Dumb to buy imac g5 now from amazon?

[teacherrob9]

Is it dumb for a windows user to switch to a g5 imac now for 1350 rather than the 1550 imac 20 inch intel imac.

I do a basic web site, capture video from a dv camcorder and make dvd's, print digital photos, word process, excel, use the internet, download flac files, etc...

Any advice... Will the G5 be a dumb buy now?

[ccool2ax]

Most likely. The extra $200 will get you a much longer lasting machine that does all of your tasks faster.

[AstrosFan]

The answer to your question partly depends on the urgency with which you need this computer.
As you probably know, the MS Office applications are currently not Universal Binary, so on an Intel iMac, you'll be using Rosetta.
I don't have firsthand experience, but from what I've read here, MS Office through Rosetta is slower than native MS Office on a Power PC iMac.
If you are willing to deal with the slowdown temporarily (presumably for a period of < 4-6 months), then in the long run you'll be rewarded.

If you're the type of person who changes computers every year or so, then it may not make a huge difference.
However, if you hope to keep this computer for 2+ years, then the Intel will be more current as well as have higher resale value in the future.

Basically, unless you've got some special need, I think you should definitely get the Intel iMac - best wishes!

[ipacmm]

If you are going to be using any Pro applications, I would buy the G5 but if you are just going to use iLife and Office, I would buy the Intel. If you do buy the G5, I would use the extra money on upgrading the ram.

[sigamy]

It all depends on the software you need but I say Intel iMac all the way. MS Office will run fine under Rosetta, heck it will probably beat my 1ghz G4. iLife is already universal. Final Cut Studio is shipping now or soon. Aperture is already universal.

I'm not sure about handbrake, Mactheripper or other DVD extraction/creation apps. You should check all the apps that you plan on using.

Adobe won't be ready until 2007. That would be my only concern. If you are a big Photoshop user you may want to wait.

[Kingsly]

I don't think its dumb at all. I just bought one (due tomorrow along with my MBP! Im so excited) and look at me. Im not dumb. :)
*looks in mirror*
Wait... never mind.
If you can afford the extra $200 I say go for it. If not, then the G5 will be fine.

[w8ing4intelmacs]

The Intel iMac is only marginally faster than the G5 iMac, and that's only with native universal binaries. You're basically getting the same machine for $200 less.

Whereas, it appears, the MacBook Pro runs programs in Rosetta about as fast as they run natively on a PPC Powerbook. The native apps on the MBP leave the Powerbook in the dust. I guess this makes sense, since the Intel iMac runs programs in Rosetta about 40% slower than a G5 iMac, and a G5 iMac is roughly twice as fast as a G4 Powerbook.

[tonyl]

I'm also thinking to buy one iMac G5 or PM G5 now, almost can't wait for another 5 month for Intel PM

[Whistleway]

besides you can dual boot windows on the intel imac ;)

[technicolor]

How about getting a refurbed off the Apple site for around 1100ish

[MrTchMan]

I want to get a Intel iMac and will probably dual boot the machine.

[jefhatfield]

Is it dumb for a windows user to switch to a g5 imac now for 1350 rather than the 1550 imac 20 inch intel imac.

I do a basic web site, capture video from a dv camcorder and make dvd's, print digital photos, word process, excel, use the internet, download flac files, etc...

Any advice... Will the G5 be a dumb buy now?

the imac g5 is faster on adobe and macromedia apps and will continue its supremacy as long as those apps are not optimized for the intel processor

apple's own bundled apps, imovie, itunes, etc do better with the intel processors on the core duo imac and either machine beats the heck out of a similar pc in the same price range

my dad, who is likely to only use the bundled apple apps on his imac does better with the core duo model, but if he had to get instant use of adobe illustrator or photoshop or some other high end graphics app, then he would probably do better with the imac g5 for the next year or year and a half

apple and its partners promise a quicker transition from power pc to intel apps than their embarassingly slow transition from os9 to osx...only time will tell

[Eidorian]

Go even lower! You can get a refurbished 20" iMac G5 Rev. A off of Apple.com for $1149 plus taxes (It ends up being $1220 in my state). The video card is a bit weak but if you're not going to game on it and want cheap power and application compatibility I'd go with it.

[jefhatfield]

besides you can dual boot windows on the intel imac ;)

though i have not heard of this officially, it's only a matter of time before someone gets this done and makes it available over the internet for free...my guess is that the fix/dual boot capability, legal or not, will be discovered several hundred times around the world during the same month so no one person will likely get any credit for it

in the pc world, it would involve low level and bios type programming to make windows fully compliant with an intel based machine from apple...as far as i know, with uma and standard intel low voltage processors and chipset, it would not take any physical hardware tweaks to make this happen

[osxnewbe]

I bought an 20" iMac G5 the week the iMac Intel machines were introduced. My reasons were (a) the copy of Final Cut Pro that I have would not run on an Intel PC and I really didn't feel like waiting for the new universal edition to come out later on this year; (b) the G5 process will be support for seveal more years via Universal and (c) I had been without a desktop going on 5 months and was tired of waiting.

So far, I've been very happy with my purchase.....