About to buy a PowerMac - What do you think

[ipacmm]

I am about to buy a new PowerMac and was wondering what you think about it and if I should buy it now or if I should wait until WWDC and hope that something new will come out.

I was thinking about getting the following set-up:

Dual 2.7GHz G5
400GB HD
Bluetooth + APE
512MB (Going to upgrade it to 4GB)
ATI 9650
Superdrive

 

[Dr. Dastardly]

I seriously doubt anything will happen to the Power Mac line at WWDC. If they do ship 3 ghz machines on that day though:

1) You'll no doubt have to wait in a long line to get one.
2) Is 300 mhz really that important to you?

 

[Rocksaurus]

Agreed, I don't see a new powermac very soon, especially not by WWDC. 2.7's fast. That'll be a nice system.

 

[longofest]

Make sure you get the RAM elsewhere. Apple is too darn expensive. But don't fall for too cheap of RAM... it can bog your system down. And remember to buy them in pairs.

pMacs won't be updated probably until xmas season at least, when they have the MP's or GX's ready. So, if you can't wait until end of year timeframe, go with it!

You can also try to get one of the discounted 2.5 Ghz models... performance differences won't be much, and if you don't need dual layer DVD burning, then it might be a good buy.

 

[Nugget]

I voted with my wallet..

I ordered a 2.7GHz, 400mb, 1gb (+2 from crucial) to replace my 1GHz PowerBook.

I am in complete and total agreement with Dr. Dastardly. It simply doesn't make sense that Apple plans to update the PowerMac line again in *39 days* at WWDC. There's just no way that makes any kind of sense.

The only theory that's even remotely plausible to me is that they release some 970MP dual-proc dual-core monster SuperDuperPowerMac. If they do, it'll for certain be priced high enough to squelch demand to a level at which IBM can supply the chips and to avoid undercutting the PowerMac lineup changes they made on Wednesday. Choosing not to buy today is holding out hope for a machine that will be hard and expensive to buy in, what, two months time at a minimum? I just can't see it.

As far as I'm concerned, this week's modest bump is Apple's way of telling us not to hold our breath.

That said, I'd love to be wrong -- but I doubt I am.

 

[mad jew]

I voted with my wallet..

I ordered a 2.7GHz, 400mb, 1gb (+2 from crucial) to replace my 1GHz PowerBook.

I am in complete and total agreement with Dr. Dastardly. It simply doesn't make sense that Apple plans to update the PowerMac line again in *39 days* at WWDC. There's just no way that makes any kind of sense.

The only theory that's even remotely plausible to me is that they release some 970MP dual-proc dual-core monster SuperDuperPowerMac. If they do, it'll for certain be priced high enough to squelch demand to a level at which IBM can supply the chips and to avoid undercutting the PowerMac lineup changes they made on Wednesday. Choosing not to buy today is holding out hope for a machine that will be hard and expensive to buy in, what, two months time at a minimum? I just can't see it.

As far as I'm concerned, this week's modest bump is Apple's way of telling us not to hold our breath.

That said, I'd love to be wrong -- but I doubt I am.

Congratulations!

You seem to be one of the dying bread here on Macrumors who's actually happy with 2.7GHz. Apple hasn't released a major upgrade to anything for ages so as everyone else is saying, even if the PMs are replaced sooner rather than later, it really shouldn't matter all that much. At the rate Apple's going, I wouldn't be surprised to see a 2.8GHz machine come out next. Not that it's a bad thing.

 

[macbaseball]

I am about to buy a new PowerMac and was wondering what you think about it and if I should buy it now or if I should wait until WWDC and hope that something new will come out.

I was thinking about getting the following set-up:

Dual 2.7GHz G5
400GB HD
Bluetooth + APE
512MB (Going to upgrade it to 4GB)
ATI 9650
Superdrive

That's a great machine. I agree with all the advice about third party RAM, and making sure it's good quality. I also was wondering what are you dong on this computer. I highly doubt your going to need 4 gigs of RAM, but I may be wrong.

You seem to be one of the dying bread here on Macrumors who's actually happy with 2.7GHz.

I'm also happy with the updates, as I knew it wasn't going to be a dual 3.0 or dual core, but the updates were not only a small speed increase, but a price cut. A while back the G4 was moving "slowly", only about 200 or 300 MHz at a time, and I was satisfied with that. I wasn't part of Macrumors, but I doubt anyone was complaining as much as people are after these updates.

 

[Nugget]

You seem to be one of the dying bread here on Macrumors who's actually happy with 2.7GHz.

It just takes a short hop to perspective-land, really.

Simply put, if money were no object and I could buy any desktop computer that exists on the market right now... well, I'd want a top of the line PowerMac, and the 2.7GHz is a better one than the 2.5GHz I'd have wanted a week ago. That's pretty redeeming. When there's an Opteron or Athlon64 or Pentium machine on the market that I want more than a PowerMac then maybe I'll take pause for concern. For now that sure isn't true.

Of the common complaints I've seen on the boards, accompanied by plenty of indignant teeth-gnashing and hand-wringing:

PCIe offers no benefit today. None. The best argument you can make is that future generations of high-end video card will probably not support the aging AGP interface. In 20 years of buying computers I've never once upgraded the video card in a computer. With PCs the new video card always seems to require a new motherboard and new cpu to really make sense. With my Macs I've never felt that the video was a bottleneck until long after the whole machine was slow enough to justify being replaced. When PCIe dominates the video card marketplace I'll just buy the then-shipping PowerMac with PCIe and probably BTO a nice card from Apple to go with it.

What upgrades have I made good use of in the past? Simple: bigger hard drives and more RAM. These "pathetic" and "weak" PowerMacs offer plenty of upgrade potential. I'm confident that 8GB of RAM will be respectable well past the expected service life of this machine.

Blu-ray was simply not going to happen. Hell, with the way the industry is looking between HD-DVD and Blu-ray, I'm not even sure I'd want one. Not until the dust settles, for sure.

Quad core would have been nice, sure, but the existence of the current bumps lead me to believe that the timeline on that is measured in months, not weeks.

At the end of the day, with the 2.7GHz PowerMac, I will have managed to buy the fastest, quietest, most kick-ass computer I've ever owned. How the hell could I not be happy with that?

 

[ipacmm]

Ok, thanks everyone for your input, I think I will just get this system, its still a lot better then what I am running now (PB 1GHz w/ 1GB). Regarding the ram, I was going to put 8 X Samsung 512MB sticks, my friend gets a good price on it so I might as well bring the system to the max.

 

[ipacmm]

highly doubt your going to need 4 gigs of RAM, but I may be wrong.

Well I use a lot of 3d animation software like Maya, Photoshop, and a little FCP. I know I won’t really use the entire 4 GB of ram, but it will be good to know that if I ever need it, it will be there.

 

[Roz]

It just takes a short hop to perspective-land, really.

Simply put, if money were no object and I could buy any desktop computer that exists on the market right now... well, I'd want a top of the line PowerMac, and the 2.7GHz is a better one than the 2.5GHz I'd have wanted a week ago. That's pretty redeeming. When there's an Opteron or Athlon64 or Pentium machine on the market that I want more than a PowerMac then maybe I'll take pause for concern. For now that sure isn't true.

Of the common complaints I've seen on the boards, accompanied by plenty of indignant teeth-gnashing and hand-wringing:

PCIe offers no benefit today. None. The best argument you can make is that future generations of high-end video card will probably not support the aging AGP interface. In 20 years of buying computers I've never once upgraded the video card in a computer. With PCs the new video card always seems to require a new motherboard and new cpu to really make sense. With my Macs I've never felt that the video was a bottleneck until long after the whole machine was slow enough to justify being replaced. When PCIe dominates the video card marketplace I'll just buy the then-shipping PowerMac with PCIe and probably BTO a nice card from Apple to go with it.

What upgrades have I made good use of in the past? Simple: bigger hard drives and more RAM. These "pathetic" and "weak" PowerMacs offer plenty of upgrade potential. I'm confident that 8GB of RAM will be respectable well past the expected service life of this machine.

Blu-ray was simply not going to happen. Hell, with the way the industry is looking between HD-DVD and Blu-ray, I'm not even sure I'd want one. Not until the dust settles, for sure.

Quad core would have been nice, sure, but the existence of the current bumps lead me to believe that the timeline on that is measured in months, not weeks.

At the end of the day, with the 2.7GHz PowerMac, I will have managed to buy the fastest, quietest, most kick-ass computer I've ever owned. How the hell could I not be happy with that?

Couldn't have said it any better myself! But no matter what's included in each PM upgrade, there seems to ALWAYS be plenty of people who find something to complain about. Me? I'm heading down to Delaware tonight for the Tiger release party and to pick up the 2.7 PM with 23" display and I couldn't be happier honestly!