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Buy a Powermac or Mac Pro?

Old Smuggler

Old Smuggler

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 8, 2006
514
17
I am looking into buying a desktop to replace my old emac
was looking at the mac pro but it seems like it has some bugs with bluetooth and wireless among others

i checked out apple refurb and they have a powermac dualcore 2.0 for 1599
and a dual 2.3 for 1999
the dual 2.3 seems kinda steep
and the quad g5 price is higher than the mac pro

my question is is it logical to buy these outdated processors is there still a market for upgrades on these models (video cards and stuff)
are the powermacs still sufficient in terms of power
anythings gotta be better than my emac
i would like to have dual 30 by this time next year

or would it be better to buy the mac pro
if i get the power mac i will still have enough money to get that laser printer i wanted among other things
 
xfiftyfour said:
the powermac's have plenty of power, still.

but to help you decide better: what are you planning to use the computer for?
Click to expand...


As xfiftyfour has said, the Power Mac G5's still have plenty of power (especially when compared to your eMac). :)
 
While i agree on the power of the G5 Power Macs still being valid, i will argue that they are not that great anymore compared to the recent Mac Pro.

I'll re-iterate what many have pointed out...

For not much more money, you are getting a significantly faster computer, that can boot both operating systems and is much more future proof.

Rich.
 
fatsoforgotso said:
While i agree on the power of the G5 Power Macs still being valid, i will argue that they are not that great anymore compared to the recent Mac Pro.

I'll re-iterate what many have pointed out...

For not much more money, you are getting a significantly faster computer, that can boot both operating systems and is much more future proof.

Rich.
Click to expand...
$900 isn't "not much more money" though. while i agree with your points, i'd also argue that we really need to know what the OP will be using the computer for, because if he doesn't need the power of the MP, then the PowerMac would be a much better choice.
 
fatsoforgotso said:
While i agree on the power of the G5 Power Macs still being valid, i will argue that they are not that great anymore compared to the recent Mac Pro.

I'll re-iterate what many have pointed out...

For not much more money, you are getting a significantly faster computer, that can boot both operating systems and is much more future proof.

Rich.
Click to expand...

I agree, the new Mac Pro is definitely the way to go in terms of power and it being more future proof. :)

But if the OP can find a good deal on a used Power Mac G5, that may still be a valid course of action for him/her to take. :)
 
Just daily uses
iLife and video encoding

my emac chokes on idvd boy when i made a dvd of 1984 i downloaded it took 16 hours or more!

handbrake isnt so bad
but others are

i usually do music videos for itunes and not full movies
but i might do full movies more often if it didnt take so damn long

i like to back up home videos from camcorder also

well forget that that idea some low life snake in the grass that read my post jumped on the
1500 $ PM
if i posted where an official Steve Jobs turd was for sale at you think he would jump on that too?
 
Old Smuggler said:
I am looking into buying a desktop to replace my old emac
was looking at the mac pro but it seems like it has some bugs with bluetooth and wireless among others

i checked out apple refurb and they have a powermac dualcore 2.0 for 1599
and a dual 2.3 for 1999
the dual 2.3 seems kinda steep
and the quad g5 price is higher than the mac pro

my question is is it logical to buy these outdated processors is there still a market for upgrades on these models (video cards and stuff)
are the powermacs still sufficient in terms of power
anythings gotta be better than my emac
i would like to have dual 30 by this time next year

or would it be better to buy the mac pro
if i get the power mac i will still have enough money to get that laser printer i wanted among other things
Click to expand...

I think you are misinformed about 'bugs'.
 
well i was reading about some problems in this forum and the discussion forum at apple
i usually do that before buying any rev a
but if i was misinformed its good to know
so the mac pro is pretty much not as buggy as the macbook pro was huh?
 
well i was really wanting to get the 1500$ PM so i can have some extra cash for my wife but you live you learn
now i dont know if i will even get anything
i have the money to get a 2.66 with the options i want but that will leave me with like who knows 4-500 in the bank and when you have a wife and kid that aint Jack
im easily spending 20 dollars just sitting here right now
i could go for the 2.0 instead of the 2.66 but for what 270 $ less i think you get ripped royaly on that downgrade or does anyone think its a good idea?

maybe ill wait for the mysterious octo-core maybe ill just cave in and buy now
what do you think one superdrive or 2 i heard idvd only works with apple dvd drives is this true?
 
yeah i thought about the imac my only problem is the limited amount of ram
not that i use programs that address over 4gb of ram
and limited upgradeability
i have a feeling i would be in the same boat as i am with the emac
hopefully with a desktop i would be able to hang on to it a year ot two longer than the imac if not more

maybe it is just that i switched to mac at the wrong time at the time there was no announce ment of the intel switch
and if there was i was so ready to ditch windows i didnt care
just didnt think it would make such an impact
but every software/OS update gets bigger and bigger and makes my emac slower and slower

i just want a computer that doesnt give me spinning beachballs as i am typing this right now
 
Old Smuggler said:
yeah i thought about the imac my only problem is the limited amount of ram
not that i use programs that address over 4gb of ram
and limited upgradeability
i have a feeling i would be in the same boat as i am with the emac
hopefully with a desktop i would be able to hang on to it a year ot two longer than the imac if not more

maybe it is just that i switched to mac at the wrong time at the time there was no announce ment of the intel switch
and if there was i was so ready to ditch windows i didnt care
just didnt think it would make such an impact
but every software/OS update gets bigger and bigger and makes my emac slower and slower

i just want a computer that doesnt give me spinning beachballs as i am typing this right now
Click to expand...
i really think the mac pro is overkill for you. seems silly to buy such a beast of a computer when you 1) won't use all of its power and 2) don't have endless amounts of money to waste on this purchase. you have bills and a family..

honestly the iMac would do you well. but if you want more power/upgradability than that, and you already have a display, then go for the powermac. that will last you a while, is upgradeable, and is much cheaper than the MP.
 
well apple only has a refurb PM starting at 2 grand now and thats not much different from the mac pro price
ebay you can never trust what you are going to get
or whose balls have been on what part of the computer :eek:
 
I think you have a good reason to hold out for longer (family), and save more to get a Mac Pro, or get an iMac, which is certainly enough power for what you want to do and leaves with you more in the bank for your family needs.

Honestly, you should save until you have double what you have right now.

That way, you can get a new computer, and still have the amount you have now saved up for safekeep.

Put your family before anything.

Rich.
 
Old Smuggler said:
yeah i thought about the imac my only problem is the limited amount of ram
not that i use programs that address over 4gb of ram
and limited upgradeability
i have a feeling i would be in the same boat as i am with the emac
hopefully with a desktop i would be able to hang on to it a year ot two longer than the imac if not more

maybe it is just that i switched to mac at the wrong time at the time there was no announce ment of the intel switch
and if there was i was so ready to ditch windows i didnt care
just didnt think it would make such an impact
but every software/OS update gets bigger and bigger and makes my emac slower and slower

i just want a computer that doesnt give me spinning beachballs as i am typing this right now
Click to expand...

For what you said you're doing, the RAM in the iMac will be plenty. You'll get a couple of years out of the new iMacs. The emac lasted how long?
 
You only live once my friend.

The 2.3 dual core would have been O.K., but the price is just too close to
a new MacPro with so many more advantages.
The Quad G5's are water cooled, the MacPro is fine cooling with air
and reports are that the Mac Pro is extremely quiet.

There's also that feeling you get like you've settled for less than what you really wanted in the first place.

You are rendering movies and nothing will render better or faster for the money
than a Mac Pro.

Even so, I still think your best move is to hang in there just a bit longer.

Holding out for a month or two could land you a great deal on a Mac Pro refurb.
Just watch the refurb pages every day and be ready to pounce when you see
a 2.66 or 3.0 in the listings.

Also, If there's any power in the Anandtech article about the Quad Core chips,
we might see those with Leopard. And those would essentially be Rev "B"

http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=2832&p=6

Patience !
 
Get the new iMac, For what you seem to be doing two RAM slots should be enough. If you are worried about RAM, the powerMac would suit you fine.
The G5 is a lot faster than the G4.

As for Bugs, my bluetooth keyboard, mouse and phone all work fine with my MacPro, And Airport is connected fine from bout 40 feet away. My only problem on it so far is Toast Titanium 7 quits if you try to convert video to QTMovie, probably a rosetta thing.
 
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