Really big hesitation !

[BIGgui_X_]

Hello everyone !
I'm a student from quebec, canada (sorry for the bad english) and i plan to sell my eMac 700 and buy a new Mac. I dont use my computer for real big 3d, or 2d apps, I use my mac to sufr the ner, burn dvd's, and play games like WIII, Dongeon siege, ut2003, etc. I really like to do 2 or 3 thing simultaniously (rip dvd'd, surf, listen to music, etc). My question is, will I be happier with a basic 1.6 G5 or a Dual 1.25 gig (mostly for games, and/or multitask). and if I buy a dual G4, do you strongly recommand me to out the Geforce 4 TI instead of the Radeon 9000 ? (if I choose the G5, i,ll choose the 9600, not the FX5200). I'm really tired of my eMac. I find it slow, i need more speed ine every day use, and i want to play games, not at 200 fps, but a decent speed, for a couple yers to come. You can answer here, or on my email
guillaumebreton@hotmail.com
N.B" that i have the students rebates, and that i aldready have a DVD burner, so dont need it in the G5 1.6

 

[iJon]

get the g5, it will play games better in the long run. with 8x agp and support for video cards, and higher bus speeds and everything. if you have the money go ahead and get the 1.6, and just add the extra money and get the 9800 if you are a game player, it will be one less thing you will have to upgrade later on down the road. i thinkg the g5 really impresses developers and i think we will be seeing much more g5 optimization since it is much more of a gaming machine than the g4.

iJon

 

[aethier]

Where is Québec are you from, im in St Eustache.

anyways, i would most definatly go with the 1.6, and if your budget permites, the 1.8 is a much better deal, it has the pci x, ddr 400 ram, and support for 8 gigs of ram instead of 4. in the long run, the 1.8 will end being a better investment.

aethier

 

[BIGgui_X_]

I'm in sherbrooke
Je parle francais
tu as mon email dans le premier message.
I dont really think the 1.8 is a much better deal, sincerely, because i dont need PCI X, 8 gig of RAM and ddr 400(That slower that 333 ???), and that i dont want to pay the full apple price for 80 gig and 256 Mb RAM extra. I can get more that 512 MB for the 167 $ canadian Apple is charging tp upgrade from 256 to 512, and i can get more that 80 gig for the Xtra 168 $ (student price) apple is Adding to upgrade from 80 to 160 gig. So, i think that the basic 1.6, without superdrive, is the way to go, and then, i'll upgrade it later. here is the configuration and price that i get on the Educationnal apple store:
• 1.6GHz PowerPC G5
• 256MB DDR333 SDRAM (PC2700) - 2x128
• 80GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
• ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
• Combo Drive (CD-RW/DVD-ROM)
• Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
• Mac OS X - U.S. English
Subtotal $2,660.00
You can add to this 2x256 Mb ram (http://www.dealmac.com) for about 115 $ canadian (and i dont loose the 256 MB that is aldready there) and a 80 gig serial ATA for 117 $ (http://www.tigerdirect.ca) and i'm at 2892 canadian (so about 2100 US). The 1.8 model is 3,263.00 with 512 MB ram, not 768 (512+256 in the 1.6 model). So with all taxes, the 1.6 will be about 3325, and the 1.8 about 3752 (yes, big taxes amount in quebec) so 427 $ More, for 200 mhz, pci X (will i ever need that ?) and 4 gig more RAM ??

what do you think ?

 

[Veldek]

Originally posted by BIGgui_X_
I'm in sherbrooke
Je parle francais
tu as mon email dans le premier message.
I dont really think the 1.8 is a much better deal, sincerely, because i dont need PCI X, 8 gig of RAM and ddr 400(That slower that 333 ???), and that i dont want to pay the full apple price for 80 gig and 256 Mb RAM extra.

what do you think ?

Well, perhaps you don't need it now, but do you buy your computer for one or two years or do you want it to be powerful as long as possible? I think it won't take much time until more RAM will be very useful and the faster one will be much better.

 

[BIGgui_X_]

I dont keep my macs more that a couple of years. And i dont have an unlimited budget. I prefer to change more ofter, to get a better resell value for my Not to old macs, and to get the new machines, even if it's not the top of the line one. Ok, and, another quetion. If i go with the 1.6, or even 1.8, will the Radeon 9600 be good for a couples year too ? Is it ok for all the today's games ? I have a friend with a 1 ghz powerbook with a radeon mobility 9000 64 MB, and it's much faster that my eMac 700 with a 32 mb geforce 2 mx. So, i suppose that if it runs fine on his computer, i'll be just fine on a 1.6 gig with a radeon 9600 ? If it's fine for a year or 2, the 9800 price will drop, or it will be other faster video cards available. I know the 9800 is almost 50 % faster that the 9600 in some cases, but, you know, the eye cant see alot more that 30 frames per secondes, so, if i could get 50 or 60 frames at high resolution, it should be fine ! The 9800 is 400 $ canadian more that the 9600, does it worth it ? I dont have trouble upgrading it later, unless it's good for now and a couple of years !
thanks again

 

[aethier]

Actualy, the radeon 9800pro, is about 500+ dollars canadian, its only writin at 400 on the apple website, cause you are adding to the already 150$ radeon 9600

aethier

PS: howcome the radeon 9600Pro mac edition have only 64megs of vram, when its PC version is 128??