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Scylla · Aug 11, 2005, 02:39 PM

Hi all

I want to replace my aging home-built PC desktop with a Mac. I bought a 17" PowerBook a year ago and there's no going back to Windows now.

I can't afford a Dual Power Mac, but have my eye on a 20" 2.0Ghz iMac with 2GB. It looks beautiful, but how does its performance stack up? How would it compare to my 1.5Ghz PowerBook? I'm hoping it will be good enough to play games.

Anyone here play games on their iMac?

Heavy Fluid · Aug 11, 2005, 03:19 PM

I just bought the G5 17" version, and I love it. You are right, no going back to windows after this. I don't game, so can't answer that one.

alimunnik · Aug 11, 2005, 05:39 PM

Like yourself, I am a PB owner and was tempted down the iMac road. The G5 2GHZ 20" model was the very model of decorum when I purchased it in mid-May and far outperformed my 1.5 GHz PB in terms of speed.
Then one fine morning last week my hard drive packed it in without rhyme or reason, with its accompanying disappointing permanent loss of data.
I will be getting the unit back next week, complete with warranty covered new hard drive, but as far as I am concerned the romance has soured a bit. I indulged the iMac with gobs of TLC, only to be led down the path of disillusionment. Meanwhile, I have heaped abuses upon my PB worthy of a Guantanamo Bay detainee, but it has never let me down in the clutch.
I am sure that my iMac experience represents a tiny unfortunate minority. But don't take things for granted. If you do buy the iMac, give your PB an extra loving buffing, if only to appease the good humour of the technlogical gods!

volcano · Aug 12, 2005, 04:07 AM

I love my 2Ghz 20" iMac G5. I've had it since early June and use it nearly everyday for hours on end. No problems, no issues, no regrets. Go ahead and buy one and experience it for yourself!

Ozzpot · Aug 12, 2005, 04:42 AM

I use a RevA G5 iMac (17", 1.6ghz, 512mb RAM) at work, and have my own RevB G5 iMac (17", 2.0ghz, 1gb RAM) at home.

A adore my iMac. It is lightning fast at the tasks I usually use it for which is Photoshop and stuff like that. I am not a heavy gamer, but play quite a lot of UT2004, which runs very smoothly at full resolution (via a small hack) and almost everthing turned up to the max in the games video settings. I shouldn't imagine you'd struggle to play any game on such a machine.

cleanup · Aug 12, 2005, 08:07 PM

Wanna play games? I'd suggest you wait until the Intel Macs come out.

Otherwise, I am quite satisfied with my iMac. I am a bit miffed by the performance of Adobe Photoshop CS2, though. Combined with Tiger, it is quite slow. It was also slow on my Windows PC, much more so than CS1.

I couldn't say much about games. I wouldn't recommend playing games on an iMac, as you will be subjecting it to massive CPU temperatures (the G5 combined with such a small enclosure produces quite a bit of heat... expect the fans to spin up every time you launch a game, an Adobe application, or view something graphically intensive, like Flash in Safari... Flash/animated gifs just seem to disagree with Safari).

If I were you, I would save my money a little longer and hold out for an Intel PowerMac.

Hodog16 · Aug 12, 2005, 09:50 PM

Love my iMac as well (20" 2ghz) after using PCs. Only issue was that my original bluetooth keyboard stopped working about 3 days ago (I got mine in June also). I called Apple and am now typing on my new replacement keyboard.

Great service, but things like this make me glad I bought applecare.

jhogarty · Aug 12, 2005, 11:08 PM

When I made the switch I got a 17" iMac (on Tiger Launch). The following tuesday they announced the 2.0Ghz iMacs. I returned the 17" and ordered a 20" 2.0Ghz iMac. This computer would replace a Windows 2000 PC my wife and kids use. The machine is absolutely amazing! I was so jealous that I wanted to get one for myself.

My son shares my WoW (World of Warcraft) account. We loaded the game and fired it up. The graphics were awesome, but what really got me was the sound. We heard sounds that were never played on the previous PC. Now I was really jealous. The new iMac looked and sounded better than my GRFX PC and my other PC.

I ended up getting myself a Dual 2.5Ghz and 23" ACD. But that is another story.

I've only had one glitch so far with the iMac. I mean real glitches, not stupid errors on my part or not knowing how to do something on my part. One day the iMac locked up and the fans were running loud. I had to hold the power button down to get it to turn off. I left it off for a few hours and fired it back up. Haven't had a problem since.

The only Apple product I seem to be having an issue with is my new 20GB Color iPod. Have to reset the damn thing everyday. Bah, got off topic again.

Now my biggest issue is going to work each day and having to look at that ugly Dell running Windows XP. I won't even go into the issues I have with it on a weekly basis.

I think you will enjoy an iMac. I have the Office suite on it as well as the Adobe CS suite. While it is not as fast as my dual G5, it is fast enough. And surely faster than any of my Intel/AMD Windows based system.

Be well,

J.

iBorg · Aug 13, 2005, 03:03 AM

I got my 20" 2GHz iMac in May, and I absoluetly love it! It's fast, very quiet (contrary to some buyers' reports), runs cool, and the screen is gorgeous! I do video editing and photoshop and it just flies!

The only gaming I've been doing is WoW, and it plays high-graphics very nicely, no lag or glitches. I don't do much other gaming, except Diablo II, and that's fine, but it's also an older game.

This is the best Mac I've ever bought (and I have probably bought close to 20 over the past 12 years, for myself, and my family!!!)

iBorg

Fonzie · Aug 13, 2005, 07:42 AM

Well, I love my iMac 17" 1.8Ghz aswell. Apart from the fact that I got a really loud rev.a - what we here call a monday edition. You won't run into that problem with the new batch of iMacs.

I don't play games that often but UT2004 demo runned fine here, so does Doom3.

Mrjinglesusa · Aug 13, 2005, 10:58 AM

I replaced my 17" 800 MHz Lamp Shade iMac with a Rev. B 20" 2.0 GHz iMac last month. I couldn't be happier. It's fast enough for everything I do and the screen is superb. You can't go wrong with this computer...

delfmen · Aug 13, 2005, 12:19 PM

i also couldn't be happier with my iMac - specs in sig.

PeteWK · Aug 17, 2005, 01:43 PM

I'm hugely happy with my new 20 inch iMac. I play some of the WWII First Person Shooter games and they perform well on the iMac. I upgraded the computer to 2 gigs of ram before playing, however so I can't say about the standard config.

PeteWK

alimunnik · Aug 17, 2005, 04:12 PM

I guess I am one of the unfortunate few who got saddled with a "bad" iMac 20" 2 GHZ. It's been in the hospital for 2 weeks now suffering from a failed hard drive, and apparantly Apple is "out of stock" as far as replacement hard drives is concerned. All this not calculated to elevate my opinion of said machine. When I eventually get it back, I will "teach it a little lesson". The iWork software that I specificaly purchased for the G5 I will install instead on my G4 PB, which has provided yeoman service and has never left me in the lurch.
To rub salt in the wounds, the iMac went down with my Tiger Woods golf game disc captured inside the drive, so I have been even deprived the solace of that little diversion on my lap top.

Cei · Aug 18, 2005, 10:09 AM

I hate my iMac - it's 17" revA model, and it's a PITA. It's going off for repair round two shortly, and I have no confidence it'll be fixed either.

PowerBook G4 and PowerMac G5? Rock solid.

ChasingApple · Aug 20, 2005, 10:33 PM

At first I loved my iMac, now I just like it alot. I love the clear screen, but I do play a few games here and there and it sucks at it. World of Warcraft in native res (1440x900) paired with a Geforce FX 5200 64MB is just wrong. Also I find myself wanting 1600x1200 more, I like them taller then wider (I surf more then anything). Speed wise it is nice for a G4, does everything I need it to. Other then the fact that I cannot upgrade any major components Im pretty happy. I should have purchased a dual 1.25Ghz Powermac instead though, I would have been happier.

Shadow Magic · Aug 22, 2005, 01:53 AM

i own a 17" G5 2.0 Ghz 250GB HD 2GB Ram
i used this to make my switch...i have never looked back actually im lika a vegan i attach anyone using windows and force them to see the better operating system...
yea the imac is great it looks awesome and preforms like a jewel!

pete · Aug 22, 2005, 08:20 AM

Had an imac 20" rev B Imac for a week. Excellent machine so far: very nice design, relatively quiet, quite speedy, gorgeous and pixel-perfect screen (although slightly off center on my machine). I am a little concerned how it will hold up in the long run, but I bought it with my credit card so I will be able to buy extended warranty for 5 years. Based on my limited experience with the machine, I'd give it a 9 out of 10, withholding one point for lack of swivel and awkward access to frequently used ports such as headphone and mic. For a switcher? Absolutely a superb introduction to the Mac.

Happy? Yes, very.

Eug Wanker · Aug 22, 2005, 10:11 AM

20" 2 GHz with 1.5 GB - Works great, no complaints so far. I don't play games though.

My capacitors look fine, knock on wood.

Stolfi1 · Aug 23, 2005, 05:31 AM

I have a 2ghz iMac g5 and I wish i had gotten a mac mini and a 20 inch display instead. With apple switching to intel there isnt going to be any consumer level software that takes advantage of this machines g5. Do yourself a favor and get the mini and a good display in a few years ditch the mini and buy a new mactel you will have a good display left to go with it to.

Eug Wanker · Aug 23, 2005, 07:56 AM

Originally Posted by Stolfi1

I have a 2ghz iMac g5 and I wish i had gotten a mac mini and a 20 inch display instead. With apple switching to intel there isnt going to be any consumer level software that takes advantage of this machines g5. Do yourself a favor and get the mini and a good display in a few years ditch the mini and buy a new mactel you will have a good display left to go with it to.

What do you mean? Consumer level software will be available for the G5 for years to come. Until 2010 at least, and probably quite a bit longer.

Anyways, using a Mac mini with a 20" display is not that pleasant. The Mac mini's 32 MB Radeon 9200 just isn't cut out for it.

Agent69 · Aug 23, 2005, 08:55 AM

Eug's right. I wouldn't worry about software for the PPC macs for a while.

Stolfi1 · Aug 24, 2005, 04:07 AM

Its not a issue of software but a issue about software that uses the system to its max. If your paying 2 grand for a mac thats just running stuff made for a g3 or g4 you should just get a g4. What right now takes advantage of a g5? What will next year and what will 4 years from now, nothing a normal person would use.When apple switches to intel the bulk of there ppc install base will be on g3/g4 computers maybe 5-10% will be on the g5.So if money is a issue why buy a g5. Get a mini with the 20 inch screen and when you retire the mini the screen is still good and useable on your new mactel. I upgraded from a emac 1.25 ghz to a 2 ghz imac g5 and i only see a benefit in halo and thats because of the video card.I am not bashing the iMac at all but its a poor choice right now if money is a issue.