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for 2K: G4 1.42MP v. G5...

S

serger

macrumors newbie
Original poster
these forums are for indulgent posts as this, here goes:

Budget is around 2K...

would you choose a G4 1.42MP w/2GB ram and 500MB of storage, or a G5 1.8 w/512MB ram and 80 MB storage.

All things being equal-- the G4 is as loaded as it can get... whatever apple had a year ago, it's in there.

or do you buy a skinny G5
 
I'd buy a skinny G5. You can upgrade the G5 when you can afford it. The G4 will last you a couple of years. The G5 will be good for at least 4 years with upgrades.
 
serger said:
these forums are for indulgent posts as this, here goes:

Budget is around 2K...

would you choose a G4 1.42MP w/2GB ram and 500MB of storage, or a G5 1.8 w/512MB ram and 80 MB storage.

All things being equal-- the G4 is as loaded as it can get... whatever apple had a year ago, it's in there.

or do you buy a skinny G5
Click to expand...

I would definitely go with the dual g4. When the G5's first came out, I sold my dual 1.42 to get one. I was highly dissapointed once the whole, I have a G5 thing wore off. Now, if you can get a dual 1.8 for a good price, defintely go that route!
 
no brainer...

get a refurb dual 1.8 for $1999 throw in another 512 - 1gb of ram (depending on need) and for 'around' $2000 you have a great set-up.

I would rather get the dual 1.25 for $1299 and upgrade that then the 1.42 (overclocked 1.25) for $1899 (all via apple store).

What's your priority, performance or price...
Or wait and see what happens at WWDC!


serger said:
these forums are for indulgent posts as this, here goes:

Budget is around 2K...

would you choose a G4 1.42MP w/2GB ram and 500MB of storage, or a G5 1.8 w/512MB ram and 80 MB storage.

All things being equal-- the G4 is as loaded as it can get... whatever apple had a year ago, it's in there.

or do you buy a skinny G5
Click to expand...
 
nospleen said:
I would definitely go with the dual g4. When the G5's first came out, I sold my dual 1.42 to get one. I was highly dissapointed once the whole, I have a G5 thing wore off. Now, if you can get a dual 1.8 for a good price, defintely go that route!
Click to expand...
So which is it? You would definitely go for the dual g4 and definitely also go for the dual 1.8 route??
 
allroy said:
get a refurb dual 1.8 for $1999 throw in another 512 - 1gb of ram (depending on need) and for 'around' $2000 you have a great set-up.

I would rather get the dual 1.25 for $1299 and upgrade that then the 1.42 (overclocked 1.25) for $1899 (all via apple store).

What's your priority, performance or price...
Or wait and see what happens at WWDC!
Click to expand...

We just had this debate here at work...and went with a refurb dual 1.25 from the Apple store. Ordered loads of RAM from OWC and the cost came out to under $1500. For our purposes dual processors make more sense, but the cost implications were truly the driving factor.
 
allroy said:
I would rather get the dual 1.25 for $1299 and upgrade that then the 1.42 (overclocked 1.25) for $1899 (all via apple store).
Click to expand...

not sure what you mean by 'overclocked'
 
serger said:
these forums are for indulgent posts as this, here goes:

Budget is around 2K...

would you choose a G4 1.42MP w/2GB ram and 500MB of storage, or a G5 1.8 w/512MB ram and 80 MB storage.

All things being equal-- the G4 is as loaded as it can get... whatever apple had a year ago, it's in there.

or do you buy a skinny G5
Click to expand...

i'm facing a similar dillema right now, i was looking at a dual G5, but i need a new monitor too, so that drives the cost high, so i started looking at older G4s and they seem very tempting given the price different and the fact it would allow me to get a quality LCD panel too. but i need longevity, so basically i'm probably looking for a product that doesn't exist 🙄 🙁
 
kwajo.com said:
i'm facing a similar dillema right now, i was looking at a dual G5, but i need a new monitor too, so that drives the cost high, so i started looking at older G4s and they seem very tempting given the price different and the fact it would allow me to get a quality LCD panel too. but i need longevity, so basically i'm probably looking for a product that doesn't exist 🙄 🙁
Click to expand...

The more i'm thinking about it the more I'm hedging towards a loaded G4. I need to cut video-- it's fast enough. I need to build websites-- it's fast enough. There is nothing I can think of that it won't run well. I don't have any games... and anything I buy is going to be antiquated in 2 yrs...

I need the monitor too... same boat, i think I'm getting close though.
 
serger said:
not sure what you mean by 'overclocked'
Click to expand...

Apple overclocked a 1.25GHz G4 to bring the dual 1.42GHz to the consumer.

The dual 1.42GHz was a GREAT machine, however. It can battle with the 1.8 single G5, easily.
 
Either way, you will be spending over 2000 dollars on a computer. Why the heck do you want to spend 2000 dollars on something that is built-on a more than 4 years old technology.

Either wait for few more months till you can get afford the G5 or just not gettting anything at all.
 
papersushi said:
Either way, you will be spending over 2000 dollars on a computer. Why the heck do you want to spend 2000 dollars on something that is built-on a more than 4 years old technology.
.
Click to expand...

I think... because my bang for the buck is better (a lil otmotopia) with a stacked G4 than a bottom of the line G5. For 2200 I could get 1.4DP 2GB Ram, 500MB storage, 2 17" crt monitors and the harmon karden speaker bit.

I know it's 4 year old technology... but it is last years top of the line computer and for ~2K and I might get a pretty darn good system.

I dunno... that's reason I posted the question. Could be a 2,000 mistake, which i am trying like hell to avoid making.
 
Hi .is it me or are there more than 5 people with the same issues lol.i want a g5 put they can get pricey but a dual g4 loaded is quite attractive BUT the g5 has a entirely diffrent set up and its new.Im waiting to make a switch but considering the g5 is about to update ill be waiting a while.
 
i have the single 1.8 and i trust me it is better than the G4....maybe not by outright speed. but the form factor and the 8 ram slots...and countless other stuff.
 
You can get a brandnew dual 1.8Ghz with educational discount for only $2299.. $299 more than your 2K G4, if you buy the dual G4, I am sure it's going to be the worst $299 savings you wish you would have never had.

If $2000 is the bottom line for you now, then just save your money not gettting anything at all.
 
papersushi said:
You can get a brandnew dual 1.8Ghz with educational discount for only $2299.. $299 more than your 2K G4, if you buy the dual G4, I am sure it's going to be the worst $299 savings you wish you would have never had..
Click to expand...

....right, educational discount. just cause i'm loitering around on the mac boards...

yeah yeah, i know, save and wait. If I can buy a nice system now, i'll use it for a year. by then Apple will likely have some interesting hardware, and my first G5 can be a one year old dual 2GHZ...

we don't really have the time to sit around waiting for M.Jobs to announce that in 8 months they'll be shipping the rev. B G5.

hate to hate on M.Jobs, but the supersecret G5 stuff is not helpful for folks like us...
 
jackieonasses said:
i have the single 1.8 and i trust me it is better than the G4....maybe not by outright speed. but the form factor and the 8 ram slots...and countless other stuff.
Click to expand...

this is killing me... WHY? b/c it looks pretty? it has more space for RAM?

2K is not chump change...it's interesting that there really isn't a definative answer here... from what I'm seeing, the loaded G4 is pretty much as much of a workhorse as the 1.8....

now, my guess is that the next operating system will work better on a G5, only makes sense.... but we're not there yet. I'm pretty sure the next display will be brighter, and the next superdirve faster...
 
G4 is on the way out, why would anyone sink 2 grand into a g4 machine that isnt current with anything Intel or AMD is making? this is why Mac sales have sucked for Apples desktop line. G5 is the answer and with wwdc just weeks away i would wait then get a G5 at discontinued prices or a rev b model. you could do like me and wait for the G5 Imac 😀 Tiger will be a G5 OS so i would wait and get the new OS and the new G5. my 2 cents. patience is a virtue and with Apple,Moto & IBM you better have a lot.
 
next display brighter?

I am not sure if it makes any difference. I have to turn down the brightness on my 20'' Cinema display. Display as bright as the sun is not necessary a good thing.
 
It has probaly been said but it all depends on what You are going to do with the computer. I have a bondi iMac that works great for web browsing and E-Mail and will do that the same way a G4 iMac will. But if I were to run Photoshop the G4 iMac would do better than the Bondi I hope You get the point I am trying to make. If You can't decide send the the 2 grand and I will choose savvy?
 
invaLPsion said:
Apple overclocked a 1.25GHz G4 to bring the dual 1.42GHz to the consumer.
Click to expand...

I love this argument.

Your definition of 'overclocked' is so ridiculous... a higher clockspeed, from the manufacturer, with warranty... I'm not sure how much experience you have with overclocking, but trust me, that is NOT overclocked.

The dual g4. All the way. A single 1.6 is a waste of money... but wait a month or so if you can.
 
cr2sh said:
I love this argument.

Your definition of 'overclocked' is so ridiculous... a higher clockspeed, from the manufacturer, with warranty... I'm not sure how much experience you have with overclocking, but trust me, that is NOT overclocked.

The dual g4. All the way. A single 1.6 is a waste of money... but wait a month or so if you can.
Click to expand...

I know what overclocking is...

From the sources I know I heard that the dual 1.42 was merely an overclocked version of the 1.25 chip, no joke. 🙄
 
gekko513 said:
So which is it? You would definitely go for the dual g4 and definitely also go for the dual 1.8 route??
Click to expand...

I would get the dual 1.42 over a SINGLE G5. But, I would get a DUAL 1.8 instead of dual 1.42. Make sense?
 
If you think the G4 will be able to handle all the work you are going to need to do with it it might make sense to go with the G4, but the whole architecture of the G4 is really limited. Bus speed, processor, ram, expansion slots, the G5 is the future and as such has alot more longevity in it.
 
i was going to walk away...

Krizoitz said:
the whole architecture of the G4 is really limited. Bus speed, processor, ram, expansion slots, the G5 is the future and as such has alot more longevity in it.
Click to expand...

Now this bugs me a little. If you buy a Rev. A g5 today-- and it's running about on par w/a stacked up G4 (i know it's a bit faster) WHY is that limited? Really-- i don't get it. We run a 5yr. old 350 G4 that cruises-- heck i'm typing on a G3 350 iMac-- running 10.3.3. and is fine (not for editing film of course).

What do you people do that a MP 1.42 G4 is not really really good at. If you want my honest opinion, I think that Apple (and others) have done one heck of a job convincing everyone that once something new comes out-- last years model is a piece of ****.

right... now comes the flood of 'well new apps will be geared for 64 bit processing'... a bluff I'd call. In three years no doubt-- my guess is you won't be able to get Final Cut to function on the G4 i'm thinking of buying.... NO MORE THAN I'D RUN IT ON MY 350 G4... right?

This might require it's own soapbox-- I don't mean to grind an axe, but it needs to be sharpened, and i can't think of anything more frustrating in the Apple world than the number of yo-yo's who think by speeding up Google News some 87% their going to be any happier. Please.. waiting for the next G5 is like sitting next to a beautiful girl and not wanting to touch because you might meet someone prettier. Of course you will. Get over it. And the business about spending 3K or more on a machine when for 2K, or even a grand, you can get one real wiz bang mac'nbox is a condition that we in the rest of the world call 'a greedy myopia'.

Really-- the logical argument seems clear--the highest end G4 does more or less what the G5 does-- and in two years, to run heavy duty software it will need to be replaced, otherwise it should last a long time.

IF that is true THEN 1.25 & 1.42 G4s are relatively undervalued.

Where have I gone wrong?
 
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