[GarrettStewie]

I have an Intel iMac 20" 2GHz 2GB RAM, but I kind of want something that is more upgradable. The Mac Pro is a bit out of my range, but the Power Mac G5 seems a bit more reasonable. Would there be a noticible difference in speed? I love my Intel mac because it's rather speedy, but I'm worried that going back to a PowerPC will slow me down... Any suggestions?

-garrettstewie

[bballe336]

A machine with a core 2 duo is going to be faster than a dual processor G5 by far. A quad G5 may be slightly faster, but not much.

[Cold Warrior]

Intel is the future, especially with the quality iMac you have. You're taking a step back with the G5, unless there's some important upgrade you can only have with a tower system.

[tiger]

Originally Posted by bballe336 

A machine with a core 2 duo is going to be faster than a dual processor G5 by far. A quad G5 may be slightly faster, but not much.

You are mistaken, we've got Mac Pros and G5's at my company and the Dual G5s are faster than the current apple Consumer line, although slower but not much more than a 2.66 Mac Pro. Also, the 2.7 G5 is slightly faster than the mac pro at certain tasks and I'm not talking about PPC apps.

Although it wouldn't be so much a step back, I'd recommend holding off for some iMac upgrades, since their speeds and memory access will be increased and therefore outperform many PowerMac G5s.

[roller]

Originally Posted by GarrettStewie 

I have an Intel iMac 20" 2GHz 2GB RAM, but I kind of want something that is more upgradable. The Mac Pro is a bit out of my range, but the Power Mac G5 seems a bit more reasonable. Would there be a noticible difference in speed? I love my Intel mac because it's rather speedy, but I'm worried that going back to a PowerPC will slow me down... Any suggestions?

-garrettstewie

What exactly to you want to upgrade?

On the iMac, you can upgrade RAM and the HD (external, or even internal with a little work). Clearly, you aren't interested in a processor upgrade. I just don't see how you are limited by the iMac.

[MattJeff]

new imacs are said to be out next month with a new design. i would wait for them.

[GarrettStewie]

Originally Posted by roller 

What exactly to you want to upgrade?

On the iMac, you can upgrade RAM and the HD (external, or even internal with a little work). Clearly, you aren't interested in a processor upgrade. I just don't see how you are limited by the iMac.

The limitation I face is the ammount of Hard Drives I am permitted. With a Power Mac, I could have up to four, but with my iMac I am forced to use things like Firewire and USB enclosures to get more space.

[iREZ]

and whats wrong with that? external drives are selling for rather cheap now anyway. i picked up a 400gb fw/usb lacie drive the other day for 129 bucks.

[GarrettStewie]

Originally Posted by iREZ 

and whats wrong with that? external drives are selling for rather cheap now anyway. i picked up a 400gb fw/usb lacie drive the other day for 129 bucks.

1. Slower speeds
2. Nosier
3. Generally insufficient cooling for were I live (The summers here are rather brutal on my hardware)
4. I hate having extra little things dangling about my workspace

[bballe336]

Originally Posted by tiger 

You are mistaken, we've got Mac Pros and G5's at my company and the Dual G5s are faster than the current apple Consumer line, although slower but not much more than a 2.66 Mac Pro. Also, the 2.7 G5 is slightly faster than the mac pro at certain tasks and I'm not talking about PPC apps.

Although it wouldn't be so much a step back, I'd recommend holding off for some iMac upgrades, since their speeds and memory access will be increased and therefore outperform many PowerMac G5s.

In my experience similarly equipped mac pros were far faster than quad G5's. I'm talking about usage in final cut studio, after effects, and various other video related applications, and just in general tasks. Also the difference I noticed between dual G5 towers and intel imacs was enough so that I'd rather have an intel imac.

[jamil5454]

Originally Posted by GarrettStewie 

The limitation I face is the ammount of Hard Drives I am permitted. With a Power Mac, I could have up to four, but with my iMac I am forced to use things like Firewire and USB enclosures to get more space.

Correction, with the PowerMac you are limited to only 2 hard drives, unless you buy a 3rd party internal expansion bracket. By that point, you could get a much more elegant external RAID solution for your iMac and stick with the faster, more modern machine.

With the rate at which Apple develops and optimizes new software, I wouldn't go back to a PPC unless I absolutely had to.

[tiger]

Originally Posted by bballe336 

In my experience similarly equipped mac pros were far faster than quad G5's. I'm talking about usage in final cut studio, after effects, and various other video related applications, and just in general tasks. Also the difference I noticed between dual G5 towers and intel imacs was enough so that I'd rather have an intel imac.

Well Altivec is still much faster on the G5s, and I do agree, Quads were sluggish and the difference in speed is noticeably faster on the Mac Pros but the G5s were pretty descent machines and I've got an Intel iMac as well as a MacBook Pro and the G5s are still faster albeit the Mac Pros are even faster, mostly in filtering/rendering. Good Stuff.

[ninahagen]

The very first thing to do is take the Photoshop Speed test with your iMac here:

http://forums.macnn.com/65/mac-pro-a...configuration/

Then compare to the Quad G5 Results in the thread. My quad G5 is 65 seconds for the test, and it is pretty maxed (8GB of RAM), but still using CS2.

Please post your test results and further thoughts on that thread and this one... the test should help clarify where you want to go.

[ninahagen]

Also, take a look here as an example:

eBay: Apple Power Mac G5 2.5 Quad - 10.5GB RAM 1TB HD AppCare (item 320129314955 end time Jun-26-07 15:28:09 PDT)

This is a blazing machine at about $1700 delivered (if you are lucky).

By the time you add the cost of a good monitor though, you could get a loaded 24inch iMac, probably a bit faster and a with Apple care. I think I would go for the iMac. Or just get a minimal Mac Pro and upgrade the RAM as you can afford to. What's your budget anyway?

[tiger]

That's a pretty good deal, I would get the G5 quad at that price though instead of the iMac, I have and iMac and it really isn't a desktop machine.

[Googer-Giger]

Ram also has a big effect on it, correct me if I am wrong, but the ability to fit 16GB of RAM is going to beat the max of 2 or 3 of the iMacs.

[tiger]

Originally Posted by Googer-Giger 

Ram also has a big effect on it, correct me if I am wrong, but the ability to fit 16GB of RAM is going to beat the max of 2 or 3 of the iMacs.

Agreed, and the faster access to that ram as well. Wider Bus, better graphics, faster HD's. iMac has a 1.5gb while the PowerMac, Mac Pro got 3gb/s HDs.

[OreoCookie]

The graphics is not necessarily better, the fastest graphics card in an iMac is a GeForce 7600 GT which is considerably faster than the stock graphics card in a G5. Even the 7300 GT which is standard on all but the 17" model is the same as the stock graphics card on the Mac Pro.

The harddrives on both machines are the same, although you can only exchange the iMac's harddrive for another whereas you can add a second internal harddrive to your G5 (or more if you buy harddrive brackets). iMacs support up to 3 GB, but I guess that'll change in the next revision (up to 4 GB). More than 6 GB of RAM is useful only in certain extraordinary situations, but by then, you are better off with a Mac Pro anyway.

Now back to the OP's question: I think this would actually be a step backwards in your specific case. You can add additional storage via FireWire/USB (FireWire is still considerably faster than USB, especially FireWire 800) and a second screen. BTW, you cannot upgrade a G5's cpu. Also, you don't want to spend an arm and a leg to upgrade the G5 until it is finally faster than your iMac (fast graphics card, additional harddrives, screens, etc.) … If you really need expandability and upgradeability, start saving for a Mac Pro (you can upgrade the cpus again).

[SierraDragon]

Don't even dream of going backward to legacy G5 hardware. Save for a Mac Pro.

-Allen Wicks

[tiger]

I agree that you should not think about going backwards technologically, instead save up for a mac pro. But if you cannot get a mac pro and only have a choice of a quad G5 and intel iMac I think I'd go for the Quad g5 since it'll still be a very good computer for a few years. I never use computer for more than a few years since they get terribly slow and eventually the PPC will go unsupported by everyone but apple. Get a Mac Pro they are good machines, also I warn against the X1900 Xt... heating problems and screen tears.

[Googer-Giger]

The G5 will last a lot longer than the iMac, it is a durable machine, look at the people still using quicksilvers, look in magazines how PowerMacs are always way more upgradeable than the iMacs. It will last longer, and will stand up to upgrades over the next few years.

[SierraDragon]

Already Intel-only apps are showing up. The G5s are not simply older towers, they are a previous entirely different tech generation. Stick with what you have as long as possible, then move to MacIntel. Forget G5.

-Allen Wicks

[Veltliner]

The Quad G5 mentioned above sold for 2500$.

Even with that huge amount of RAM, I wonder if it was worth that much, or if this price was just a result of bidding fever.

GarrettStewie, you never mentioned what applications you want to run. You only expressed a need for speed.

[GarrettStewie]

Originally Posted by Veltliner 

The Quad G5 mentioned above sold for 2500$.

Even with that huge amount of RAM, I wonder if it was worth that much, or if this price was just a result of bidding fever.

GarrettStewie, you never mentioned what applications you want to run. You only expressed a need for speed.

Well not necessarily a NEED for speed... I was just wondering if I would notice a massive difference in speed or not. The main need was additional storage, as my iMac can only hold one drive at a time

[cgc]

Originally Posted by GarrettStewie 

1. Slower speeds
2. Nosier
3. Generally insufficient cooling for were I live (The summers here are rather brutal on my hardware)
4. I hate having extra little things dangling about my workspace

I have an external hard drive and it's just as fast as my internal using FW800 (I tested it inside my MacPro and in the enclosure where it lives now), is silent, and doesn't get hot. Cost me $99 for the enclosure and $59 for a 250GB SATA drive. Great deal.

[JonoMarshall]

Don't go the G5 route for the reasons above!

I'd buy external storage:
1. Slower speeds - what do you need "super speeds" for? Exernals can be v. competitive?!
2. Nosier - debatable, depends on make/model, extra imac heat would create more fan noise anyway.
3. Generally insufficient cooling for were I live (The summers here are rather brutal on my hardware) - fair enough, personally I'd rather have extra heat away from the iMac and in an external enclosure.
4. I hate having extra little things dangling about my workspace - cable through hole in desk to hard drive hidden away/mounted under desk/etc? Or just super sexy external enclosure perhaps?