[Mustangmikeua]

Ok, ive come across some interesting evidence. The G5 1.6 has a 800mhz front side bus, and the G5 1.8 has a 600mhz front side bus.

Now, im inbetween these two when choosing which to buy, becuase of those bus speeds, which one is faster? Or does it simply equal out?

Anyone have any answer to this?

[jcadam]

Originally posted by Mustangmikeua:
Ok, ive come across some interesting evidence. The G5 1.6 has a 800mhz front side bus, and the G5 1.8 has a 600mhz front side bus.

Now, im inbetween these two when choosing which to buy, becuase of those bus speeds, which one is faster? Or does it simply equal out?

Anyone have any answer to this?

I'm pretty sure the 1.6 had a 600MHz bus also, and that it used PC2700 SDRAM (instead of PC3200). I just checked www.applehistory.com and it lists the 1.6 as having an 800MHz FSB. I think apple-history is wrong in this case.

I wouldn't touch a solo G5 (well, the 1st gen single 1.8 was decent, but otherwise they look almost deliberately crippled).

[Mustangmikeua]

every site that i have looked at mentions the 1.6 with a 800mhz fsb. which actually makes sense considering apple wanted their processors to have a fsb half the processor. dual 1.8s 900mhz, dual 2s 1ghz, dual 2.5s 1.25ghz...

so i am sure the 800 is correct. but please explain what you mean by deliberately crippled. I would get a dual if i had the money... but I really only have about 1500 to spend, which leaves me in the area of a nice 1.6 or 1.8 not a dual.

[Lateralus]

The current 1.8GHz G5 is the first Power Mac G5 to deviate from the 2:1 bus. The 1.6 did indeed have an 800MHz bus.

As for the deliberately crippled comment, it basically stems from the fact that there only 4 RAM slots and the three expansion slots are PCI and not PCI-X.

Additionally, lower clocked G5s really aren't that stellar as they get out performed by the last Dual G4s which are also more expandable.

[Mustangmikeua]

thanks lateralus for confirming that. I am still unsure though, on whether I should be looking at buying a 1.6 or 1.8... does the smaller bus on the 1.8 actually make a big difference??

I was also under the suspicion that one version of the single g5, the 1.6 i thought, had the pci-x... though I am not completely sure...

You mention the dual g4s outperforming the single g5s... Does this mean I should consider looking at some of the dual 1.25 or 1.42 instead of the 1.6/1.8 g5?

I am just trying to get the best bang for the buck

[Groovy]

Originally posted by Mustangmikeua:
I really only have about 1500 to spend, which leaves me in the area of a nice 1.6 or 1.8 not a dual.

get a refurb. $1500 will get you a dual 1.8 $1999 got me a Dual 2GHz
with a 8x superdrive and a 9600 PRO card also in it. others have gotten
extra ram left in the G5 when buying refurbs.

no problems at all with mine. works great!

[jcadam]

Originally posted by Mustangmikeua:
thanks lateralus for confirming that. I am still unsure though, on whether I should be looking at buying a 1.6 or 1.8... does the smaller bus on the 1.8 actually make a big difference??

I was also under the suspicion that one version of the single g5, the 1.6 i thought, had the pci-x... though I am not completely sure...

You mention the dual g4s outperforming the single g5s... Does this mean I should consider looking at some of the dual 1.25 or 1.42 instead of the 1.6/1.8 g5?

I am just trying to get the best bang for the buck

The 1st Gen single 1.8 (which was quickly replaced by the dual 1.8) had PCI-X and 8 memory slots.


I stand corrected on the 1.6 FSB. My memory has failed me again. But I am pretty sure that it used PC2700 SDRAM.

[3.1416]

Originally posted by Groovy:
get a refurb.

Ditto. My refurb dual 1.8 (rev A, with PCI-X and 8 RAM slots) has been great. You really want a dual if at all possible.

[Mustangmikeua]

How were the rev-a 1.8ghz models? I am looking at a single for a very good price, it has the 8 ram slots and the pci-x...

Is there anything i should be aware of? I mean, is there a reason they quickly went to the rev-b?

Also, thanks for the advice on the refurbs... any recommendation on where to get a good refurb for a decent price?

[iREZ]

Get an iMac if your looking single. Atleast the thing will hold its resale value when you try to get rid of it later on. A single G5 is like buying an iBook instead of Powerbook.

[Mustangmikeua]

i don't want an imac, i got a 20" cinema for my birthday... was my only birthday present but, a kick ass monitor. So I want a g5 to compliment it.

Like I said I would buy a dual, but I can't find anywhere selling refurb duals for any less than 1800. If you could point me to where I can get a dual for less than 1500 than I would be happy.

[Mustangmikeua]

im still wondering whether the 1.6 or the 1.8 is the way to go... or whether I should be looking at 1.42 or 1.25 duals... or where I can possibly get a dual 1.8 for cheap, as someone said I can get one for 1500...

Thanks for all the advice you all, its helped so far, just still wondering about which of these would be the best buy.

[Lateralus]

I would take a Dual 1.25 G4 over a 1.6GHz G5 any day. Same goes for a Dual 1.42 G4 vs a 1.8GHz G5, especially the current one.

If you can find a Dual 1.42 for $1,350 or so, I'd say it would be a better deal than the current 1.8.

[macaddict0001]

Originally posted by Lateralus:
I would take a Dual 1.25 G4 over a 1.6GHz G5 any day. Same goes for a Dual 1.42 G4 vs a 1.8GHz G5, especially the current one.

If you can find a Dual 1.42 for $1,350 or so, I'd say it would be a better deal than the current 1.8.

agreed

[Mustangmikeua]

cool, thats what i will look for then... thanks for the advice...

[iDaver]

For what it's worth, keep in mind that the dual G4s were kinda noisy. If you work in a noisy environment, it might not matter to you. If it were me and I was going to use the computer at home, I'd go with the quieter G5.

[Mustangmikeua]

no thats a good thing to think about. thank you. however, I am a gamer, and my pc currently has 6 fans in it, so I am very used to a loud pc.

[Mustangmikeua]

no thats a good thing to think about. thank you. however, I am a gamer, and my pc currently has 6 fans in it, so I am very used to a loud pc.

[Al G]

The new 1.8 single uses the 970FX processor. The CPU draws less than half the power of the 970 and should also be quieter and cooler.

You can pick up a Radeon 9600Pro from OWC for $99 later. Or do a BTO from Apple (or a few of the resellers) with a 9600XT for an additional $50.

[3.1416]

Originally posted by iREZ:
Get an iMac if your looking single.

Yep. I really don't see the point of an SP tower, unless you *really* need the expansion and *really* can't afford a dual. In terms of bang for the buck, the iMac and dual towers are far better deals.

[Mustangmikeua]

thanks pi... but... i think you missed my post about 1) I have a 20" cinema I got for my b-day, and running it with an imac would be a waste of time and money. and 2) I don't have enough money for a dual g5 unless someone can tell me where the heck I can get a dual g5 for under 1500... I have looked everywhere.

So I am forced to look at dual g4s or single g5. As it stands, I'm still torn between the two. I have found a couple good deals on 1.8 rev-a models with the pci-x and 8 ram slots, but still around the 1400 mark, where I've also found some dual 1.25 g4 with lots of ram and hd for about the 1300 mark.

Not sure which way to go, but those are the ways I'm pretty much forced to unless I can find something like a dual 1.8 for about 1500, which like i said, is near impossible.

[Groovy]

Originally posted by Mustangmikeua:
so I am forced to look at dual g4s or single g5

get a dual G5

this is IMHO a classic case penny wise but pound foolish.
so do WHATEVER you have to do. Even if it means someone lending you
a few hundreds bucks for a few months.

you do NOT want single CPU when for a few hundred more you can
get double the snappy

Example: you can MAX out 1 CPU playing UT2k4 while the other CPU does
system tasks and e-mail and other stuff with no hit on UT2k4 and the audio
will go to second CPU too making the UT2k4 enjoyment even better.

You will enjoy a dual for a lot longer and get your money back that way
as well since no need to upgrade as soon. This way you have more
time to save up and not have to buy a single CPU again next time.

break the cycle!!!


ok i will shut up now and yes the above is JUST MY OPINION


...

[Mustangmikeua]

Ok, so I ended up checking out my schools bookstore today, and they had a sale on a dual 1.8 with 512mb and 80gb for 1499... the deal i have been looking for. So i ordered it and it should be here in 2 days.

Woohooo!!!

[Lateralus]

Very nice.

[iREZ]

Congrats on the purchase! Only reason I mentioned the iMac was because it's a better buy than a single G5 but not if you have an ACD waiting for tower.

[AlaskaBoy]

Originally posted by Lateralus:
I would take a Dual 1.25 G4 over a 1.6GHz G5 any day. Same goes for a Dual 1.42 G4 vs a 1.8GHz G5, especially the current one.

If you can find a Dual 1.42 for $1,350 or so, I'd say it would be a better deal than the current 1.8.

Well I bought a single 1.6 G5 & I love it. i use it at home for everything from surfing to digital photo editing to DVD creation to iMovie to gaming & i love it.

The problem is that most of the apps i use do not make much use of the dual processor in the system. (graphicConverter? iPhoto?iMovie?iTunes?Safari?Diablo2?Monkey Island?) How many of these actually know/use the dual processor architecture to it's advantage?

Don't be fooled. It's a great machine, in fact my first non-all-in-one machine since my Quadra 610 back in 1995.

Just my 2�
John Boyarsky
RSMS ISS Guy, Tutor & Dirt Burner
Fairbanks, AK

[Lateralus]

Heh... You definitely sound like somebody who has never owned a dual before. It's more than just a single app taking advantage of both processors. It is about the OS automatically distributing the weight of all the applications/tasks you're running across both processors and being able to do a lot more at once because of it.

And FYI: iTunes, iPhoto and iMovie are all MP aware.

[AlaskaBoy]

Originally posted by Lateralus:
Heh... You definitely sound like somebody who has never owned a dual before. It's more than just a single app taking advantage of both processors. It is about the OS automatically distributing the weight of all the applications/tasks you're running across both processors and being able to do a lot more at once because of it.

And FYI: iTunes, iPhoto and iMovie are all MP aware.

That's all fine & good, but I have yet to notice any slowdown due to processor lag, except when i boot up MacHelp. Even editing photos, encoding DVD & surfing at the same time i still have RAM leftover & maybe then ive maxed out the processor.. but that does not happen so often.

**Just an aside-- anyhone else get problems with MacHelp maxing out the processor for 5-10 minutes at a time then refusing to load up the MacHelp home page?***

Thanks,
John Boyarsky
RSMS ISS Guy, Tutor & Dirt Burner
Fairbanks, AK

[Groovy]

Dual 1.8 BRAND NEW for $1499

Like i said totally worth it to take your time and do it right

[Groovy]

Originally posted by AlaskaBoy:
That's all fine & good, but I have yet to notice any slowdown due to processor lag, except when i boot up MacHelp. Even editing photos, encoding DVD & surfing at the same time i still have RAM leftover & maybe then ive maxed out the processor.. but that does not happen so often.

Thanks,
John Boyarsky
RSMS ISS Guy, Tutor & Dirt Burner
Fairbanks, AK

there is nothing wrong with a single CPU 1.6. it is snappy but for me it is
about spending just a few hundred more and getting dual 1.8 which is more
than double the snappy and with far longer value down the road.

it may be fast enough now but your next years app may need both CPUs
and right now there are apps like my above example UT2k4 that use both
CPU and even on my Dual 2GHz still bog down.

if you are happy though that is all that really matters