Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

applesnapple · 03:54 AM

If I bought an imac with front row, would I have to only use mpeg 4 videos, similar to the ones compatible with the new ipod, or would I be able to access all of my different video files from the front row interface?

Also, this will be my first Apple, and I was just wondering, how would the speed of the 20" 2.1ghz imac G5 with 512mb ram compare with a P4 2.0Ghz 512MB Ram PC? I know the software on the mac simply owns windows, but what about performance wise, like speed during video editing...etc...?

BTW, does anyone know if there is a review of the new imac on the web somewhere, because I want to be sure that I am making the right purchase here. I have seen some overviews of the imac and macworld's benching of the 17" imac, but is there an indepth review anywhere? Thanks

harrisjamieh · Nov 2, 2005, 01:16 PM

Well Power PC certainly cant be compared to Pentiums through mhz/ghz, as they simply dont show the same 'info' if you like. Steve Jobbs called it the megahertz myth, which means people believe that if a P4 is 2.0 ghz and an iMac for example is 1.0 ghz, they would naturally assume the P4 is faster.

I read somewhere that an Apple G4 867 mhz is around the equivalent of a P4 1.7 ghz. If this is right, then I would guess that if you wanted to compare your P4 with your G5, then your G5 would be running at around the same speed as a P4 3.2 ghz --> 3.6 ghz.

I use my iBook G4 1.2 ghz, and it feels just as fast as my windows XP machine with a 2.66 P4 with HT.

On the review side of things, I haven't seen any for the new iMac personally, but I would assure you that it is a great purchase, as it looks beautiful, and with a 2.1 G5, should run like a dream. As for the 20", i think thats too the right decision, as its deffinatly nice to get as much screen real estate as poss - thats my only complaint with my 12" iBook - not enough screen real estate.

Good luck with your new mac

havocidal · Nov 2, 2005, 01:28 PM

http://www.systemshootouts.org/processors.html
this site is by far... the most accurate one i found for the megahertz myth

quiklee · Nov 2, 2005, 02:53 PM

I've been looking and looking for a review on the 20in iMac and haven't found anything! You'd think MacWorld or someone would get it first and try to do a review asap!

Pierre B. · Nov 2, 2005, 03:06 PM

Originally Posted by quiklee

I've been looking and looking for a review on the 20in iMac and haven't found anything! You'd think MacWorld or someone would get it first and try to do a review asap!

Right, curioursly Mac World run their benchmark suite only on the 17" model, while their review is still missing. It is really strange, since for example the geek has already a review, same for PCW (5 stars out of 5!).

BRussell · Nov 2, 2005, 04:23 PM

Originally Posted by applesnapple

If I bought an imac with front row, would I have to only use mpeg 4 videos, similar to the ones compatible with the new ipod, or would I be able to access all of my different video files from the front row interface?

You'll be able to play anything quicktime can play. You are certainly not limited to only what the video iPod can play. Quicktime can't natively play all of the video types floating around on the internet, but there are plugins that you can download that should play almost everything.

quiklee · Nov 2, 2005, 07:05 PM

let's say I want to get a mac mini specifically for my family room and specifically for my new 32 in Sony LCD . . . . what specs should I get to run this hacked version of front row as smoothly as possible? Do i need more ram than usual? faster processor speed? should i get blue tooth? i know I do want to connect an isight to it, so I can video conference with people from the comfort of my couch . . . . any help would be greatly appreciated.

applesnapple · Nov 2, 2005, 07:10 PM

Originally Posted by quiklee

let's say I want to get a mac mini specifically for my family room and specifically for my new 32 in Sony LCD . . . . what specs should I get to run this hacked version of front row as smoothly as possible? Do i need more ram than usual? faster processor speed? should i get blue tooth? i know I do want to connect an isight to it, so I can video conference with people from the comfort of my couch . . . . any help would be greatly appreciated.

My friend has a similar setup, and his mac mini is 1.42 ghz with 1 gig ram. He too runs the pirate bayed version of front row, and it seems to run fine, but I did notice a couple of beach balls. I'm no mac expert though.

quiklee · Nov 2, 2005, 09:08 PM

OK . . . maybe I'm too excited, but did you see this article on the MacNN front page - http://www.tecstream.com/imac.htm

looks really expensive though cuz you have to have your whole house wired with cat-5 wires . . . . .

damn rich people for having money!

btw . . am i the only person having problems creating a new thread?

applesnapple · Nov 3, 2005, 03:18 AM

I have a 36" Sony CRT that is about 6 years old, and I was wondering, on occasion I would like to be able to connect my imac to the TV and be able to access my videos through front row. How would this look? Would it be watchable, at least at analog standard cable quality? Also, does the imac have to be connected via vga, or is s-video possible? One last thing, say I want to put my imac in a room that is about 50 feet away from the tv, is it possible to connect it via a 50ft long cable, or would this degrade quality substantially? Any input is appreciated.

mduell · Nov 3, 2005, 04:30 AM

Originally Posted by havocidal

http://www.systemshootouts.org/processors.html
this site is by far... the most accurate one i found for the megahertz myth

I think that site is good for the majority of processors, but it's all over the place for the Pentuim M, and some of the G4 to G5 comparisons don't jive with other benchmarks I've seen.

A 2Ghz G5 is faster than a 2Ghz P4 at nearly everything, up to the 50% that systemshootouts claims, but that's not really an apples to apples (oh the pun) comparison since the 2Ghz P4 is over 4 years old at this point. OSX is generally quite a memory hog (512MB is really the bare minimum for RAM) so running the same apps you'll probably be swapping more often (which can kill performance); think about buying another 512MB from Crucial or similar.

You can get both S-video and composite video output from your iMac with an adapter, sold seperately from Apple.

iKevin · Nov 4, 2005, 11:20 AM

Originally Posted by quiklee

OK . . . maybe I'm too excited, but did you see this article on the MacNN front page - http://www.tecstream.com/imac.htm

looks really expensive though cuz you have to have your whole house wired with cat-5 wires . . . . .

damn rich people for having money!

btw . . am i the only person having problems creating a new thread?

I have my entire house wired with Cat-5 (even the rooms I don't have any computers in) and i'm not rich. If I remember correctly it only cost about $100-$150 for the cat-5 and all the wall faceplates.

iKevin · Nov 4, 2005, 11:28 AM

Originally Posted by havocidal

http://www.systemshootouts.org/processors.html
this site is by far... the most accurate one i found for the megahertz myth

How much do you want to bet that when the x86 Mac's get released and they're running at 3.2+mhz that Apple will tout how much faster they are than the 2.1+ ghz iMac's?

Keep in mind here, i'm not slamming the new iMac's....I just bought an iMac G5 and love it! But I am a firm believer that the Apple defined mhz myth only applies to certain things (example: video editing, optimized photoshop filters, etc).

Pierre B. · Nov 4, 2005, 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by quiklee

I've been looking and looking for a review on the 20in iMac and haven't found anything! You'd think MacWorld or someone would get it first and try to do a review asap!

Update: PC Magazine just published its iMac review. Now this is beyond my logic. We have PC-centric magazines to review a new and very popular Apple product, and MacWorld has yet to publish a detailed review on the same product. What's up with them?

Pierre B. · Nov 4, 2005, 02:25 PM

Originally Posted by iKevin

How much do you want to bet that when the x86 Mac's get released and they're running at 3.2+mhz that Apple will tout how much faster they are than the 2.1+ ghz iMac's?

This will be true since the next generation x86 processors from Intel will not be based on the Netburst architecture, and so it is expected that they will be faster clock for clock than today's P-IV.