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New Dual 2, 2.3 OR Refurb. 2, 2.5?

rickvanr said:
Oh, well that I didn't know. I bought locally where it was $70 for 512, and $170 for 1GB.
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Not a problem. I, and others prefer dealing with OWC or Crucial (despite their internet pricing games) for their ability to stand behind their stuff long term.

I always prefer buying locally, but the better prices are from shops that I feel won't be around a year down the road.
 
FFTT said:
Chip,

The 2.3 IS the sweet spot in the NEW 2005 models, but if you can find a 2004 Rev B 2.0 , you get the same 8 slot/133MHz PCI-X PRO motherboard for way less.

Apple Pro applications love RAM and your best performance increase will most likely be noticed by adding that extra RAM rather than relying on just processor speed.

I'm recommending the 2.0 Rev B because of the overall value and proven performance and that fact that you'll have a fantastic machine that will hold you well into 2010 and beyond.

Since you work right next to CompUSA, you should be able to get the store
manager to drop his price on the remaining NEW in Box Rev B's he has in stock. AND you may still qualify for the $9.95 Tiger upgrade from Apple.

If he tries to go more than $1749, I'd look elsewhere.
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Thanks, will do. I will just have to wait till my sale of the TH settles by the end of the month (knelling down in sincere pray on that one right now) to buy from CompUSA.
 
Chip NoVaMac said:
Not a problem. I, and others prefer dealing with OWC or Crucial (despite their internet pricing games) for their ability to stand behind their stuff long term.

I always prefer buying locally, but the better prices are from shops that I feel won't be around a year down the road.
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Well the shop I bought from has been around for a while now. Also, this year I took a great Geography class at university, were I learned alot about the uncertainty of dot com businesses. I'd by locally over a purely dot com company every time.
 
Chip NoVaMac said:
Thanks, will do. I will just have to wait till my sale of the TH settles by the end of the month (knelling down in sincere pray on that one right now) to buy from CompUSA.
Click to expand...

I got Rev B Dual 2.0 from CompUSA at $1749 last week and tiger dvd was in the box.
 
rickvanr said:
Well the shop I bought from has been around for a while now. Also, this year I took a great Geography class at university, were I learned alot about the uncertainty of dot com businesses. I'd by locally over a purely dot com company every time.
Click to expand...


I understand what you are saying. But in areas like mine, the best price places seem to come and go with the wind. And the rest well, they tend to want to charge what they can. And for something like memory, I don;t see much need other than warranty support for the next 3 to 5 years.
 
FFTT said:
The RAM slot issue IS important when you look at the single 2GB RAM stick prices.

This also has me concerned about the future Intel based machines.

Certainly, you can install DDR2 RAM in a 4 slot motherboard to bring it up to 8 GB's of RAM, but single DDR2 RAM 2GB sticks are currently running $950.00
each!

Buying at a reseller for $1899 does not guarantee you a Tiger install disk.

You could get the refurb 2.0 with 3 year Apple care AND Tiger directly from Apple for $50.00 less.

Buy 2 extra 1 GB RAM sticks 3rd party and that 2.0 will scream!

The only difficulty will be catching one available on the Apple Store web site.

They go FAST! In the box and out
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I don't see what the price of 2GB sticks matters. The system only supports 8GB of memory anyways.
 
Current Intel motherboards only have 4 RAM slots, so it's more of a concern for future models If Apple doesn't reconfigure
their future x86 products with 8 RAM slots.

As far as I know, you could actually double up with 2GB DDR2 RAM sticks, but most manufacturers will only quote you maximum support specs based on generally available mainstream RAM

If anyone knows otherwise for certain, kindy fill us in.
 
Now that Apple has dropped the single 1.8, I wish they would revive the
Rev B 2.0's and drop the Rev C so the entire lineup would use the PRO motherboard making all PowerMacs the highest quality they can offer.
 
New Dual 2, 2.3 OR Refurb 2, 2.5?

I went for the 2.5 for the following reasons:

The dual 2.5 already took its initial depreciation hit ( I plan to dump the machine when the MACTel Powermacs come out). I could get either the 2.3 or 2.5 at the same price due to a company discount. With the exception of the DVD-R and the slightly smaller HD, the 2.5 appears to be the better deal. I think I may be able to get a little more out of the 2.5 at resale time.

I'll buy Applecare anyway (been through the horror of a MAC that died after 2 weeks) so I'll be good while I own the machine and the next owner will have peace of mind when purchasing.

The water cooling system is a non-issue to me.

(Edited below)
Don brings up some points below I also considered (struggled with) before buying. I was also concerned by the ait cooling, but decided it was an non-issue due to the length of time I'll own this Mac. The extra little bit of processor is what tipped the scale. If I were planning to hold on to the machine more than 3 years, I would have gone for the 2.3.
 
It took me a long time to decide your same dilemma. I finally decided on the 2.3 for two reasons:

It's brand new (though I have heard great things on refurbs)

and the main thing was that I didn't want to mess with the liquid cooling. As someone pointed out to me while I was making my decision, liquid cooling will probably be phased out with something better in the near future. Air cooling has been around forever. So I just wanted something I felt more secure with.

I love my 2.3. I installed a 10,000 rpm raptor as my boot drive, and have 2.5 gb of ram. I am a designer (adobe cs, macromedia studio, final cut, and some animation with maya and lightwave) and it fits my needs perfectly.

Don
 
FFTT said:
Now that Apple has dropped the single 1.8, I wish they would revive the
Rev B 2.0's and drop the Rev C so the entire lineup would use the PRO motherboard making all PowerMacs the highest quality they can offer.
Click to expand...

What are the difference between two motherboard except extra ram slot? For me those two looked exactly same except ram slots
 
The prosumer motherboard used for the single 1.8, dual 1.8 and NEW 2005 Rev C dual 2.0 has 4 RAM slots and three open full-length 33MHz, 64-bit PCI slots.

The PRO motherboard used for the 2004 Rev B dual 2.0, 2004 dual 2.5 the 2005 dual 2.3 and 2.7 GHz models has 8 RAM slots and three open full-length PCI-X slots: one 133MHz, 64-bit slot and two 100MHz, 64-bit slots

PCI-X Expansion Slots

PCI and PCI-X cards enable the Power Mac G5 to perform specialized tasks, such as video capture and playback and audio digital signal processing (DSP). PCI-X supports 3.3V signaling and Universal 33MHz and 66MHz PCI cards.

Choosing a PCI or PCI-X Power Mac G5 system:

Three 64-bit PCI-X slots let you add one card running at 133MHz and two cards running at 100MHz, while the three 64-bit standard PCI slots allow you to add three 33MHz cards.

Hope this covers your question ;)
 
I can get the Dual 2 for $1699 (EDU - $100 "Spring" rebate and a free cheap printer after rebate) or the refurbished Dual 2 at $1649. Now the price difference is even closer.

Pros of Each:

New = better graphics card and video memory, $89 option to add Apple wireless keyboard/mouse/Bluetooth, free cheap printer, new

Refurb. = 8 RAM slots, PCI-X slots, $50 less

Sorry I am so indecisive!
 
This is my final request for advice (see post above), I promise. I plan on purchasing the refurbished online today or the new one at an Apple Store sometimes this week (before the $100 rebate deadline).
 
I would ask you Apple sales rep if you still qualify for the education rebate
if you purchase the refurb.

Expandibility is always an important resale feature, even if you yourself never installed more than 2GB of RAM.

Dual layer DVD's are expensive
Swapping out later to a Dual layer drive would be no problem.

The graphics card option in the RevC would be nice to have pre-configured in the refurb, but you can always add that later and you haven't sacrificed
any overall expandibility.

What ever you decide at least now you are a well educated fully informed consumer and I hope the input here has helped you.
 
mintlivedotcom said:
I can get the Dual 2 for $1699 (EDU - $100 "Spring" rebate and a free cheap printer after rebate) or the refurbished Dual 2 at $1649. Now the price difference is even closer.

Pros of Each:

New = better graphics card and video memory, $89 option to add Apple wireless keyboard/mouse/Bluetooth, free cheap printer, new

Refurb. = 8 RAM slots, PCI-X slots, $50 less

Sorry I am so indecisive!
Click to expand...

Yes, it sounds like I am learning a lot without even having the thing (whichever one that ends of being). I appreciate everyone's input!
 
FFTT said:
I would ask you Apple sales rep if you still qualify for the education rebate
if you purchase the refurb.
Click to expand...

I read on the $100 Spring Education Rebate form that the computer must be taken possession of by this Saturday!
 
My refurb rev. B Dual 2.0 will be here this Thursday. $1649 seemed like a really good deal to me considering that I would be upgrading the GPU to beyond what the new 2.0 comes with anyway. The 8 RAM slots, and the PCI-X didn't really matter all that much to me. Though I guess it is possible that in the future I will be able to appreciate it.

When one considers that the new 2.3 offers a 15% faster CPU, while costing potentially over 50% more (retail on the 2.3 is $2499, edu $2299), the rev. B dual 2.0 seems like a relative bargain.

Also, I'm pretty sure the edu rebate form I printed out (I'm a graduate student and qualify for the edu discount) states that the $100 off does not apply to refurbs.
 
JasonL said:
My refurb rev. B Dual 2.0 will be here this Thursday. $1649 seemed like a really good deal to me considering that I would be upgrading the GPU to beyond what the new 2.0 comes with anyway. The 8 RAM slots, and the PCI-X didn't really matter all that much to me. Though I guess it is possible that in the future I will be able to appreciate it.

When one considers that the new 2.3 offers a 15% faster CPU, while costing potentially over 50% more (retail on the 2.3 is $2499, edu $2299), the rev. B dual 2.0 seems like a relative bargain.

Also, I'm pretty sure the edu rebate form I printed out (I'm a graduate student and qualify for the edu discount) states that the $100 off does not apply to refurbs.
Click to expand...

Right, but what about comparing the refurbished 2.0 to the new 2.0? That is my latest question and the price difference is only $50. I am only referring to the EDU pricing. Why did you buy the refurbished instead of the new?
 
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