G5 or iMac or Powerbook?

[xscorpion]

Want to get a new mac. Thinking of going with the iMac 20" or with the G5 1.8ghz with apple studio 17" lcd. what should i go with?

basically, just going to do the basic stuff and maybe something to play around with. internet and office. maybe play around with some graphics.

Or should i get a powerbook?

 

[leet1]

g5 with the 17inch monitor would be the best if your not planning on being mobile. That iMac will be mostly a wasted investment, because you cant reuse its 20inch monitor.

 

[xscorpion]

what do you mean can't reuse the lcd monitor?

of course there is the price factor. don't want to spend that much. think around 2,000.

 

[leet1]

Originally posted by xscorpion
what do you mean can't reuse the lcd monitor?

On the iMacs, you cant reuse them.

 

[MoparShaha]

Get the G5 or a PowerBook. Even if you don't think you need mobility, you'll grow to love it. Since I got my PB, I've enjoyed being untethered from my desk. Just being able to browse the web from bed is good enought to justify a laptop.

 

[xscorpion]

so is the imac totally junk? all replies so far is saying go with the g5 or powerbook. what are the drawbacks of the imac? its a good system right?

 

[Sun Baked]

Originally posted by xscorpion
what do you mean can't reuse the lcd monitor?

of course there is the price factor. don't want to spend that much. think around 2,000.

The PowerMac gives you lots of upgradablility, but comes without a monitor.

Consider an iMac a sealed unit that you can easily add a stick of memory and/or an Airport Extreme card. Basically not anything inside is upgradable (HD/optical/internal memory/bluetooth module) unless you want to VOID the AppleCare and/or warranty. If you want to upgrade anything else (video/monitor/CPU/etc) you are SOL.

Of course a Powerbook is just as upgradable as an iMac, but you at least get portability.

---

So the choice is a nice monitor (imac), portability(powerbook), or upgradability(powermac).

 

[MoparShaha]

Don't get us wrong, the iMac is a fine machine, but what are you going to do with it in a few years? You will have invested so much money in a machine you cannot upgrade, and to add insult to injury, you cannot even take the nice LCD screen with you to a new machine. If you know you don't want portability, go with the G5. You will be able to upgrade it for years, and you can use any monitor with it. If you want portability, which I recommend, get a PowerBook. Even though you can't upgrade it, as Sun Baked said, it's worth the convenience.

 

[cr2sh]

I'm not sure where this anti-imac sentiment is coming from... you buy an imac you get a great personal computer. When you want to upgrade, you sell it and buy a new machine.. but a 1GHz g4 will last you for a few years.

Its all about defining your needs. A 20" 1.25GHz g4 will last you a while and if you're just going to be a casual user, I'd argue it'd be perfect.. you'll love this machine.

As for the screen... I find my 17" powerbook to be a bit (gasp!) small at times... I'd never use a 17" for my desktop machine. Putting a g5 on a 17" sounds painful to me... you'd be wasting potential.

I don't understand leet1 calling an imac a "wasted investment". $2200 very well spent IMHO. Don't let them talk you out of it just because their needs are different than your needs... Personally, I think comments like his, are very bad advice. Again just my HO.

The last thing I'd like to add is this... when the Cube was released, everyone said.. "oh its not upgradeable" but guess what, today you have several companies making upgrade chips for the cube.. christ, you can get a dual 1.4GHz upgrade for it now.. there will be imac upgrades in the future, I have no doubt of that.

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

g5 is the way to go and the shape of things to come, imac is a nice machine but it is a sad fact that after you outgrow it you cant take the monitor. you going to spend over 2 grand get a G5. it will give you 3-5 years while a new imac struggles with latest games and come a year from now you will want more