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Have iMac G5 advice? Refurbed or New 20"

B

bah-bah'd

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 22, 2006
113
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I am looking to get an iMac G5 and wonder where I can find out more about the refurbished 20" iMac G5 1.8GHz. (following specs: 256MB DDR400, 160GB SATA, NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra) Can anyone tell what revision number this iMac is from graphics chipset (64MB 5200 Ultra) and CPU speed? I'd like to know if it probably went back for repairs due to powersupply/component failure or not.

Mainly, I am trying to decide between a brand new iMac G5 and the same size refurb. Just now, I am even considering a new 17" as an option at the refurb price. So, I should go check the store if the size and screen will perfect for code/development environment or not.

Sticking with the G5 on this one, want the PPC processor... Just wish it was cheaper than the Intel iMac.
 
This is the first revision of the iMac G5 -- here is how to tell:

Rev A = 256MB base memory, 64MB VRAM
Rev B = 512MB base memory, 128MB VRAM
Rev C = 512MB base memory, 128MB VRAM, iSight and remote control, G5 processor
Rev D (I guess?) = Same but with Intel Core Duo

So this iMac does come from the time period when the midplane replacements were happening.... The Rev B has the same case design, basically, but it seems as if Apple made some changes, because by then, this issue seemed to have been resolved. Rev C-D have a different exterior case shape (thinner, curved back).

I don't know if you care about this or not, but the other very important thing to note is that Airport Extreme and Bluetooth 1.x are OPTIONAL features on the Rev. A iMac. AE and BT2 are STANDARD features on all other iMac G5s / iMac Core Duos. I'm just mentioning this because BT was a must have feature for me, and so I didn't shop for Rev A iMacs for this reason.
 
I was one of the owners of this exact machine....a RevA iMac G5. I had lots of problems, but they did not show up until I had owned the machine for around 10 months. It was eventually replaced by Apple with a RevC iMac G5. I'd say go for a new intel iMac or a new RevC iMac G5 iSight.
 
Wonderful, thank you so much. Your advice was perfect. I am going to get a new iMac, either 17" or 20".

I only need to go back to the store and look at the actual displays with a bunch of documents open. I am pretty sure the 20" 1680x1050 will win over saving $400 though...
 
bah-bah'd said:
Wonderful, thank you so much. Your advice was perfect. I am going to get a new iMac, either 17" or 20".

I only need to go back to the store and look at the actual displays with a bunch of documents open. I am pretty sure the 20" 1680x1050 will win over saving $400 though...
Click to expand...
I agree. Prior to actually getting my 20" iMac, I thought that there would be no way I could ever get used to such a monstrously large display.

I was wrong. :p For desktop uses, I don't think I could ever go smaller. :eek:
 
I would stay away from any G5 machine, No point in going backward with a new machine. Plus its isnt like folks are lining up to makew software for that odd PPC chip. Intel is the future, G5 is the past.
 
You really do just shoot yourself in the foot with buying a new iMac G5. It is the same price as the intel but it's processor is slower, and the intel is a dual core making the G5 seem even slower. Then the video card is much faster as well. The Radeon X1600 is two generations newer than the X600. I make a plead to your higher reasoning. Buy the intel iMac!
 
I plan on getting a MacBook or another Mactel system soon and I have a feeling that the 64bit G5 will last me just a bit longer in an iMac than a Dual Core 32bit Intel. Even though the graphics chipset is a later version in the iMactel, I doubt I would hardly ever notice the difference between the 600 and 1600 in 98% of what I do.

If I wanted dual core, I would build an AMD system and put a OS X86 install on it.
 
BakedBeans said:
You want to get that feeling looked at!
Click to expand...

I'm in the process of getting an iMac G5. I don't know. It depends on the cost, and your intentions with it. The longer you want to keep it, and the closer the price gets to the new price, the more it makes sense to get an Intel one. But if you want it for now, and the price is right, I think the G5 ones are very nice too. I wouldn't get a Rev A, personally.
 
I am thinking longer life out of the revision C G5 iMac myself. Don't get me wrong. I really want a copy of OS X86 and a mac to run it on, but looking at revision A iMactels vs the G5 counterpart for the same price, I am still leaning G5... Unless someone can point out some seriouse improvements in the graphics chipset, not just new features, I might lean more to the intel iMac.

It always seems that final desicions are always most complicated by the inability to take a few steps back. For my uses and actually getting work done, I bet the two iMacs would perform quite similar. They are the same class of computer.
http://www.macworld.com/2006/01/features/imaclabtest1/index.php
 
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