Dual 2.5 or 2.0 G5 or wait?

[vkapoormd]

I am thinking about purchasing a dual 2.0 ghz G5 w/ bluetooth, airport, and all the frills versus a dual 2.5 ghz; the difference in price with all the extras is about $500- which i was going to apply to a monitor. I do alot of work with Photoshop and digital imaging, occasional video editing-mostly on my Powerbook. So it seems like the 2.0 is now the sweetspot of the G5 line? any thoughts? or do i wait for the 3.0 Ghz? how much RAM is adequate?

15" PB, 1.25 ghz, 1.5 G RAM, 5400 RPM
Ipod mini
Lacie 200 GB FW800 HD

 

[Godfather]

always go with the fastest when u have the money. Of course don't wait now, since they're just upgraded...

 

[BrianKonarsMac]

get the 2.5. the dual 3.0 won't be out for a long time, maybe over a year, so buy now if you need it. i'd stuff a minimum of 2GB of ram into a G5, preferably 8 because hey, it can support it, and if you need a G5, you need as much ram as you can get. the 2.5 has liquid cooling which should make it run quieter, plus resale value, peace of mind, etc. etc. not to mention it's an increase of 1Ghz.

 

[vkapoormd]

get the 2.5. the dual 3.0 won't be out for a long time, maybe over a year, so buy now if you need it. i'd stuff a minimum of 2GB of ram into a G5, preferably 8 because hey, it can support it, and if you need a G5, you need as much ram as you can get. the 2.5 has liquid cooling which should make it run quieter, plus resale value, peace of mind, etc. etc. not to mention it's an increase of 1Ghz.

Thanks, i think i am leaning towards the 2.5; that begs the next question, do I order it w/ the 23 " display (to get the $500 rebate) or do I risk waiting for a new display announcement at WWDC (when the promo is already expired?)

 

[netytan]

Go for the rebate saving $500 is always good, i'm sure anyone here would agree with this. I'm not sure what the big deal about these new screens are, there hasn't been any major improvment in LCD technology in years as far as i know.

Mark.

 

[Veldek]

Go for the rebate saving $500 is always good, i'm sure anyone here would agree with this. I'm not sure what the big deal about these new screens are, there hasn't been any major improvment in LCD technology in years as far as i know.

Mark.

Well, the response time has been steadily improved.

 

[edesignuk]

Well, the response time has been steadily improved.

And contrast ratio believe.

 

[triton]

This is the same dilema I'm in. I do a lot of photoshop/2D (and a bit of 3D as well). I was thinking about saving money and just going with the 2.0, which in reality is more than blazing fast. But then I have these little thoughts in my head that say to wait until the 3.0 comes out. Maybe the 3.0 will be released in 6 months at Macworld?

 

[vkapoormd]

This is the same dilema I'm in. I do a lot of photoshop/2D (and a bit of 3D as well). I was thinking about saving money and just going with the 2.0, which in reality is more than blazing fast. But then I have these little thoughts in my head that say to wait until the 3.0 comes out. Maybe the 3.0 will be released in 6 months at Macworld?

I have the same darn little thoughts-saving some money and buying the 2.0 (which like you said is probably plenty fast), but then everyone says get the 2.5 (and like most, we always want to be on the cutting edge with the fastest, most powerful computer, etc). Thing is though, i am going to sell my Windows desktop this week (so i can get whatever value it still has) and need to buy a desktop replacement soon, so i guess i will dwell on it.

 

[Frohickey]

Lets see...your choices are...
Dual 2.5GHz... or
Dual 2.0GHz... or
wait.

It seems to me that since you have the 3rd option of waiting, that you don't really *NEED* a new PowerMac G5. That you are as equally productive with your existing Mac or if you were to get a new G5.

People who *NEED* a new machine to be more productive would have bought a new machine already. Since it would make them more money than it would cost them.

 

[triton]

I have the same darn little thoughts-saving some money and buying the 2.0 (which like you said is probably plenty fast), but then everyone says get the 2.5 (and like most, we always want to be on the cutting edge with the fastest, most powerful computer, etc). Thing is though, i am going to sell my Windows desktop this week (so i can get whatever value it still has) and need to buy a desktop replacement soon, so i guess i will dwell on it.

I still can't make up my freaking mind. I'm leaning more towards waiting now. I have a 2.5 ghz P4 right now that I will squeeze every last ounce out of until I get a dual 3.0. It's going to be a wait, but I can only imagine how fast that machine will be - and to me, good things are worth waiting for.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

In 6 months it is possible that the prices will come down, or a minor speed boost.

 

[virividox]

In 6 months it is possible that the prices will come down, or a minor speed boost.

but thats always the case in the world of computing

 

[vkapoormd]

Lets see...your choices are...
Dual 2.5GHz... or
Dual 2.0GHz... or
wait.

It seems to me that since you have the 3rd option of waiting, that you don't really *NEED* a new PowerMac G5. That you are as equally productive with your existing Mac or if you were to get a new G5.

People who *NEED* a new machine to be more productive would have bought a new machine already. Since it would make them more money than it would cost them.

well I never said I *NEED* a new machine; i could get by on the existing system, but that's not the point. Yes productivity is important, but there are other things like wanting something faster, more versatile, and wanting to finally trash my Windows desktop. so who knows?

 

[Mlobo01]

apple display

this is based on the display mock-up from appleinsider, the new displays will be from LG, so i think this is close.
by the way get the 2.5 with 1G ram and no modem(about $3120) then upgrade slowly as needed, you wont be regreting your purchase, but if you get the 2.0 those thoughts wont go away, you know that feeling of"maybe I should of gotten the 2.5" but if you get the 2.5 you will be thinking of upgrades as need be and no regrets. Ciao!

 

[afields]

I'd wait just to see what happens at the 2 dub DC. You might like the imac better, or maybe some other thing they come up with (headless, cube?)

 

[Bhennies]

Go for the rebate saving $500 is always good, i'm sure anyone here would agree with this. I'm not sure what the big deal about these new screens are, there hasn't been any major improvment in LCD technology in years as far as i know.

Mark.

There's a very good chance that the new 23" display will be much cheaper than the current offering. My bet is that it will be at LEAST 500 bucks cheaper. WAIT.

 

[sambo.]

my two cents......

always be prepared to wait where possible. one of the rules of computing is that anything on the shelves in a shop is already obsolete.
i'm going for the 2.0's myself, it's more grunt than i need. sure the funky cooling system would be beaut (esp since summmers here top out at 50 degress C +), but i find it hard to justify the extra cash. that said, if i get a deal on two machines (i need two) & monitors/software etc, i will get the 2.5's. not for the proc speed, more the frontside bus and cooling system.
in all honesty, i could do the work i need to do on a pair of 1.25 eMacs, but will treat myself.
gonna start with 1gig ram in each + the 9600 video card. will keep adding ram over time as cashflow allows until full. sometime next year, will splash out on an all singing, all dancing, super-whizbang video card.
i have always found the one-from-the-top model to be the best buy from Apple. your not paying for bragging rights.
cheers.....

 

[absolut_mac]

Why be a guinea pig???

I am thinking about purchasing a dual 2.0 ghz G5 w/ bluetooth, airport, and all the frills versus a dual 2.5 ghz; the difference in price with all the extras is about $500- which i was going to apply to a monitor.

Why do you want to pay good money to be Apple's (and IBM for that matter) guinea pig?

The new 90 micron G5 CPU's generate a tremendous amount of heat, hence the need for liquid cooling.

How effective will the closed loop liquid cooling system be in the long term?

How will the CPU and its supporting infrastructure hold up?

How reliable will it be?

I think that you probably get the picture.

In a related vein.

Ever notice how many gripes there are on this board from those that are first to upgrade, say from 10.2 to 10.3, and how sorry they were that they didn't wait a few extra weeks for the problems to be sorted out. Like dead external FW800 drives, like encrypted Home Directories that coudn't be decrypted... and the list goes on

 

[Frohickey]

The new 90 micron G5 CPU's generate a tremendous amount of heat, hence the need for liquid cooling.

Actually, the new 90nm (not 90 micron) generates the same amount or a bit less of heat than the existing G5s. Only difference is that that heat is not concentrated into a smaller area, hence the need for liquid cooling.

 

[Trekkie]

hmm. speaking of waiting. I have a 20" Sony G400 monitor that has a DB15 connector on it. THe monitor thing has been my hangup. Is there a way to hook that to a vid card that has DVI and ADC only like the ATI Radeon 9800?

That way if/when new monitors come out I can upgrade then, and use my 20" CRT until then.

 

[Trekkie]

Why do you want to pay good money to be Apple's (and IBM for that matter) guinea pig?

The new 90 micron G5 CPU's generate a tremendous amount of heat, hence the need for liquid cooling.

How effective will the closed loop liquid cooling system be in the long term?

How will the CPU and its supporting infrastructure hold up?

How reliable will it be?

I think that you probably get the picture.

In a related vein.

Ever notice how many gripes there are on this board from those that are first to upgrade, say from 10.2 to 10.3, and how sorry they were that they didn't wait a few extra weeks for the problems to be sorted out. Like dead external FW800 drives, like encrypted Home Directories that coudn't be decrypted... and the list goes on

OK, Stop the FUD now!

This is total BS. Liquid cooling of systems has been out since the 50s!!!! Close loop cooling is nothing new. I have a heat sink on my desk here at work from a 2001 server that IBM made that has a liquid center. many heat sinks in servers today have a closed loop cooling loop of some kind. The IBM eServer BladeCenter has a liquid core heatsink.

There have been liquid cooled 'home built' systems for some time. They're just not completely 'closed' because you do your own tubing and people can screw that up.

Liquid cooling is not a bad thing and not 'beta'. Hardware vs. Software 'early adopters' are totally different subjects. Software can be released and fixed, hardware traditionally can't be.

 

[absolut_mac]

Apple doesn't think so...

Actually, the new 90nm (not 90 micron) generates the same amount or a bit less of heat than the existing G5s. Only difference is that that heat is not concentrated into a smaller area, hence the need for liquid cooling.

Apple obviously disagree with you on that one according to this quote...

"The processor was built using the 90-nanometer process. When you do that, you challenge the power density. You could see the same problem happening with Intel's 90-nanometer chips."

Either way you look at it - running at 2Gig air cooling is sufficient, but pushing up the bandwidth obviously calls for more efficient cooling.

OK, Stop the FUD now!

This is total BS. Liquid cooling of systems has been out since the 50s!!!! Close loop cooling is nothing new. I have a heat sink on my desk here at work from a 2001 server that IBM made that has a liquid center. many heat sinks in servers today have a closed loop cooling loop of some kind. The IBM eServer BladeCenter has a liquid core heatsink.

Please don't misunderstand what I said. I NEVER said liquid cooling hasn't been used before, it has been used in cars etc for ages.

What I said is "Why do you want to pay good money to be Apple's (and IBM for that matter) guinea pig?"

Hey, if you want to be the guinea pig, go ahead. It's your money and you're free to do with it as you will. Me, I have burnt my fingers from first generation products, or ones using new methods in new ways for the first time, or the first time by that company- so I don't rush into these things anymore until they have proven themselves

Liquid cooling is not a bad thing and not 'beta'. Hardware vs. Software 'early adopters' are totally different subjects. Software can be released and fixed, hardware traditionally can't be.

As mentioned above, it's a new thing for Apple.

As for hardware issues, ask those on this board who are still suffering from noisy wind tunnels, chirping G5's etc

 

[DevilBoy]

Lets see...your choices are...
Dual 2.5GHz... or
Dual 2.0GHz... or
wait.

It seems to me that since you have the 3rd option of waiting, that you don't really *NEED* a new PowerMac G5. That you are as equally productive with your existing Mac or if you were to get a new G5.

People who *NEED* a new machine to be more productive would have bought a new machine already. Since it would make them more money than it would cost them.

I will have to agree here. I know the original poster stated that they don't need a new Mac, but if you want a new computer then buy it. No matter how long you wait, whenever you do get a new one it will be updated again down the road anyway. Waiting another 2,3 or 6 months just to be "on the cutting edge" is not really all that alluring to me. Computers and technology are constantly evolving and if someone is "waiting for an update" until they purchase a new computer they are never going to have the fastest machine because if one uses that rationale they will never buy a computer.

 

[MegaSignal]

Precisely...!

Why do you want to pay good money to be Apple's (and IBM for that matter) guinea pig?

The new 90 micron G5 CPU's generate a tremendous amount of heat, hence the need for liquid cooling.

How effective will the closed loop liquid cooling system be in the long term?

How will the CPU and its supporting infrastructure hold up?

How reliable will it be?

I think that you probably get the picture.

In a related vein.

Ever notice how many gripes there are on this board from those that are first to upgrade, say from 10.2 to 10.3, and how sorry they were that they didn't wait a few extra weeks for the problems to be sorted out. Like dead external FW800 drives, like encrypted Home Directories that coudn't be decrypted... and the list goes on

I could not agree with you more. Now that my 16-month old MDD wind tunnel has bit the dust prematurely (that thing cost me $3300 plus!), my decision will be easy, especially since I picked up a 20-inch cinema with 1.8 million PERFECT pixels:

Forget the iMac, I'm hangin' on to that monitor!

Mainstreaming liquid cooling is a big step, no matter which way you look at it. And judging by the verbage many here have been using, it is Apple's need as opposed to Apple's want due specifically to heat density (not overall heat); so forget the 2.5 for the next two years (IMHO).

Even after considering bus clock speeds and overall CPU performance, is the 2.0 worth $500 more? For me, no...so what if I can produce eight DVD projects in one day verses six?

Finally, going for the "low end" model as opposed to a model "second best" from the top-of-the-line, one will never question whether or not he/she should have "gone all the way" in terms of the purchase.

Rev B. dual 1.8 for me!