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New, cheap Powermac G5

leekohler

leekohler

macrumors G5
Original poster
Dec 22, 2004
14,164
26
Chicago, Illinois
Ok, I found a G5 at a local store for $1399 on clearance. It is:

Dual Processor 1.8 Ghz
256 Mb RAM
Superdrive
900MHz bus
64 Mb GeForce video card
80 Gig hard drive.

Should I buy this thing? I don't need the latest G5, but do want one that is plenty capable in the video editing department. Anybody have one? I almost bought it, it's Monday, so I'm sure it'll still be there tomorrow.
 
That's what I have, just get more RAM. That's a really good deal there, I say go for it. The DP 1.8Ghz are plenty powerful for your needs. :)
 
Well, unless you need the expansion, I would shell out the 100 more 4 an iMac G5 2.0GHZ w/ superdrive. The dual 1.8 I'm guessing is about on-par with the single 2.0, maybe alittle faster, the iMac has double standard RAM,the Vcard is better i think in the iMac, and has double the Vram, it also comes w/ a superdrive, and you end up saving money that would have to have been spent on a monitor (unless u already have 1). I would go iMac, but it's a pretty good deal.
 
If you're doing video though, the dual processors will help a lot, depending on the software you're using. The extra 200Mhz won't make much difference in the iMac, but another processor to help handle threads is a nice touch.
 
switchr92 said:
Well, unless you need the expansion, I would shell out the 100 more 4 an iMac G5 2.0GHZ w/ superdrive. The dual 1.8 I'm guessing is about on-par with the single 2.0, maybe alittle faster, the iMac has double standard RAM,the Vcard is better i think in the iMac, and has double the Vram, it also comes w/ a superdrive, and you end up saving money that would have to have been spent on a monitor (unless u already have 1). I would go iMac, but it's a pretty good deal.
Click to expand...

I'm an expansion freak. I'll FrankenMac the heck out of it over the years. I've never liked iMacs for that reason. i'd like to keep it through the first 2 revs of the Intels at the least, maybe longer. I also like the 8 gigs of RAM capability. Don't think i won't stuff it full either. Plus, I already have a 20" monitor.
 
kainjow said:
If you're doing video though, the dual processors will help a lot, depending on the software you're using. The extra 200Mhz won't make much difference in the iMac, but another processor to help handle threads is a nice touch.
Click to expand...

Good to know. Thanks! And I haven't seen a deal on eBay this good either.
 
this is a great deal! i just shelled out $2000 for this very machine only a few months ago. i've been really happy with it after adding a GB of RAM. i'm curious why this is so cheap. is this the original Dual 1.8 with PCI X? if so, even better! i'd pick it up either way.
 
tjwett said:
this is a great deal! i just shelled out $2000 for this very machine only a few months ago. i've been really happy with it after adding a GB of RAM. i'm curious why this is so cheap. is this the original Dual 1.8 with PCI X? if so, even better! i'd pick it up either way.
Click to expand...

I believe that's the the one. OK- as long as this place has a good financing deal, it's mine.
 
YOU MUST MAKE SURE its a first gen dualie, and not the 2nd gen.

I have a first gen with PCI-X and the 8 slots for ram.

Plus i got the ATI 9800 as a BTO option. Now you can get the x850 but at the time, it was top o the line.


The graphix card listed, sucks though.
 
switchr92 said:
Well, unless you need the expansion, I would shell out the 100 more 4 an iMac G5 2.0GHZ w/ superdrive. The dual 1.8 I'm guessing is about on-par with the single 2.0, maybe alittle faster, the iMac has double standard RAM,the Vcard is better i think in the iMac, and has double the Vram, it also comes w/ a superdrive, and you end up saving money that would have to have been spent on a monitor (unless u already have 1). I would go iMac, but it's a pretty good deal.
Click to expand...

You can change the graphics card in a Power Mac, but that's a no-no with iMacs. And dual 1.8 would thrash a single 2Ghz.
 
Sdashiki said:
YOU MUST MAKE SURE its a first gen dualie, and not the 2nd gen.

I have a first gen with PCI-X and the 8 slots for ram.

Plus i got the ATI 9800 as a BTO option. Now you can get the x850 but at the time, it was top o the line.


The graphix card listed, sucks though.
Click to expand...

It's the second generation, the first had 512mb ram.
 
leekohler said:
The first had 512? And what's wrong with the second exactly?
Click to expand...

nothing's wrong with it, i have it and it's been great. but i do wish i had the first gen. it had way more balls. they had to scale it down for the second gen to widen the gap from the high end Power Mac because the G5 wasn't leaping ahead in mhz as they expected. the second gen also has a different cooling system and takes only 4 GB RAM. i'd actually trade my second gen for a first if someone offered. :) i'm thinking this deal must be for the second gen because the first gen shipped with 512MB RAM and a 160GB hard drive.
 
tjwett said:
nothing's wrong with it, i have it and it's been great. but i do wish i had the first gen. it had way more balls. they had to scale it down for the second gen to widen the gap from the high end Power Mac because the G5 wasn't leaping ahead in mhz as they expected. the second gen also has a different cooling system and takes only 4 GB RAM. i'd actually trade my second gen for a first if someone offered. :) i'm thinking this deal must be for the second gen because the first gen shipped with 512MB RAM and a 160GB hard drive.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. I'm not buying this machine. I'm sure it's fine, but I do want the 8 Gig RAM expandability- I like to keep my desktops for a while, so I'll wait for another deal a bit later. Thanks everybody! You helped me make the right decision. BTW- if anybody else does want it, it's at CompUSA on Chicago Ave. in Chicago.
 
I also wanted the 8gb ram capable board and PCI-X. So I went ahead and ordered up a refurb dual 2ghz rev b machine from Apple for $1649. Well worth every penny I think. They should have more soon. They just shipped me mine. (My first one came in DOA, then I had to wait for a replacement because they didn't have any left to send me)
 
joecool85 said:
I also wanted the 8gb ram capable board and PCI-X. So I went ahead and ordered up a refurb dual 2ghz rev b machine from Apple for $1649. Well worth every penny I think. They should have more soon. They just shipped me mine. (My first one came in DOA, then I had to wait for a replacement because they didn't have any left to send me)
Click to expand...

I found one of those for $1749. Maybe I'll do that instead.
 
Apple refurbs are always a great way to go in my opinion. Surprised to hear that joecool85's arrived DOA. They are usually tested quite thoroughly.
 
When/if I sell my 1st gen 1.8Ghz dualie, Im sure it will get a good response on eBay because those of us lucky enough to have gotten them when they first came out know how damn good they are, even for being over 2yrs old now.

Mine:

Dual 1.8Ghz G5
2.5GB Ram
2x160GB HDD
Superdrive 16x Dual Layer (switched original SD with a newer G5s)
M-Audio Revolution PCI-X 7.1
ATI 9800

Still going strong, and to think I got a new mac almost every year on the dot. This one has stayed just as strong as the day I bought it. Almost, I mean id love to have a 2.7ghz but cmon, gimme a little more RAM and mine rox.
 
I'd like to point out that the 2x 1.8 G5 will be significantly faster than the 1x 2.0 G5 iMac. The iMac compares to the *single* 1.8 G5.

Funny, I've never heard anybody say: "Hey, my computer is waaay to fast! I need to run nine instances of Seti@home, it makes me so giddy."
 
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