iMac comparable to G4 PM?

[PHARAOHk]

Looking at the specs for the single 1.25 G4 PM and the 1GHz iMac they seem really similar. They both use the same RAM, system bus, hard drive,

The difference is the 64 and 32 bit video cards and absence of L3 cache in the iMac. What does this ultimately mean in terms of photoshop use? Also the .25 difference in processor. To me they seem kind of similar. This will be for my girl friend who is a photographer. How do they compare if at all?

 

[invaLPsion]

The powermac is better. The extra cache, better graphics card, and faster processor will make a diference. The powermac is a better deal, all you need is a cheap 15 inch LCD monitor and it would make a perfect gift.

But then again, the iMac is just soooooo sexy. There would probably be a bigger wow factor if she saw her new iMac.

Weigh the options, make a choice. Both are great systems for photoshop. But the 1.25 will run it faster.

 

[Maclarny]

Go for the Powermac. Ultimately, it will last longer because new processor and video card upgrades will come out and it will be much faster than the iMac right out of the box.

 

[virividox]

well powermac will have a longer life because as the previous posts have mentioned its ability for expandibility

but if your girlfriend is one of those users that never upgrades or rarely does, then an imac will be fine.

 

[Sun Baked]

Performace wise they're probably similar enough.

The iMac however does give you a nifty screen in exchange for future expandability/upgradeability.

If she plans on storing a lot of her work on the HD and/or messing with video in the future, she may want to look at the PowerMac -- since upgrades of memory/HDs are MUCH easier.

Plus it all depends on what she has right now, if she has a quality monitor from a PC/Mac she can gut right now -- there's probably some HDs/CD-DVD/memory that can stuff into the PowerMac right now.