New iMac VS Powermac G5

[rotlex]

Looking for some input. Current machine is a dual 2.3Ghz Powermac G5 with 4GB ram. It's dying, may be dead soon, and I'm looking to replace it. (Fan on X800XT going, one proc I believe going, hardware diag, not good, but I digress).

I'm thinking of replacing it with a 20" iMac, 2.4Ghz, 4GB ram (Crucial, uh, not from Apple, LOL). I would also like to use my existing 20" Cinema Display as a 2nd monitor. My primary use, other than for surfing, e-mail and finances etc., is Photography. Aperture to be specific, along now with iMovie 08' for my video stuff.

Has anyone made this type of "switch" and been happy? Will the newer iMac out power and outperform my aging Powemac? I'd love to by a Mac Pro to replace it, but frankly, I'm not spending that much again. The thought of a new iMac with 4GB ram for under 2k is very enticing.

Thanks for any input.

 

[mad jew]

As much as it pains some of the traditionalists to admit it, the new Intel machines are quite a bit faster than their PowerPC counterparts for all but the Rosetta-based apps. Since you didn't mention any old apps that still require Rosetta, the new machine should be quite a bit faster than your old Power Mac.

 

[rotlex]

Thanks for the response. I'm hoping\believing it will be the case, but I guess I'm still in denial that my "once almighty and powerful cannot be touched by Intel, Mhz isn't everything" Powermac can be defeated by a lowly iMac, LOL.

I'm a little hesitant to by an "all in one" machine as well, but then again, even with the towers, it appears at times the best course for upgrading is simply to replace the entire machine. If I can get at least 3-4 years out of an iMac with my current needs, hopefully I can remain happy.

 

[mad jew]

iMacs historically retain their value really quite well, so unless you need the upgradeability of a tower then you two should be well suited.

 

[speakerwizard]

i went from a dual 2.7 powermac with 2gb to a dual 2.16 imac (original c2d)with 2gb and it edges ahead in video rendering / gaming etc and is a HELL of a lot quieter lol, no more revving, im very happy with it

 

[Techguy172]

I would think it would be faster so I say get that iMac!

 

[KathyD]

iMac VS Powermac

I'm in the same dilemma. Have a G5 2G Dualie, and have the need for speed. The ONLY thing holding me back from an iMac, is that I think when plugged into an external monitor, it mirrors only....With my photos, Aperture...the room is NICE. Not to mention a 30" screen in my future....

That's lots of real estate lost. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. ?

 

[FJ218700]

I'm in the same dilemma. Have a G5 2G Dualie, and have the need for speed. The ONLY thing holding me back from an iMac, is that I think when plugged into an external monitor, it mirrors only....With my photos, Aperture...the room is NICE. Not to mention a 30" screen in my future....

That's lots of real estate lost. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. ?

I'm almost 100% sure that the new iMacs will do spanning, not just mirroring.

 

[rotlex]

I'm almost 100% sure that the new iMacs will do spanning, not just mirroring.

I need to find this out for sure as well, as one of the things I want to do is use my existing 20 Cinema Display as a 2nd monitor - particularly for Aperture. I really want to be able to keep a full screen image on one monitor, and adjustment\control stuff on the other.

 

[KathyD]

iMacs - Extended vs Mirroring

Looks like you're right.....I just copied this from the iMac specs...<<Support for external display in extended desktop mode>>>

I wonder if it will support a 30" monitor?

 

[rotlex]

Looks like you're right.....I just copied this from the iMac specs...<<Support for external display in extended desktop mode>>>

I wonder if it will support a 30" monitor?

Cool - not sure how I missed that when reading that stuff. Makes the decision a bit easier. Now, if my G5 can just hold out until Leopard ships, that might be the perfect time to make the upgrade.

 

[plinden]

I'm a little hesitant to by an "all in one" machine as well, but then again, even with the towers, it appears at times the best course for upgrading is simply to replace the entire machine.

The only issue I have with the iMacs is the great difficulty in replacing the hard drive, which can fail at any time. I wish Apple had made HD replacement as easy in this design as it is in the MacBooks.

I say this as someone who owns (and loves) an out of warranty iMac (I missed the one year cut off for getting AppleCare) that is beginning to get bad sectors on the hard drive. I'm limping along, fingers crossed, with daily SuperDuper! backups to an external drive, and the occasional (twice in the past 6 months) zeroing out of the internal drive and recloning back onto it. But I know it's going to fail.

I have a degree in electronics and I've been using computers for more than 20 years, and even I hesitate to open it up.