[cocoa_coder]

First off here area few pics:
http://homepage.mac.com/cocoalabs/PhotoAlbum2.html

I'm comparing the unit to my 17" Rev C 1.5GHZ Powerbook with 128mb video ram and 512mb ram. (soon to be 2 gb.) and and a rev B (ADC) Apple Cinema Display 22 Inch.

First impressions:
Taking out of the box, it was a cinch to setup. Actually there really wasnt a hardware setup process. You literally take the thing out the box and plug it in. I have not had the loose cable problem that others have been describing. I didnt bump the memory yet. I know the g5 is absolutely hobbled with a 256meg ram chip, so I am going to reserve total judgement until my 2 gig ram arrives. I bought the airport card and it was installed while I waited. I also had to purchase the bluetooth adaptor by dLINK because once you buy an iMac g5 retail, you have no way of getting a bluetooth module installed internally.

The Screen:
Ok compared to my pb17 the screen is really good. Compared to my 22" cinema display it seems the colors are just as vivid but the text on my cinema display seemed much more legible. I dont see this as a problem as that monitor was 4 grand when I bought it so I don't expect parity in quality. The little "chin" which absolutely urked me in the beginning seems actually not bad. I rather like it. and I don't notice it. Most peoples widescreen televisions have a huge bezel and no one has a cow. Sticking what is essentially a supercomputer in that small space and behind the lcd panel, one can only be forgiving for such extra space.

The Experience:
Well the monitor is good enough considering how cost effective it is. I have'nt seen a better pc lcd at this price point. The widescreen is very nice. I don't know where apple post the dvd burning speed is it 4 or 8x? I only have 4x media so it's showing that i can burn up to 4x in the finder. I plugged in the bluetooth dongle and setting up my wireless keyboard and mouse (both of the apple variety) worked without so much as a single hitch. Cables dont get in the way. and it is really nice not having anything else but a monitor on my desk ( or so it would seem). I ran a few of the system apps. They seem at least as responsive as my powerbook. It certainly feels "snappier" - for lack of a better term. Well I ran the nanosaur game and it seemed to be a bit choppy. I am chalking that up to the lame 256 mb ram problem. I am reserving judgement for the video card and i'll tell you why. I booted up Tiger preview and tried to do something that would utilize core image and corevideo. I ran quartz composer. I don' t know if it did it in software or hardware gpu but it ran at a decent speed. I am confident that apple can tweak the Tiger os so that this machine will perform decently with apps written for those two technologies. I didnt notice a 2x or 3x improvement over my powerbook however, but I don't think its realistic to expect one. This is a consumer desktop competing against a pro machine. I think people think the g5 chip is a panacea to all things performance ladden. It's not. But it is nice to have and I do feel the extra horsepower just goofing around the system. Xcode is faster. Tiger actually ran with my anemic 256mb ram.

Now for the bad news:
IT would seem that if the computer was put to sleep you cant hit a key or move mouse to wake it up with the external bluetooth module. It's no biggie though, you can just tap the power button. Sometimes the system seems to lag a bit but i really attribute that to the weak memory that ships standard. I really think the 20" should have had 512. I'm willing to bet rev 2 will. Ok. Guess what else you get free with this machine? A HAIR DRYER.
After loading tiger i think it taxed the memory so much it was doing some hard disk thrashing. That caused the fans to come on and sound like I was at the friggin airport. But it didnt come on often. Again memory may fix this. It's nice to know that the computer controls the speed of the fan. I really thought id be a problem but then when i look at the unit and realize ( WHERE THE HELL IS THE COMPUTER) how integrated everything is it makes u really appreciate this feat of engineering and kinda relax a bit. I am willing to be as prices fall Apple can integrate some kinda of cooling technology as seen in the powermac g5 2.5 dual. As for myself i dont know if i am going to keep it and be happy or sell it to get a more powerful pmg5 dual and upgradable gpu but I will say the following:

The iMac g5 is the best valued Mac (and the most inexpensive) mac I have ever owned. I just wanted a second computer to augment my powerbook. (I like having a machine in my office that I can just use without hooking up cables and monitors and the like.) I beleive the powermac g5 fills this need. It is a sexy beast sitting on my desktop. (And at times the sexy beast roars with its powerful fans as well.) I think that this is perfect for the consumer. And most developers. I will be doing cocoa development and from what I've seen it is the fastest consumer mac ever. I will have to actually run more apps once I get a respectable amount of memory. If you were sitting on the fence let me tell you: Get it. I just bought a powerbook for 2700$ that had a 17" screen and 512mb ram and a g4 1.5 ghz. For 1899 you get a better cpu, a decent vid card, a bigger lcd, 4x dvd(at least) gorgeous physical unit, and your desk space back. I'm kinda hooked. More to Come......

[cocoa_coder]

One user suggested I change the Energy settings to highest performance. After doing this it seems a bit faster and the fan is a bit louder than a whisper. I am burning a DVD at 4x and 256 ram so there may be a reason the fan is on. Anyone have a list of apps they want me to run / test?

[Timan]

I'm just curious, is this noise, louder than a standard pc? I mean my old iMac and my old iBook were quite as can be, and I've seen people gripe about noises from them, but when my pc on the other hand is a monster, is there something you can realisticly compare it to in terms of noise?

In tiger, did you get that fancy water effect with the dashboard?

[Parky]

You can wake up the computer with the D-link bluetooth and the Apple Keyboard / Mouse.

You need to change the setting in the Bluetooth System preference.

Just select the 'Allow bluetooth devices to wake this computer'

Ian

[Parky]

I would be interested to know how fast it can Rip CD's

With iTunes set to AAC encoding at 160kbs, what does it import at.

My iMac G4 800, manages about 6-8 times.

Ian

[H. Georgan]

Not directly related to your review, but I noticed you have Bose speakers--how are they? Saw them in the store and they look quite nice, especially attached to a G5. They're pricey buggers though.

[cocoa_coder]

Well I didnt try dashboard. I will try later. Thanks for the bluetooth info. Thats great news.
The Bose speakers are awesome. The bass response is great and the treble is crisp. I highly recommend it. As fas as comparative noise levels, It isnt as annoying as the powermac g4 dual Mirrored Drive Doors. That thing sounds like the Amtrak Acela Express.

[toti]

Hmm... I had the MDD 1.25, and sold it to buy the iMac precisely due to noise. Yet I managed to silence the MDD by at least 50% by replacing the fans in the machine...

I hope your'e not telling us that the 20" machine is noisy ?

[cocoa_coder]

It can be very noisy. But its only a small amount of the time. I think its due to low memory. Also I played Command and Conquer Generals with Maximum Graphics Detail and 800x600 and it was fast an fine. (more playable than on my pbg4 with 128mb vram.

[pantalaimon]

Originally posted by toti:
Hmm... I had the MDD 1.25, and sold it to buy the iMac precisely due to noise. Yet I managed to silence the MDD by at least 50% by replacing the fans in the machine...

I hope your'e not telling us that the 20" machine is noisy ?

from what i've heard the 20" is very quiet,and the fans aren't used as much as the 17" G5 as it has better airflow due to the bigger case.

I've just ordered my 20" this morning, can't wait to get it!

[cocoa_coder]

I'm going to get a gig of ram from best buy today. Hopefully that will be enough to let this shine.

[Parky]

Any chance of Ripping a CD to see how quick it is please.

I did give you the tip about Bluetooth :-)

Ian

[Londor]

Parky, read Michaelb posts in this thread

http://discussions.info.apple.com/[email protected]/6

[mkb]

Here is what I posted as a followup in another thread at apple discussions about iTunes ripping on my G5 iMac:

"I am not sure what to make of benchmarking apps and what they mean. I am surprised that no professional site has benchmarked a new iMac yet, since I am curious about what they will say and how the iMac with compare with powermacs G5 and G4.

Real world speed is much more important to me. For my own curiousity, since I haven't seen anyone else do this, this is what I get ripping in iTunes at Good Qualify (160 mp3) on a 1.8 iMac with 512 ram. Since it was on my desk, I choose Pink Floyds Shine on Me Crazy Diamond, which is 17.5 minutes long:

Energy setting: Automatic.
Total Time: 1:46 secs; net speed 9.9x; max seen: 11x speed.

Energy setting: Best.
Total Time: 1:41; net speed 10.3x; max seen: 11x speed

Copied file to HD, ripped again, still at Best setting for Energy Setting:
Total Time: 47 secs, net speed 22.4x; max seen: 25x

I was surprised that best in the energy settings hardly made a difference for all the extra fan noise, the auto setting started more slowly, but then soon caught up. Ripping from the HD also smokes, and it is hard to argue with 25x speed.

I also encoded an 11 minute DVD which took 17 minutes from start to finish the encode and 23 minutes total time to burn the disk."

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

I now realize that the iDVD test was not valid, since iDVD starts encoding the movie in the background when you first load the movie. So I can't remember how long that was, or how much difference that would have made. I haven't ripped again in ACC, but that clearly seemed faster than what I was getting here in mp3.

Michaelb

[PeterKG]

Hi cocoa_coder,

Thanks for starting this thread. I have a 20' on order and it will come with 1GB ram installed, and also BT and AE. Since I have a new 1.5Ghz PB already, I need you to tell me that the iMac performs better to help me justify the expense. I am buying for the large screen, HD, and I think it will be the cleanest destop since I owned my Cube. So please keep telling us performance vs. your Powerbook, and THANKS again!

[icruise]

cocoa_coder -- Where did you get that desk? I like it.

[cocoa_coder]

Actually I'm not certain. I think it was staples. I will post the brand name when I get home.
One problem with the desk is because of the glass top it gives mice with infrared sensors problems tracking so you have to have a pad.

[cocoa_coder]

Originally posted by Parky:
You can wake up the computer with the D-link bluetooth and the Apple Keyboard / Mouse.

You need to change the setting in the Bluetooth System preference.

Just select the 'Allow bluetooth devices to wake this computer'

Ian

Actually this option is disabled. How do I enable it? Do I have to manually Install PAnther?

[klinux]

Ah ha - a fellow pocket PC user???

Also, I can forecast what your next purchase will be. Logitech now has a mouse with a frickn' laser beam that can be used on glass.

[cocoa_coder]

Added 1 Gig Ram. Ford Racing is really fast and looks good.

[sworthy]

Originally posted by cocoa_coder:
Actually this option is disabled. How do I enable it? Do I have to manually Install PAnther?

I had that problem too. Go to the download page on apple.com and manually download and install the bluetooth updaters. For some reason the option was grayed out for me even after applying the software updates.

[Tin-Cup]

have you phone apple about the loud fans... there is a bad batch going around

[Spliffdaddy]

Originally posted by cocoa_coder:
It can be very noisy. But its only a small amount of the time. I think its due to low memory. Also I played Command and Conquer Generals with Maximum Graphics Detail and 800x600 and it was fast an fine. (more playable than on my pbg4 with 128mb vram.

I don't think disk paging related to low system RAM would cause a significant increase in heat. As long as they're spinning (that is, except when powered-off or sleeping) hard drives are generating as much heat as they will generate - read/write operations involving the pickup head servo motor don't add significant heat.

[Pierre B.]

Originally posted by Tin-Cup:
have you phone apple about the loud fans... there is a bad batch going around

Here is what Hardmac said on the issue.