 GHz model).

The price seems very good to me, in Germany, Mac users still seem to think their 3-year old Mac is worth more than 1000 Euros

[OreoCookie]

Ah, ok. Well, that's it then
Somehow it's weird how much Mac users are willing to pay in Europe for used Macs

[Goldfinger]

You see what I mean with over inflated prices . There are G5 1.8s around for 800 euros. What's a PC of comparable age and speed worth ? 400 at the most. The pretty case won't make me pay 1k for it. So Mac mini it is. I found a second hand Dual core Mac mini for 650. It has 2GBs of RAM. I'll try and get the price down to 600 hah. Mac shopping is fun

Ah well, thanks for the info anyway.

[OreoCookie]

Yup, that's why I always sell used Macs, but never buy one!

I remember selling a one-year old machine (iBook 14" G3 600 + AppleCare) for 50 Euros more than my last iBook (G3 800) Although I was just charging average!

[Don Pickett]

Tough call. The G5 is, obviously, a dead system. I say this as I'm posting on my beloved 1.8 G5, by the way, so that isn't an anti-PPC comment, merely an acknowledgment of the fact that Intel-power is the (known) future of the Mac. So, by getting yourself the G5 you are also going to be in a situation in which you will have to buy a new computer in a few years as the PPC support begins to disappear. I am thinking about buying myself a MacBook this winter to start my own Intel transition.

That said, the G5 should more than meet your needs, and its expandability will extend its life even more. As there will be no Intel-native version of Photoshop until late next year, the G5 will be just fine for Photoshop. Additionally, you can keep the machine for future use as a server, or to run Linux, etc.

My question would be largely financial: if you know that you won't be able to buy another machine for several years, I would get the Mac Mini. If you will be able to afford another machine in two or so years, when Intel-powered Macs are much more common, you could get the G5 now and worry about your own transition in two years.

[angelmb]

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

Hah, I just got an email back. She wants €1000 for it . Mac mini here I come.

EDIT: now that I look at the prices of all the other G5s for sale.. These things are all hidiously expensive. Incredible how they retain their value.

That is INSANE, people has to rationalize about it… I guess the only way to find a decent priced G5 is to look for some agency - studio and the alike switching from PowerPC to intel Macs. I have a friend that is going to get a Dual 1.8 G5 for something like 800 or 900 € and it comes with lots of RAM and even extras like PCI cards… h€ll, they have sold all them on a blink, go figure… a QUAD G5 for slightly over 1000 €…