Just like I am loving my PowerMac with the 1GHz X704 chip that was supposed to arrive in 1997. Heck, even MacUser had it in their magazine.
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How long can one hold out?
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Just like I am loving my PowerMac with the 1GHz X704 chip that was supposed to arrive in 1997. Heck, even MacUser had it in their magazine.
PCI Express to replace 8x AGP before it takes off?
PC Mag and Extream Tech have been writing about PCI Express as a replacement for AGP (both 4 and 8); While 8x AGP is now the PC workstation standard, it appears that Intel has come a long way in developing its successor. Will apple just wait for express pci?
PC Mag link:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,906093,00.asp
Extream Tech background story:
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,522303,00.asp
PC Mag and Extream Tech have been writing about PCI Express as a replacement for AGP (both 4 and 8); While 8x AGP is now the PC workstation standard, it appears that Intel has come a long way in developing its successor. Will apple just wait for express pci?
PC Mag link:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,906093,00.asp
Extream Tech background story:
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,522303,00.asp
I just need to convince the wife!
I'm running an 8500 w/400MHz G4 on OS 9. No gaming, no FC (yet). The chassis turns 6 years old this summer.
The thoughts that I've had have been to obviate the 970 issue by considering getting a laptop this time around (12" PB), but there's been two small obstacles.
First, a hands-on with the PB (and first real X exposure) gave me the impression that the machine's not really any faster. I attribute this to X being more stable but slower than 9, and makes me tempted to move up to the 1GHz 15" or 17", but I doubt the wife would approve of the extra $$'s.
Second, the wife's asking "but why do we need a laptop to begin with?" Her inclination would replace the 8500 with another PowerMac tower configuration (or possibly a 17" iMac).
Okay, I can negotiate around the dollars to a degree -- what I really need help with is the answers for the second one. Any help here guys?
FWIW, one thing that I have been looking at is to include Airport in the upgrade, so that I can sit with her in the TV room while surfing or whatever...she says I'm "ignoring her" when I'm in the office, instead of sitting in the TV room and tuned out because I'm reading a book. Go figure.
-hh
I'm running an 8500 w/400MHz G4 on OS 9. No gaming, no FC (yet). The chassis turns 6 years old this summer.
The thoughts that I've had have been to obviate the 970 issue by considering getting a laptop this time around (12" PB), but there's been two small obstacles.
First, a hands-on with the PB (and first real X exposure) gave me the impression that the machine's not really any faster. I attribute this to X being more stable but slower than 9, and makes me tempted to move up to the 1GHz 15" or 17", but I doubt the wife would approve of the extra $$'s.
Second, the wife's asking "but why do we need a laptop to begin with?" Her inclination would replace the 8500 with another PowerMac tower configuration (or possibly a 17" iMac).
Okay, I can negotiate around the dollars to a degree -- what I really need help with is the answers for the second one. Any help here guys?
FWIW, one thing that I have been looking at is to include Airport in the upgrade, so that I can sit with her in the TV room while surfing or whatever...she says I'm "ignoring her" when I'm in the office, instead of sitting in the TV room and tuned out because I'm reading a book. Go figure.
-hh
Re: I just need to convince the wife!
I just bought the 1Ghz Tibook last week (yeah, yeah, I've read all about the rumours about the "upcoming" 15" Albook, but don't need the rumoured new features and I got a killer price with AppleCare using my edu discount) and the performance increase is far superior than I would have suspected with just a 333 increase in Mhz. I think a lot of it is due to the L3.
Anyways, a good Apple portable really can be a good desktop replacement for most non-power (ie highe end audio/video/prepress) users and certainly is much more flexible. I don't think I'll ever need to get a desktop.
I would say go for a portable for all the reasons that you mentioned and more. You just have to ask yourself, do you really need the AP extreme, DDR Ram on crippled bus, new chassis, etc etc with the 12"? If no, and you don't want to pony up the $$ for the 1Ghz 15", you may want to look at an older model Tibook. The older generation 800Mhz TiBooks with the 32 Meg Radeon 7500 are cheap (<1900 bucks) and will certainly be light years ahead in speed compared to your old Mac (and about the same price as a new 12" PB). Unlike the Albook, the 800mhz model includes an Airport card. I think that the addition of the 1meg L3 cache in the 800mhz and 15" 1Ghz model makes a HUGE difference (my old 667Mhz gigabit ethernet model with no L3 cache showed spinning beachballs all the time). Note that there is no L3 on the 12".
I just bought the 1Ghz Tibook last week (yeah, yeah, I've read all about the rumours about the "upcoming" 15" Albook, but don't need the rumoured new features and I got a killer price with AppleCare using my edu discount) and the performance increase is far superior than I would have suspected with just a 333 increase in Mhz. I think a lot of it is due to the L3.
Anyways, a good Apple portable really can be a good desktop replacement for most non-power (ie highe end audio/video/prepress) users and certainly is much more flexible. I don't think I'll ever need to get a desktop.
what about the ibook?
Speaking of waiting, I'm very close to buying the 2nd up from the bottom iBook. Should I wait for a bump?
(no, I won't be buying the 12" powerbook - $400 difference is too much for too little. The benchmarks I've seen are 5-15% performance difference for non-altivec operations.)
Speaking of waiting, I'm very close to buying the 2nd up from the bottom iBook. Should I wait for a bump?
(no, I won't be buying the 12" powerbook - $400 difference is too much for too little. The benchmarks I've seen are 5-15% performance difference for non-altivec operations.)
Re: what about the ibook?
Remember that OS X itself is optimized for AltiVec.....not just commercial programs like Photoshop. You may want to compare finder functions (window sizing, copying, burning etc) between a G3 IBook and a G4 Albook before buying.
You can always wait for a bump, depends how patient you are and how strongly you believe in rumor sites......
Remember that OS X itself is optimized for AltiVec.....not just commercial programs like Photoshop. You may want to compare finder functions (window sizing, copying, burning etc) between a G3 IBook and a G4 Albook before buying.
You can always wait for a bump, depends how patient you are and how strongly you believe in rumor sites......
Hey, why don't you fence-sitters consider getting a used G4 tower and beefing up the RAM? A 400 or 500MHz G4 will make your old machines look sick, and will only set you back $500-$600 or so. Then whenever the 970s show up, you'll have some cash banked up to take the plunge!
Another thought, I was just at Micro Center today, and the guy there said they had some refurb eMacs for $650 or so. The eMac might hold you for a while. After all, if you bought the G4 tower you might spend too much on upgrading it, which would defeat the purpose of just tiding you over.
Another thought, I was just at Micro Center today, and the guy there said they had some refurb eMacs for $650 or so. The eMac might hold you for a while. After all, if you bought the G4 tower you might spend too much on upgrading it, which would defeat the purpose of just tiding you over.
cubist makes a nice point, for hh you better pay attention to the wife. I think the 1 giger imac is a awsome machine for home/home office use and it will handle everything software wise today. The question is as you allready know what about tomorrow. Its so nice to have a chassis that can be upgraded. man i love the imac Lcd but if they announce 970 only in powermacs and keep it that way i dont know if i could get a nonupgradable machine ever again. I would like to replace my powermac 800 but am going to just wait and see what apple does. Going to the imac 1 giger wouldnt get me much but a 970 powermac or 7457 imac in the future would.Listen to your wife thats half the battle,Listen to your wallet thats the other half.