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G4s Disappearing?

B

barrettd

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 8, 2003
166
0
Oklahoma City
I'm interested in buying an Apple tower, and was looking at the PowerMac G4s. Over the past week, I've noticed that when I configure one to purchase on Apple.com, the shipping time has gone from 3-5 days to 7-10 days. Is this because the last remaining G4s are selling out? Will more be produced?

I guess my concern is that I can't afford to buy now, but am afraid that by the time I can afford a G4, there won't be any left. Am I SOL if I don't get one soon? I guess that would leave me to buy an iMac...

Thanks in advance for any insight. I'm a brand new "switcher" after buying a Powerbook a month ago...

BD
 
I also noted that you cannot add a second processor anymore, on the firts and second model !

damn, it's changing my plans now ! i think that maybe thay want to sell more 1.6 or 1.8 G5's now !

how is a single G4 with the geforce 4 ti performing in games like WIII, UT 2k3, Dongeon siege ?
thanks
 
Originally posted by BIGgui_X_
I also noted that you cannot add a second processor anymore, on the firts and second model !
Click to expand...

while this is strange and true, you can go to the last model and drop all the specs and get the base dual 1.25 G4 for $1599...

so if you can customize the last (dual processor) model by dropping all the specs, then why would apple take off the option of adding another processor to the first 2 models?!?!?!?
You still get the same thing?!?!?
 
Very few games has true SMP support (Quake 3) were at low resolution a dual has allmost twise the FPS of a single G4.

Some have a more primitive variant like UT2003 were the sound management is off loaded to the second CPU here the fps increase is more modest.

In a couple of months 10.3 and a lot of tweaks for the G5 will be out and then I assume that there will be a good supply of second hand G4 for sale.

I have a dual 1.25 myself but I much rather would have a SP 1.6 G5 and for the same price get better performance, a quiter tower DVD burner and many other features.

Why the heck do you want a G4 tower for, get a G5:rolleyes:
 
Maybe because...

1) You can get two optical drives in a G4
2) You can put 4 Harddrives in a G4
3) It's a tried and tested reliable machine - not a revision A
4) It's a nicer case (to me anyway)
5) A dual G4 is cheaper than a 1.6 G5 (£1250 vs £1550 - presumably similar difference in the US) The difference here gets you halfway to a 17" studio display
6) Will you really notice any difference in speed even if there is one?

The only downsides of a dual G4 to a 1.6 G5 is that the G4 is noisier. You also don't get bragging rights.

Now if you were talking a dual 2GHz then I'd agree - G5 is the way to go but the 1.6 is a waste of money. At least in my opinion.
 
And in the near future (1-2years), wich one do you think that will be more upgradable ( CPU ) ??
will the G4 continue to gain MHZ ? will the 1/2 FSB ration on the new G5 makes the G5 CPU upgrade more difficult, of not impossible ? I dont really think there is a better choice between both model (DP 1.25 vs G5 1.6 ) each one has his own advantages, BUT, if one of them will continue to be CPU upgradable and not the other, maybe i would choose it only for that reason. What do you think ?
 
IMO the G4 is a dead end CPU-wise. I doubt huge increases will happen in MHz as it will be uneconomic to keep making them once Apple stops using them. So the G5 is probably a better bet. How far though I don't know. Will all future G5's keep the 2x multiplier? Will the current G5 chipset support all future G5's? Who can tell. To be honest processor upgrades are pretty damn expensive any way (for example the Dual G4 cards cost between a third and 2/3 of the cost of an entire dual G4 machine) so will it not just be better to sell the old one and buy a new machine in 3 years time?
 
Originally posted by caveman_uk

5) A dual G4 is cheaper than a 1.6 G5 (£1250 vs £1550 - presumably similar difference in the US) The difference here gets you halfway to a 17" studio display

G5 is the way to go but the 1.6 is a waste of money. At least in my opinion.
Click to expand...

The G5 has a superdrive for that price, I think?

I had to make this choice, and I went with the G5 1.6, because of the quiet case, and the fact that even though it may be a bit slower that the dual at some things, I currently have a 300MHz iBook, so anything is super fast to me!
 
They do seem to be disappearing...

So does anyone know why the G4's (DP) seem to be disappearing? I too am getting ready to buy a new machine in the coming month or two and think that the DP 1.25 G4 will fit into my bugdet and be a GIANT step up from what I'm currently using. But, they are disappearing fast. I really wanted to save a little more and get a refurbished machine, but they are no where to be found. So I figured I'll go new, but the more I look, the less I find. Many resellers don't give the option of a DP 1.25 G4... I hope apple doesn't totally discontinue them yet!
 
Re: They do seem to be disappearing...

Originally posted by djtet
So does anyone know why the G4's (DP) seem to be disappearing? I too am getting ready to buy a new machine in the coming month or two and think that the DP 1.25 G4 will fit into my bugdet and be a GIANT step up from what I'm currently using. But, they are disappearing fast. I really wanted to save a little more and get a refurbished machine, but they are no where to be found. So I figured I'll go new, but the more I look, the less I find. Many resellers don't give the option of a DP 1.25 G4... I hope apple doesn't totally discontinue them yet!
Click to expand...



They are disappearing because a lot of people are buying them. My school just bought around 100 DP 1.25 Ghz G4's with 17" studio monitors. Three months before I gradute. Wonderful.
 
peyote-

I hope you're right, and that Apple's not discontinuing the G4 line of Powermacs. Of course, if they are discontinued, it will make my choice a little easier...

BD
 
Originally posted by BIGgui_X_
And in the near future (1-2years), wich one do you think that will be more upgradable ( CPU ) ??
will the G4 continue to gain MHZ ? will the 1/2 FSB ration on the new G5 makes the G5 CPU upgrade more difficult, of not impossible ? I dont really think there is a better choice between both model (DP 1.25 vs G5 1.6 ) each one has his own advantages, BUT, if one of them will continue to be CPU upgradable and not the other, maybe i would choose it only for that reason. What do you think ?
Click to expand...

I seriously doubt anyone would need to upgrade their CPU in 1-2 years, except for bragging rights. In addition, if I were to spend $2000 on a machine and need to upgrade it in 1-2 years (excluding memory and disk), I would rethink purchasing the computer in the first place.

On a tech note, the different G5 proc's use different bus speeds, so I doubt it's even possible to buy a G5 1.8 and put it in a G5 1.6 board, even though the sockets are identical. Also the memory is different between the 1.6 and the others. The 1.6 uses DDR333 while the 1.8 and 2.0 use DDR400, so most likely the memory controllers are different.
 
The Apple Store on-line has a refurb dual 1.25 G4 for $1399. A good deal for those interested. Us the extra savings for AppleCare or more RAM. I see plenty of G4s (new, refurb, and used) at PowerMax, SmallDog, even CompUSA. You can even find a new 1 GHz G4 for around $1100 at some places.
 
Originally posted by solvs
The Apple Store on-line has a refurb dual 1.25 G4 for $1399. A good deal for those interested. Us the extra savings for AppleCare or more RAM. I see plenty of G4s (new, refurb, and used) at PowerMax, SmallDog, even CompUSA. You can even find a new 1 GHz G4 for around $1100 at some places.
Click to expand...
Actually the refurb model at apple isn't in stock and sells out so quick...for the past few days I've been frantically looking for a refurb DP and haven't found any...please let me know if you find one!
 
It should still be there. It was there a couple of hours ago when I was at work, and it's there as of now (8:00 PM Pacific Time, Friday 09/12/03). Apple Store, Special Deals.

edit: as of now, you're right. They still list it, but it's suddenly out of stock. Weird. Good luck, try the other places mentioned, or check back later.

Sorry.
 
Originally posted by barrettd
peyote-

I hope you're right, and that Apple's not discontinuing the G4 line of Powermacs. Of course, if they are discontinued, it will make my choice a little easier...

BD
Click to expand...
Why wouldn't they discontinue the G4 Power macs. Apple has never had more than three main machines lately and making more G4's would take away from the low level G5 sales. Which would not make much sense. They are probably going to exhaust stock from Motorola and leave it at that.
 
mattmack-

As I said, I'm new to the Apple way...I only hope they haven't discontinued them because I can't afford a DP G4 just yet. If they have discontinued them, I'll live with either a G5 or an iMac. Probably the iMac...

I probably won't be able to scrape the money together for a few weeks anyway, so we'll see what's available...

BD
 
Originally posted by barrettd
mattmack-

As I said, I'm new to the Apple way...I only hope they haven't discontinued them because I can't afford a DP G4 just yet. If they have discontinued them, I'll live with either a G5 or an iMac. Probably the iMac...

I probably won't be able to scrape the money together for a few weeks anyway, so we'll see what's available...

BD
Click to expand...
No problem the way they are lasting you might even be lucky and get more price drops:)
 
patience

Umm yeah about the G4's disappearing... That's a good thing. Let them disappear. Hold on to your money. If you can wait a year not only will dual 3 GHz G5's be out but prices will drop and if you want you can probably pick up a used dual 2 for a pretty good price... That's what I would do, at least. I don't know how soon you need a computer though.
 
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