Should I wait till January to buy a G4?

Hello Manuel! First off, welcome to Macrumors!

Well IMHO, you should wait for February for a new PowerMac G4 update( thats when its expected to be updated). New things are coming in 2003... there are a lot of talking about the new PPC970 ( Check this link too see the baby: http://www-3.ibm.com/chips/products/powerpc/newsletter/dec2002/newproductfocus2.html)

But you have to see what are your needs... You know that new products take time to arrive at Portugal, and you have to weight all this stuff... If I were you I would wait... its just some weeks... You wont regret on waiting believe me...


P.S. É bom ver aqui um português! LOL

G5 won't be out for awhile (if ever). The IBM 970 might not be out until late next year (if that). If you can wait for a little while, say a few weeks after MWSF, they may release something new and/or lower prices. Just be aware that if you wait, you could be waiting for a long time. If you need one now, and can afford it, get one now. Even if one is release in a few weeks, you'll have had the time to use it. And who says if they do release a new one, it'll be available right away.

Choices, choices.

Personnaly, I would wait. But then again, I can afford to (actually because I can't afford to. Upgrade that is, at this point).

Also, with the stuff you want to do, you won't need OS 9 much, so you can
also afford to wait on that front.

I NEED OS 9, so I can't wait until January (when they'll discontinue OS 9 booting), so I ordered a new Mac 2 days ago for my music recording purposes.

Why not get a cheap mac that'll do the job for the next couple of months on ebay or something, then sell it back yourself when a new Powermac comes out that suits your needs?

New Powermacs won't come out on Jan. 6. That's pretty much a guarantee. They may come out a few weeks after that. The rule of thumb is six months between updates. The last one was on 8/13 so six months from that is 2/13. If you can wait another two months, of course wait. But that's 2 months loss of productivity. You can do the math and see if the new equipment is worth it or not.

Re: Should I wait till January to buy a G4?

Originally posted by beloportuga
Hi,

My name is Manuel and I'm a Graphic/New Media Designer.

I've just set up my own company, and finally I've earned some money that allows me to buy a new G4. Altought I just feel like rushing to the store and bring home the Mac I've always dreamed of, I'm afraid this might not be a wise decision since the Mac World in San Francisco starts on the 6th of January, and it's usually a good opportunity for Apple to present new hardware.

Should I wait?? When is the G5 supposed to come out?

Please help me. Thanks.

Click to expand...

As with all things, never put off till tomorrow, what you can do today. You'll always be upgrading, whether six months sooner or later matters not. The only facts you can count on is that you will have to do it down the road.

If you're sacrificing today's projects to wait to see what comes out, that's not a good idea.

Todays Little Bit Of Zen: For everything there is a time and a season. Do not be concerned that there is a Fall and a Winter that follow the Summer you master now; a Spring will surely follow, and if you have planted the seeds you invest in today wisely and with diligence, you will reap a harvest of which others can only dream.

You may as well get a G4 now. Most likely the best you'll get out of the next PowerMac update in Feb. is a speed bump, FireWire2 and built-in Bluetooth. And you'll lose the ability to boot into OS 9, if that makes a difference to you.

Or... wait until late 2003/most likely early 2004 for the PowerPC 970. But personally I would just buy one now.

I was thinking the same thing yesterday and I bought my Dual Gig. Wee hee. My answer is if you can't hold out any longer, buy it. I've been telling everyone that I would buy a new G4 for the last 2 YEARS, and now I finally have.....now I just have to wait for the thing to arrive.

g4..I'd wait..because..

Wait for apple to get the g4's to run quieter. Lots of people complaining about how loud the new duel g4's run. They sound anywhere from like vaccuum cleaners to leafblowers when running during the high cool cycle.

Unless noice is not an issue and you operate in a fairly noisey environment then go ahead and buy now.

I have a older g4 running with a 400 mghz processor and want to get a new G4 with a built in dvd burner as soon as apple figures out how to make them cool down without the turbo drive fans.

oh..another reason to wait

I forgot..even if the noise does not bother you...as soon as apple starts producing new g4's that run quiet, the present models that make the noise will sell at a substantial discount by the various resellers when the new ones are announced.

I also just got a new Titanium Powerbook G4, with shipping for under 2,000.00 (677 processor, 30 gig drive). Most of the resellers are really driving discounts on these to move them out of the way. The same will happen with the present PowerMac G4's when they get sidelined in favor of the new quieter (i hope) models coming next year.

I'd wait if you could either way.

I like the sound of the new Dual G4. Its a deep sound comfortable. Not a high sound that drilles into your brain.

I would wait. The christmas goes fast, theres alot of stuff to do rather than sitting infront of your computer. If there will be a new Powerline in January you will surly get the same machine for 500$ less than now... Wait and you can buy an extra display for the 500$ you spare!

I think the decision as to when to buy a computer depends on what you plan to use it for.

If you, like me, are looking for a computer for home use, then longevity is a concern. I want my computer to last as long as possible before I have to buy a new one. In this case, it would make sense for me to buy a computer as soon as possible after an upgrade cycle.

If, on the other hand, you are going to use the computer for business, and I think this is your situation, then the key question is not when the next upgrade cycle is coming along, but how much you'll be able to make use of the computer until the next upgrade happens.

The big difference between Manuel and me is that he has the potential to generate income with his computer. Now, I've scanned through eBay to see what used Macs are going for, and it seems that previous generation Macs are holding about 60-65% of their value.

Now suppose Manuel is interested in getting a new dual GHz Powermac. This will cost about $2500+tax+shipping. Suppose that by some miracle, a new line of Powermacs are introduced at MWSF, including a new model priced at $2500. If Manuel decides that he absolutely needs an upgraded model, then he can sell his old Mac for ~$1600, taking a $1000 loss on his hardware. However, if he can generate more than $1000 worth of income between now and MWSF, then he will come out ahead, and still have money for a new model.

Furthermore, since he is using the Mac for business purposes, he can deduct depreciation on his income tax, which I would also not be able to do.

Of course, the other way you can look at it is that it's always best to wait a couple of months before you buy yourself a machine that has recently been released so that other people can make the complaints for you.

As has been shown with the current dual-G4s, firmware updates, and problems discovered post-release can result in a product half-way through the cycle representing better value for money than one that has just been released. This holds true for home and business users. Also, troubleshooting OS X is a lot easier if you can boot into OS 9.

My advice would be - buy now.


In the next few days my dual-867 will arrive. Yippee!

yeah i have the same problem i dont know if i should buy now or wait for the G6...anyone

Re: Should I wait till January to buy a G4?

Originally posted by beloportuga
Hi,

My name is Manuel and I'm a Graphic/New Media Designer.

I've just set up my own company, and finally I've earned some money that allows me to buy a new G4. Altought I just feel like rushing to the store and bring home the Mac I've always dreamed of, I'm afraid this might not be a wise decision since the Mac World in San Francisco starts on the 6th of January, and it's usually a good opportunity for Apple to present new hardware.

Should I wait?? When is the G5 supposed to come out?

Please help me. Thanks.

Click to expand...

I thought everyone should now that Steve will never announce new powermacs at macworlds. he has already said that. Maybe he will if it is a completly new computer or something. Maybe January, but not macworld. but expect them soon. i would really hold out.

iJon