I'm entering graduate school this fall, and am trying to choose between the top-of-the-line iMac G5 and a mid/lower level PowerMac G5. Price-wise, there's no contest (since I'd need to buy a display for the PM also) and space-wise the imac is great, but how much am I giving up in performance if I get the iMac (G5 2.0ghz) instead of a dual 2.0ghz powermac? I really just use my mac for word processing, net access, burning dvd's, mp3's, watching movies, etc. No video editing or anything. My current setup, a PowerBook G4 867, is nice but can get a little sluggish sometimes. I want to make sure my next computer can run OS X blazingly fast. Thanks.
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iMac G5 vs. PowerMac G5?
- Thread starter mmoin
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imac g5 is plenty fast for what you described, and the space savings in the dorm room is huge. You won't regret it.
iMac G5 = current Single Processor PowerMac G5 -- just a different case, same consumer chipset.
The duals are the PowerMacs running the XServe/PowerMac chipset.
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So you do get something extra when you get a dual, especially if you plan on playing with H.264
The duals are the PowerMacs running the XServe/PowerMac chipset.
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So you do get something extra when you get a dual, especially if you plan on playing with H.264
mac mini
with that kind of workload, id forget the imac even, if u are looking to save money get a mac mini and a 23 inch display (then if u upgrade later you still use it). If you are looking for wow factor and a little more power tho, go for the imac. i almost got one earlier this month myself, but then realized for the stuff i do, my 1.5 ghz powerbook is well suited. ill wait to upgrade. and in ur case make sure u really evaluate how much power you need and what is really important to you. Good luck
with that kind of workload, id forget the imac even, if u are looking to save money get a mac mini and a 23 inch display (then if u upgrade later you still use it). If you are looking for wow factor and a little more power tho, go for the imac. i almost got one earlier this month myself, but then realized for the stuff i do, my 1.5 ghz powerbook is well suited. ill wait to upgrade. and in ur case make sure u really evaluate how much power you need and what is really important to you. Good luck
Yeah- The school I'm going to has graduate dorms. Very cheap, but I have to live in a 12x10 box. It sounds like the G5 imac is probably my best bet. Money is not a huge issue, but it seems like the space savings is probably the clincher, as long as the imac is still quite fast.
If you're not doing anything hardcore then the iMac will be more than adequate for you. Just remmeber to max it out with RAM, that will give you the quick OS X performance that you're looking for. Just don't buy RAM from Apple, their mark-up on it is atrocious.
Another vote for the iMac
I find that mine can handle everything I throw at it, and my work is much more intense than what you described. In a year or so, I will switch back to a tower, but for now the iMac is performing very well.
I find that mine can handle everything I throw at it, and my work is much more intense than what you described. In a year or so, I will switch back to a tower, but for now the iMac is performing very well.
Powermac always for the pro period. I got a Quicksilver I with upgrades that can still hang with a new Imac. Powermacs are 5 plus year machines, Imacs are not. They should just call Powermac ProMac. If you would have told me my Quicksilver I was still going to be " current " 4+ years ago i would have told you you are crazy. Powermacs give you many many options and last forever. Heck i may still throw in a new video card to get it "better" maybe a 9800? still better then imacs 9600 
or how about a dual 1.8 G4? see what i mean? Imacs are great consumer machines, Powermacs are great Professional machines. enough said.
or how about a dual 1.8 G4? see what i mean? Imacs are great consumer machines, Powermacs are great Professional machines. enough said.
mmoin said:
You'd be surprised actually! As for 2GB, no, I didn't mean 2 GB necessarily, but I would recommend sticking a 1 GB module in to bring it up to 1.5 GB.
