New iMac G5 Announced

[Chip NoVaMac]

Top of the line PowerMacs are now using 2.5ghz processors, middle grade on 2.0ghz, and the bottom of the line are hitting at 1.8ghz. The fastest iMac is a single processor version of the slowest PowerMac, minus 30% of the bus speed and dual-channel RAM. Even if the processors are identical, the processor performance will not be because the ability to access and move data around will be lower.

I'd love to see how it would be bad marketing to have a single-processor 2.0ghz machine, though. Enlighten me.

Looking at the G5 iMac 20" 1.8mhz and the PM dual 1.8 mhz with a 20" screeen - you are looking at at EDU price difference of about $1300 USD EDU.


For the price $1300 difference you get:

- Dual 1.8mhz processors (much better in most minds)

- Same GPU

- 600 vs. 900 front end bus speed. Speed freaks would love the 1/3 increase).

- DVD-R drive's (again maybe more for the speed freaks 4x vs. 8x.

- Interchangeable video cards

- More RAM expansion

- Second drive bay expansion

You has to weigh that these "additions are worth the extra price of the G5 PM with the 20" cinema display.

 

[themacman]

great

why is everyone complaining the imac is amazing

 

[jsw]

This is about the most retarded thing I have heard on the net!!

Why on earth if you just want to email and use word would you want to waste $1200 on any computer????

You certainly don't need a Mac for this and certainly not a G4, let alone a G5.

Take a break fanboy........or at least mention iLife in your crazy defense of the ancient specs herein.

Trolls are such fun to feed....

People will "waste" money on it because it does what they want it to do and looks good doing it. If the previous post was "about the most retarded thing" you've heard on the net (aside: interesting... does your system read to you?), you must be new to it. And what are the ancient specs? I'm missing them. Not everyone wants a cheap, noisy, out-of-date-when-you-buy-it PC to play games on. You must. Perhaps you own one. Maybe you'd be happier playing Doom 3 on it while the rest of us enjoy a well-designed (not thrown together) system running a real OS which, believe it or not, is useful as more than a means to load games.

 

[maclamb]

personally, I think it looks cool - and my wife too - so maybe now I can get of the dell she uses.

and, from Life of Brian:

EX-LEPER:
All right, sir. My final offer: half a shekel for an old ex-leper.

BRIAN:
Did you say... 'ex-leper'?

EX-LEPER:
That's right, sir. Sixteen years behind the bell, and proud of it, sir.

BRIAN:
Well, what happened?

EX-LEPER:
I was cured, sir.

BRIAN:
Cured?

EX-LEPER:
Yes, sir, a bloody miracle, sir. God bless you.

BRIAN:
Who cured you?

EX-LEPER:
Jesus did, sir. I was hopping along, minding my own business. All of a sudden, up he comes. Cures me. One minute I'm a leper with a trade, next minute my livelihood's gone. Not so much as a by your leave. 'You're cured mate.' Bloody do-gooder.

BRIAN:
Well, why don't you go and tell him you want to be a leper again?

EX-LEPER:
Ah, yeah. I could do that, sir. Yeah. Yeah, I could do that, I suppose. What I was thinking was, I was going to ask him if he could make me a bit lame in one leg during the middle of the week. You know, something beggable, but not leprosy, which is a pain in the arse, to be blunt. Excuse my French, sir, but, uh--

MANDY:
Brian! Come and clean your room out.

BRIAN:
There you are.

EX-LEPER:
Thank you, sir. Thanks-- Half a denary for me bloody life story?

BRIAN:
There's no pleasing some people.

EX-LEPER:
That's just what Jesus said, sir.

 

[ghostboy]

Disappointed, Apple! And never before have I been disappointed with your sexy, must-have designs.

It seems like a great machine all around EXCEPT the design. What an un-sexy EYESORE.

 

[iJon]

This is about the most retarded thing I have heard on the net!!

Why on earth if you just want to email and use word would you want to waste $1200 on any computer????

You certainly don't need a Mac for this and certainly not a G4, let alone a G5.

Take a break fanboy........or at least mention iLife in your crazy defense of the ancient specs herein.

well i do agree it was written poorly and sounds dumb, but i agree somewhat. now, customers are doing more than just email and word, but i keep saying this and will always say this until i see with my own eyes differently. majority of the customers will not play games, simple as that. people are wanting ease of use, edit movies, make a dvd for their family, edit their photos, listen to their music. doom 3 is a very fun game and will probably play like trash on this computer, but i would guess most customers aren't going to mind cause they simply won't care.

iJon

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

To the handful who say this has been done before. A link, please? Because it really hasn't. Find me an all-in-one that's even remotely so thin and elegant.

And yes, the old swingarm G4 was cool too--a classic! But now you can put a VESA arm on this one anyway (or simply rotate the stand on your desk--the new iMac's lighter after all).

BTW while I'm thinking of it... I like the new game bundle better. Marble Blast is a great game, and Nanousaur II looks great as well. Tony Hawk and Deimos Rising weren't much to offer, but these are actually good games!

Given the "rumoured" delays; I will wait till rev. B with Tiger (hopefully).

 

[jsw]

Your new Audi supports 5 gears, but only comes with 2. Need more, just add them yourself? Those two gears will get the average user from A to B, but those pro drivers that want to take "highways" and such, you're on your own... or maybe you should have bought a Ford with all gears out of the box.

Hey thats no less confusing than trying to figure out why a brand new G5 comes with 256 RAM and a ****ty graphics card.

Hungry tonight?

If I could add gears to an Audi for a hundred bucks, I'd be a hell of a lot happier with that option than with buying a Ford, no matter how many gears it came with. Except for the GT. That one I'd take.

The RAM is acceptable but admittedly lower than most would like. I've yet to see anyone give me a single reason to "need" a better GPU other than FPS games. Which - surprise!! - not everyone plays.

 

[Trekkie]

Someone else might already have mentioned this, but it looks like it would be so easy to knock over! Think about when you're trying to put those USB cables in - CLANG!!!

Until I see it on my desk by the end of September I'm not going to pass judgement on knocking it over.

i've seen a few bases on monitors that look less than substantial but then you go to grab it real quick and about dislocate your shoulder because it's so deceptively 'solid'

 

[snuflupukis]

for all of you wondering if the iMac is detachable to have it as a wall mount. here is your answer.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...gIPGZxyr2G4E6Kmw1G8t9DM/9.3.0.6.10.3.3.1.15.0

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

I waited for a silver version before buying an iPod, and will wait for an aluminum/silver iMac before planning any purchase of this new toy. And maybe that in the meanwhile either a smaller PowerMac will become available or, if I'm lucky, a G5 Powerbook too...

I mean this honestly, how much more would you pay for the G5 iMac ; in order for it to have the look of the iPod. for me $200......

 

[Trekkie]

Your new Audi supports 5 gears, but only comes with 2. Need more, just add them yourself? Those two gears will get the average user from A to B, but those pro drivers that want to take "highways" and such, you're on your own... or maybe you should have bought a Ford with all gears out of the box.

That's got to be the dumbest comparison I've ever seen to try and justify a video card upgrade.

At least you could do something reasonable. 256MB RAM = stock stereo with tape deck (ok now Audi comes with CD standard, but still) and then you have the option of paying $1200 for a Bose six disc changer + XM Satellite receiver or you could go to your local car stereo dealer and get something else.

*that* I would buy as a comparison for adding memory. Not a 2 speed with slots for gears 3 - 6.

 

[fatbarstard]

Horray for Maclamb!

Monty Python quote was brilliant and accurately sums up most of the comments in this forum!!

On first look the new iMac looks fantastic! For all the wingers about graphics cards and memory you have to remember that is an entry level machine for the home user - not for some game head who wets themselves with delight everytime Nvida come out with an upgrade.

The iMac is light on RAM but then I have never ever seen a consumer computer from any manufacturer that has been advertised with a decent amount of RAM. 512MB is about the minimum required and there is a nice margin in it for the resellers - imgaine the reaction from resellers if there spec had enough RAM - they would go mental!!

If you want to bitch about cables pay the extra and get a wireless option. Bluebooth - my PB 17" has bluetooth but it might as well have a cream pie for all the use it gets...

I will see one in the store before I decide whether I like it or not. Everyone else should do the same....

 

[duffyb]

iMac

I like the design but thought it was too early to retire the G4 iMac design. That was beautiful. This looks a bit like the old anniversary Mac. Rounded corners would have helped. Nice job Apple.

 

[xsnightclub]

Your new Audi supports 5 gears, but only comes with 2. Need more, just add them yourself? Those two gears will get the average user from A to B, but those pro drivers that want to take "highways" and such, you're on your own... or maybe you should have bought a Ford with all gears out of the box.

Hey thats no less confusing than trying to figure out why a brand new G5 comes with 256 RAM and a ****ty graphics card.

But your Audi has an OPTIONAL automatic transmission, and an OPTIONAL sequential shift auto-stick, plus optional sunroof, stereo, leather interior, heated seats, auto wipers and many many many more options.

Don't be stupid, options are there for people who need/want them!

 

[aswitcher]

random thoughts - They should have put an ipod wheel on the big ass white section at the bottom right so that you could use it with itunes without touching your mouse. And manual volume strip that lit up would have been pretty cool...

 

[dragonslive]

Trolls are such fun to feed....

People will "waste" money on it because it does what they want it to do and looks good doing it. If the previous post was "about the most retarded thing" you've heard on the net (aside: interesting... does your system read to you?), you must be new to it. And what are the ancient specs? I'm missing them. Not everyone wants a cheap, noisy, out-of-date-when-you-buy-it PC to play games on. You must. Perhaps you own one. Maybe you'd be happier playing Doom 3 on it while the rest of us enjoy a well-designed (not thrown together) system running a real OS which, believe it or not, is useful as more than a means to load games.

Hmm...

I don't own a pc. My ibook 600 can do email and word more that adequately. My point was the stupidity of saying the iMac is designed only for email and word......it is NOT. Do you disagree?? If someone only needed to do this......an iMac G5 is overkill!!

I am looking to upgrade so I can do more than email and use word......and I along with MANY others want a middle-of-range GPU.....not this one from last years chinese pc factory firesale!!

 

[egsaxy]

Not reading 36 pages

somewhere in the previous 36 pages i hope someone reminds everyone that when the G4 imac came out we all thought the monitor looked flimsy and fragile this now adds a study look to the machine. this machine is very well priced. lets complain about the RAM well for another 75 bucks you can double the ram. same for the video card. its not a bad card, its not a great card. its a ho hum card. but more than capable for the average consumer (who ever that is) It far outstripes the Radeon 9000 ( i think) i have in my ancient 350 mhz G4 (i was privalleged to get a 15 inch ADC display and had to get a new card) for a "quoted" 500 dollar price drop. a 17 inch monitor, a g5 that still has a faster bus that the g4, and a very good design (over all, i agree the white at the bottom is a little odd) but look what we all said initially about the ipod, the imac g4, the power mac g5, the mirrored door g4, and so on and so on. either apple has a great deal on the nvdia 5200 or its not cost effective to get the next card up. and whoooo for no power brick. great machine. i want one baddly. a side note about a headless mac, perhaps just perhaps apple should do a quick research with the cube design, or the old g4 imac (minus the arm) or something desk montable like a modified xserve. but for a cheap headless machine we are looking at specs like the ibook in a shoebox. i think there is a market out there for such things but we would all complain its not a top of the line box.

 

[bar italia]

It's not a law - but when it comes to the G5 iMac's design, it is a requirement and a necessity.

Or would you prefer to sacrifice the entire ingenious design of the new iMac...

You speak of the "ingenious design" as if it were fact, instead of only your opinion.

A good amount of people here would disagree.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

OK. Not to bad but WTF is with the anemic RAM amounts especially for $1899. Apple's being cheap again. IMHO anything less then 384MB of RAM is er...sucky.

Agreed. the 20" should have been loaded with at least with 512mb, BT, AE, BTR keyboards and mouse, and a 160gb HDD.

 

[jsw]

Hmm...

I don't own a pc. My ibook 600 can do email and word more that adequately. My point was the stupidity of saying the iMac is designed only for email and word......it is NOT. Do you disagree?? If someone only needed to do this......an iMac G5 is overkill!!

I am looking to upgrade so I can do more than email and use word......and I along with MANY others want a middle-of-range GPU.....not this one from last years chinese pc factory firesale!!

I've yet to see any reasonable consumer program this won't do well with the possible exception of high-end FPS games, which anyone - even a devout Mac user - would argue are best left to PCs. Non-high-end FPS games as well as most other games will play just fine on it.

I think the G5 ensures more longevity, and I think it will spur sales; but, honestly, I still think the eMac is still the best deal out there.

 

[IBSNOWEDIN]

i love it! just ordered a 20inch 1.8ghz imac WOOT! can't wait to get it. will start shipping in 3-4 weeks only thing that sucks is that it costed me 2499CDN for it.

only wished it came with a atleast an ati 9600 XT then it would be worth it, the FX 5200 isn't that bad as most of you guys say it is, i have it in my G4 PB and it runs games like ut2004, halo, and Call of Duty with no problem.

It's a great upgrade Good job Apple!

ibsnowedin

 

[Timelessblur]

Now apple just needs something to fill the gap bettween there 2 grand Powermac G5s and there 600-700 buck iMac g5s (subbtacting the cost of the monitor) That is one heck of a gap in power, functionaly and price. having more than a 400-500 diffence in base price is pretty bad and apple has over double that.

Just so you get the ablitly to put in a resitble graphic card and to put in PCI cards you have to add over a grand to you cost and well all know that the base line Powermacs are crippled by there lack of ram as well even those need to be upgraded.

PCI slots I can do with the lost but the graphic card is going to kill sells of this computer.

 

[snuflupukis]

iMac G5 VESA mount

 

[egsaxy]

tablet??

brief revolation while i was quicktime VRing the new imac, is this a tablet on a stand or what? wall mountable. or even just frame removable this is a tablet minus hand writing recognition (allthough with inkwell and the right display its that too) probably already noted somewhere about page 8.