Dual 2.7 regrets?

I'll address this one point at a time.

-512mb of RAM really isn't sufficient for a machine like a dual 2.7ghz G5

-World of Warcraft performance would probably improve if you had more RAM, but if you have a low-end video card, that's probably a bigger factor

-It is nearly impossible to tell whether or not the dual core G5s or the Intel-based PowerMacs will be a big improvement. The dual core G5s (which are probably coming soon) probably wont be a huge improvement, the Intel-based PowerMacs may still be 2 years away, and thereby may be a huge improvement.

absolutmp5 said:

Well i bought a 2.7 powermac g5 a few months ago and so far its been solid. But i do occasionaly get slow down when playing games like wow or when im using garageband. now i only have 512 ram do you think i wouuld notice a large increase in stability and smoother processing when i up it to 1.5gigs. Would World of Warcraft be alot more better in its processing. Also my computer has been causing alot of heat disapation itno my room would the ram help ease the processors?

Another question on my mind is the dual core powerac g5s or the intels going to be so much more better than what i have now?

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Yes, upping the ram to 1.5 gb should speed things up, but a bigger issue is what video card you are using, what settings your game is at, what monitor you have (CRT or LCD and which one [CRT will be better for gaming]), and what other processes are going on in the background. [Not to mention how diligent have you been at maintenance, keeping your hard drive not too full, and tweaking your system for maximum speed (processor set to the highest in preferences)]

So, if I were you I would: 1st--accept that a Mac is not a gaming machine and deal with its limitations, and 2nd--get the best video card available for your machine, which is either the Radeon X800 XT or the GeForce 6800 UL, depending on the specific tasks you want faster:

http://www.barefeats.com/rad9650.html

Note on the page linked above that the 6800 UL seems better for 3d gaming on most games listed. Note also that the 9650, which ships with the 2.7 G5, is utter CRAP for video games.

As to your last question, YES, whatever is released in the future will be faster and better than what you have now. It will always be that way.

absolutmp5,

You have perhaps the greatest personal computer in the world right now, at least from my eyes as a Mac nut.

However, yes, you need more memory! Your machine is a powerhouse, but you have an amount of memory that is acceptable, for a mini. Good thing about your PowerMac? There are lots of upgrade slots!

Take a trip over to crucial.com. Pick up some memory, just be sure to get at least two sticks. Even if you got only two 256 sticks, that would put you at a combined 1 GB. You should notice an improvement straight away. Not that your machine is terrible now, but I can see why it can get a little sluggish in garageband, or if you're multitasking, when its limited on memory. Get some memory, and you'll be re-impressed by your Powermac.

About the future: Yes, things will always get better, but make no mistake about it, you have a brilliant machine. The very best Macintosh right now. It is going to be a capable machine, for several years. The Powermacs will not be leaping way ahead in a single update, it takes a bit of time (several updates), for a significant change to be noticed. Furthermore, the PowerMacs may not move to intel until late 2007. Enjoy your machine!

If you have a Dual 2.7, you should definitely have at LEAST a gig and a half of RAM. And a video card thats like 256 MB...

Buy a GB RAM (2*512MB) RIGHT NOW.

Thr Dual 2.7 has bags of RAM slots so you can keep upping the RAM each year and not lose out.

Sooner or later you will have to change the video card to something decent, you can offset the cost (LOTS!!! ) by selling yours on eBay.

Because you do have 2 processors, I believe it is best to have at least 1 Gig per processor, because I don't believe that only one of the two processors can address all the memory. ( 1 processor takes half of the memory and many apps run over one proc. ).

take note: This is what I believe, however I am not absolutely sure.

For the rest it is a great machine, with lots of ram it will never be too slow for anything. ( I do have 2 times 1.25 Gig. and it is never slow )

absolutmp5 said:

I do occasionaly get slow down when playing games like wow or when im using garageband. now i only have 512 ram do you think i wouuld notice a large increase in stability and smoother processing when i up it to 1.5gigs.

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I wouldn't use GarageBand with less than 1GB of RAM. I have 2GB on my Powerbook and GarageBand is nice and quick.

Ya know, I think the 2.7's use way to much energy. They create an incredible amount of heat. The fans on my previous machine (dual 2.7) would kick on quite frequently and it seemed to generate a lot of heat. It had 5Gb of RAM and the crappy ATI-9650 and I'll say it again, my new dual 2.3 with 4.5Gb of RAM is much faster and snappier. It seems as though when you go higher in processing power, the less real power you have do to energy consumption. I'm no expert and don't have benchmarks either, but I know the real feel of the usage and this 2.3 kicks the ol' 2.7's butt.

Up the RAM and put in a newer graphics card. I had a 9800 pro in my Dual 2.0 back when I had one that worked and it made a HUGE difference.

Dual 2.7 with only 512MB RAM? HAHA. I had a good laugh. Ok serious now. If you can afford a Dual 2.7, definitely put at least 4GB in there. You'll notice a massive speed up in GarageBand and other apps.

As for WoW, no idea, but I think a nice GE6800 might speed it up.

I have a dual 2.0Ghz model. I just addded 1Gb and the speedup was fantastic (all in sig), I would recommend you, with a 2.7, to put in 2GB of ram, so you have 2.5GB total.

Lacero said:

Dual 2.7 with only 512MB RAM? HAHA. I had a good laugh. Ok serious now. If you can afford a Dual 2.7, definitely put at least 4GB in there. You'll notice a massive speed up in GarageBand and other apps.

As for WoW, no idea, but I think a nice GE6800 might speed it up.

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I agree, When I bought my iMac it came with 256 RAM, it ran ok. I didnt get the apple memory and bought 3rd party ram, while waiting for the RAM to come in i used the 256 and when I put in the 1GB ram it was like night and day. Go out and buy 2 sticks of 1GB crucial ram and you will notice a MAJOR improvement. Then go buy a better vid card. But go with the RAM first!

Macs aren't for gaming anyway. Get atleast 1GB of RAM though.

Its true Mac arent for gaming though they can game, 1 gig or more makes things so much nicer. this should be your first step, weak video is your second. Just think of this the 7800 video card is now out in the PC world. The base video Apple uses is old, very old. More memory is allways good.

$0.02

man, if i had a dual 2.7 G5, i wouldn't even be contemplating a new 'puter until Rev C G6 or Rev B G7, AT LEAST.

oh yeah, get more RAM and a decent card. (the stock cards suck), but a mac can game very nicely thank you very much, with a decent card in 'em (and no, they ain't cheap, unlike someone who buys a 2.7 G5 and whinges coz 512 MB RAM aint enough......)

Look at iGary's PowerMac 2.7. He's got 6GB of RAM in that bad boy.

bodeh6 said:

Look at iGary's PowerMac 2.7. He's got 6GB of RAM in that bad boy.

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LOL thats twice as much as my first computer's hard drive.

Haha, 2GB more than one of my first macs! (PowerBook G3 250MHz, 4GBHDD)

512MB is fun.

6GB is sex.

Dang iGary, what do you do with that thing? Host the entire internet from your Power Mac?

@ iGary,
Do you do a lot of video work? With 1.5TB of HDD and 6GB of RAM, you are cooking.

epepper9 said:

@ iGary,
Do you do a lot of video work? With 1.5TB of HDD and 6GB of RAM, you are cooking.

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Doesn't he only have 500GB (2x250GB)?

Xephian said:

Doesn't he only have 500GB (2x250GB)?

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500 GB internal plus 1TB laCie external (according to post above). Man it must be nice to have other people discussing your computer!!!

Well from what I can see. I dont own a mac but can possibly give some good advice. If you have A LOT of dissposible income you could possibly get some good stuff. MAX out your ram, first. My comp has 2GB of ram. May is say MULTITASK. Ok some good ram. I watch G4 Tech TV and on the show Attack of the Show the built the Ultimate Gaming Machine. But they have some good stuff. Heres a link to the stuff they used.

http://www.g4tv.com/attackoftheshow/features/52232/UGM_Price_List.html

The ram is a bit overboard. But its good. Well... RAM is all I have to say. A new graphics card is a must. Like the Nvidia used in the UGM. Wait.... I dont thinks macs have PCIe ports do they?