IMac or Power Mac- help me decide

you'll have to define 'tinkering' here... the iMac will be great for photo editing, and light movie editing, but the PowerMac will be better if you're going to do anything really heavy-duty on it...

i would say go with the PowerMac (if you have a monitor for it), as it should hold a higer resale value, will be much more upgradeable in the future, and will be obviously faster...

especially if you're handy inside of a computer, go PM. Only upgrades the iMac will take are RAM and HD, and to upgrade the HD will require massive disassembly and reapplication of thermal paste.

pnw

Nothing short of a miracle can help you upgrade the iMac in any way shape or form.

If you have a monitor go get the powermac. It is more speedy and you can upgrade it if you like 'tinkering/

As a PC user, you're not likely to be happy about the non-upgradability of the iMac (altho that tiltable screen is fabulous! Why can't the separate monitors be like that?).

Generally, with Macs your best bang-for-bucks comes from the middle machine in a line, so the 1.2 DP you've picked is a good choice. You can add memory, hard drive, upgraded video card, etc.

Since you already have a PC, though, you might want to consider a laptop machine. The high-end 12" iBook, or possibly the 12" PowerBook.

I suggest you go to a store and play with each of them, then go home and think about it. Get a little hands-on before you decide.

If your addicted to speed, then you might want to wait a couple months, save your money, and see if the 970 is out by then. But, if you can't hold yourself back, then go for the PM.

paul makes some good points, sounds like you have a monitor allready since no mention of getting a new monitor with the powermac. Performance wise and upgradability the powermac wins hands down. For the WOW thats cool and nice all in one with clean desk top the imac wins. Both machines will do what you need but if addicted to speed is the issue you have to go with a powermac. Im in the same boat but have decided to wait till summer or christmas and see what apple does. God i would love a really fast imac say 1.25 or 970 chip because then i would have everything i want. 17 inch wide screen that can move whereever you want is awsome in my book. Either machine is great but if you do go imac 17 be sure to have that first slot filled by the factory with 512 of ram. Good luck and have fun! itunes,imovie,iphoto,idvd osX cant be beat!

Re: IMac or Power Mac- help me decide

Originally posted by puhbare
1st, thanks for checking out the post.

I'm a PC user and would really like to try out Mac. I'm not exactly sure the differences, but I'm tired of the BSD that occasionally pop up.

I have $2000 to spend. Should I invest on a 17"/Ghz Imac or go for the 1.25 DP Power Mac? I love the look of the Imac, but I'm also addicted to speed.

... or should I just the dump the whole idea and opt for a 3Ghz PC?

I like tinkering with digital photos (and soon with video), as well as word processing and Web development.

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My rule of thumb is to buy just a little more machine than you can afford. You are going to keep your Mac much longer than you would keep a Wintel machine, so you need to buy some headroom. With only $2000 to spend, you may consider buying to top line iMac. That way, you get the built-in monitor with no extra expenditure. If you are a student, you can buy your machine at the educational discout price ($1749) which will save a few bucks. Within that range, you can get the low-end G4 for $1499 ($1449 educational discount) and the 17" Apple Studio Display for $649. You may also get a 17" Sony LCD for $600.

For the extra money you spend on the PowerMac, you get the single 1 GHz G4 rather than the the iMac's 800 MHz G4. If speed is your concern, then either machine will be wickedly fast in getting the job done.

Originally posted by samsflagdrummer
If your addicted to speed, then you might want to wait a couple months, save your money, and see if the 970 is out by then. But, if you can't hold yourself back, then go for the PM.

Click to expand...

it won't be. generally, late 3rd quarter is regarded as the soonest the 970 could be here. it certainly won't be within a couple of months... try fall or winter...

as for peripherals... all you have to do is look for the normal peripherals (USB, firewire 400 or 800, PCI cards) and make sure they're mac compatable (check the System Requirements on the site or box). With a lot of things compatability doesn't matter, but it definitely does for PCI cards...

pnw

Originally posted by paulwhannel
it won't be. generally, late 3rd quarter is regarded as the soonest the 970 could be here. it certainly won't be within a couple of months... try fall or winter...

as for peripherals... all you have to do is look for the normal peripherals (USB, firewire 400 or 800, PCI cards) and make sure they're mac compatable (check the System Requirements on the site or box). With a lot of things compatability doesn't matter, but it definitely does for PCI cards...

pnw

Click to expand...

The best you could hope for would be a summer announcement of the 970 with them shipping in the fall just as paul said but on a positive note panther may be here this summer and who knows what goodies it will have.

Originally posted by puhbare
Wow! I'm really impressed with the posts. I wouldn't mind waiting, but I thought that's just a pipe dream. Still, I wouldn't be able to afford the new technology. I've noticed that there are Mac users who still have 450 and seem content. I'll probably be the same and wouldn't be upgrading anytime soon.

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You hit it right on the button there. I bought my 17" right when it came out and now the new 17" is out and I'm really not craving one even with the new improvements. My imac still works perfect (no crashes or other problems) and I don't see myself buying a new machine for a few more years.

Think about it this way; With the 17" iMac you are basically 'stuck' with that configuration. You can add more memory (one user accessible and one not) and swap the hard drive in the future. With the PowerMac 1.25 you can add three more hard drives, turn on software raid, easily add more memory, upgrade the video card (and cpu at some point?).

The iMac is a very nice machine with very nice monitor. The PowerMac has two processors, is upgradable but does not have a monitor. But, you're set if you have an existing CRT.

I was deciding between these two models too and I chose the PowerMac. The PowerMac will 'last longer' than the iMac.

get a 300000 Ghz PC, or whatever tf they are up to now; if u r addicted to speed, there is no question about it.

well...

I agree with the general consensus of PM over iMac for expandability purposes...but I don't know how familiar you are with the Mac side of things...Have you used OSX much? Do you have a bunch of favorite PC programs you'd have to replace with Mac versions? I don't think you would be dissapointed with Mac at all, but if you are comfortable with Windows, you might look at a well-built PC. If you do opt for a PM, do get the dual-processor configuration(s). Also, just to cover all of the bases, you might consider a 15" powerbook (last revision). You might get a good deal on a 800Mhz or even 1Ghz one for your money...beautiful machines and fast and portable. Good luck deciding...