Dual 2.5GHz PowerMacs Shipping

[grebo]

And what about yours ? always waiting ? ;)

I imagine some people on this board must think I'm something of a tough customer, but I think I've been more than patient with Apple regarding my whole experience.

I still have no shipping data on the third attempt at delivering me a suitable G5 (i.e. one that doesn't overheat and/or have a constant audible tone), but I did hear that my 6800 card and screen are due to ship Tuesday (tomorrow).

That's something, I suppose.

[Klopsi69]

Hey Grebo, what do you mean by constant audible noise?
I certainly expected it to run quieter than it is doing, but all i have is fan noise.
Did you have something different?

[grebo]

Hey Grebo, what do you mean by constant audible noise?
I certainly expected it to run quieter than it is doing, but all i have is fan noise.
Did you have something different?
It is a perceptable pitch a C3 (middle C) and the first model I had did not have this noise at all. Apple Care worked with me on the phone and they thought it could be a noisy power supply. I can also feel a vibration if I touch the top of the front extruded handle. I didn't have that with the first G5 either.

I can hear it from down the hall - and I live on a fairly busy street in London, so you know that's an unacceptable level of noise.

Mind you, maybe it's because the fans weren't working properly that the first G5 kept overheating ;)

[wdlove]

I imagine some people on this board must think I'm something of a tough customer, but I think I've been more than patient with Apple regarding my whole experience.

I still have no shipping data on the third attempt at delivering me a suitable G5 (i.e. one that doesn't overheat and/or have a constant audible tone), but I did hear that my 6800 card and screen are due to ship Tuesday (tomorrow).

That's something, I suppose.

No, I just think that you are a concerned customer. When that kind of money is spent, then a customer should expect a machine that is in top working order. Has Apple done anything to compensate you for the problems encountered?

[grebo]

No, I just think that you are a concerned customer. When that kind of money is spent, then a customer should expect a machine that is in top working order. Has Apple done anything to compensate you for the problems encountered?
I've hinted strongly along the way (even to the point of having a saved order of things I'd like on the Apple Store site). But the agent I've had the most contact with has advised me to call back AFTER I've got all the pieces together, and 'we'll see what we can do for you'...

Not counting my chickens before they hatch - but I'm figuring they can probably be pretty generous with software, and that new iPod Photo looks mighty sexy... :)

[wdlove]

I've hinted strongly along the way (even to the point of having a saved order of things I'd like on the Apple Store site). But the agent I've had the most contact with has advised me to call back AFTER I've got all the pieces together, and 'we'll see what we can do for you'...

Not counting my chickens before they hatch - but I'm figuring they can probably be pretty generous with software, and that new iPod Photo looks mighty sexy... :)

It sounds as though you have a good agent on your side. Any idea yet when you will be getting a replacement? I'm pulling for you success. Please keep us posted.

[mikepj]

In case someone didn't notice, the 6800 GT CTO option was finally added yesterday.

I ordered my G5 2.5 with 512Mb RAM, 250Gb Drive, 9800 XT, and Bluetooth on 10/11. Expected ship date is 11/17.

I called them up to ask about switching the card to the 6800 GT and they claimed it would add 2-3 weeks to my ship date, so I'm going to stick with the 9800 XT.

[dlastmango]

In case someone didn't notice, the 6800 GT CTO option was finally added yesterday.

I ordered my G5 2.5 with 512Mb RAM, 250Gb Drive, 9800 XT, and Bluetooth on 10/11. Expected ship date is 11/17.

I called them up to ask about switching the card to the 6800 GT and they claimed it would add 2-3 weeks to my ship date, so I'm going to stick with the 9800 XT.

I to am in a similar situation... I will also accept the 9800XT card over the 6800 GT due to the added delay in shipping. I was told an extra 3-5 weeks though... OH well... life will still be good.

Chris :cool:

[King Crimson]

I've hinted strongly along the way (even to the point of having a saved order of things I'd like on the Apple Store site). But the agent I've had the most contact with has advised me to call back AFTER I've got all the pieces together, and 'we'll see what we can do for you'...

Not counting my chickens before they hatch - but I'm figuring they can probably be pretty generous with software, and that new iPod Photo looks mighty sexy... :)

Hi grebo,

I think Apple should compensate for trouble with its products, at least somewhere at the level You bared. :eek:

My G5 is due to be delivered to my local store right tomorrow, I'm crossing fingers that it will work fine, just like your second replacement (that'll be on Your desk soon, hopefully)!!

Don't mind to post a feedback about Your new iPod ;)

Cheers,

Andreas

[Klopsi69]

Is it my imagination or has there just been a price cut on the 2.5???

if so, i'm kind of annoyed. I only received mine from my reseller last monday after ordering in august. Guess there's nothing i can do though. ?

EDIT: Ok, if i go straight to the apple store, the price is the usual 2200 pounds mark.

If i follow the link from the email apple sent me, it is 1879 - 300 pounds cheaper.

hmm... :cool:

[flytrap]

My 6800 card was to ship on or before 10/29 but after no shipping on the 10/29 it changed to 12/08. So now I get to wait for about 6 more weeks. But this may be good since all the problems I have read. Maybe the bugs will be worked out.


Flytrap

[DarylF2]

Is it my imagination or has there just been a price cut on the 2.5???

if so, i'm kind of annoyed. I only received mine from my reseller last monday after ordering in august. Guess there's nothing i can do though. ?

EDIT: Ok, if i go straight to the apple store, the price is the usual 2200 pounds mark.

If i follow the link from the email apple sent me, it is 1879 - 300 pounds cheaper.

hmm... :cool:

Are you certain that the less expensive model isn't refurbished? Apple has had refurbished Dual 2.5GHz G5s on its Apple Store web site off and on for the last week or two, at $2,799 US (versus the $2,999 US for the new one).

[mikepj]

My 6800 card was to ship on or before 10/29 but after no shipping on the 10/29 it changed to 12/08. So now I get to wait for about 6 more weeks. But this may be good since all the problems I have read. Maybe the bugs will be worked out.


Flytrap

I would call them up and ask them about it. I believe 12/08 is the estimated shipping date if you order a G5 2.5 today. At least this is the case if you order the 9800 XT card, could be different for the 6800. Maybe they accidentally changed your order, kicking you back to the end of the line.

[Klopsi69]

OK,

it's a little bizarre, and an amateurish mistake by me:
The link from the email doesn't include VAT, and has no VAT in brackets. It only appears once you get right through to the order screen. No price change, just me being thick.
The normal page still displays a vat price.

[LeonPro]

Are you certain that the less expensive model isn't refurbished? Apple has had refurbished Dual 2.5GHz G5s on its Apple Store web site off and on for the last week or two, at $2,799 US (versus the $2,999 US for the new one).

Count my refurb 2.5 as one of those units, which I returned recently.

[Kairy]

Hello all,

I received my DP2.0, two days after returning my DP2.5 due to thermal issues.

Just finished installing. (10.3.5) - no probs.
cpu temperature of this baby didn't go over 60.5c, therefore, no annoying fan rev-ups.

if you suspect that your machine is over heating, get it checked ASAP.
The G5 should not reach 65c in non-intence CPU tasks (safari, finder, expose, copy files, ...)


I switched to a DP2.0 because it would have taken my resseller weeks to swap my DOA.


good luck to you all.

[wdlove]

I to am in a similar situation... I will also accept the 9800XT card over the 6800 GT due to the added delay in shipping. I was told an extra 3-5 weeks though... OH well... life will still be good.

Chris :cool:

In the 21st Century that doesn't make sense. They should be able to make a minor change with in change in shipping date. :confused:

[tamtam]

Well I have spent a long time reviewing the posting history of each of the remaining open orders. I added a column recording the last time someone posted on this thread. If someone has not posted since October 1 I moved them to a separate tab in the spreadsheet called open orders - no status. I have found that

71 of the 89 open orders belong to people who have not posted a status update since October 1. Some have not posted since July.

I label only 18 orders as "still tracking" since we have recently heard from them. I can't justify trying to update this spreadsheet if we have so few posts anymore.

I think that this discussion thread has lost its desire to live anymore. Time between posts are many hours now. It was once the place to be while waiting for your G5 machine. Sharing the initial frustrations when the delays from Apple arrived, tracking shipments as they left the factory and the joy of photographing your carrier as they delivered the G5 to your door. It lasted 6000 plus posts and now its purpose is in my mind complete.

Here is the last G5 DP 2.5 order status spreadsheet (http://home.att.net/~tamtam.home/list110204.xls)

[LeonPro]

Hello all,

I received my DP2.0, two days after returning my DP2.5 due to thermal issues.

Just finished installing. (10.3.5) - no probs.
cpu temperature of this baby didn't go over 60.5c, therefore, no annoying fan rev-ups.

Kairy, received my DP2.0 also after I returned the DP2.5 due to defect. I'm curious why you had to install 10.3.5. Mine came with it installed already. What about your SuperDrive and Boot ROM Version installed? I have a DVR-117D (which is actually a DVR-108AA) and a ROM of 5.1.8f5.

All in all I am satisfied with the downgrade to a Rev B. A DP2.5 would have been cooler. Perhaps in the future I will patronize a Rev C G5 and pass this down to my wife. Until then enjoy your machines.

[iriejedi]

tHANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK - IT WAS FUN TO WATCH THE PROCESS OF CONCEPTION (FIRST ORDER) TO BIRTH (FIRST DELIVERY). :rolleyes:

Cheers!

Iriejedi :p

Well I have spent a long time reviewing the posting history of each of the remaining open orders. I added a column recording the last time someone posted on this thread. If someone has not posted since October 1 I moved them to a separate tab in the spreadsheet called open orders - no status. I have found that

71 of the 89 open orders belong to people who have not posted a status update since October 1. Some have not posted since July.

I label only 18 orders as "still tracking" since we have recently heard from them. I can't justify trying to update this spreadsheet if we have so few posts anymore.

I think that this discussion thread has lost its desire to live anymore. Time between posts are many hours now. It was once the place to be while waiting for your G5 machine. Sharing the initial frustrations when the delays from Apple arrived, tracking shipments as they left the factory and the joy of photographing your carrier as they delivered the G5 to your door. It lasted 6000 plus posts and now its purpose is in my mind complete.

Here is the last G5 DP 2.5 order status spreadsheet (http://home.att.net/~tamtam.home/list110204.xls)

[wdlove]

tHANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK - IT WAS FUN TO WATCH THE PROCESS OF CONCEPTION (FIRST ORDER) TO BIRTH (FIRST DELIVERY). :rolleyes:

Cheers!

Iriejedi :p

It is very interesting to compare the delivery of the 2.5 G5 to the process of conception to birth. With the length of the wait it's quite appropriate, luckily we don't have to wait nine months. :D

[TiWarrior]

Omg! My 2.5 is on the motorway right now heading to the wrong address! Damn you Apple. 5 weeks wait and you can't even send it to the updated address I gave you. :(

Called TNT to try to divert it, they said they will 'try'.

Will keep you posted.

TiWarrior

[grebo]

Hi grebo,

I think Apple should compensate for trouble with its products, at least somewhere at the level You bared. :eek:

My G5 is due to be delivered to my local store right tomorrow, I'm crossing fingers that it will work fine, just like your second replacement (that'll be on Your desk soon, hopefully)!!

Don't mind to post a feedback about Your new iPod ;)

Cheers,

Andreas

... but that's about to change. Within 24 hours of my agent escalating my case to his supervisor, I received not one, not two, but THREE shipment notifications! One for the 6800 card, one for the 30" monitor and lastly, one for the THIRD (and hopefully final) G5 to replace the current replacement of the first.

Have arranged to work from home to receive the shipments - except the G5 might straggle until Monday (damn!). Will keep you posted.

[King Crimson]

Hey grebo,

I'm on a free day now to setup my new G5, it came wednesday :D

Right now, I've been fooling around with it a little, it's a great computer, everything just runs so smooooooooooooth! Hell, I dind't even managed to bring it to it's limits yet :eek:

Only the display shows barely seeable shadows after closing a window, but I'm not yet sure if I'll omplain, perhaps it was me been too tired :confused:

Anyway, it's great, it's cool, it's worth waiting, keep Your head up mate ;)

cheers,

Andreas

P.S.: I'm in love with Apple again :p

[klaus]

congrats King Crimson and Grebo! I saw the wait on the Apple Store for the 2.5 has been lowered to 2-3 weeks, so IBM is actually scaling up their production. Kudos for them.

This quarter will be rather high on income and net profit I think, considering the shipping of new ibooks, new imacs, and increased production of powermacs, and don't forget, the new iPods.


Good luck with your machines! Mine is running damn fine, although I have a tiiiiny little scratch on my case at the edge, barely noticable though, but I think it was the maid, tsss

[Kairy]

I'm curious why you had to install 10.3.5.

I prefer to install the system from scratch. That way I only install the apps I need. For instance, I install Protools instead of GarageBand.
I also create DiskUtility Images of separate stages of the installation. ex: after installing a clean system (no bundled sw), I create an image. that way, I can return to that state if I need to upgrade software or reinstall.

What about your SuperDrive and Boot ROM Version installed? I have a DVR-117D (which is actually a DVR-108AA) and a ROM of 5.1.8f5.


system profiler caption:

HL-DT-ST DVD-RW GWA-4082B:

Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Model: HL-DT-ST DVD-RW GWA-4082B
Revision: C039
Serial Number: K2G49274244
Drive Type: CD-RW/DVD-RW
Disc Burning: Apple Supported/Shipped
Removable Media: Yes
Detachable Drive: No
Protocol: ATAPI
Unit Number: 0
Socket Type: Internal



good luck

[wdlove]

I'm very happy for you King Crimson and grebo. Once again the 2.5 turns around feelings toward Apple.

You are pretty upscale there Klaus to have a maid. :D Happy to hear that it is barely noticeable.

[dlastmango]

Well i know I'm a newbee on this forum and havent posted to often... but i just have to now..


I got tired of the wait, went to a local Apple Reseller and sure enough they had one in stock... exactly how i wanted it. They Worked me up a deal i couldn't refuse and BAM!!!... its on my desk as we speak.

I am now the proud owner of a

G5 DP 2.5
2.5 GB RAM
160 GB System Drive
250 GB Media Drive (internal)
nVidea 6800 Ultra (not GT)
20" Apple Cinema Display

LIFE IS GOOD!!!

Chris
Don't worry... I'll still keep my eye on this board... Goodluck everyone!!!
:D

[TiWarrior]

Mine finally arrived this afternoon. Now just need some free time to load the thing with software :)

I can't wait to see how the 9800 performs!

Hope everybody who's still waiting gets theirs very soon.

TiWarrior

[grebo]

Well, the (new) replacement G5 won't arrive until Monday now... so I've gone and installed the 6800 card and powered up the monitor. It's gorgeous, if a tad inconsistent across the middle. Need to invest in some sort of calibration tool...

So Monday will be the test. All the pieces of the puzzle will be in one place and I can finally get on with my life instead of checking shipping status pages :D

If there is anything wrong with the third unit - and I mean ANYTHING -- then the whole lot is going back and I'm going to sweat it out another year. I don't think I could do the downgrade to 2.0 DP, unless they made me an offer I couldn't refuse...

[dlastmango]

these fans are pretty loud on my new 2.5 system.. I'm running the hardware test right now and these fans fired up and i kinda expected this tower to start sliding across my desk... looks like i will try to find that program that can monitor the CPU temps...

Just a quick update to all

[iriejedi]

With the high prices of natural gas - just keep yours running and cut your heating bill this winter... fans are only bad whe doing the test...

mine is right near my head so I know they do make some noise. need to get it on the floor off the desk then I know it will be the quietest computer I've ever owned.

Cheers


these fans are pretty loud on my new 2.5 system.. I'm running the hardware test right now and these fans fired up and i kinda expected this tower to start sliding across my desk... looks like i will try to find that program that can monitor the CPU temps...

Just a quick update to all

[klaus]

You are pretty upscale there Klaus to have a maid. :D Happy to hear that it is barely noticeable.

Haha, no actually, it's no fulltime maid or anything, and it's not like it's mine either, my mom doesn't have a lot of time to clean the house, so she hires a maid from the local jobagency here. So she comes on tuesday morning, and cleans our house, but she can not, definitely not, touch my apple gear :)

cheers guys

[danielcroft]

I got my shipping notice today, the machine is due to arrive on the 8th. My ESD was 11/12. The machine is a BTO 2.5, BT, 250GB HDD, ordered on the 27th of July.

Yay.

Dan

[King Crimson]

these fans are pretty loud on my new 2.5 system.. I'm running the hardware test right now and these fans fired up and i kinda expected this tower to start sliding across my desk... looks like i will try to find that program that can monitor the CPU temps...


I also started using the hardware test and got shocked by the roaring sound of the fans running at full power :eek:

But in normal OS X mode it's very (but not absolutely) quite. And that's good, I wouldn't like a computer that i don't hear at all, such an expensive machine has to give a few signs of been there, working hard under my desk :D

Enjoy!

[wdlove]

I also started using the hardware test and got shocked by the roaring sound of the fans running at full power :eek:

But in normal OS X mode it's very (but not absolutely) quite. And that's good, I wouldn't like a computer that i don't hear at all, such an expensive machine has to give a few signs of been there, working hard under my desk :D

Enjoy!

I think it would feel the same way to me. If I didn't hear something, then would wonder if something was wrong.

[dm000]

For those of you tracking other's shipments in anticipation of yours, here is my info:

Ordered: 11 October 2004
Original/Current ship on or before date: 17 November 2004
Received shipment notice: 8 November 2004
Ordered from: Boulder, Colorado (ship to same) via Web order

Ordered via ADC/Apple Store (Apple Developer Connection)

> Processor 065-4803 2.5GHz PowerPC G5
> Memory 065-4933 512 MB DDR400 (PC3200)-2X256
> Hard Drive 065-4982 250GB Serial ATA-7200rpm
> Optical Drive 065-4928 8x Super Drive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
> Graphic Support 065-5128 NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL
> Gigabit Ethernet PCI 065-5080 None
> Fibre Chl PCI 065-4491 None
> Modem 065-5168 56k V.92 Modem
> BlueTooth 065-4985 Bluetooth Module
> Airport 065-1899 None
> Keyboard Language 065-4923 Apple Keyboard & Mouse
> Mac OS Language 065-4897 Mac OS X
> Server Mac OS Language 065-4494 None
> Custom SW I 065-4683 None
> Custom SW II 065-4681 None
> Country Kit 065-4894 Country Kit

I hope that the system "restore" and HW Test discs come with a version bootable with the 6800 card installed. I hope that the "current/recent" delay may have been due to Apple's desire to get updated drivers/OS version installed to avoid some of the reported problems.

[LeonPro]

I hope that the system "restore" and HW Test discs come with a version bootable with the 6800 card installed. I hope that the "current/recent" delay may have been due to Apple's desire to get updated drivers/OS version installed to avoid some of the reported problems.

I'm interested in knowing what the version yours arrives in. Please post once info is received.

To compare, I received my DP2.0 a week ago and it came with AHT version 2.2.5 with Disc version 1.0. The DP2.5 that I received two months ago and returned recently was something like AHT 2.1.5 with Disc Version 1.0, or something to that effect (it's still a lower version than the 2.2.5 released).

[Red G5]

First post here, been reading for a couple of months but finally have something worth posting about.

Placed my order at the Apple Store UK (Education) last night (08/11/2004)

2.5ghz
Apple Care (in case it springs a leak :p)
Combo drive (deleted Superdrive)
BT kbd, mouse
23" Cinema

Estimated ship date 29/11/2004

My brother orderd a BTO iMac G5 20" the same day. Be interesting to see which one arrives first!

[~Shard~]

First post here, been reading for a couple of months but finally have something worth posting about.

Placed my order at the Apple Store UK (Education) last night (08/11/2004)

2.5ghz
Apple Care (in case it springs a leak :p)
Combo drive (deleted Superdrive)
BT kbd, mouse
23" Cinema

Estimated ship date 29/11/2004

My brother orderd a BTO iMac G5 20" the same day. Be interesting to see which one arrives first!

Great news, those are a couple of amazing machines - I'm happy for ya! And welcome to the forums, as I'm sure you know by now they're full of useful information and helpful people - if you have any questions in the future, just ask.

So is this your first Mac then?

[Red G5]

Yeah, first Mac. Have wanted one for years but only now got to the stage now where I can a) afford to buy one (a teacher parent helps with the discount which is useful) and b) don't require a PC or Windows for anything (games etc).

I'm intending to get back in to audio, Logic mainly. I used v2-v4 on the PC a few years back but it's come leaps and bounds since then.

[dlastmango]

I have a DP2.5 system, 6800 video card, 2.5 GB Ram, 160 system drive and 250 Video drive.
When I play back from the timeline I get slightly blurred video. I have my playback settings to high and the timeline is rendered. Any ideas? I'm thinking it may be in the card that why I'm posting here.
Also the fans spin up quite a bit whenever i start playback of the timeline but then slow down in about 15 seconds or so. Does this happen to all? My Temps are 55c and 56c at idle but when i play back they jump to 73c and 71c even when the fans stop spinning. The highest temp i have seen so far is 77c.

I'm just posting to see if this is par with everyone else out there. I dont have any other 2.5 user friends around here to compare with....

Thanks everyone
Chris :D

[Belgian IZI]

Hi! I've been following all of this thread for most of my life now (or so it seems) -- waiting on the dual 2.5 does that to me... OK, only ordered it july 15th, so I guess some have waited longer than me... But living near Brussels, I could almost taste it when Klaus mentioned receiving his...! More fool me! :(

So restless, anxious, nervous and maybe a bit annoyed... Not the best attitude for a first post, I know, although I guess this is the best thread to jump into action, right? :D

Anyway, it's a standard config 2.5 (160 GB, 512 RAM -- ordered 512 extra on the side), added a 19" Nuevo monitor (I love Apple screens, but also love my wife and children, who for some reason or another objected to not eating for a few months :D ). Ordered it through Fnac Brussels (I had my reasons, don't ask...), who ordered it (apparantly) thru Tech Data in Ternat... No complaints about either of them, they're not to blame... But it makes follow-up a tad difficult, as I don't have an order number from Apple... :confused:

Anyway, same ol' stuff as the last 6000 posts, I know :o , but just wanted to let y'all know Belgium is still underfed (in the 2.5 department, that is), my nails are getting too short and I'm truly jealous of all of you who are already enjoying their 2.5's... :) It's the boasting and raving that makes it difficult to bear for those of us still waiting (just kidding!) :D
Hope to join the ranks too... as ASAP as it gets... (got delivery dates in January 2005 thrown at me this afternoon, so I need some comforting :eek: ) Will keep y'all posted!

IZI

PS: someone beat me to the 'IZI' userID -- and yes, I realize my second attempts at registering shows sheer lack of creativity -- I hope the 'first IZI' doesn't mind me signing off with it nevertheless, there's a whole story behind that name for me, so... :)

[~Shard~]

Yeah, first Mac. Have wanted one for years but only now got to the stage now where I can a) afford to buy one (a teacher parent helps with the discount which is useful) and b) don't require a PC or Windows for anything (games etc).

I'm intending to get back in to audio, Logic mainly. I used v2-v4 on the PC a few years back but it's come leaps and bounds since then.

Very cool, congrats on the decision, I know you won't regret it! I'm reached the stage where I don't require a PC for anything either, but I keep my old PC around as a Win2k3 Server for miscellaneous tasks. If it dies tomorrow though I wouldn't shed a tear. ;)

If audio is your game, then you'll be very pleased with your Mac - the apps are very powerful. :cool:

[grebo]

Well, I've had my third G5 for a day now, and am partially regretting using the Target Disk Mode Firewire transfer utility. Some applications require special authorisations EVERY TIME, sometimes twice (like mounting a disk image using Toast).

Anyway, long story short: the new machine does NOT have the annoying C pitch frequency that the last one did, but:


CPU A is consistently 5 degrees C hotter than CPU B
The main intake fan (nearest CPUs) is contantly running at a good clip (am waiting for license of Hardware Monitor to be processed so I can see exactly what speed it's running at)


I thought I was being singled out -- but if you go to G5 Support (http://www.g5support.com) , you'll see there are people talking about rolling back to a Rev B 2.0 after receiving three faulty 2.5 machines -- which has me thinking... I really don't want to settle for something that's obviously not 'perfect' with the attitude of having Apple Care take care of it later for me down the road.

I'm going to give it a few more days -- and I may decide to send the whole lot back and go to the grand opening of the London store on the 20th and HAND PICK (after carefully listening to) a new 2.5 box.

If I buy it using the 10% coupon that's rumoured to be in the lucky bags, then it'll negate the cost of the lucky bag and I'll get a free iPod or AirPort Express or BOTH?!

Sorry I don't have better news to report, but at least I'm still thinking Apple, and still trying to get a working machine.

[kornyboy]

CPU A is consistently 5 degrees C hotter than CPU B
The main intake fan (nearest CPUs) is contantly running at a good clip (am waiting for license of Hardware Monitor to be processed so I can see exactly what speed it's running at)



Hey Grebo,

Just wanted to state that CPU B on my dual 2.5 consistenly runs about 5 degrees C hotter than CPU A. I was a bit concerned about it at first but it has yet to give me any problems at all. Fans do rev from time to time but the thing I hear the most is the fan on the graphics card. I hardly even notice it though.

Kornyboy

[King Crimson]

CPU A is consistently 5 degrees C hotter than CPU B




Hey grebo,

same with my PM, seems its quite common that one CPU is about 5° hotter than the other ...

Perhaps this is just normal!? Like in real life, one works, one manages ;)

[mikepj]

Ordered 2.5Ghz G5, 512Mb RAM (got another 1Gb from OWC), 250Gb drive, 9800 XT, BT on October 11th. Original estimated ship by 11/17, shipped on 11/09!

Just crossing my fingers that I get a good one the first time around. :)

[danielcroft]

Well, I've had my third G5 for a day now, and am partially regretting using the Target Disk Mode Firewire transfer utility. Some applications require special authorisations EVERY TIME, sometimes twice (like mounting a disk image using Toast).

I had serious problems with the Setup Assistant too, ended up reinstalling from the disks because the machine was just not running correctly. As you say, always asking for authorization. Since I reinstalled (it may be my imagination) the fans seem to spool up less frequently. I also had FileVault turned on on my old machine (667 TiPb) which meant that I could never copy my account over, even after I turned FileVault off! So now, it's just a matter of reinstalling my apps and copying the settings I want... ugh.

Dan

[SteveMentzer]

My CTO

2 x 2.5 Ghz
2GB RAM (4x512)
Radeon 9800XT
160GB SATA HDD
Superdrive

Order Date: 10/20/2004
Original Ship Date: 11/26/2004

Shipment Notification Received : 11/10/2004

Should get it on Friday, as it appears to be shipping from Elk Grove, CA. (ground shipping ... blah!!)

[skillsonmac]

[list]
CPU A is consistently 5 degrees C hotter than CPU B


I think this is completely normal. Just look at the liquid-cooling-scheme on Apple's website. The cool liquid-cooling-fluid first cools down CPU B. Then, the not so cool anymore liquid-cooling-fluid tries to cool down CPU A but can never cool it down as much as it has done the previous CPU and will terefore run a little hotter. There you have it!


Further:

Next week it will be 2 months for me waiting on my dual 2.5
I am barely hanging on but this thread is helping a lot. Not much of a poster though but a very loyal reader.

Greetings from Holland,

-Skills

[wdlove]

Hi Belgian IZI and Red G5, great to have you as new members of MacRumors and to this thread. We have a great group of supportive individuals.

[dm000]

I'm interested in knowing what the version yours arrives in. Please post once info is received.

To compare, I received my DP2.0 a week ago and it came with AHT version 2.2.5 with Disc version 1.0. The DP2.5 that I received two months ago and returned recently was something like AHT 2.1.5 with Disc Version 1.0, or something to that effect (it's still a lower version than the 2.2.5 released).

Let's see... I received my G5 yesterday. It shipped overnight from Elk Grove, CA. Hopefully, they have done additional inspections of the 2.5 GHz models to make sure they work properly....

FedEX showed up right before I had to go to a meeting. I wasn't too disappointed to let it sit for a couple of hours... it needed to warm up to room temperature anyway.

My AHT disc is Power Mac Version 2.2.5 (Disc Version 1.0), the same as yours. Mine came with 10.3.5 installed and on the System discs.

I booted from the AHT disc and ran the extended tests (512 MB stock memory). Everything passed.

Then, I installed my Maxtor 250 GB drive in the second SATA slot. The "slide in" mounting is pretty damned cool. Also, I installed 4-1GB memory modules.

I again booted from the AHT disc and my hardware profile show a problem with my memory in the 5 and 6 slots. I began to get nervous. Is it the RAM, the G5, or the fact that my girlfriend walked across the room to see what I was doing and touched me (I was touching the case at the time, as well as the RAM package, so I was worried a bit about static... never have had a static problem before).

I shutdown reseated the RAM modules, took out the drive, then restarted with the AHT disc. Memory passed a few runs of the extended test.

A few hours later (after the memory tests finished) I installed the SATA again, ran the quick tests, and received a mass storage error: "2STF/1/4" (no quotes). Shutdown again, removed the stock drive and put it in the lower bay. Turns out the stock drive was the same model Maxtor drive I had bought (at about half the price as Apple was charging for an extra drive). Same error. Check SATA cable connection on the main logic board. Success! Moved stock drive to "upper" bay A and installed my additional drive in bay B. Ran extended tests three times... everything passed each time.

Now, I finally booted, initialized the second drive, and ran all of the updates. Everything is working fine so far. Woah, for about half a day yesterday I was concerned about the G5 working properly.

I am somewhat hesitant to use the "transfer utility" to move things from my G4, especially after reading some reports here and elsewhere. Does anyone know if Apple Remote Desktop could do a better job of moving my files and applications to my G5? Thanks.

-Dave ;)

[grebo]

I think this is completely normal. Just look at the liquid-cooling-scheme on Apple's website. The cool liquid-cooling-fluid first cools down CPU B. Then, the not so cool anymore liquid-cooling-fluid tries to cool down CPU A but can never cool it down as much as it has done the previous CPU and will terefore run a little hotter. There you have it!


Further:

Next week it will be 2 months for me waiting on my dual 2.5
I am barely hanging on but this thread is helping a lot. Not much of a poster though but a very loyal reader.

Greetings from Holland,

-Skills

Thanks for the words of reassurance, I am afraid though, that I disagree. I can accept that it's 'normal' because other people are experiencing the same problem, however the first two machines I had ran in tandem, never fluctuating more than 2 degrees celcius from each other.

I hope your G5 will be fine... I'm still not sure about mine. :confused:

[monogee]

I'm thinking of purchasing the Powermac G5 2.5 and an Apple 20" LCD. I would be using it for the purpose of producing music, using such programs as Digital Performer and Logic. I've been reading about some of the problems here in this forum.

1. Is it worth buying one now or are there still alot of bugs with this machine?
2. I also wanted to know if I should wait until the beginning of 2005 or purchase one in December? Does anyone think the price will come down on it in January?
3. What is the wait on this machine when you order?

Thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks

[Mac-Xpert]

I am somewhat hesitant to use the "transfer utility" to move things from my G4, especially after reading some reports here and elsewhere. Does anyone know if Apple Remote Desktop could do a better job of moving my files and applications to my G5? Thanks.
I used the transfer utility with good results. I think about 95% of my apps worked correctly the first time I tried them on my new machine. Only Quark Xpress 6 and the iProof software RIP needed to be re-activated. But this I knew already before I transferred the apps. And because I used two partitions on my previous computer (G4) I needed to move certain apps from the additional folder that the transfer utility created from my second partition. But I had no major problems whatsoever.

1. Is it worth buying one now or are there still alot of bugs with this machine?I'm quite happy with my 2.5 GHz here. But I do find that when having the processors set to "automatic performance" that the fans spin up rather a lot. Even when doing simple things like scrolling through a web-page in Safari can make the fans rev up. I actually found that the fans rev up less when you put it in "highest performance" than the Automatic mode, while having maximum performance. However with a machine this fast, I don't find it a problem to put it in "Reduced performance" mode. This will keep the machine really quiet and will still give me (I checked this!) about the same performance as a 2 GHz machine. Only when I need full performance, I temporarily put it in the "Highest performance". This gives me sort of a "best of both worlds" between quiet operation and performance when I need it. :)

[mikepj]

2. I also wanted to know if I should wait until the beginning of 2005 or purchase one in December? Does anyone think the price will come down on it in January?
I doubt it. Usually, Apple sticks to around $2999 for it's high-end PowerMac. Since demand is so high for these machines, there really isn't any reason for them to lower the price on it. Also, since IBM is having trouble even making 2.5Ghz chips, I doubt there will be any speed bumps on the high end for awhile (at least not with CPU speed). I think now is a great time to buy.


3. What is the wait on this machine when you order?

I'm still waiting for mine... It shipped after 4 weeks and will get here 5 weeks and a day after I ordered it. When I ordered they were estimating 3-5 weeks shipping time, but now I think that number is down to 2-3 weeks.

[grebo]

I'm thinking of purchasing the Powermac G5 2.5 and an Apple 20" LCD. I would be using it for the purpose of producing music, using such programs as Digital Performer and Logic. I've been reading about some of the problems here in this forum.

1. Is it worth buying one now or are there still alot of bugs with this machine?
2. I also wanted to know if I should wait until the beginning of 2005 or purchase one in December? Does anyone think the price will come down on it in January?
3. What is the wait on this machine when you order?

Thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks
If you will be recording analogue signals with a microphone, you may have problems with unacceptable noise issues caused by unpredictable fan revving on the 2.5

Apparently the 2.0 Rev B's are much quieter and have all the power you'll need for audio workstations. I'm considering making the switch while I still can.

[wdlove]

I'm thinking of purchasing the Powermac G5 2.5 and an Apple 20" LCD. I would be using it for the purpose of producing music, using such programs as Digital Performer and Logic. I've been reading about some of the problems here in this forum.

1. Is it worth buying one now or are there still a lot of bugs with this machine?
2. I also wanted to know if I should wait until the beginning of 2005 or purchase one in December? Does anyone think the price will come down on it in January?
3. What is the wait on this machine when you order?

Thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks

1. If you are in need of a machine now, then I would say go ahead and purchase. As with anything else, those with problems are more likely to post. So it is hard to get a real gauge on quality. I still have confidence in Apple.

2. There is no guarantee of any upgrade coming in January. It's more likely at WWDC. Apple generally doesn't decrease the price on a CPU. They do increase the quality without a price increaser though.

3. The wait for the G5 seems to depend on where you live. What items you order on the machine and stock availability.

[SteveMentzer]

Order Date : 10/20/2004
Original Estimated Ship Date : 11/26/2004
Ship Notification Received: 11/09/2004 (actually 11/10/2004)
Delivered : 11/10/2004 @ 8:58am

Is shipped from Elk Grove, CA. I am in southern california. It was standard ground shipping...

The biggest problem is that I am at work right now.... gotta wait to open it up @ home. This is gonna be the hardest 8 hours ever....

[DWKlink]

I also wanted to know if I should wait until the beginning of 2005 or purchase one in December?

Last November I decided to wait to purchase a G5 with all the rumors of a new machine arriving in January. Needless to say, I finally recieved my 2.5 the end of August, 10 months after I initially wanted to buy. If you need a computer now, I would purchase one now - waiting because of rumors or speculation is going to add up to a long wait. Just think how there's still a 3-5 week wait for these machines and they were announced 5 months ago - I think it will be a while before there's any new G5 offering.

As for quality, I love my 2.5 and I still can't get over how fast and quiet it is. If you need a new PM and you want the best mac your money can buy, I suggest you pull the trigger now.

[DWKlink]

DELETE ME!

[dm000]

I used the transfer utility with good results. I think about 95% of my apps worked correctly the first time I tried them on my new machine. Only Quark Xpress 6 and the iProof software RIP needed to be re-activated. But this I knew already before I transferred the apps. And because I used two partitions on my previous computer (G4) I needed to move certain apps from the additional folder that the transfer utility created from my second partition. But I had no major problems whatsoever.
...snip...


Thanks for the feedback!

[si-valleyguy]

I'm quite happy with my 2.5 GHz here. But I do find that when having the processors set to "automatic performance" that the fans spin up rather a lot. Even when doing simple things like scrolling through a web-page in Safari can make the fans rev up. I actually found that the fans rev up less when you put it in "highest performance" than the Automatic mode, while having maximum performance. However with a machine this fast, I don't find it a problem to put it in "Reduced performance" mode. This will keep the machine really quiet and will still give me (I checked this!) about the same performance as a 2 GHz machine. Only when I need full performance, I temporarily put it in the "Highest performance". This gives me sort of a "best of both worlds" between quiet operation and performance when I need it. :)

I can confirm this, as well. In reduced mode, even using the iTunes Visulizer, things are really quiet. There's just a hint of fan rev. Cropping in Photoshop is dead quiet, also. I have 3.5 GB RAM. When I just had the stock RAM and even 1.5 GB I got more fan revs than I do now in automatic mode. At this point I don't see much difference between highest and automatic. If I had less RAM, I think I would.

My machine is still very fast in reduced mode for most things and I'm enjoying the quiet operation. Perhaps I should have bought the 2 GHz to begin with but who knew at that time (early August) the 10-25% speed increase came with a noise caveat. From Apple's promotion, I surmised liquid cooling would take a burden off the fans and hence make for an even quieter machine. I always believed that with computers and money there's no such thing as too much of either. Perhaps Apple will revise the fan mangement software in the future to tone things down a bit. MacAddict's review picks the fan thing out as one of the "bads" in thier review summary but the "good" is the speed.

Anyway, this is a good tip.

[King Crimson]

1. Is it worth buying one now or are there still alot of bugs with this machine?
2. I also wanted to know if I should wait until the beginning of 2005 or purchase one in December? Does anyone think the price will come down on it in January?
3. What is the wait on this machine when you order?


Hi there,

1. STRONG BUY, I love my g5!!!!!!
2. There's one rule, buy a computer when you need it, waiting never really pays ... (there are no rumors going on about a speedbump comming soon, are they!? ;))
3. I Think now You can simply check the wait in the apple store. A local dealer should be able to give you a qualified second opinion ...

Cheers,

Andreas

[Mac-Xpert]

Thanks for the feedback!I hope it works out well for you too. I do think that the transfer utility relies on having your files and apps in the "correct" place. I did for instance had to re-import most of my mp3s because I didn't keep them in the iTunes folder of the startup partition but on the other one. But those are just small issues that you would expect from a transfer to a new computer.

[Mac-Xpert]

I can confirm this, as well. In reduced mode, even using the iTunes Visulizer, things are really quiet. There's just a hint of fan rev. Cropping in Photoshop is dead quiet, also. I have 3.5 GB RAM. When I just had the stock RAM and even 1.5 GB I got more fan revs than I do now in automatic mode. At this point I don't see much difference between highest and automatic. If I had less RAM, I think I would.
That's interesting. I have 2 GB ram in my machine. I did notice some difference between the Highest and Automatic mode, in favor of the Highest mode. I find that even in reduced mode my machine mostly quiet but sometimes has a short rev-up. When I use Photoshop and I use the "transform" function and for instance scale and rotate a image, and stay a little while in this mode before I give it a o.k. the fans tend to rev-up to full speed for a few seconds. But most of the time I don't hear the machine at all, and can see the fans running very slowly.

If I would have known that the 2.5 GHz had more of a rev-up problem than the 2 GHz machine, I might have wanted that one instead. But with the machine in reduced mode I'm quite happy with the general silent operation.

[wdlove]

Last November I decided to wait to purchase a G5 with all the rumors of a new machine arriving in January. Needless to say, I finally received my 2.5 the end of August, 10 months after I initially wanted to buy. If you need a computer now, I would purchase one now - waiting because of rumors or speculation is going to add up to a long wait. Just think how there's still a 3-5 week wait for these machines and they were announced 5 months ago - I think it will be a while before there's any new G5 offering.

As for quality, I love my 2.5 and I still can't get over how fast and quiet it is. If you need a new PM and you want the best mac your money can buy, I suggest you pull the trigger now.

I have had a G5 in mind since the original Rev. A, but still not ready to pull the trigger. The 2.5 is definitely the best that money can buy. Always good to see another positive review. It's important for those like your self to post also.

[SteveMentzer]

Aesthetics
========

I actually prefer the look of my G4 MDD case. But the brushed aluminum is nice, because it matches my 23" HD Cinema Display (aluminum frame). The case looks and feels very industrial.

Accessories
=========

I still hate apple's keyboards. I guess I was just hoping for one of the old 'apple pro' keyboards. You know, the ones that weighed a ton, were SOLID, BIG and had a less 'polished' feeling to the keys. I tossed the keyboard aside and used my dell enhanced multimedia USB keyboard, which works suprisingly well in OS/X.

The apple mouse is a joke. Sorry, I hate single button mice.

The Guts
=======

The interior of the G5 is extremely well laid out. This is a thing of beauty. You can see the distinct thermal zones. Expansion should be fairly easy.

Noise Levels
=========

This machine is much, much quieter than my MDD G4. Then again, my vaccuum is quieter than the MDD G4 :)

The first thing I did was set performance to 'maximum'. I had a few fan revs during some highly intensive CPU work (installing word of warcraft beta). Nothing major. The fans *never* spun up to maximum velocity, as they do during the hardware test. I can see how this machine could be viewed as noisy if the fans were spinning at max.

All in all, I was expecting a little quieter, but it is still quieter than any other mac or PC in my house ( i have 3 macs and 4 PC's )

Performance
=========

WOW. This is the fastest computer I have ever used. I am used to high-end PC's (dual Xeon workstations) and high-end gaming machines (athlon 2800+) and this machine simply rocks. My G4 dual 1Ghz box was certainly showing it's age lately. I attributed a lot of that to the radeon 9000 and OS/X.

However, I am completely blown away about how fast OS/X is on this machine. All the pokey OS/X window rendering slowness is gone. It is quite astonishing. I opened iTunes, and had about 11,000 MP3's in the list. I was able to drag through them end-to-end with no lag or beachball.

The same holds true for iPhoto. I have a couple thousand photos. Using the zoomer and the scroller, I was able to go end-to-end with no lag. During that time, the cpu utilization never got above 50% on either processor.

I haven't been able to convert some .dv files to mpeg2 yet, as I didn't have any time.

On the gaming front, world-of-warcraft beta was very, very smooth, even with the settings max'ed out. I got the 9800XT, and I was running 1344x840 (wide) with every setting dimed. There isn't an FPS meter in the game, but it was silky smooth, even in the most complex of areas.

With marine aquarium, I was getting 200+ fps at 1900x1200.

Can't wait to try Doom3 out on the box.

Heat Issues
=========

There seems to be a common concern that the CPU's are getting too hot and going into thermal shutdown mode.

With the machine set at maximum performance, the baseline cpu temps hovered between 58C and 73C.

During some intense CPU action, I saw it spike up to 78C-80C. The fan action didn't necessarily correlate to the CPU temps in all cases. The fans were always spinning slowly...

I don't know if that is bad or not. I am going to run a 12 hour folding session tonight to see if I can get the machine to fail. If not, I am not going to worry about it further.

Overall
=====

I really, really like this machine. I am finding less use for my PC... and now I have a respectable dual G4 MDD box to recomission as something else.

With a successful 'folding' burnin tonight.... I think I will be a very, very happy man.

[flytrap]

Does anyone know of any DEMOS for the Nvidia 6800 card. I got the ATI 9600XT with my G5 2.5 so I could get it sooner. I had downloaded some demos for it but when I go the Nvidia page there is only PC Demos for this card.


Thanks

Flytrap

[monogee]

Thanks to everyone on their thoughts in purchasing the PowerMac G5. I would like to know what graphics card is recommended for the G5. I'm basically using the G5 with music sequencing programs, to watch DVD movies and do some editing of photos. Thanks

[Mac-Xpert]

Thanks to everyone on their thoughts in purchasing the PowerMac G5. I would like to know what graphics card is recommended for the G5. I'm basically using the G5 with music sequencing programs, to watch DVD movies and do some editing of photos. ThanksIf your not going to use the machine for gaming, I would stick with the standard Radeon 9600 XT. Only when you like to play the new games, or are going to use it for heavy 3-d rendering you should buy the Radeon 9800 XT or the GeForce 6800. Watching DVD's or editing photo's will run just as fast and smooth with the 9600 XT as with the 6800 Ultra.

[monogee]

Thanks Mac-Xpert

[grebo]

Hi gang,

Well I'm sorry to report that I'm going to flex the remorse option and send the G5 (and 30" display) back to its maker.

I'm going to sit back and evaluate my options -- maybe get a helpful clerk at a high-end music store or a genius at the new Apple store who can demonstrate to me a G5 DP (am now considering the 2.0 Rev B) working QUIETLY in a studio environment.

I'm bitterly disappointed, and it will be a pain to go back to the slow G4, but I couldn't just hang on to hope that either Apple Care or firmware updates would cover me in the long run.

I'm still committed to getting a Mac though. Invested too much in Logic Pro ;)

Anyway, I wanted to share this with the rest of you, and thank you for all the support and encouragement you've given me since I first placed my order back in JUNE!

Cheers,

Grebo

[wdlove]

If your not going to use the machine for gaming, I would stick with the standard Radeon 9600 XT. Only when you like to play the new games, or are going to use it for heavy 3-d rendering you should buy the Radeon 9800 XT or the GeForce 6800. Watching DVD's or editing photo's will run just as fast and smooth with the 9600 XT as with the 6800 Ultra.

That works unless you are interested in a 30" Cinema Display. Then the GeForce 6800 is required.

[wdlove]

Hi gang,

Well I'm sorry to report that I'm going to flex the remorse option and send the G5 (and 30" display) back to its maker.

I'm going to sit back and evaluate my options -- maybe get a helpful clerk at a high-end music store or a genius at the new Apple store who can demonstrate to me a G5 DP (am now considering the 2.0 Rev B) working QUIETLY in a studio environment.

I'm bitterly disappointed, and it will be a pain to go back to the slow G4, but I couldn't just hang on to hope that either Apple Care or firmware updates would cover me in the long run.

I'm still committed to getting a Mac though. Invested too much in Logic Pro ;)

Anyway, I wanted to share this with the rest of you, and thank you for all the support and encouragement you've given me since I first placed my order back in JUNE!

Cheers,

Grebo

I'm very sorry to hear about the problems that you have been having Grebo . I can't completely understand the pain that you have suffered after having a DOA twice. Hopefully with time and reflection you will make the best decision in your case. It does seem that several have decided to go with the Rev. B G5. Please let us know what you end up deciding on .

[Kairy]

Hi gang,

I'm going to sit back and evaluate my options -- maybe get a helpful clerk at a high-end music store or a genius at the new Apple store who can demonstrate to me a G5 DP (am now considering the 2.0 Rev B) working QUIETLY in a studio environment.

I'm
Grebo

Sorry to hear you have totaly backed down from a G5. I too downgraded my DOA DP2.5 for a DP2.0 due to fan noise. The G5 series is still the most advanced machine in the market. I use the G5 with protools (not such a DP efficient software) and am blown away with the performance. Logic should perform even better!.

There is definetly no comparison between G4 and G5 technology.

I say get the DP 2.0, and start making music. You won't need to upgrade for at least 2-3 years.

good (better) luck

[grebo]

Sorry to hear you have totaly backed down from a G5. I too downgraded my DOA DP2.5 for a DP2.0 due to fan noise. The G5 series is still the most advanced machine in the market. I use the G5 with protools (not such a DP efficient software) and am blown away with the performance. Logic should perform even better!.

There is definetly no comparison between G4 and G5 technology.

I say get the DP 2.0, and start making music. You won't need to upgrade for at least 2-3 years.

good (better) luck

Thanks for the feedback (you too WD). Can I ask which video card you opted for? Am thinking the 6800 Ultra might be contributing to the fan noise too, and thinking the ATI 9800 would be just as bad.

I'm also thinking of downgrading to a 23" so the 6800 wouldn't be necessary.

[mikepj]

If you want to stick with the 30", you might want to consider the 6800 GT card. Since it's clocked lower than the 6800 Ultra, it probably runs quieter too. I don't know of any sites that have a review on it yet though.

My 2.5 Ghz G5, 512Mb RAM (+ 1Gb from OWC), 250Gb drive, 9800 XT, Bluetooth machine ordered on 10/11 is on the Fedex truck for delivery right now. The 20" Cinema display I ordered is just sitting on my desk waiting for a machine to drive it. Should be a very good day. :)

[wdlove]

If you want to stick with the 30", you might want to consider the 6800 GT card. Since it's clocked lower than the 6800 Ultra, it probably runs quieter too. I don't know of any sites that have a review on it yet though.

My 2.5 Ghz G5, 512Mb RAM (+ 1Gb from OWC), 250Gb drive, 9800 XT, Bluetooth machine ordered on 10/11 is on the Fedex truck for delivery right now. The 20" Cinema display I ordered is just sitting on my desk waiting for a machine to drive it. Should be a very good day. :)

That is an awesome setup that you have on the way. Will be interested to hear your impression.

My wife and I really have our hearts set on the 30". Would the 6800 GT still be able to handle the 30"? With so many problems with the 2.5, wonder if it might not be better to wait.

[klaus]

That is an awesome setup that you have on the way. Will be interested to hear your impression.

My wife and I really have our hearts set on the 30". Would the 6800 GT still be able to handle the 30"? With so many problems with the 2.5, wonder if it might not be better to wait.

Hi Wdlove, I don't think there are that many problems with the 2.5, at least compared to the amount of production units already in use.
Mine is perfect, my friends as well, and now that they seem to have ramped up production to supply even best buy - buyers (weird word!) I don't think the issues are that widespread.

Good luck to all of you!

cu guys

[grebo]

That is an awesome setup that you have on the way. Will be interested to hear your impression.

My wife and I really have our hearts set on the 30". Would the 6800 GT still be able to handle the 30"? With so many problems with the 2.5, wonder if it might not be better to wait.
Can I just say that I had no qualms with the 30" screen, other than the fact that it almost completely obscured my two speakers (small desk) and I might want to avoid a video card that has yet another fan on it!

That said, I've heard some interesting things about something called an NV5 Silencer (http://www.arctic-cooling.com) and some positive reports from folks using it over at xlr8yourmac.com.

And yes, the 6800 GT can also drive the 30" -- in fact, it can drive two just like its big brother the 6800 Ultra.

[DWKlink]

\I'm going to sit back and evaluate my options -- maybe get a helpful clerk at a high-end music store or a genius at the new Apple store who can demonstrate to me a G5 DP (am now considering the 2.0 Rev B) working QUIETLY in a studio environment.

Sorry to hear about your problems and that you are abandoning the 2.5 G5. I was just curious why you are not happy with the machine. You mention it being too noisy working in a studio environment, and I was wondering whether it would be possible to move it out of the studio into another room and power it with a KVM extender.

[grebo]

Sorry to hear about your problems and that you are abandoning the 2.5 G5. I was just curious why you are not happy with the machine. You mention it being too noisy working in a studio environment, and I was wondering whether it would be possible to move it out of the studio into another room and power it with a KVM extender.
Hi, thanks for your condolences -- but when I say 'studio', it's really just my bedroom, and space is very limited. I did think about building an enclosure for it, but that's probably not a good idea considering the amount of air it seems to require coursing through it.

It's odd though that reports indicate the 2.0 is MUCH quieter than the 2.5. I thought the WHOLE purpose of liquid cooling was to rely on fans less... :confused:

[DWKlink]

It's odd though that reports indicate the 2.0 is MUCH quieter than the 2.5. I thought the WHOLE purpose of liquid cooling was to rely on fans less... :confused:

Yeah, we all thought the 2.5 would be so much quieter because of the liquid cooling, but i guess that apple was more concerned about heat dissipation than noise. Not only do the 2.5 need the same amount of air moving through them, but they need the liquid cooling as well.

I still find my machine to run very quiet though. A friend at work had a compaq notebook the other day, and i could hardly hear him over the fan in that thing. Other than the occasional rev up, I find the 2.5s to be pretty silent.

[monogee]

I'm very sorry to hear about the problems that you have been having Grebo . I can't completely understand the pain that you have suffered after having a DOA twice. Hopefully with time and reflection you will make the best decision in your case. It does seem that several have decided to go with the Rev. B G5. Please let us know what you end up deciding on .
Can someone explain what Rev. B G5 is?

[wrldwzrd89]

Can someone explain what Rev. B G5 is?
I feel very strange posting in a 200+ page thread that I have no involvement in, since I don't own a PowerMac G5 and don't plan on buying a new Mac anytime soon...but anyway, to answer your question:

Rev. is short for "Revision". The initial run of a particular branch of a product line (Aluminum PowerBooks, PowerMac G5s, etc.) is called Revision A. Updates to that branch are called Revision B, C, D, etc. When a significant change is made to a product line (for example, Titanium PowerBooks to Aluminum PowerBooks), a new branch is started at Revision A all over again.

[monogee]

Thanks, so does that mean Rev.B is now available if I were to purchase a Powermac G5?

[grebo]

I feel very strange posting in a 200+ page thread that I have no involvement in, since I don't own a PowerMac G5 and don't plan on buying a new Mac anytime soon...but anyway, to answer your question:

Rev. is short for "Revision". The initial run of a particular branch of a product line (Aluminum PowerBooks, PowerMac G5s, etc.) is called Revision A. Updates to that branch are called Revision B, C, D, etc. When a significant change is made to a product line (for example, Titanium PowerBooks to Aluminum PowerBooks), a new branch is started at Revision A all over again.
So if you go to the Apple Store online right now, click on the PowerMac image and then select the second one from the right -- that would be a G5 2.0 DP Rev B.

:D

It would also be about £350 cheaper, and a couple dB quieter!

[monogee]

Is the G5 2.0 really quieter?

[grebo]

Is the G5 2.0 really quieter?
Well, I don't have mine yet -- but if you scour the discussions forums at Apple Support itself, you'll see numerous threads about just that. On this thread alone I know of at least three who traded 'down' to a 2.0.

I'm sincerely tempted. Then again, the January Macworld is just around the bend... maybe they'll have a bigger carrot to dangle from the stick?

Seriously though, I've been through an emotional wringer on this one. I am not going to splurge again until I get a clerk who will take the time to demo me a machine in a QUIET room, and I will buy THAT machine (not one from a shelf).

Now that they're opening an Apple Store in London, I'm hoping to get that opportunity soon!

[~Shard~]

Thanks, so does that mean Rev.B is now available if I were to purchase a Powermac G5?

Yes, the Rev Bs technically came out when the 2.5 GHz G5 machines were released. As an aside, some people prefer to buy Rev Bs instead of brand spanking new machines the day they're released, as Rev As can potentially have more issues or problems, since they are new. Some people consider Rev Bs to be more stable, as all the bugs of the Rev As have been worked out. ;)

[KaiMac]

Well, I don't have mine yet -- but if you scour the discussions forums at Apple Support itself, you'll see numerous threads about just that. On this thread alone I know of at least three who traded 'down' to a 2.0.


Grebo,

I also spend much time dealing with a DOA 2.5 and Apple. I eventually rolled back to a 2.0 Rev. B. I use Logic Pro and play my Fender Stratocaster into the G5 while mixing in other backing tracks. I have been nothing but happy with the G5 and the fan noise. With the G5 under my desk and the Microphone on top, I have had no noticable interfernce in my tracks. I know this is a big concern for you. I have been happy. The speed of the 2.0 Rev. B has been outstanding and a non-issue on making my music.

Good Luck to you and thanks for your contributions to this board. If anyone deserves a functional box it's you.

Regards,

Mike

[grebo]

Grebo,

Good Luck to you and thanks for your contributions to this board. If anyone deserves a functional box it's you.

Regards,

Mike
Cheers Mike,

What a kind thing to say. Many thanks for a positive review of the 'downgrade' process. I am thinking I may downgrade to a 23" monitor too -- the 30" is beautiful yes, but maybe a bit excessive for my needs (and definitely makes a bold statement in my tiny bedroom!).

If I do that, I'll save quite a bit of dosh from the first time around, and maybe I can splash out on the Pro Application bundle and some new musical kit.

Grebo

[wdlove]

Hi Wdlove, I don't think there are that many problems with the 2.5, at least compared to the amount of production units already in use.
Mine is perfect, my friends as well, and now that they seem to have ramped up production to supply even best buy - buyers (weird word!) I don't think the issues are that widespread.

Good luck to all of you!

cu guys

Just like with anything else, it's those that are having problems that tend to post more. Still very difficult to ignore those posts. It just causes a depressed feeling.

[Bro]

Is the G5 2.0 really quieter?

Being a former MDD owner, then Cube owner, does that qualify me as an expert on noise ;) . Here are my comments about noise in my G5 2.0:

As far as noise. The fans are quiet, especially the ones cooling the cpu's. But... one fan, and I haven't isolated it yet, generates an annoying pitch, tone, whine or whatever you want to call it. It's not loud though. During the day I don't notice it, but late at night, when all is quiet, it is noticable.

To grebo: For your quiet test, here is my suggestion. Don't just listen for 5 minutes and decide. Work on the machine for 20-30 minutes, the turn it OFF. How do you feel when it goes silent? Anxious? Relieved? No different?

My 2.0 or 2.5 decision:

I went with the 2.0, because cpu noise was a big concern for me. My prevous machine was a cube (Giga fan kit installed, because of hd and video upgrade). At the bottom is my story how I ended up with a cube. Anyhow, I wanted a deal, so I bought a refurb from the Apple store for $2099 and a refurb AE card for $69. It came with 2 surprises. A 250GB harddrive and the software for ibook/emac installed, but it shipped with the G5 discs.

I plan on upgrading the video card to a ATI 9800 Mac Special Addition, which is comparable to the build to order 9800XT for about the same price. I will probably wait to see if an X800 will be anounced at MacWorld and make my decision then.

So far, I'm happy with my decision.

My G4 Noise story:
I had owned a 933 quicksilver for 7 months, then one day it wouldn't start up. After 2 months of trips to service, (Each turnaround took 1 week) They decided to replace my machine. They didn't make the 933 anymore, so the middle of the line machine was the dreadded MDD dual 1GHz. THAT, was loud. Everytime I used my MDD, I couldn't wait to shut it off. And when I did, I always sighed a deep breath of relief. I only lasted a week before I sold it to a friend (yes he's still my friend), for the same amount that I paid for the 933 a year earlier. I then bought my beautiful, silent cube.

bro

[si-valleyguy]

Yeah, we all thought the 2.5 would be so much quieter because of the liquid cooling, but i guess that apple was more concerned about heat dissipation than noise. Not only do the 2.5 need the same amount of air moving through them, but they need the liquid cooling as well.

I still find my machine to run very quiet though. A friend at work had a compaq notebook the other day, and i could hardly hear him over the fan in that thing. Other than the occasional rev up, I find the 2.5s to be pretty silent.

As earlier posted, putting the processor into "reduced" mode quiets the machine down. Whether that reduces it to a 2 GHz machine performance wise, I am not sure. I can't imagine the 2 GHz machine being quieter. In reduced mode, my 2.5 machine is litteraly whisper quiet no matter what I do. If you get into a speed need, you can always switch back to highest or automatic making it only occassionally noisy.

3 GHz is comming in the next generation IBM multi-core processor Q1 or Q2 2005. How hot or cool that will run, I haven't seen discussed anywhere. :rolleyes:

[Mac-Xpert]

As earlier posted, putting the processor into "reduced" mode quiets the machine down. Whether that reduces it to a 2 GHz machine performance wise, I am not sure.Yes, that's right. I checked this with Adobe Acrobat (6.01). Converting a 123.2 Mb postscript file to PDF using the "press quality" setting gave me the following results.

G5 2x2.5 GHz, 2 Gb ram, OS-X 10.3.4:

Auto performance: 14 seconds
Fans rev-up noticeably for a couple of seconds (somewhere halfway through the conversion)

Highest performance: 14 seconds
Fans rev-up slightly but not as much as with the Auto performance setting.

Reduced performance: 17 seconds
Hardly any rev-up of the fans, machine stays very quiet.

These times are the fastest and after several takes remain very constant. Acrobat is quite useful as a test app, because of the stable results, and the high demand on processor speed. Although the hard-disk is involved, it is mostly the processor speed that influences the results.

Looking at the difference between the 17 seconds for the reduced mode and the 14 seconds for the Auto and Highest mode:
14 / 17 = 0.823529411765 * 2,5 GHz = 2,058823529412 GHz.

So that's pretty much as fast as a 2 Ghz machine. :rolleyes:

I hope this clears thing up a bit..

[monogee]

Can anyone recommend a good internal hard drive for the Powermac G5 DP 2.5? I will be using it for recording audio. Thanks

[grebo]

Can anyone recommend a good internal hard drive for the Powermac G5 DP 2.5? I will be using it for recording audio. Thanks

Although I've no experience with the Raptor drives -- they ARE the fastest -- but with that, I assume there is more ambient noise as a result. I had no problems with Maxtor SATA drives (7200 RPM) being able to record and playback audio using Logic Pro.

My problem (as we all know) was with fan noise (and perhaps two disks spinning)... Am curious to hear reports from people who've implemented the solutions to allow five or six or TEN(!) internal drives?...

[wdlove]

3 GHz is coming in the next generation IBM multi-core processor Q1 or Q2 2005. How hot or cool that will run, I haven't seen discussed anywhere. :rolleyes:

I certainly hope that Apple has learned from the heat and fan issues with the 2.5 model. Hopefully the 3.0 model will be like a Rev. B. Maybe Steve will have an announcement for us at MWSF.

[grebo]

Well, I feel naked now. I've packed it all up and boy does my desk look bare. I'm hesitant to set up my G4 in its place until I after this weekend's London Apple Store opening.

Cheers all,

Grebo

[wdlove]

Well, I feel naked now. I've packed it all up and boy does my desk look bare. I'm hesitant to set up my G4 in its place until I after this weekend's London Apple Store opening.

Cheers all,

Grebo

I feel your pain grebo. Hopefully the London Store opening will be a time to cheer you up. Being able to be clothed in the warmth of Apple.

[KaiMac]

Well, I feel naked now. I've packed it all up and boy does my desk look bare. I'm hesitant to set up my G4 in its place until I after this weekend's London Apple Store opening.

Cheers all,

Grebo

Good Luck Grebo. I'm sure they will take care of you. I'll be in North London in March for the Arsenal v. Newcastle match. Go Gunners! I'll be sure to stop in and check out the new London Apple Store.

Cheers,

Mike

[si-valleyguy]

I certainly hope that Apple has learned from the heat and fan issues with the 2.5 model. Hopefully the 3.0 model will be like a Rev. B. Maybe Steve will have an announcement for us at MWSF.

I just upgraded my firmware to the 5.1.8f7 revision. I've read there is improved fan management amoung other things. My first take on this is that things are now quieter in the "highest" CPU mode. For example, in Photoshop, I don't get much of a fan rev when cropping. In iTunes, turning on visualizer I still notice a fan rev but it's less loud. In general, I notice less fan noise as I do this and that. I don't feel the need to go back to "reduced" CPU mode at present. Nice to have that extra snap back!

First Impressions. I welcome other comments. :)

[FFTT]

I've followed Apple forums long enough to know that Revision "A"
may be tempting, but Revision "B" or later is always much safer as far
problematic issues.

What concerns me here is wondering whether the choice of graphics cards
is causing more of the fan noise problems than people realize.

If your primary concern is quiet audio recording, I would think that
the 6800 Ultra, using 2 PCI slots AND having yet another fan would be
the first thing I would avoid.

Of course none of this SHOULD be an issue with an Apple product,
but bells and whistles are hard to resist.

From what I'm reading here, if you MUST have the 30 inch display,
I suppose the best attitude is to wait just a bit longer to see what happens with the next revision as well as the single slot ATI X800 Pro card.

Grebo,

I can't imagine how you must feel after all you've gone through.

You might consider the downgrade to the 2.0, or just hang in there
a bit longer and put your money into more RAM memory, a single slot Pro
graphics card and leave room for a really nice A-D interface.

You're only looking at 2 more months before you know what will be available in the next revisions.

[grebo]

I've followed Apple forums long enough to know that Revision "A"
may be tempting, but Revision "B" or later is always much safer as far
problematic issues.

What concerns me here is wondering whether the choice of graphics cards
is causing more of the fan noise problems than people realize.

If your primary concern is quiet audio recording, I would think that
the 6800 Ultra, using 2 PCI slots AND having yet another fan would be
the first thing I would avoid.

Of course none of this SHOULD be an issue with an Apple product,
but bells and whistles are hard to resist.

From what I'm reading here, if you MUST have the 30 inch display,
I suppose the best attitude is to wait just a bit longer to see what happens with the next revision as well as the single slot ATI X800 Pro card.

Grebo,

I can't imagine how you must feel after all you've gone through.

You might consider the downgrade to the 2.0, or just hang in there
a bit longer and put your money into more RAM memory, a single slot Pro
graphics card and leave room for a really nice A-D interface.

You're only looking at 2 more months before you know what will be available in the next revisions.

Hi, thanks for the 'sound' advice! ;)

You're right, I'm sure the hurking fans on the video cards were adding to the mix. I went down to the Apple Store yesterday (at a sensible hour, thank you) and had one of their Geniuses demonstrate to another 2.5 in a quiet studio environment (there are two studios in the back of the store). I still heard plenty of fan noise. I'm beginning to think I'm after something that doesn't exist.

Maybe when these low power G5 chips come out, that'll be the machine I'm after. Then again, maybe I'll just bite the bullet and deal with it. Will keep you all posted.

Cheers

Grebo

[wdlove]

Hi, thanks for the 'sound' advice! ;)

You're right, I'm sure the hurking fans on the video cards were adding to the mix. I went down to the Apple Store yesterday (at a sensible hour, thank you) and had one of their Geniuses demonstrate to another 2.5 in a quiet studio environment (there are two studios in the back of the store). I still heard plenty of fan noise. I'm beginning to think I'm after something that doesn't exist.

Maybe when these low power G5 chips come out, that'll be the machine I'm after. Then again, maybe I'll just bite the bullet and deal with it. Will keep you all posted.

Cheers

Grebo
After all that you have been through, you are certainly demonstrating a very understanding spirit. Apple is lucky to have you for a customer. Maybe it will be best to have a G5 in '05.

[kornyboy]

Hey,

I was just sitting here wondering if anyone knew the maximum number of posts that have ever been on a Mac Rumors thread? I'm sure that after watching this one for a while and posting a couple of times to it that it has to be pretty close to the largest with over 6100 posts. Just a thought.

kornyboy

[FFTT]

I think we are quite fortunate to have these informative discussions when one considers such a major purchase.

I also hope that members of this community will use the same effort
to contact Apple directly with their questions and concerns.

It's the only way we can actively support the positive improvements
we hope for.

[wdlove]

I think we are quite fortunate to have these informative discussions when one considers such a major purchase.

I also hope that members of this community will use the same effort
to contact Apple directly with their questions and concerns.

It's the only way we can actively support the positive improvements
we hope for.

Apple has certainly received a lot of phone call regarding delays in the shipping of the 2.5. Now will will just have to wait and see if Apple have learned anything from this issue. I think that Apple employees monitor forums like this. So they are certainly aware of comments.

[nfocus design]

Although I've no experience with the Raptor drives -- they ARE the fastest -- but with that, I assume there is more ambient noise as a result. I had no problems with Maxtor SATA drives (7200 RPM) being able to record and playback audio using Logic Pro.

My problem (as we all know) was with fan noise (and perhaps two disks spinning)... Am curious to hear reports from people who've implemented the solutions to allow five or six or TEN(!) internal drives?...

I have a Raptor drive in my 2.5 and it has been great. Unfortunately I can't say the same for my first 2.5. It wouldn't pass the hardware test from day one. It worked okay, but had some problems here and there. I finally took it in to my local Apple store a week ago. They replaced the logic board. Still didn't work. they replaced the front board where the power button is. Still didn't work so they determined they were not going to be able to fix it. They gave me a brand new 2.5. They put my raptor drive and the one it shipped with in the new 2.5 along with the extra RAM I had added. I ran the hardware test in the store before I left and everything passed. I was without my 2.5 for a week, but it was worth the wait, because this one has the Pioneer SuperDrive instead of LG ( I hated that drive and my boyfriend had actually just bought a Pioneer drive to replace it when I got my computer back) and they took the stock 512MB of RAM plus my 1GB and put in the new one, so I got 512MB free. The fans don't seem to rev as much on this one either. :D

[Red G5]

Placed my order at the Apple Store UK (Education) last night (08/11/2004)
Estimated ship date 29/11/2004

My brother orderd a BTO iMac G5 20" the same day. Be interesting to see which one arrives first!

I got shipping notification on Friday just gone (19th - a week and a half early!) and it's due to arrive on Wednesday 24th or Thursday 25th.

The iMac is due the exact same time, it's going to be close!

Ram arrived from Crucial today, Gigabit hub will be here tomorrow and new desk and chair from IKEA on Wednesday. An expensive month...

[daveL]

I got shipping notification on Friday just gone (19th - a week and a half early!) and it's due to arrive on Wednesday 24th or Thursday 25th.

The iMac is due the exact same time, it's going to be close!

Ram arrived from Crucial today, Gigabit hub will be here tomorrow and new desk and chair from IKEA on Wednesday. An expensive month...
You mention that you're getting and iMac, as well. Since you say you're getting a gigabit hub, I thought I'd mention that the iMac doesn't support gigabit ethernet, only 10/100. Of course, you may have other reasons for gigabit hub.

[~Shard~]

You mention that you're getting and iMac, as well. Since you say you're getting a gigabit hub, I thought I'd mention that the iMac doesn't support gigabit ethernet, only 10/100. Of course, you may have other reasons for gigabit hub.

Yes, one of my friends made that mistake as well, thinking the iMac had gigabit Ethernet. Make sure you're aware of these things before making certain purchases!

[Red G5]

You mention that you're getting and iMac, as well. Since you say you're getting a gigabit hub, I thought I'd mention that the iMac doesn't support gigabit ethernet, only 10/100. Of course, you may have other reasons for gigabit hub.

Yep, I'm well aware that the iMac's only 10/100.

I have a x86 FreeBSD box and my brother's games PC with gigabit that will also be on the network.

Thanks for pointing it out though! :)

[sash]

Hi!
I’m just curious. I’ve ordered (in Belgium) 2.5DPG5 CTO. What this CTO actually means? Thanks to all of you.
sash

[monogee]

Does anyone know the timeframe on when Apple releases it's computers? Are there certain months or is it during the quarterly times of the year? Thanks

[mikepj]

Hi!
I’m just curious. I’ve ordered (in Belgium) 2.5DPG5 CTO. What this CTO actually means? Thanks to all of you.
sash

CTO stands for Configure To Order. Basically, it means you customized the configuration of your computer and didn't just buy the standard configuration.

[mikepj]

Does anyone know the timeframe on when Apple releases it's computers? Are there certain months or is it during the quarterly times of the year? Thanks

Typically Apple releases new computers either at MacWorld Expo SF in January, or at any number of conferences in the summer time (but mostly at WWDC in June). That's not a set rule though, as there have been plenty of hardware introductions scattered in the spring and fall, but in my experiences most of the spring/fall introductions are accessories like the iPod and occasionally the consumer machines before Christmas like the updated iBooks.

As for a G5 update, I'm not sure why so many people are expecting it might happen in January. Apple is still catching up with demand for the 2.5Ghz G5s, so I have no idea how they would release a faster model that quickly. Then again, there are other upgrades that could take place like the standard video card configuration, but this would be a pretty small upgrade. If I were to guess the next G5 updates, I'd say that it would be sometime next summer.

[wdlove]

I got shipping notification on Friday just gone (19th - a week and a half early!) and it's due to arrive on Wednesday 24th or Thursday 25th.

The iMac is due the exact same time, it's going to be close!

Ram arrived from Crucial today, Gigabit hub will be here tomorrow and new desk and chair from IKEA on Wednesday. An expensive month...


You are going to have quite an awesome setup. As long as it doesn't break the bank you will be OK. Just be careful that all that power doesn't blow you out of the room. :D

[grebo]

After all that you have been through, you are certainly demonstrating a very understanding spirit. Apple is lucky to have you for a customer. Maybe it will be best to have a G5 in '05.

Well, with hat in hand and over £1200 back in the bank I've quietly re-entered the waiting queue again. Yes, I have a single-handed interest in seeing that this thread reach the 6800 mark for irony's sake (notice I didn't make a joke about thread count -- oops too late!)

You know, it's not common knowledge, but right now the Apple Developer Connection is offering a substantial discount on a single hardware purchase (for testing purposes) at their base 'Select' membership level, and if someone were to buy a 2.5 along with a new display and an iPod Photo 60 and an iSight - they might see their subscription paid to said service pay for itself three times over.

Usually you have to wait for the second year to receive the right to purchase at a discount, but right now, they're hungry for Tiger and Dashboard developers, so get cracking, and buy some O'Reilly books with the money you save and retire early on the shareware funds of your really cool widget.

I have an estimated delivery date of 14 December (plus or minus a week when it goes to Holland) bringing it perilously close to an aluminium Christmas.

[mikepj]

Grebo:

Hope the new machine with the ATI card treats you better. Thought I might mention an option for a case that holds a G4/G5 computer and reduces noise quite a bit. It's called the gCab, and I saw them at WWDC this year. They had a case with a few xServes in it, and the noise difference when opening and closing the front door was incredible. I couldn't find exact pricing, but I remember that they weren't cheap... If noise is a #1 priority though, I can't think of a better option.

http://www.acoustilock.com/gcab.html

[grebo]

Grebo:

Hope the new machine with the ATI card treats you better. Thought I might mention an option for a case that holds a G4/G5 computer and reduces noise quite a bit. It's called the gCab, and I saw them at WWDC this year. They had a case with a few xServes in it, and the noise difference when opening and closing the front door was incredible. I couldn't find exact pricing, but I remember that they weren't cheap... If noise is a #1 priority though, I can't think of a better option.

http://www.acoustilock.com/gcab.html

Hey thank you very much -- that looks good on two counts -- I have two cats and I noticed a few of their hairs in the G5s I sent back -- so it is probably better in the long run. Couldn't find any price info on the site -- but will inquire with the dealer via email.

Thank you!

NB: I could have gone with the fan-free 9600 but myself experienced some of the rippling issues reported in this thread. I decided to scale back this time around and drive the 23" instead of the 30" which -- although gorgeous and all that -- wasn't really worth an extra 1,000 pounds! The 23" are gorgeous in their own right, and I look forward to owning one.

Cheers

[wdlove]

Well, with hat in hand and over £1200 back in the bank I've quietly re-entered the waiting queue again. Yes, I have a single-handed interest in seeing that this thread reach the 6800 mark for irony's sake (notice I didn't make a joke about thread count -- oops too late!)

I have an estimated delivery date of 14 December (plus or minus a week when it goes to Holland) bringing it perilously close to an aluminum Christmas.

Welcome back to the waiting game. I think that you made a very wise decision. You will be onboard for the best Christmas ever.

[mikefl420]

So I've had my dual 2.5 with the 6800 Ultra for a month now. And I love it. Haven't had a single damn problem (well, that I didn't create myself). I guess the wait really was worth it.

[bangstudios]

Hey all!

I just wanted to take the time and say "thanks" to all of the posters in this thread -- I've read a significant majority of the posts, and the comments of the people who had received their dual 2.5's convinced me to take the plunge and trade in my 15" PowerBook 1.5 as credit towards a new dual 2.5 (I simply don't require the portability any longer).

I was fortunate enough to have a local reseller who had the PMs in stock, and as a result, two hours after getting the machine home, I had transferred all of my user settings, installed some key software and was off to the races.

In a word: "Wow!"

This thing is beyond fast; I described it to a friend as "stupidly fast". The PowerBook was no slouch, but the dual 2.5 box is in another league altogether.

So again, "thanks all!", and to anyone who's considering purchasing this machine, "do it!"

-J

[wdlove]

Thank you bangstudios and mikefl420, it is great to hear from those with positive comments about the G5. This should provide encouragement to to all those on the wait list and trying to decide.

[Red G5]

I got shipping notification on Friday just gone (19th - a week and a half early!) and it's due to arrive on Wednesday 24th or Thursday 25th.

The iMac is due the exact same time, it's going to be close!

Well the iMac arrived yesterday (25th) and the G5 today (26th).

All working great.

Would say more but busy checking stuff out (as expected ;))

[phreakout13]

Well the iMac arrived yesterday (25th) and the G5 today (26th).

All working great.

Would say more but busy checking stuff out (as expected ;))
Sounds like fun, have fun using them!

[Fabrix2003]

Ok so heres the story after waiting a stupid amount of time, i decided f""k it and decided to order a pc amd 64 computer with radeon graphics, problem is the next morning get a phone call saying its gonna arrive on monday, typical after buggin them for so long they just plant it on me. now im stuck with 2 monitors now! grrr im gonna try and send my monitor back if they will let me! but how am i gonna link the apple monitor towards both computers the pc and the mac to the big ass monitor and what kind of price am i looking at? they r both dvi connections aswell!. oh well good things come to those who wait, so this must be a bloody good machine!. hopefully nothing goes wrong, wish me luck.

[wdlove]

Ok so heres the story after waiting a stupid amount of time, i decided f""k it and decided to order a pc amd 64 computer with radeon graphics, problem is the next morning get a phone call saying its gonna arrive on monday, typical after buggin them for so long they just plant it on me. now im stuck with 2 monitors now! grrr im gonna try and send my monitor back if they will let me! but how am i gonna link the apple monitor towards both computers the pc and the mac to the big ass monitor and what kind of price am i looking at? they r both dvi connections aswell!. oh well good things come to those who wait, so this must be a bloody good machine!. hopefully nothing goes wrong, wish me luck.

If you decided on a PC you should have canceled the Apple order first. Hopefully you can return one of them good luck.

[Fabrix2003]

yeah but i dont mind hvaing the pc now my course needs one for visual basic etc but erm i hope they will take the monitor back, i wanna link both pc and mac to same monitor ( which is the 30 inch ) ive seen a belkin but its like 300$

[grebo]

If you decided on a PC you should have canceled the Apple order first. Hopefully you can return one of them good luck.

I hope you ordered from Apple Store, as they have a 10-DAY unconditional return policy*. Check out their Terms and Conditions item 7. You may have to pay 40 pounds for transport, but you can chalk that up to a learning experience.

* Apple Store Europe, that is. The Apple Store US does not have this policy.

[wdlove]

I hope you ordered from Apple Store, as they have a 10-DAY unconditional return policy*. Check out their Terms and Conditions item 7. You may have to pay 40 pounds for transport, but you can chalk that up to a learning experience.

* Apple Store Europe, that is. The Apple Store US does not have this policy.

Apple US Store also has a policy of sales and returns.

http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/salespolicies.html

[grebo]

Apple US Store also has a policy of sales and returns.

http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/salespolicies.html
Maybe so, but Apple US will not accept any return for REFUND on a CUSTOM configured machine (CTO). Apple Europe does.

[wdlove]

Maybe so, but Apple US will not accept any return for REFUND on a CUSTOM configured machine (CTO). Apple Europe does.

So the best policy is not to order unless you absolutely want the product. They messed up one of my orders and I was able to cancel in time.

[mikeylebeau]

How long have you all had to wait for Dual 2.5's with 6800 Ultras? I ordered mine Nov 6, estimated shipping date is 12/15, but I'm hoping for a lot sooner than that!

-mike

[Fabrix2003]

Ok so after a mad day of getting drunk last night my computer arrived this morning a ran down the stairs falling my way down the stairs my legs were so pissed i couldnt stand, so i decided shall i or shouldnt i me and freinds had one look at the machine and decided i couldnt send this puppy home. only thing is the computer i bought! (yeah the pc?) well i plugged it into the monitor now its just a blank screen nothing seems to be happening! the card in the amd 64 board is the same as the macs card an ati radeon 9600 xt so it should have DDC connectivity to support widescreen right? i dunno what to do now? any ideas guys,

P.S Loving the fact of reading forums on a big clear widescreen. :D glad i didnt cancel now.

[Red G5]

i plugged it into the monitor now its just a blank screen nothing seems to be happening! the card in the amd 64 board is the same as the macs card an ati radeon 9600 xt so it should have DDC connectivity to support widescreen right?

You say above you have the 30". If you do then you'll need the 6800 to drive it, but you say you have the 9600? Also no PC vid card (AFAIK) will work with the 30", surely you'd know that having done research before spending so much on a monitor?

If it's the 20" or 23" then it'll work with the PC but you won't see anything untill you get in the OS GUI (no post screen). Can you see / hear the HD doing anything?

[Garamond]

Two months of use with my 2.5 GHz has been two happy months!

One question though, to those of you who got their machine with the standard 9600 XT card and received the 6800 later on: is the noise difference very big? Is the fan on the 6800 annoying?

I'm considering making an order...

[grebo]

Two months of use with my 2.5 GHz has been two happy months!

One question though, to those of you who got their machine with the standard 9600 XT card and received the 6800 later on: is the noise difference very big? Is the fan on the 6800 annoying?

I'm considering making an order...

Hi, I never measured precisely, but I am fairly sure that the 6800 fan adds to the mix.

There is a manufacturer of Video Card silencers and they have this to say:

Noise Level
The noise level is measured in Sone (loudness) instead of dB (sound pressure).
The loudness depends upon ears response curves and tells you exactly, how bothering a certain noise is. Sone takes the frequency and bandwidth of a sound into account.
A doubling of the number of Sones sounds to the human ear like a doubling of the loudness.
The comparison of products from different manufacturers is basically impossible, since all manufacturers measure in different ways. Even a rough translation from Sone to dB doesn't help. A 15dB cooler can be louder than a 1 Sone cooler from another manufacturer.

Nevertheless with the Sone data you can compare our coolers between each other and get a quite precise idea how annoying the product will be.
1 Sone: nearly inaudible in a computer case
2 Sones: clearly audible
3 Sones and more: disturbing


for more information Arctic Cooling (http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga2.php?idx=40&data=1&disc=)

NB: it will probably block a further PCI slot, but not sure about this

[Fabrix2003]

You say above you have the 30". If you do then you'll need the 6800 to drive it, but you say you have the 9600? Also no PC vid card (AFAIK) will work with the 30", surely you'd know that having done research before spending so much on a monitor?

If it's the 20" or 23" then it'll work with the PC but you won't see anything untill you get in the OS GUI (no post screen). Can you see / hear the HD doing anything?

yeah sorry just bit the bullet there, i have the 23 inch model unfortunatley, erm its just a black screen not sure what its doing, phoned up a techie and they say that i had to make sure that the ati radeon 9600 in the PC Computer was Full single link, Vesa compatible and DDC Standard. So i hope that my Radeon 9600 XP in the Computer is!. But yeah i think the hard drives is reading somthing. The other idea i got told was to put the old 17 inch flatscreen and install some kind of drivers for the apple screen? or put the pc so that there is an additional screen.

[wdlove]

Ok so after a mad day of getting drunk last night my computer arrived this morning a ran down the stairs falling my way down the stairs my legs were so pissed i couldn't stand, so i decided shall i or shouldn't i me and friends had one look at the machine and decided i couldn't send this puppy home. only thing is the computer i bought! (yeah the pc?) well i plugged it into the monitor now its just a blank screen nothing seems to be happening! the card in the amd 64 board is the same as the macs card an ati radeon 9600 xt so it should have DDC connectivity to support widescreen right? i dunno what to do now? any ideas guys,

P.S Loving the fact of reading forums on a big clear widescreen. :D glad i didn't cancel now.

I certainly hope that you are OK after your fall. Do you incur any damage to your legs? At least you now have the new widescreen.

[Garamond]

Hi, I never measured precisely, but I am fairly sure that the 6800 fan adds to the mix.

Hi grebo, thanks for the clarifications :) I might just wait around for the X800...

[Fabrix2003]

I certainly hope that you are OK after your fall. Do you incur any damage to your legs? At least you now have the new widescreen.

no my legs hirt me because they got bruised but aprt from that i seems to be all okay and got my widescreen working n my pc after lots of messing about it was just my impatience on the load up coz ther was no boot up screen but i waited 60 seconds and it picks it up great to play games on this is, played unreal tournament 2004 championship and god i got dizzy coz the screen is soo bright and big lol. but yeah im cool just gotta solve the faffle with keep changing the dvi connector to the pc all the time gets annoying keep swapping them lol :) but yeah happy with it wdlove!

[508th Man]

Well, after nearly three months with our new G5, I can honestly say it is a

fine, trouble-free machine...

...and an effective heater! It, along with our DP 500 G4, do a really good

job helping heat our home office, especially when we pour the coal to the

processors with video duties.

We couldn't be happier with our purchase.
-----------
508th Man

[Fabrix2003]

ook only problem is why does it do that noisy standby noise though and you cant wake the G5 up? any solutions? kinda wierd though.

[kornyboy]

ook only problem is why does it do that noisy standby noise though and you cant wake the G5 up? any solutions? kinda wierd though.

I'm not familuar with that problem with my machine. It sounds like it's not a good thing especially if you cannot wake the computer. Is this a "Thermal Runaway?" You may want to check the system logs to see.

Reguards,
Kornyboy

[Fabrix2003]

yeah i dunno i left the computer downloading last night and woke up that it went in standby and was like a hooveroise the only way to turn it off was force reboot by holding the button? dunno but the machine still runs sooo smoothlly.

[wdlove]

yeah i dunno i left the computer downloading last night and woke up that it went in standby and was like a hooveroise the only way to turn it off was force reboot by holding the button? dunno but the machine still runs sooo smoothlly.

After your other problems hope that your G5 will perform to standards. How are your legs after the fall?

[grebo]

yeah i dunno i left the computer downloading last night and woke up that it went in standby and was like a hooveroise the only way to turn it off was force reboot by holding the button? dunno but the machine still runs sooo smoothlly.
Were you running the Azureus client by any chance?

There is a beta available that prevents this side-effect. Ironically it's only available via bit-torrents.

[wdlove]

What is the status on your order grebo? You are so kind to everyone else, don't want you to feel left out. ;)

[grebo]

What is the status on your order grebo? You are so kind to everyone else, don't want you to feel left out. ;)

Thanks for caring... Order Status: on or before 14 December 2004... with past history, it'd be nice if it actually met the 'before' side, but am not holding my breath. Also, it takes approximately a week from shipping notice to physical delivery so it will be a minor miracle if I get it before the 24th of December.

I'm hoping they've got the production in high gear so, who knows?

[wdlove]

Thanks for caring... Order Status: on or before 14 December 2004... with past history, it'd be nice if it actually met the 'before' side, but am not holding my breath. Also, it takes approximately a week from shipping notice to physical delivery so it will be a minor miracle if I get it before the 24th of December.

I'm hoping they've got the production in high gear so, who knows?

No problem grebo, we are a family here. I pray that you will receive your G5 prior to Christmas. What an awesome gift. That will give you plenty of time to enjoy your new G5.

[javabear90]

Hey all!

I just wanted to take the time and say "thanks" to all of the posters in this thread -- I've read a significant majority of the posts, and the comments of the people who had received their dual 2.5's convinced me to take the plunge and trade in my 15" PowerBook 1.5 as credit towards a new dual 2.5 (I simply don't require the portability any longer).

I was fortunate enough to have a local reseller who had the PMs in stock, and as a result, two hours after getting the machine home, I had transferred all of my user settings, installed some key software and was off to the races.

In a word: "Wow!"

This thing is beyond fast; I described it to a friend as "stupidly fast". The PowerBook was no slouch, but the dual 2.5 box is in another league altogether.

So again, "thanks all!", and to anyone who's considering purchasing this machine, "do it!"

-J
wait... your saying you read over 3000 post in this thread alone?!?! Geese you have way too much time on your hand. O by the way, congrats on the new G5

[monogee]

Well, I took the big leap and ordered the Powermac DP G5 w/1GB of ram yesterday. Now I'm just trying to figure out if I should get the Apple 20" or 23". Decisions, Decisions. :D

[wdlove]

Well, I took the big leap and ordered the Powermac DP G5 w/1GB of ram yesterday. Now I'm just trying to figure out if I should get the Apple 20" or 23". Decisions, Decisions. :D

It would be a good idea to call Apple once you have made a decision about a Cinema Display. Unless the Cinema Display is on the same order as your Mac then AppleCare won't apply to both. That is because I highly recommend getting AppleCare. If you can afford the 23" why not get the best. I think that you will really enjoy the extra real estate.

[grebo]

It would be a good idea to call Apple once you have made a decision about a Cinema Display. Unless the Cinema Display is on the same order as your Mac then AppleCare won't apply to both. That is because I highly recommend getting AppleCare. If you can afford the 23" why not get the best. I think that you will really enjoy the extra real estate.Yes, I agree with WD on that one definately. Try to get the APP coverage of all units. If you can make that a condition of sale where they 'marry' the display to your existing CPU order.

Also, go for the 23, no question. It would be rude not to. The 20 is too small *IMHO for music production. I am scaling back from 30 to 23 and am thinking I made a wise choice.

Grebo

[kornyboy]

Yes, I agree with WD on that one definately. Try to get the APP coverage of all units. If you can make that a condition of sale where they 'marry' the display to your existing CPU order.

Also, go for the 23, no question. It would be rude not to. The 20 is too small *IMHO for music production. I am scaling back from 30 to 23 and am thinking I made a wise choice.

Grebo

I agree with WD and grebo. The Applecare is difinitely worth it since it doesn't cost any more when you purchase it. Also the 23" is a great monitor. I've had one since August and it has served me well. I love the extra real estate. There is a 2GHz G5 mac lab where I work and they have 20" monitors hooked up to them. Those monitors have always seemed small to me even before I got my 23". It's the perfect size in my opinion.

kornyboy

[Perdix]

I'd just like to thank all the contributors to this thread. I've been trying to make my mind up between in a dual 2.0 and a dual 2.5 for weeks now. With the information I've garnered here, I've decided to plump for a dual 2.0 with NVIDIA 6800GT on the grounds that (a) it's likely to be quieter, and (b) it's better tested technology; (c) it's cheaper; (d) it will be plenty fast enough for me.

Of course, it would be nice to be the proud owner of the very fastest machine, but that would only be for six months or so anyway. Probably.

[Sir_Giggles]

I'd just like to thank all the contributors to this thread. I've been trying to make my mind up between in a dual 2.0 and a dual 2.5 for weeks now. With the information I've garnered here, I've decided to plump for a dual 2.0 with NVIDIA 6800GT on the grounds that (a) it's likely to be quieter, and (b) it's better tested technology; (c) it's cheaper; (d) it will be plenty fast enough for me.

Of course, it would be nice to be the proud owner of the very fastest machine, but that would only be for six months or so anyway. Probably.

Theres the new card from ATI X800 that is quieter than the 6800 and only takes up 1 slot. Of course if you need to be running dual 30" LCDs then...

[Perdix]

Theres the new card from ATI X800 that is quieter than the 6800 and only takes up 1 slot. Of course if you need to be running dual 30" LCDs then...




Aaargh! Just when I thought I'd made my mind up! The X800 isn't available from the Apple Store yet though, is it? And how does it perform relative to the 6800GT?

[Sir_Giggles]

Aaargh! Just when I thought I'd made my mind up! The X800 isn't available from the Apple Store yet though, is it? And how does it perform relative to the 6800GT?

Its faster than the 6800. Barefeats.com did some benchmarks.

[wdlove]

Unless you are into high end graphics or ordering a 30" Cinema Display the 6800 wouldn't be necessary. I think that the 30" is awesome.

[Sir_Giggles]

He probably wants it to play Doom 3 on his G5.

[Perdix]

He probably wants it to play Doom 3 on his G5.

I have in mind mainly the excellent X-plane, which although excellent is graphics-hungry. (Is that a phrase?) But I see no harm in future-proofing. This machine is going to have to last me a while. (Although I said that last year and two years before that.)

Oddly the UK build-time was 3 days, but out of interest I tried the same configuration on the US Apple store, and it came up 3-5 weeks.

[grebo]

Hi anyone who's still trolling this thread. I received my 4th G5 2.5 DP that I ordered via the Developer channel (it only costs $500 USD to join and you get approx 20% off a CPU for testing).

The savings made up for all the hardships I suffered before -- and guess what? This machine has had no problems. I'm completely happy with it! That's right. You heard correctly.

Also, because it arrived after 15 December, but before the price drops, I was entitled to a further rebate!

:)

Cheers,

Grebo

[Platform]

Hi anyone who's still trolling this thread. I received my 4th G5 2.5 DP that I ordered via the Developer channel (it only costs $500 USD to join and you get approx 20% off a CPU for testing).

The savings made up for all the hardships I suffered before -- and guess what? This machine has had no problems. I'm completely happy with it! That's right. You heard correctly.

Also, because it arrived after 15 December, but before the price drops, I was entitled to a further rebate!

:)

Cheers,

Grebo

WOW quad G5's
must go like lightening :D :p

[waltsatan]

WOW quad G5's
must go like lightening :D :p

Wouldn't that be an octo-g5?

[wdlove]

Hi anyone who's still trolling this thread. I received my 4th G5 2.5 DP that I ordered via the Developer channel (it only costs $500 USD to join and you get approx. 20% off a CPU for testing).

The savings made up for all the hardships I suffered before -- and guess what? This machine has had no problems. I'm completely happy with it! That's right. You heard correctly.

Also, because it arrived after 15 December, but before the price drops, I was entitled to a further rebate!

:)

Cheers,

Grebo

That's good news grebo. Although, I could really do some amazing folding. :D

Is the Developer Channel that you belong to similar to ADC? $500 per year and how long is the 20% discount good? Are you a developer?

[grebo]

WOW quad G5's
must go like lightening :D :p

I should have clarified: The three previous were defective, and sent back to Apple. So I do just have the one G5 DP 2.5 -- but at a significant savings.

To answer the other questions, Yes, it's the ADC Apple Developer Connection. No, I've not written a program as yet, but I have EVERY INTENTION of at least writing a Dashboard Widget or two.

The Hardware Platform Purchase 'asset' used to become available only after the second year of being a member, but they are offering it now on the first year -- and it lasts one calendar year. There is also a 10% discount on other peripherals (display, iPod, iSight...) :)

So, 'become' a developer, is my advice. Then buy a fully kitted-out 2.5!

[rev.emilio]

So, 'become' a developer, is my advice. Then buy a fully kitted-out 2.5!
if you qualify for some sort of student discount because you attend a university and are thinking of making a big purchase (like i did), you can get an ADC Student Developer (http://developer.apple.com/students/#description) membership for $99. also, lots of community colleges and technical schools will qualify you for a student discount, so if you've been thinking about taking a class it is a good opportunity. included in the one year membership is a one-time Hardware Purchase Program asset; iirc, i don't think you get another if you re-register as a student dev.

for $99, i got $600 off the 2.5DP, and with additional upgrade discounts i was able to kit it out to 512/250/BT/AP and was still under stock retail price (in about an hour it was at 1.5/72GB/250GB). plus you get a free tee (large, go fig), a copy of the current OS, and the student dev CD mailings. i think they sent me another copy of OSX when 10.3.7 came out, too. oh, and giving a friend a ride for an iPod.

psych majors need G5s, right?
- emilio

[Platform]

if you qualify for some sort of student discount because you attend a university and are thinking of making a big purchase (like i did), you can get an ADC Student Developer (http://developer.apple.com/students/#description) membership for $99. also, lots of community colleges and technical schools will qualify you for a student discount, so if you've been thinking about taking a class it is a good opportunity. included in the one year membership is a one-time Hardware Purchase Program asset; iirc, i don't think you get another if you re-register as a student dev.

for $99, i got $600 off the 2.5DP, and with additional upgrade discounts i was able to kit it out to 512/250/BT/AP and was still under stock retail price (in about an hour it was at 1.5/72GB/250GB). plus you get a free tee (large, go fig), a copy of the current OS, and the student dev CD mailings. i think they sent me another copy of OSX when 10.3.7 came out, too. oh, and giving a friend a ride for an iPod.

psych majors need G5s, right?
- emilio


When you are a developer what do you acually do to become it and when you are what do you do(except pay and get dicount+current OS)

[Platform]

if you qualify for some sort of student discount because you attend a university and are thinking of making a big purchase (like i did), you can get an ADC Student Developer (http://developer.apple.com/students/#description) membership for $99. also, lots of community colleges and technical schools will qualify you for a student discount, so if you've been thinking about taking a class it is a good opportunity. included in the one year membership is a one-time Hardware Purchase Program asset; iirc, i don't think you get another if you re-register as a student dev.

for $99, i got $600 off the 2.5DP, and with additional upgrade discounts i was able to kit it out to 512/250/BT/AP and was still under stock retail price (in about an hour it was at 1.5/72GB/250GB). plus you get a free tee (large, go fig), a copy of the current OS, and the student dev CD mailings. i think they sent me another copy of OSX when 10.3.7 came out, too. oh, and giving a friend a ride for an iPod.

psych majors need G5s, right?
- emilio


When you are a developer what do you acually do to become it and when you are what do you do(except pay and get dicount+current OS)

[wdlove]

I'm an ADC member, so I get messages from them regularly. Just haven't figured that it was worth the $500 for me to join.

[grebo]

I'm an ADC member, so I get messages from them regularly. Just haven't figured that it was worth the $500 for me to join.

I too was a member without any assets (except to download PDF and the occasional QuickTime presentation).

Saw the banner ads for Tiger, and heard that they were offering the coveted Hardware Purchase Platform out of the box (worth more than the $500 USD, baby). So now I'm a developer. I do hope to make good on the promise. I'm really keen to develop some Dashboard Widgets for 10.4+

But I don't think they have a means of auditing who has written a program and who hasn't.

Go for it. It's worth it!

Grebo

[monogee]

Just wanted to know if anyone out there was using two Apple Cinema Displays with their Powermac G5. I'm thinking about adding a 20" to my 23" setup. Just a thought.

[wdlove]

I too was a member without any assets (except to download PDF and the occasional QuickTime presentation).

But I don't think they have a means of auditing who has written a program and who hasn't.

Go for it. It's worth it!

Grebo

I have considered this. Just thought that it would be wrong if I weren't a developer. I don't have any skill in that area at all.

[zwida]

Just wanted to know if anyone out there was using two Apple Cinema Displays with their Powermac G5. I'm thinking about adding a 20" to my 23" setup. Just a thought.

Yes. Two 23" displays. If you have the need, the cash, and the space, do it.

[fabrizio]

Hello here,
I plan to buy two new PowerMac G5 (top model) but I am worried about a possible release of a new upgraded one... any idea about this? I bought a G4 in 2002 and after only one month a new model was released! I'd like to not repeat the same experience...

Thank you in advance for any thought.

Fab.

[Mr MacNabbit]

The earliest I think you'll see a Powermac upgrade will be in June again, and that means September if your lucky - so if you need the top Mac, get it, it's not like you'll be playing cathup with anything. :)

[wdlove]

You should purchase what you need when you have a need. Since you are getting the top line 2.5 GHz, you will still feel that you have the best. Beside delivery will be a lot quicker if you order now. You will have a couple of months of enjoyment before you could even order something else.

[iriejedi]

You should buy now. This is a cycle that can have you using a dated mac for years - it never ends. be an early adopter and get the most out of a model - but wait six months it is a gamble. MEasure the potential gains of two months with current model or the potential 'potential' if you wait 2, 4 or 6 months for new new model. Not to mention Apple's notorious for release now and get in three months your order....

I played this game for 4 years.... I LOVE MY 2.5!

just my 2c

Hello here,
I plan to buy two new PowerMac G5 (top model) but I am worried about a possible release of a new upgraded one... any idea about this? I bought a G4 in 2002 and after only one month a new model was released! I'd like to not repeat the same experience...

Thank you in advance for any thought.

Fab.

[bonk]

holy crap - this thread's still alive?! :eek: :)

[zwida]

I played this game for 4 years.... I LOVE MY 2.5!

Q: Do you fold on your 2.5? Do you find that the fan revs much more than previous machine while folding?

I too love my machine (and would probably recommend it to certain colleagues), but I can't say that I think the thermal issues have been fully resolved. The dual 2 reacts better (and only a wee bit slower) when put through the same tasks. Maybe this goes without saying, but is surprising for me to see the big difference in terms of fan time, CPU temp, etc and the relatively small difference in terms of performance.

[Daveway]

Has anyone noticed that Apple is now showing same business day shipping for all powermacs including the 2.5?
Maybe this is a sign that IBM in ready for 3ghz at WWDC.

[wdlove]

Has anyone noticed that Apple is now showing same business day shipping for all powermacs including the 2.5?
Maybe this is a sign that IBM in ready for 3ghz at WWDC.

Yes, that certainly seems to be the case. For sure it means that IBM has finally overcome the problems with producing enough chips. One can only hope that they have made the next step in processors.

[fabrizio]

You should buy now. This is a cycle that can have you using a dated mac for years - it never ends. be an early adopter and get the most out of a model - but wait six months it is a gamble. MEasure the potential gains of two months with current model or the potential 'potential' if you wait 2, 4 or 6 months for new new model. Not to mention Apple's notorious for release now and get in three months your order....

I played this game for 4 years.... I LOVE MY 2.5!

just my 2c


I am not in a hurry, so I can wait 1-2 months... but actually six months starting today would be too much... I really don't know what to do. I don't want to make the same error I made three years ago: just bought a G4, after one month a new model REALLY faster came out... (I bought the last QuickSilver model DUAL 1Ghz, then the new mirrored doors one was released after one month). And actually that computer was much faster than the previous one.

Do you think the next release will be definitively "advanced" than the current one or simply a little upgrade such as a few Mhz more? For "advanced" I mean: a major frontbus upgrade, cache and RAM?

I have already read all the posts here, but I'd like to know more thoughts about this issue...

Thank you folks!

Fab.

[Little Endian]

I am not in a hurry, so I can wait 1-2 months... but actually six months starting today would be too much... I really don't know what to do. I don't want to make the same error I made three years ago: just bought a G4, after one month a new model REALLY faster came out... (I bought the last QuickSilver model DUAL 1Ghz, then the new mirrored doors one was released after one month). And actually that computer was much faster than the previous one.

Do you think the next release will be definitively "advanced" than the current one or simply a little upgrade such as a few Mhz more? For "advanced" I mean: a major frontbus upgrade, cache and RAM?

I have already read all the posts here, but I'd like to know more thoughts about this issue...

Thank you folks!

Fab.

I think most people would agree that we won't see Dual Core Chips in the next Power Mac revision. Dual Core probably won't be ready to ship in signifigant quatities until the ending of the year. I am guessing the Power Mac will be updated again in June at WWDC or at most a month before that. The next revision will probably sport a 3Ghz Single Cored G5 variant of the 970FX. Even at 3Ghz it is only a 20% bump in speed from the 2.5Ghz Machines shipping now which may in realworld performace perform only 10-15% faster. Remember that even though the 2.5Ghz 970FX was a 25% increase over the original 2Ghz 970 there is actually only a 14-25% increase in real world Application speed. However the fabled 970GX is said to have double the L2 cache to 1MB and an improved memory controller that might get us an actual 20%-30% real world speed improvement over the current 2.5Ghz 970FX.

Dual Core will Come this year though just not in time for the next PowerMac Update as most sources seem to indicate that it would not be available in a Shipping machine untill the last Calendar quarter of the year. Even then Dual Core Chips may only ship in Xserves or may only be available on the highest end PowerMacs and who knows at what price. Dual Core won't Completely set itself apart from where we are today until they start shipping Dual Processor Dual core chips and then even then it might be a wash if Single Cored Dual Proccessor Machines can run at higher Clock speeds.

So the bottom line is to buy now as the next revision is probably 4-6 months away from introduction not to mention ship wait times after announcement. It most likely will be an incremental update even if it uses the 970GX. Other than the Processors expect larger standard Hardrives and better stock video cards. 160GB and 250GB may become standard over the current 80GB& 160GB standards. Stock Video Cards would be better but not a whole lot better as I doubt Apple would use the 6800 or X800 series Cards or even the 9800 as they are still to expensive to be used as a stock video card. I am guessing they may use the Geforce 6200-6600 or Radeon X300-X700 variants as a stock Video Card. Although those cards are not available for the Mac now I think they will eventually because Apple would be crazy to still be Shipping 5200Ultras and 9600 as a stock card after the next update.

RAM increases would be nice perhaps they would bump the whole PowerMac line to include 512MB stock and if we are lucky they may even make 1GB standard on the Highest end model.

Superdrive must deffinitely be updated as well to a 16X Dual Layer Capable drive.

[fabrizio]

Thank you Little Endian for your kind reply and information.

Yes, I agree with you about a new revision, I don't think it will be released with the next upgrade.

I think I will buy now. I will let you know my final move.

Thank you again!

Sincerely,
Fab.

[Zaty]

Has anyone noticed that Apple is now showing same business day shipping for all powermacs including the 2.5?
Maybe this is a sign that IBM in ready for 3ghz at WWDC.

That's definitely a good sign. But I'd imagine that after the initial rush, demand could have decreased. Secondly, some potential buyers might already be waiting for the next revision. As for the 3 GHz, I heard some rumours, the next revision would top out at 2.8 GHz. It would be great to see a 3 GHz PM in 2005, though.

[slabbage]

Q: Do you fold on your 2.5? Do you find that the fan revs much more than previous machine while folding?

I too love my machine (and would probably recommend it to certain colleagues), but I can't say that I think the thermal issues have been fully resolved. The dual 2 reacts better (and only a wee bit slower) when put through the same tasks. Maybe this goes without saying, but is surprising for me to see the big difference in terms of fan time, CPU temp, etc and the relatively small difference in terms of performance.

I seem to be in a similar boat as Fabrizio...a Dual 1G MDD owner -except I've had nothing but trouble w/ my box....( I'm on my 2nd motherboard, 3rd superdrive...still- the thing reeks of LEMON!) ...Anyhow - I've got to get some work done- and I'm about to plop for a G5...

My question is: Is it true what Zwida says in his post regarding the difference between a Dual2 and a Dual 2.5?... I mostly run MOTU Digital Performer and Logic...And my needs with those apps are pretty conservative...don't really do much in the way of video...

After years of happy Mac-ing - I'm not sure my soul could take another "windtunnel" experience.....

Thanks!

[logical001]

I actually cancelled my G5 2.5 order just before Christmas on the advice from a friend who works on the Apple advertising account here in the UK. He was spot in about the new ATI card which was justification enough as I can't afford to lose PCI slots.

Whilst he is kept in the dark on specific specs, an updated G5 will be emerging 'shortly'.

If you can wait till then do so. I'm hoping that certianly the top end Powermac will bring realworld performance increases with an increased cache.

Also, the G5 2.5 is quickly approaching its 1st Birthday....a very long time in the computer market.

Of course, if you need one now for work then just get one. I'm sure eventually those with dual 3GHZ machines will be wishing they held out for the Quad processor machines at the back end of this year....If it happens.

Best

J

[wdlove]

Dual Core will Come this year though just not in time for the next PowerMac Update as most sources seem to indicate that it would not be available in a Shipping machine until the last Calendar quarter of the year. Even then Dual Core Chips may only ship in Xserves or may only be available on the highest end PowerMacs and who knows at what price. Dual Core won't Completely set itself apart from where we are today until they start shipping Dual Processor Dual core chips and then even then it might be a wash if Single Cored Dual Processor Machines can run at higher Clock speeds.

RAM increases would be nice perhaps they would bump the whole PowerMac line to include 512MB stock and if we are lucky they may even make 1GB standard on the Highest end model.

Superdrive must definitely be updated as well to a 16X Dual Layer Capable drive.

If we get Rev. C in June, the wait time is almost a year. Then is your prediction of a dual core in the last quarter of '05 is correct that would only be six months. If so that could mean good news of Apple going back to 6 month updates.

It is disappointing about the amount of upgrade with are getting. They certainly need to add something more like memory.

[fabrizio]

Guys,
I am thinking about Tiger: do you think the release of the next G5 PM could be linked to the coming release of Tiger? Just a thought...

Thank you again.

Fab.

[wdlove]

Guys,
I am thinking about Tiger: do you think the release of the next G5 PM could be linked to the coming release of Tiger? Just a thought...

Thank you again.

Fab.

I think that it's a good possibility. Also possible for the PowerBook. Hopefully there were be something new that we aren't expecting that will require Tiger.

[Rower_CPU]

It's way overdue for a new thread folks...please start a new discussion or discussions. Thanks :)