Are DP really that impressive?

Discussion in 'Macintosh Computers' started by PeteyNice, Feb 4, 2003.

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  1. PeteyNice, Feb 4, 2003

    PeteyNice macrumors newbie

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    Little Silver, NJ
    #1
    So, I bought a new 1.25 DP PM last week (coming TODAY yay!) and just saw the new iMac updates and wonder if I should just return the PM and get one of those.

    For $200 *less* you get a SuperDrive and a 17" LCD.

    Am I missing something?

    I know the PM is faster but is it so much faster as to warrant the high premium?
     
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  2. Sun Baked, Feb 4, 2003

    Sun Baked macrumors G5

    Sun Baked

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    May 19, 2002
    #2
    Re: Are DP really that impressive?

    Am I missing something?

    Yes...

    I know the PM is faster but is it so much faster as to warrant the high premium?

    The premium is for the second processor AND expansion/upgrade capability. Neither of which is offered on the iMac (it's a closed box).
     
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  3. Mr. Anderson, Feb 4, 2003

    Mr. Anderson Moderator emeritus

    Mr. Anderson

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    VA
    #3
    I've mentioned this quite a few times in the past, it all depends on what you're going to do with the machine.

    So what are your plans? The other nice thing is that you can get multiple monitors and much bigger than the iMac.

    D
     
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  4. Bear, Feb 4, 2003

    Bear macrumors G3

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    Sol III - Terra
    #4
    Differences between iMac 17" G4 1 GHz and DP 1.25 GHz PowerMac:
    • PowerMac has L3 cache
    • different number of processors
    • the PowerMac has a faster memory bus
    • Expandability
    Having L3 cache can help a lot speed wise. Having a second processor depends on what you're running on the system. But if you're going to be playing MP3s most of the time while working, you'll probably notice differences with the PowerMac.
     
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  5. PeteyNice, Feb 4, 2003

    PeteyNice thread starter macrumors newbie

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    Little Silver, NJ
    #5
    It would be my home machine.
    So, Internet, DVD playin' (burnin' if I had the iMac or buy a SuperDrive later), light word processing, some programming when I work from home (which basically means SSH and IE), and the odd game here and there. Certainly no Photoshop, FCP or anything like that.

    It is a closed box, but I can always bump up the RAM, apparently. Other than that I don't know what I would want to upgrade. I do not need a better video card or sound card. Who knows what tomorrow will bring technology wise but I would think that by the time something that was "must have" came out that I could not use it will probably be a few years and time for a wholesale upgrade anyway.

    Expandibility is great but most of the great new technological advances that would cause one to consider upgrading are mobo advances and could not be added to a PM (i.e. PPC970, PCI-x, faster FSB, real support for DDR, etc).

    The only thing I could really see being upset about not being able to expand is the HD space. However, FireWire HDs are dropping in price.

    I'd be losing the bigger cache and many people seem to feel that it makes a big difference.

    So, we'll see. I think having the PM in front of me will make me keep it, but I am really interested in what those more knowledgeable about Macs than me have to say.
    :cool:
     
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  6. hugemullens, Feb 4, 2003

    hugemullens macrumors 6502a

    hugemullens

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    Location:
    Michigan
    #6
    The DP i have is quite nice. It isnt blazinly fast compared to a same clock speed imac, but the difference can certianly be seen. The reason i prefer the powermac is for the expandibilty. I have added 2 usb and 2 firewire ports, as well as just ordered a new m audio pci sound card. And just having a lcd on the desk and the tower on a shelf is nice too. Keep the powermac, you'll be in love.
     
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  7. yzedf, Feb 4, 2003

    yzedf macrumors 65816

    yzedf

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    Nov 1, 2002
    Location:
    Connecticut
    #7
    huh?

    What you can upgrade today:

    hdd

    RAM

    Video card (You did get the Radeon right...)

    2nd optical drive

    Sound card (5.1 or something)

    Monitor

    In the near future:

    CPU's (3rd party :()

    Faster DVD burner

    By purchasing what you have, you are not closed in to what you can do in the future. With a few upgrades here or there, and you should have a very useful machine for 3-5 years.

    You made the right choice. :D
     
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  8. MacsRgr8, Feb 4, 2003

    MacsRgr8 macrumors 604

    MacsRgr8

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2002
    Location:
    The Netherlands
    #8
    Re: huh?

    Glad to hear that... I ordered a dual 1.25 GHz myself, coming this week :cool:

    I would like to add:
    1 am able to compare a single 733 G4 (QS) with a dual 533 (GB ethernet) at work, and oh my, in OS X the dual 533 kills the single 733! Both have 512 MB SDRAM installed, swapped grfx cards for perfect comparisons (ATI 7500 and nVidia GeForce 2 MX): VPC, PhotoShop, NASCAR, F1 2000 CS all are a lot faster on the dual 533, honestly.

    So compare a dual 1.25 (167 MHz bus) with a single 1 GHz (133 MHz) bus? Ha ha. :D
     
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