About The Switch To Intel???

[jumpman25]

I just read about the switch to intel, and am now starting to get a little worried about my dual 2.3 that I just purchased a few days ago. I love the machine, but am worried that it won't last me as long as it should now. I was planning on keeping the machine until it was simply too slow to do anything. Now I'm worried that I will have to get rid of the machine not because it is too slow, but becasue software will no longer be made for it. I read through the other threads, but couldn't find a definitive answer as to the life of the current G5's. Some people are saying the G5's are now worthless, others are saying not to worry. Could anybody shed some light on the situation. Thanks

 

[m-dogg]

I just read about the switch to intel, and am now starting to get a little worried about my dual 2.3 that I just purchased a few days ago. I love the machine, but am worried that it won't last me as long as it should now. I was planning on keeping the machine until it was simply too slow to do anything. Now I'm worried that I will have to get rid of the machine not because it is too slow, but becasue software will no longer be made for it. I read through the other threads, but couldn't find a definitive answer as to the life of the current G5's. Some people are saying the G5's are now worthless, others are saying not to worry. Could anybody shed some light on the situation. Thanks

there really isn't much more light that can be shined on the subject beyond the 50 billion threads/posts that are already out there.

I'm using a 1.8 iMac G5 (rev. a), and I plan to be using it for many years to come. I don't think you need to worry...

 

[kgarner]

If all a developer has to do is check a box to deliver a universal binary, then they will be complete idiots not to. That means that your new Mac will function just as well in five years as it would have if Apple didn't switch processors. There will come a time that they stop providing that, but Anyone buying machines now or in the not too distant future will be looking to upgrade to a new machine by that time that happens anyway. This is really no different then if Apple announced a G6. Your machine would still be obsolete eventually.

 

[CanadaRAM]

I just read about the switch to intel, and am now starting to get a little worried about my dual 2.3 that I just purchased a few days ago. I love the machine, but am worried that it won't last me as long as it should now. I was planning on keeping the machine until it was simply too slow to do anything. Now I'm worried that I will have to get rid of the machine not because it is too slow, but becasue software will no longer be made for it. I read through the other threads, but couldn't find a definitive answer as to the life of the current G5's. Some people are saying the G5's are now worthless, others are saying not to worry. Could anybody shed some light on the situation. Thanks

The diminishing of your G5's capabilities exists only between your ears
You don't "have" to get rid of anything - it will do everything you buy it for today, indefinitely. And Apple will support the Tiger/PPC platform for years and years

See one thread
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/131140/

 

[jumpman25]

Thanks for the replies, I feel much better now.

 

[cwerdna]

If all a developer has to do is check a box to deliver a universal binary, then they will be complete idiots not to. That means that your new Mac will function just as well in five years as it would have if Apple didn't switch processors. There will come a time that they stop providing that, but Anyone buying machines now or in the not too distant future will be looking to upgrade to a new machine by that time that happens anyway. This is really no different then if Apple announced a G6. Your machine would still be obsolete eventually.

But that's not all a developer has to do. If they're not using Xcode to write their app now and using say CodeWarrior, they're going to have a lot of work ahead of them. Even if there were, they still need to fully test their app on a MacTel (dev kit for now) and retest it pretty thoroughly on a Mac since the compiler has just been changed underneath them (who knows Apple broke/changed?)

From the point forward were they have to ship Intel and PPC binaries (illogical to ship any Universal Binaries until MacTels are close to shipping), they're going to always need to test on both platforms.

I put up some more details at https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/1514143/ and you can read the Apple docs for the gory details.

I was originally going to get a PM G5 2 ghz dual so that it'd last a long time before I felt it to be intolerable and it got outdated. Now, I'm just most likely going to settle for a Mini. :/

 

[mduser63]

Don't worry about it. Apple has a history of supporting old hardware for a long time. For example, Tiger will install on Macs that are now nearly 6 years old (iMac slot loading, Power Mac G3 B&W). Apple will be selling PowerPC Macs until mid-to-late 2007, and they're not going to stop supporting those until at least 2010 I figure, maybe even later. That means you've got at least 5 years before Apple drops support for your machine. By then you'll want a new one anyway right? And even when Apple does drop support for PowerPC machines, they'll continue working, doing what they do now just fine, so don't worry .

 

[mcarnes]

Watch the keynote. No worries here. I'm going to buy a dual G5 in a month or so. But I'm gonna wait for the intel chips before buying a powerbook, just because the new PBs will be a lot faster.

There won't be much of a performance increase with the intel-based desktops though, so I'm gonna buy one next month.

Cheers.