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newt2mac

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 31, 2004
47
0
Hope someone can give me some advise here. I am set on a G5 Dual 1.8.. At least, unless apple comes out with something else soon (beofre Tuesday). I have a budget where I can either buy the 17 inch display or use an existing VGa and upgrade the RAM to 1 Gg and maybe the video card to the 9800.. Any suggestions/
 
If your pressed for money, i would NOT get the Radeon 9800.

Personally, monitors are just about my top priority, but the Apple 17'' display isnt a very impressive monitor, either. I'd look into maybe a 19'' Formac screen, which is $150 more than the Apple 17'' display...

Ofcourse... I think theres a chance we'll see Apple update their displays along with the powermacs this monday or tuesday.


As far as the RAM is concerned: atleast 1gb of RAM is practically essential for a G5, but do NOT buy the extra RAM from the Apple online store. Buy it from crucial.com
 
Thanks.. So you suggect sticking with the NVIDIA card and bumping up to 1 Gg?

As for the display, I am a student, and I am planning on using the ADC discount with Apple.. But I could always wait on the display till I have some more cash.. Any drawbacks (besides the obvious ones) with using a VGA?
 
yeah, VGA sucks and everything will look a little blury. Get a DVI monitor - that is more important than the extra 512MB of memory.
 
Do Not get that nvidia card!!! Unless you are planning to buy a 9800 Retail card after you buy, upgrading to the Radeon 9600 is the best upgrade possible for that machine. The nvidia card is rock bottom and you will see much better performance from the 9600!

Also, how big is your VGA monitor? Is it big enough that getting an LCD will just be something "cool" instead of something that you need? If that is the case, I would suggest getting the RAM instead. The RAM will increase overall speed, especially on such a fast machine.

I find that a VGA monitor can be very nice, depending how sharp a picture you need. In my case, my Trinitron is visibly more blurry than my LCD, but I still use it more because its bigger and is more scalable for different resolutions (LCDs become horribly blurry at anything but the recommended resolution).
 
Newt2Mac,

What are your planning to use your G5 for? With this info we may be able to give you some better guidance.
 
Yes, I would get the Radeon 9600 (Sorry for the confusion in my previous post)
 
Thanks guys..

I plan on doing some entry-level video and photo editting..

So the 9600.. get the Extra RAM somewhere else.. and basically hold off on the display till I get some more cash?

Now, I plan on ordering Tuesday, Am I going to kick myself in a week if they announce 2nd gen G5s?
 
You will absolutely kick yourself if theya nnounce 2nd gen G5s after you order... 2nd gen G5s are VERY close... However, as I said before i'm really hoping/expecting to see them announced on monday or tuesday.
 
I agree upgrade to the 9600. See how you get on RAM wise first, before you get some more as 512MB may be enough to get you started. Many people recommend www.crucial.com for Apple memory. The Apple displays are nice, but are due for an update soon (perhaps with the PowerMacs). Hopefully we will all find out by next Tuesday.
 
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