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advise on second mac

F

freechris

macrumors member
Original poster
Hi everyone,

i need advice on my second mac. My first mac was an imac G4 700mhz
just sold it, it was getting slow and i wanted something new. I sold it, though i was pretty happy to make the switch. i´d never thought of returning back to a windows pc, and now i am in the market for a new mac. What i use most is:

iPhoto
iTunes
Safari
iChat & msn
Gaming (once in a while)
Office 2004
FTP / maintaining simple websites

i do a lot of these things at the same time, my new mac should at least be a G5 with 512mb of memory. Looks overkill to my needs but i do spend a lot of time behind the mac.

i love the dual G5 but it is quite a lot money for a student. but at least you have something that will last for a while. The Emac has a CRT screen and g4 cpu so it is not really an option for me. Should i go for the new iMac G5? Im afraid that the videocard is too slow within one or two years to play videogames. Is the iMac G5 fast enough to run tiger and maybe the version that comes next? I will be using the new computer for about 3 years i suppose. What should i buy? im planning to buy it as soon as Tiger comes out.

regards,

chris.
 
go with what ever you can afford , eMac is cheap and runs the beta of tiger well , but iMac G5 is a very good deal as well , but if i had it my way a dual 2.0 GHz G5 would be my choice.

Tom
 
Sounds like you've talked yourself into the iMac G5. Surely it will run Tiger and the next OS at least. I'm running Panther on my original iBook. Apple makes sure they support several generations of computers with each update. The eMac is not much of a speed boost for you, and the Dual G5 is too expensive. The iMac will be just right.
 
the iMac sounds like a great fit. it will certainly run tiger. tiger is optimized for the 64 bit G5 . . . so why would apple put out a new computer that wouldnt even work with a new OS? i just hope tiger runs decently on my G4 PB. as long as you are not a gamer that sits there and calculates fps and various pointless qualities of your gaming experience then i think you will be fine. if you have the money, go for the DP powermac just because it has more upgrade options, but i think youll be happy with the new imac.
 
problem

the only problem with the imac is that i cannot use the screen for another computre, whether a cheap pc or another mac. i´m stuck with the imac for good. wouldnt a second hand single G5 machine be better for me? then i could buy myself my own screen. (TFT) and in the future i could do an upgrade, whether videocard (or cpu or stick in a second cpu?)
 
I just want to say, certainly for the things that you listed that you do and want to do, you don't need a G5.
I think it's more a case of wanting a G5.
 
You are trying to talk yourself into a PM because the GPU in the iMac is not SOTA. Have you gone to an Apple Store and played around with the iMac? They have games loaded on it so you can check out the graphics. Seems like this is the only question you are wrestling with. Other than graphics, the new iMac seems like a good fit. It is plenty fast, small, and almost half the cost of a $3,400 dual 1.8/512/9600XT/20" Cinema Display.
 
For everything except the gaming, the iMac G5 should do you just fine. And if you're only gaming "once in a while" that shouldn't make or break the purchase....unless your definition of "once in a while" is "less than once a day" rather than "less than once a month or two". 😉

If you really think you're going to be upgrading the video card and monitor, though, and gaming is really more than a once-in-a-while concern, it's true that a used or refurbished PowerMac G5, even a single-processor one, might give you peace of mind that the iMac G5 wouldn't.
 
freechris said:
i love the dual G5
Click to expand...

freechris said:
wouldnt a second hand single G5 machine be better for me?
Click to expand...

freechris said:
the only problem with the imac is that i cannot use the screen for another computre, whether a cheap pc or another mac. i´m stuck with the imac for good.
Click to expand...

It was the same with your other iMac, though. Both were / are all-in-ones.

It sounds like someone is trying to get other people to talk him into buying a dual G5 Powermac. 😀
 
In your case, I'd go with the iMac. It sounds like it will suit your needs perfecty. The PM might be overkill and a waste of money.

JOD8FY
 
i got myself an ibook...

instead of an imac, emac or powermac i went for an ibook,
because i could get a great deal,

custom ibook

512mb ram
bluetooth builtin
airport extreme builtin (standard)

for 1165 euro (student rate)

custom ipod 20GB

for 100 euro (special student offer)

1265 euro total

i was able to get 200 euro back on my account if i ordered an ibook and an ipod at the same time, this offer is only available for students.
it is a great deal since i have to pay only 300 euro for the 20GB ipod (student rate) so in the end i had to pay only 100 euro for the ipod 20GB!!!

i dont care that another model will be available very soon since i will never be able to get an ipod this cheap

later on im going to buy bluetooth keyboard and mice
and after that, a TFT screen so that i have complete desktop functionality when i am home. i can use the ipod as external harddrive i suppose???

thanks for all your advise, and weird that the way i buy my stuff, always depends on special offers

still waiting for my ibook and ipod, lets see how fast apple is with delivering this stuff.
 
Now you can get a cheap games console (GameCube, Xbox or PS2) to run games on with the money you saved from not getting a G5. That's what I would do. Good stuff.
 
yes indeed...

🙄 mmm that's actually a pretty good idea! i didnt even think of the games when i ordered the ibook hehe 😱 whoops...

lets first see how things work out with my bank account the next few months 🙁
 
This to me sounds like the perfect fit for the new single 1.8 powermac. Upgrade capability, fast processor, yet you don't have the expense of the built in LCD with the iMac. 🙂 that's my thinking anyway
 
maybe but....

it is 2 expensive to me, doesnt come with a 100 euro ipod 20gb and i cant take it with me to school or elsewhere. i used a pc notebook before, it was a hell because it would totally crash because of overheating, every two months. and i would have to send it back

but i loved the idea of docking everywhere with my computer..
that terrible pc notebook caused me to change to the mac,

thanks pro medion (cheap ass german pc manufacturer)

🙄
 
freechris said:
...
later on im going to buy bluetooth keyboard and mice
and after that, a TFT screen so that i have complete desktop functionality when i am home. i can use the ipod as external harddrive i suppose???

thanks for all your advise, and weird that the way i buy my stuff, always depends on special offers

still waiting for my ibook and ipod, lets see how fast apple is with delivering this stuff.
Click to expand...

Yes the iPod can be used as a external drive, I'm only using mine as filestorage. I have booted from the iPod a couple of times and i have also ram programs from it, but i don't think its a good option.
With hour long use the iPod get soo freaking hot, and its not that speedy either.. But its a superb backup disk and great for moving files between computers!

About that TFT, the ibook only "supports" videomirroring, but its a simple hack to gain dual-screen spanning. It only supports VGA output signals, not DVI.

Since the ibook is recently updated (less than 14 days) shipping may vary, when i ordered my powerbook (August) it took eigth days before i got it. I don't know if anyone has got the new ibook, but i suppose you'll have it by mid-novermber, if not earlier.

Good luck with your new ibook, it will be much faster than your old iMac..
 
difference?

whats the difference between dual screen and mirroring?

i just want to close the ibook and work with the keyboard, mice and TFT

is that possible? and i can connect the TFT via a normal vga cable i suppose, most TFT are still not DVI i guess
 
freechris said:
whats the difference between dual screen and mirroring?

i just want to close the ibook and work with the keyboard, mice and TFT

is that possible? and i can connect the TFT via a normal vga cable i suppose, most TFT are still not DVI i guess
Click to expand...
I'm afraid you can't use closed screen operation with the iBook but you can with the PowerBooks. The iBook can only do screen mirroring, meaning that when you plug in the VGA monitor (via the included mini-VGA to VGA adaptor), what you get on the external screen will be the same as what you get on your iBook screen - i.e. good for showing off presentations, etc, but not much use if you need more screen real estate. Only the PowerBooks offer mirroring + dual screen (and are DVI as well). Dual screen is where what you have on your connected screen is different to what you have on your laptop screen, so that the extra screen is like an extension of your desktop.
 
MrSugar said:
This to me sounds like the perfect fit for the new single 1.8 powermac. Upgrade capability, fast processor, yet you don't have the expense of the built in LCD with the iMac. 🙂 that's my thinking anyway
Click to expand...
Except it's more like you don't have the built in LCD with the Power Mac. Since the 17" iMac G5 1.8 GHz SuperDrive is the same price as the 1.8 GHz SuperDrive G5 tower, the only thing the tower offers is expandability at the cost of not having a huge built-in 17" display. The FSB speeds are the same on both - it is effectively the same processor, although the PM does allow up to 4GB of RAM (hardly an issue here I don't think). As the iMac displays are big, you're hardly going to need anything else anyway, so I think the 1.8 single PM is poor value for money.
 
freechris said:
Hi everyone,

i need advice on my second mac. My first mac was an imac G4 700mhz
just sold it, it was getting slow and i wanted something new. I sold it, though i was pretty happy to make the switch. i´d never thought of returning back to a windows pc, and now i am in the market for a new mac. What i use most is:

iPhoto
iTunes
Safari
iChat & msn
Gaming (once in a while)
Office 2004
FTP / maintaining simple websites


chris.
Click to expand...


Considering what you use a computer for, I think you are best off with a entry level iMac G5. With student prices, that is $1200. At this price you can afford to upgrade in a couple of years to the latest iMac. The current video card isn't great, but it will take care of all of your needs.

lasuther
 
so he bought an iBook? was it the 12" or the 14"? either way as long as he is satisfied then thats the main thing. Cram and Jam is pretty good isn't it? i presume that thats the offer that you mentioned? Out of interest do Apple do this for the iPod Photo? or the new U2 iPod?
 
stevehaslip said:
so he bought an iBook? was it the 12" or the 14"? either way as long as he is satisfied then thats the main thing. Cram and Jam is pretty good isn't it? i presume that thats the offer that you mentioned? Out of interest do Apple do this for the iPod Photo? or the new U2 iPod?
Click to expand...
I know that it doesn't include iPod mini but that's because it is too cheap. I'd imagine that the photo ipod would be okay because it is more money. You'd have to check the promotion pages.
 
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