[galarneau]

I'm looking for some advice before tomorrow morning.

The prices for a refurb 20" iMac and the refurb dual G5 1.8 are roughly the same.

I placed an order tonight for the iMac, and it's going to ship out tomorrow, so I have until the morning to change it.

Basically, I can't decide what to get.

The iMac has the great screen. The G5 has the power (and I'll have to use my existing crappy 19" CRT)

I don't NEED the power of the G5, though it would be nice.

I'll be able to get a nicer screen for it in about a year when I start a higher paying job.

What would you guys get?

Mostly I'll be using it for coding, surfing, etc... not much game playing.

Hope to get some opinions before morning. Thanks.

[MindFad]

Dual 1.8 without question. Much better in the long run.

[galarneau]

Yes, that is true...

So for the next year MindFad, you think it would be better to use a G5 with a 19" CRT instead of an iMac with a 20" LCD?

I can make arguements either way. Bah...

nice dilemma to be in though. Woot! New Mac (of some kind) on the way!

[MindFad]

Absolutely. And when you are ready to sell, you'll get more for the dual 1.8. At least, I would prefer having the power of the dual G5 and a 19" CRT than an iMac for a year. Tough choice, yes, but that's just me.

[olePigeon]

You'll appreciate the G5 a lot more once Tiger comes out too with all its 64-bit enchancements.

[galarneau]

Yes, I think I should change the order MindFad.

Thanks for the advice. Very much appreciated.

Now I just wish I could get a better video card with the refurb, but looks like I'm stuch with the GeForceFX 5200. Not a big deal for me at this point, though.

[fibroptikl]

Get the Dual 1.8

[mdc]

as awesome as the imac and 20" monitor is, right now i would go for the g5 since like olePigeon the 64bit will be nice, and plus maybe one day you can buy the new video card and the 30" monitor

[galarneau]

I've decided that with Expose, I don't really need to have a huge resolution monitor to be productive.

My current CRT does 1280x960 @ 85Hz, so that will be enough for now.

I just hope they let me change the order. They told me it wouldn't ship until tomorrow.

If it is as fast and as quiet as everyone says they are, I'll be able to keep this machine for a good long time... maybe get one of the new displays in a year. I can see now that if I bought the iMac, I'd be already thinking about what to get next.

Thanks for all the advice.

[george68]

I disagree with everybody here. I'd go with the iMac. I was trying to decide between a g5 and a 17" imac, and I couldn't be happier. A g4 over 1ghz is plenty snappy, and the huge screen is just f*cking incredible. I love the size, resolution, and clarity of the LCD. I love how you can slouch and just smack the screen and have it in the right position... or if you want to show someone something sitting somewhere else, I just smack the screen the other way. It is an INCREDIBLE design. I'm absolutely in love with it, and if you gave me a choice between a 200ghz G9 or my current iMac, I'd stick with the imac. You can make a computer as fast as you want, and it still won't have the design and convenience of the iMac. Plus, the iMac is pretty damn fast. It runs halo fine, ut2004, and video editing is a cinch.

- Rob

[galarneau]

Yeah, I was actually looking for some real world opinions on the performance of games on the iMac.

I don't game that much, but being able to run UT2003 or 2004 would be nice.

My old iBook G4/800 was a dog. Even at 640x480. Dog. Dog. Dog.

Well I have 8-9 more hours before I call 'em.

Anyone else have an opinion?

I'll admit that I don't need dual processors, gigabit ethernet, PCI-X slots etc.

I just want something that I can stick with and won't want to sell in 6 months.

I need this machine to last at least until I start my residency (6-12 months from now). Then I'll be too busy to do much more than check my email and none of this will matter.

[george68]

Get the imac. If you hate it, you can unload it on ebay, but I'm positive you won't be dissapointed. The 20" one has an even better graphics card than what mine has.... seriously, it runs the newest games just fine, and it's plenty fast. I could see getting hte G5 if you already had a cinema screen or something, but you don't.

- Rob

[Sherwin]

Originally posted by galarneau:
Yeah, I was actually looking for some real world opinions on the performance of games on the iMac.

I don't game that much, but being able to run UT2003 or 2004 would be nice.

My old iBook G4/800 was a dog. Even at 640x480. Dog. Dog. Dog.

Hmmm... Ghost Recon runs at 1440x900 (all detail on high, shadows off) just fine on an 800 MHz iMac, if that's any help.

[jorgem4]

You know you want a G5...ditch the iMac

[typoon]

Get the Dual G5

[ajprice]

If you have a straight choice between iMac and G5, go for the G5. It's faster, you can put whatever the hell screen you want on it and not stuck with the 20", however good it is, and it's expandable. My G4 867 is almost 3 years old, at the time i was considering a G4 Cube and couldn't see what I'd need PCI slots or drive bays for, because it had a big hard drive and just about everything in it at the time, now there is USB2, Firewire 800, 54mb wireless etc, all are pretty common now, if I had an Cube 3 years ago, and i wanted 54g wireless, USB2 or fw800 connections, I'd be stuffed right now. I now have a G4 with over a gig of RAM, 180gb of storage, 54g wireless and Bluetooth (um...ok that's USB, but anyway, BT was barely around at consumer level 3 years ago, you know what I mean).

In short, the G5 gives you room to upgrade to things that haven't been invented yet !

One more thing... My G4 runs OS X 10.3 just fine. Now the way OS X is developing, build yourself a time machine, go to 3 years from now and see if Mac OS X 2007 supports an iMac G4 with a 64mb graphics card

[Eug Wanker]

I don't ask for much, all I want is a 30" Display...and the graphics card to run it...and the G5 to put the card into

Check, check, and check. Time for a new sig.

[george68]

Originally posted by ajprice:
One more thing... My G4 runs OS X 10.3 just fine. Now the way OS X is developing, build yourself a time machine, go to 3 years from now and see if Mac OS X 2007 supports an iMac G4 with a 64mb graphics card

Screw that. iMacs have a great resale value, as the majority of consumers want a machine that 'works', as opposed to the latest greatest fastest thing. iMacs do any task you throw at them just fine, with the exception of games like Doom3. Regardless, you can ditch the 20" imac a year from now and pick up the newest iMac for the next year.

- Rob

[paully dub]

Depends on what kind of user you are. For my needs, I'd get the powermac. But the iMac 20" is a very nice computer indeed, and if you're the type to resell and upgrade within a year or so, go for it (if you really prefer the iMac over the dual g5). Otherwise the dual G5 will be a better bet in the long run.

[galarneau]

I went for the iMac... should be here tomorrow :-)

Why?

I don't keep my Mac's longer than a year, and in a year I'll be starting my residency (i.e. have a real income, though not much time to spend it).

Until then, I decided that I would use the iMac, enjoy the great screen for my coding projects, etc, and sell it next year.

If I get $1500 for it on eBay at that point, I'll have used it for a year for a total of $380.

By then I'll be better able to evaluate if I need a G5 or not. Heck, maybe the iMac will be G5 by then.

I really could have gone either way, but the display won me over. I think of it as buying a 20" cinema display for full price, and getting a 1.25GHz Mac with a SuperDrive for $580.

How's that for cognitive restructuring?

Now I just need to decide if I should get an old USB iSub off eBay to complement those Pro speakers.

[zigzag]

Based on your current and foreseeable needs, which don't appear to require a G5, I'd get the iMac. I can only speak for myself, but after using LCDs for 3 years, I can barely tolerate CRTs anymore. Therefore, with your needs in mind, I'd rather have an iMac with a 20" LCD than a G5 with a CRT. When you get more $$ or outgrow the iMac, you can ebay it and buy a G5, by which time the G5s will be even more powerful and cheaper and you can afford a nice flat screen.

[george68]

Originally posted by galarneau:
I really could have gone either way, but the display won me over. I think of it as buying a 20" cinema display for full price, and getting a 1.25GHz Mac with a SuperDrive for $580.

You made a good choice, and that's EXACTLY how I looked at it. Sure, G5 power would be fun, but it'd suck to have some dorky CRT that takes up so much room, puts off so much heat, draws so much power, not to mention the size of the G5. Plus the iMac's are prettty much dead silent for most things.

Now I just need to decide if I should get an old USB iSub off eBay to complement those Pro speakers.

Meh. Just hook it up to your home stereo.

- Rob

[olePigeon]

Originally posted by george68:
Meh. Just hook it up to your home stereo.

- Rob

And snag an AirPort Express for the living room.

[george68]

Seriously, you're going to be REALLY happy. The display on these suckers is worth it. Sure, you can always get a cinema display for the G5, but it's never going to be adjustable like the iMac's swivel screen, nor will it be as quiet, small, and ... it's just great.

- Rob

[galarneau]

That would be the plan if I had a stereo.

I just moved back to the USA from Australia, so I'm a little light in the personal possessions department.

I plan to use the iMac as my stereo/DVD Player/Entertainment center until I become gainfully employed.

I dunno, guess I'll just see how the Pro speakers sound by themselves.

[galarneau]

Originally posted by george68:
Seriously, you're going to be REALLY happy. The display on these suckers is worth it. Sure, you can always get a cinema display for the G5, but it's never going to be adjustable like the iMac's swivel screen, nor will it be as quiet, small, and ... it's just great.

- Rob

I hope you're right Rob. It was easy to be tempted by the power of the G5.

If the iMac is as quiet as I've heard, I'll be happy. I've seen the screen in person once, and was stunned.

[Sherwin]

Originally posted by galarneau:
I dunno, guess I'll just see how the Pro speakers sound by themselves.

They're remarkably good for their size. You'll get by with them for a while.

Good choice on the iMac. I'm in agreement with Ca$hy boy (for once).

[galarneau]

Well, received the iMac last night. Everything is great, save for two things:

1) The clips that hold on the bezel around the screen appear to be broken on the lower right corner of the screen. When I grab the screen to move it, the bezel pulls away from the screen.

2) The fan in the top of the dome is significantly louder than I expected. My local public library has some old 15" iMac G4's and they seem to be quieter than this one.

Ah, what to do. Send it back to SmallDog for another? Repair by Apple?

Love the screen size and quality though. The ergonomics also kick arse.

I also realized that with a bluetooth keyboard & mouse and AirTunes, you can essentially have just the iMac with a power cable coming out of it and no other wires. That's frickin' awesome.

[george68]

Originally posted by galarneau:
Well, received the iMac last night. Everything is great, save for two things:

1) The clips that hold on the bezel around the screen appear to be broken on the lower right corner of the screen. When I grab the screen to move it, the bezel pulls away from the screen.

2) The fan in the top of the dome is significantly louder than I expected. My local public library has some old 15" iMac G4's and they seem to be quieter than this one.

Ah, what to do. Send it back to SmallDog for another? Repair by Apple?

Love the screen size and quality though. The ergonomics also kick arse.

I also realized that with a bluetooth keyboard & mouse and AirTunes, you can essentially have just the iMac with a power cable coming out of it and no other wires. That's frickin' awesome.

It shouldn't be loud AT ALL. Send it back. The only time my 1ghz iMac ever makes noise is if I'm doing something intensive like playing Halo or editing video.

- Rob

[galarneau]

Wow, with Apple anouncing new iMac in a couple months, I'm tempted to send the iMac back and wait to see what comes out.

I still have my old PC to use in the meantime. It woul be painful, but the main thing I want to do on the computer is learn to program, and now I found a book that teaches JUST objective-C, which I can learn from using GCC on a windows or linux box.

The guys at SmallDog are gonna hate me when I call 'em tomorrow. Ah well. $2k is $2k and for that much money, you should get something you're happy with, ya?