Need Opinion on iMac 20"

Jax Mac · Sep 22, 2005

Hi all,

Can anyone give me your personal thoughts on the 20" iMac? I'm currently using an old Powermac desktop (It's a 4 -1/2 year old, dual 1 Ghz Quicksilver). If the Intel switch wasn't around the corner, I'd have a new desktop already.

Anyway, I was thinking of getting a 20" iMac to hold the fort while I wait. Would I notice any bump in speed for graphics programs? (My desktop has been reliable but occasionally quirky). I'm also considering using the 20" iMac after it's out of date as a TV or as a display at exhibitions to show video or Flash movies of new products.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Bear · Sep 22, 2005

A lot of your questions depend on things you haven't stated. Mainly what programs you run and what video card you currently have.

The 20" iMac likely has a better GPU so graphics would speed up.
Programs that aren't threaded would get a boost.
Just have at least as much memory as you currently have in your PowerMac.
I know that some of the applications I use won't be available right away with Intel code so I'm expecting to use a PPC based system until 2007 or so.

risc · Sep 22, 2005

Jax Mac said:
Hi all,

Can anyone give me your personal thoughts on the 20" iMac? I'm currently using an old Powermac desktop (It's a 4 -1/2 year old, dual 1 Ghz Quicksilver). If the Intel switch wasn't around the corner, I'd have a new desktop already.

Anyway, I was thinking of getting a 20" iMac to hold the fort while I wait. Would I notice any bump in speed for graphics programs? (My desktop has been reliable but occasionally quirky). I'm also considering using the 20" iMac after it's out of date as a TV or as a display at exhibitions to show video or Flash movies of new products.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Of course the iMac G5 will be faster than your 4 1/2 year old machine that goes without saying. I recently set one of the current 20"s up for a mate and it's an amazingly fast machine, I can't fault it at all. If you have the money buy one, you won't be disappointed.

Josh396 · Sep 22, 2005

I just bought a 20 inch iMac and love it. The only thing I would say is maybe wait until the next rev. If I didn't need one for school I would have waited. According to the buyers guide it should be update in roughly 2 months so maybe you would like to wait. The machine you currently have should be more then capable until then. The next rev may be nothing but other then a speed bump to 2.3 Ghz but possibly a new graphics card, larger HD's, or a cheaper price may be worth the wait. If you need the machine now though then I would get it. I absolutely love mine.

yenko · Sep 22, 2005

Jax Mac said:
Hi all,

Can anyone give me your personal thoughts on the 20" iMac? I'm currently using an old Powermac desktop (It's a 4 -1/2 year old, dual 1 Ghz Quicksilver). If the Intel switch wasn't around the corner, I'd have a new desktop already.

Anyway, I was thinking of getting a 20" iMac to hold the fort while I wait. Would I notice any bump in speed for graphics programs? (My desktop has been reliable but occasionally quirky). I'm also considering using the 20" iMac after it's out of date as a TV or as a display at exhibitions to show video or Flash movies of new products.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

A lot faster than yours especially if you load it up with 2Gig of RAM.

Or.....you can get a dual G5 2.7 Ghz, 4Gig RAM.............30'' Flat Screen.........................ooops....sorry.

dmw007 · Sep 23, 2005

The iMac G5's are awesome computers. They offer a great blend of performance and price. I use a 17" 1.6GHz 512MB DDR (go for at least 1GB) iMac G5 at college, and I have to say that it is awesome! It is fast, fun to use, and gorgeous to look at.
Would highly recommend that you purchase a 20" iMac G5 Jax Mac.

voiceofreason · Sep 23, 2005

I bought a 20" iMac G5 in May when the Rev B's came out. Far and away the best personal computer I've used. I love the big display and the lack of wires running everywhere. I used to be a user who was always tinkering with my setup to get it look/work better. It is also easy to move from one room to another (using WiFi) if you need to get away form the kids. The intel switch is a big question mark. It would be at least a year until I would feel safe buying a Mactel (I don't *need* to buy the latest and greatest when it comes out). Can you wait that long?

dmw007 · Sep 23, 2005

voiceofreason said:
The intel switch is a big question mark. It would be at least a year until I would feel safe buying a Mactel (I don't *need* to buy the latest and greatest when it comes out). Can you wait that long?

A good point. The Rev B iMac G5s are also a good buy because they have more of the bugs worked out of them. The fist generation of "mactels" could be rather buggy, hopefully not, but this will be a risk if you wait to buy one of them.

brogers · Sep 23, 2005

I just bought a 20" iMac Rev B. I love the thing. It is quick and has all I need while I wait to see what the Intel Macs are going to do. I'll give them about three years to be on the market and maybe jump in then. For now, though, this monster is wonderful.

I do a lot of video of the kids and burn DVD's for family and such and the new iMac just can't be beat. You should get it.

br

Macabron · Sep 23, 2005

http://www.barefeats.com/imacg5.html

According to barefeats, the old 1.8 iMac G5 was faster than a 1.42MP G4 power Mac, a new 2Ghz G5 would certainly be even faster, but take a look at the numbers and decide if they are worth getting a new computer. It was a toss up in photoshop, but the test machine is faster than what you have now.
If you work all day with your computer, I would upgrade. A minute here and there ads up in the course of a day.

Good luck, and let us now what you decide.

macdon401 · Sep 23, 2005

have to throw in my 2 bits....I have 20" iMac...Ive had a Mac since my first ,
an LC in 1990....and a slew of Powerbooks, this is by far the best I have ever had...I do tons of video and Photoshop...at the same time and its a gem!
Your computer is over FOUR years old...2 years is getting on in Computerville
so I would think you need a new one, if everyone were to wait till this is resolved or that is better or this Rev or that boost, no one would ever get a new one!
R

altair · Sep 23, 2005

best mac ive ever owned, and probably the best bang for the buck of the entire product line right now.

hands down a BUY from me.

m-dogg · Sep 23, 2005

altair said:
best mac ive ever owned, and probably the best bang for the buck of the entire product line right now.

hands down a BUY from me.

hands down a buy from me too - my 17" 1.8 rev a is the best COMPUTER I've ever owned!

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Need Opinion on iMac 20"

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