MacWorld, etc... speculation

[NatronB]

I'm thinking about purchasing a G4 after MacWorld and I have a few questions for anyone who will listen.

-First off likely advances on the G4 line (DDR Ram, USB/Firewire updates, faster processors) worth the $400-$600 price difference compared to a discounted pre-MacWorld G4?

-I was thinking about getting a wussy Graphics card and saving my money for a GeForce 5. Does this sound like a good idea? If so, is the GeForce 4MX all that bad? How does it compare to the ATI card, the 7500? Is the GeForce 5 going to be significantly better then the 4Ti (based on speculation)?


Thanks!

-Nate

 

[Postal]

I would definitely try to spend money on the new PowerMacs rather than getting a clearance or refurb model. People have been noting that the G4 is currently "starved" on the current memory and system buses, so if either of those get improved there will be a performance gain above and beyond just clock speed. An article at The Inquirer also suggests that chip yields for the new G4 are really good and may even top out as high as 1.5 GHz, so it's quite possible that even the base model will make the current generation seem slow.

Now, on to video. You'll of course want to hold off until MWNY to see what new video options are made available, but if there's nothing new then getting just a basic video card and waiting to upgrade may be wise. The GF4 MX is proven to be substantially faster than the Radeon 7500 in the Windows world - so if you're willing to pay extra, you'd see that particular benefit on a Mac - but I can't speak with authority on video driver quality.

With the rumours that are floating around I wouldn't be surprised if ATI's next-generation card (the codename being R300) takes the high-end spot at MWNY. It's supposed to be faster than the GF4 Ti and is expected to ship sooner than the NV30 (the codename for nVidia's next chip - it probably won't be called a GeForce at all, from what I hear).

 

[Catfish_Man]

The GF4mx...

...is really a GF2mx on steroids, which is a GF1 on steroids. It kinda sucks. Fast (relatively), but not many features. The Radeon 7500 is also not that great. I think the best bet is to wait for the R300, if you can't get that it's GF4Ti vs. Radeon 8500. They both are great cards.

Also, unless I've been badly misled (which I don't think is possible.), DDR memory should make quite a difference to the G4.

 

[Dunepilot]

All I can see is

look at the figures on barefeats . I think the saving you get by buying a Radeon 7500 makes it an extremely good buy. Also bear in mind that when the nextgen games like Unreal 2 and Unreal 2003 and Doom 3 hit our shelves, it's recognised by the developers that NONE of the current graphics cards cut the mustard, so you'd need a new card for games then, anyway.

Just my 2p.

 

[D0ct0rteeth]

I would wait until MWNW and see if DDR ram is part of the new package.

If it is buy a new one, if for some godawful reason DDR is still unavailable buy a discounted or refurbed dual 800 or something... it is still a great cpu. and probably cheap as hell.

Good Times.

C-

 

[drastik]

yes, wait for the DDR it will by far be worh it. Don't stress on the video card yet, the cars in the comp ain't bad, and You'll just have to upgrade again anyway

 

[solvs]

it depends

No mater what, the DDR will be worth it. If you can afford top of the line when the new system arrive, go for it. You'll be happy for awhile. You'll have to weigh your options for everything else - L3 Cache, Dual Processors, bigger hard drive, (new cases?), etc.

Do you do a lot of 3D stuff like games, or 2D? The ATI cards are great for 2D stuff. The drivers aren't that great, but there were some problems with the early nVidia drivers (don't know if that's been fixed, yet). Check www.xlr8yourmac.com for some benchmarks and recommendations.

I'm thinking when I buy a new Tower I'll just get the cheapest video card for now, and upgrade later, saving some money in the long run for better performance later ($300 later for something kick-a**, versus $300 now for something that will soon be outdated). The thing I really want is TV-Out.

So it's between a Radeon 7500 and a Radeon 7000 PCI, a Radeon 8500 if it's offered as a $100 upgrade option (not worth it to buy separately at this point. Cheaper and better to have the 2 cards), or just take the low end now and see if anything good comes out soon.

Who knows, by then maybe I could buy the 8500 cheap and sell whatever came with my system. So many options. All good choices. I think you'll be happy with whatever you decide.

And then something new will come out a few months later that will blow everything else away.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Long time lurker, only second time poster. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[jefhatfield]

like people said, wait for ddr to come which i think it will this month

don't expect it to really be TWICE as fast, but consider it a measureable boost worth waiting for

faster G4s seem to be the reality more than a G5, but then again, don't hold your breath for a 1.5 ghz tower just yet, but something slower than that...but still good

 

[groovebuster]

Originally posted by Postal
[/B]

Greetings to Ottawa, my wife is from there!

groovebuster