Older DP 1.8 G5 or Newer DP 1.8 G5 - which is better?

[maclamb]

I have the opportunity to buy an older model G5 DP 1.8 on ebay - this is the older one that supports up to 8 Gig.

Or, I can wait and get a new DP G5 1.8 -

Are there any issues, (sound,noise, speed, bugs) in the older models that are fixed in the newer one - any reaosn I should Stay Away from the Older model on Ebay?

[jsw]

The older model has twice the hard disk capacity, twice the RAM slots (not only meaning you could go up to 8GB - which is too much for most of us, at least now - but that you could, say, use more smaller [cheaper] sticks to get to a given configuration).

Sound, noise, bugs: I have a Rev A dual-2.0 with zero problems. Some early G5's might have had issues, but mine did not - and it came in September of last year. It isn't noise, there aren't fan issues, no bugs I've noticed.

I'd verify that you can get AppleCare - which, unless it was one of the first dual-1.8's made, you should be able to do (i.e., if it's less than a year old).

[cluthz]

The old 1.8DP also has pci-x opposed to the standard pci on the new.

[Sun Baked]

The old 1.8DP also has pci-x opposed to the standard pci on the new.The memory slots and the Hypertransport PCI-X bridge are the two biggies.

The new one doesn't even have the HT PCI-X bridge, like the old low-end machines -- so there is no way to ever "get around" Apple's HW crippling.

But since this is the 3rd different PM motherboard being used after the headless-iMac in the PM case, it may vanish to drop back to 2.

[HiRez]

I think Apple is really screwing up by offering these crippled machines. Go ahead and cripple the iMacs if you want, but PowerMac is supposed to be a power machine and should not be crippled, period. I'd put down my credit card in a second right now for an original (uncrippled) dual 1.8 if Apple still offered them. But I need the PCI-X slots for uncompressed video so I cannot use them. It's not worth it to me to pay an extra $500 just for a minor speed bump (2.0 GHz) and PCI-X. The dual 2.5 is a good machine and actually a pretty good value too, but it's simply out of the price range of most people, value or no value. I have to wonder how much money Apple is saving by crippling the few components on the new 1.8s. I don't care about the crappy video card or the meager amount of RAM or the tiny hard drive because those things can be upgraded, but you're stuck with PCI forever. I wonder if what I'm guessing is a tiny amount saved is worth them losing my business. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. :mad:

[Little Endian]

http://barefeats.com/g518.html