New iMac G5 vs. Dual 1.25 G4?

Wano said:

I just got a 12" powerbook to run along side my dual 1.25 Ghz Powermac g4 with 1.25gb of ram and a 20inch cinema display. Now that the iMac G5 has been released, would you guys think it would be worth it to sell my powermac setup and get a 20" iMac? Is it going to be any faster?

Thanks!

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It will very much depend on your intended uses. What applications do you run? Can they benefit from dual-CPU operation? A dual 1.25GHz G4 PowerMac will still hold its own (and sometimes outperform) a single 1.6GHz G5 based system in certain applications. However, in other applications where only a single CPU is really used, even the lower clocked G5 machines can have quite an advantage. You should check out sites like http://www.barefeats.com and http://www.macspeedzone.com for benchmark tests which will compare the dual G4 PowerMacs to various single and dual G5 systems.

It goes without saying that some types of expandability is all in the G4's favour, but that's rather obvious Of course the iMac G5 consumes a fraction of the space of a G4 tower + monitor. Is space a concern for you? We won't know until iMac G5s start turning up in people's hands, but all the signs point to it also being quieter than the G4 probably is. Again...is quiet operation important to you or not?

I think you need to supply more information about your intended uses for us to give you some advice. What apps do you run? Are you likely to want to change the video card, want to add PCI cards, or maybe spend money upgrading the processor card in the PowerMac in the future? Do you live in a tiny apartment with no space? Is it time for you to buy a new LCD panel anyway (probably not)? Do you just want a sexy new iMac G5?

In any event, definitely wait for reviews and feedback from early adopters on the iMac G5 to start rolling in. Always let someone else be the guinea pig before jumping in with brand-new Apple hardware.

there's no question the iMac G5 will be way quieter than the dual 1.25 PM G4. dual G4s are all loud, even the ones with the revised power supplies. Apple claims the new iMac runs quieter than a whisper.

I'm thinking about a new iMac for FCP but the factor which may stop me is the iMac's lack of FW800. for the price though it's very tempting. I could build a monster FW400 RAID of 1-2TB. AJA demonstrated uncompressed SD over FW400 at trade shows so it can be done.

I had a single 1.25 PM G4 for a couple of weeks and I found it to be unacceptably loud. My work environment is relatively quiet so I really noticed the noise.

oingo is right about letting others test it out before deciding to buy. however, I think single G5s have closed the gap if not surpassed dual G4s in the past year with all the G5 optimizations in software updates.

Wano said:

I do heavy video editing fcp4,shake, and soon motion, and my dual g4 has served me very well. I am running a 20inch cinema display with it. Yes, I do think it's loud and I am intending to add a superdrive and a better graphics card to it so that I can run motion. Or maybe I should just sell my powermac itself and get a refurb dual 1.8. But, what I was thinking is that I could sell my system probably for $2,300 or so and that would give me more than enough to get a loaded iMac G5 and some extra stuff, and I would think the iMac would be faster than my current system and it would save me money considering I wouldn't have to upgrade anything in that case on my G4. It's all about what is best for my money.

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If you do video editing snag up one of the Refurb dual 1.8's right now for $1699.. what a deal. Non-crippled Dual 1.8, full warrenty, and a great price. I mean common you already have the 20" display!!!!

MrSugar said:

If you do video editing snag up one of the Refurb dual 1.8's right now for $1699.. what a deal. Non-crippled Dual 1.8, full warrenty, and a great price. I mean common you already have the 20" display!!!!

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I agree. That would be much better than the iMac for what you are doing.

Wano said:

I just got a 12" powerbook to run along side my dual 1.25 Ghz Powermac g4 with 1.25gb of ram and a 20inch cinema display. Now that the iMac G5 has been released, would you guys think it would be worth it to sell my powermac setup and get a 20" iMac? Is it going to be any faster?

Thanks!

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If I were in your shoes I'd consider the 20" iMac. Even with the reduced FSB, the 1.8 G5 chip should be considerably faster (and quieter) than the dual 1.25 G4.

MrSugar said:

If you do video editing snag up one of the Refurb dual 1.8's right now for $1699.. what a deal. Non-crippled Dual 1.8, full warrenty, and a great price. I mean common you already have the 20" display!!!!

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Yes, this would be an excellent choice, especially considering that you already have the screen...

I think you should be able to get around what a new G4 single should cost ($1299) since we are talking about a dual 1.25 with lots of RAM. You might even be able to get a bit more. A lot of older G4s than yours are selling on eBay for quite abit. I would recommend looking over there to get an idea of what it might be worth to people. Look in the completed auctions to see what they actually went (and didn't go) for.

Wano said:

I do heavy video editing fcp4,shake, and soon motion, and my dual g4 has served me very well. I am running a 20inch cinema display with it. Yes, I do think it's loud and I am intending to add a superdrive and a better graphics card to it so that I can run motion. Or maybe I should just sell my powermac itself and get a refurb dual 1.8. But, what I was thinking is that I could sell my system probably for $2,300 or so and that would give me more than enough to get a loaded iMac G5 and some extra stuff, and I would think the iMac would be faster than my current system and it would save me money considering I wouldn't have to upgrade anything in that case on my G4. It's all about what is best for my money.

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I'd agree with everyone else on this thread who has recommended a dual 1.8GHz G5. It's made for the exactly the type of stuff you do. An iMac might be pretty to look at, but I'd be very surprised if it wasn't slower than your dual G4 for the al lot of the type of stuff you do. For Motion you are going to want a fast 3D graphics card also (Apple's recommended video card is a Radeon 9800), so the FX 5200 in the iMac, while meeting minimum specification, would be inappropriate. You'll also want to be able to add large amounts of fast hard disk space for video editing. The PowerMac has two internal SATA drive bays, FireWire 800, and 3 PCI/PCI-X slots for extra SATA/FireWire/SCSI/FibreChannel expansion cards. The iMac has a single drive bay, only FireWire 400, and obviously no expansion slots. Heavy video editing, Shake and Motion simply isn't what the iMac is designed to do well. It's firmly PowerMac territory.

You should still get a good price for your dual G4. As others have suggested, check out the completed auctions on eBay.

oingoboingo said:

I'd agree with everyone else on this thread who has recommended a dual 1.8GHz G5. It's made for the exactly the type of stuff you do.

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I agree. And if you already have the 20" cinema display, getting an iMac might give you one too many displays... but if you decide you want to sell the 20" display, PM me

i'd keep your dualie over the iMac. i'd sell your dualie for a G5 dualie however (those refurb 1.8's are sweet, and if i were in the market, i'd be all over it).

Wano said:

How much do you guys think I could sell my Powermac for?
it's dual 1.25ghz
1.25gb of ram
combo drive
64mb video card...i think radeon 9000
apple care untill june 2006

and that's about it

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I had the very same machine you do (dual 1.25ghz, 1.25 gb ram, except I had a superdrive) and I sold it on ebay for just over $1600.

I am currently mac-less, so I am saving up for an imac g5...but you and I are in different situations

If I were you, I'd sell the g4 and get a powermac g5. You have a nice display...upgrade to a faster mac and keep using that display

oingoboingo said:

I'd agree with everyone else on this thread who has recommended a dual 1.8GHz G5. It's made for the exactly the type of stuff you do. An iMac might be pretty to look at, but I'd be very surprised if it wasn't slower than your dual G4 for the al lot of the type of stuff you do. For Motion you are going to want a fast 3D graphics card also (Apple's recommended video card is a Radeon 9800), so the FX 5200 in the iMac, while meeting minimum specification, would be inappropriate. You'll also want to be able to add large amounts of fast hard disk space for video editing. The PowerMac has two internal SATA drive bays, FireWire 800, and 3 PCI/PCI-X slots for extra SATA/FireWire/SCSI/FibreChannel expansion cards. The iMac has a single drive bay, only FireWire 400, and obviously no expansion slots. Heavy video editing, Shake and Motion simply isn't what the iMac is designed to do well. It's firmly PowerMac territory.

You should still get a good price for your dual G4. As others have suggested, check out the completed auctions on eBay.

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Considering the differences in CPU, bus and drive controller speed, it shouldn't be slower than a dual G4, but you're right, it will be considerably slower than the dual 1.8 G5 Power Mac (especially the 1st generation model). Since Wano already has the 20" Cinema display, I agree, a refurb dual 1.8 G5 would be the most computer for the money.

BTW, Apple has a refurb 23" HD Cinema Display on sale for $1499!