Should I buy or wait? (Mac tower)

[designmm]

I need a new Mac tower ... should I buy one of the exsisting Power PC's or wait for the new Intel towers?

 

[iShane]

Depends on what you'll be using it for.

 

[emaja]

Yes.

 

[Danksi]

I need a new Mac tower ... should I buy one of the exsisting Power PC's or wait for the new Intel towers?

Std. questions:-

Do you need it NOW? - if so, get one now.

Are you planning to run non-Universal applications (or do they run well on Rosetta)?

If you wait, however long it may be, you'll get to see what a Rev.A Intel PowerMac looks like - you can then decide whether you want that or a possibly a slightly reduced G5. If the iMac's were anything to go by, they'll sell the Intel & G5 machine's at the same price until the G5's are out of stock.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Should have bought it yesterday. Stop waiting.

 

[designmm]

Thanks

I will be using it for my design business, and one of my clients is already on the new intel imacs. I will be running creative suite and the new quark most of the time. i know i'll be fine with the 2.3GHz or quad, but wonder if its worth the wait and possible bugs for the intels. i'll need it in 2 months.

will there be issues if i run a power pc and my client runs the new imac?

 

[sw1tcher]

Intel-based PowerMacs won't be released until August or September (WWDC?) so if you need one now, go for it.

 

[Demon Hunter]

I will be using it for my design business, and one of my clients is already on the new intel imacs. I will be running creative suite and the new quark most of the time. i know i'll be fine with the 2.3GHz or quad, but wonder if its worth the wait and possible bugs for the intels. i'll need it in 2 months.

will there be issues if i run a power pc and my client runs the new imac?

What kind of tower do you have? You could try to get by with a G4 upgrade card. The ceiling is 1.8GHz, but they're much cheaper now.

 

[asencif]

I will be using it for my design business, and one of my clients is already on the new intel imacs. I will be running creative suite and the new quark most of the time. i know i'll be fine with the 2.3GHz or quad, but wonder if its worth the wait and possible bugs for the intels. i'll need it in 2 months.

will there be issues if i run a power pc and my client runs the new imac?

Well what do you mean by issues? If you are sharing Adobe and Quark files then no problems. However, at this point in time the apps you will be using are not Universal, so you will be running them at full speed and effectively getting work done at a fast pace on your PPC Mac. Your wait might be even longer depending on when those apps are released as UB and when the INtel PM actually ship, not just announced. So if you need to get work done for your business there is no point in waiting. Time is money.

 

[nutmac]

For me, the best time to buy a new Mac is the moment (1) new model comes out and (2) Amazon offers mail-in-rebate for that model. In general, we are talking about perhaps a month wait, if at that.

 

[generik]

Since it is for a business (I presume you can write off its cost anyway) I'd definitely get it now. Why worry? Just write it off!

If it is for a home, getting a PPC now is insane. Insanely stupid that is..

 

[FF_productions]

The PowerMac G5's that are currently being sold will do the job for you now and into the future. It's so early in the Intel Transition, don't let it get to you.

 

[4God]

Buy what you need now. If you wait for something better, you'll forever
be waiting and never be happy.

 

[Squareball]

I bought a Quad last week and have zero regrets.

I only bought it because the powerbook isn't doing the job for me in CS2 and the macbook pro would be slower with CS2.

The quad is FAST! I mean, I can't even get my head around how fast this thing is.

Best $4k I've ever spent.

 

[ipacmm]

I would check out the apple online refurb section, they have some good deals on G5 PowerMac's that will last you for some time without paying retail.

 

[valiar]

Buy now.
If you are buying a tower, my guess is you are not buying it to run iTunes and iPhoto.
None of the Apple's own Pro apps are universal at this point.
Same can be said about most third party programs.
Some of those (especially specialized) will get recompiled only in a couple of years from now. A case in point: I own a license for Mac Spartan 04 (a high end quantum chemistry app). That thing is PPC only, and is not getting Universal until, maybe, 2008.
Also, Intel has not even released a new desktop CPU yet ("Merom" is coming out in the 3Q 2006, last time I checked).
So get the G5 tower - you won't regret it. Their performance is quite competitive. And you will enjoy this great performance over your whole upgrade cycle. Software is not going Intel-exclusive any time soon...

 

[truz]

I would wait for the Intel Power Macs as before they launch the Intel Power Mac all Apple's Pro apps will be supported on the Intel Mac's. When the Intel Powermacs come out they will be 4x+ faster then the current macs.

I honestly would wait for the Intel Macs as your going to want to upgrade as soon as they come out so its pointless to buy now and want new later.

I waited for my Intel iMac and it was well worth the wait as its 2x and 4x faster in things then the G5 iMac.