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Sell my PowerMac G5 for a Macbook Pro?

T

TheBMill

Guest
Original poster
Hey guys,

So, I currently have a PPC PowerMac G5 dual 2.5ghz desktop. It's got 4gb of ram, etc. etc. I also have a Macbook intel 1.83ghz core duo with 2gb of ram.

Recently, I've been doing a lot of editing work outside of my house and also have been realizing my PowerMac G5 is getting kinda old. I was wondering if perhaps I should go ahead and sell both computers and get a Macbook Pro.(I'm contemplating the two 15 inch models)

Will the Macbook pro 2.4 or 2.5ghz models run faster than my powermac?
 
The MacBook Pro is loads faster than the the PowerMacs. The lowest configuration of a Mini is on par with the quad PowerMacs, just to put it to scale. Your PowerMac is around the low 2000s on benchmarks, while a MacBook Pro is in the low 3000s. Simply, yes, sell them both and buy a MacBook Pro... you'll have the ease of having everything on one computer and the power of modern hardware.
 
I'd sell to go mobile, especially since you have 2.5 G5. You don't happen to know what model LCS you have in it? My 2.5 is at Apple for a hardware issue. Unsure if its the dreaded leaking coolant or something else, either way it could be up to an $1800 fix, if I have to cover it.

I know if I get the chance I will be upgrading soon.
 
BlizzardBomb said:
Yup, I've looked at GeekBench:
PowerMac G5 Quad - Around 3500
Mac mini C2D - Around 2400
Click to expand...

ahh, i should've actually looked for myself

but the actual numbers are

Power Mac G5 (Late 2005)
Dual Dual-Core PowerPC G5 @ 2.5 GHz 3296

MacBook Pro (Mid 2007)
Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.40 GHz 3115

Mac mini (Mid 2007)
Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.00 GHz 2619

Power Mac G5 (June 2004)
Dual PowerPC G5 @ 2.5 GHz 2101



atm, he has a dual g5 (not a quad)...the mac mini would be faster, smaller, quieter etc

the MacBook Pro would be all of those things (but even faster again) and a laptop


P.S. geekbenched my 1 year old iMac today...2813 :)
 
Never knew about this Geekbench stuff...decided to download the software.

My macbook 1.83 Intel Core Duo with 2gb ram and Mac OS 10.4.11 scores around a 2379.
http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/62740 (full results)

Whereas my PowerMac G5 (June 2004 with Dual 2.5ghz and 4gb of ram - same operating system) scores around a 2201:
http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/62738 (full results)

So, I guess my macbook is already marginally faster than my G5!

I was recently told that if I do make the jump, I should get the 17 inch macbook pro with HD screen ($100 more), but this is making the upgrade much more costly than I would have liked. In an ideal world, I was hoping to sell both computers and get a new laptop with little/no money spent. I also am a student still, so I can sell the ipod that comes free too.
 
from a brief glimpse at eBay, it looks like you can expect around $1k for the PowerMac, and around $850 for the MacBook. couple that with the $300 from the iPod and the student discount, it looks like you can get a base MacBook Pro without 'spending' any money

personally, i'd put in the extra few hundred to get the top spec 15" MBP

however, if you NEED the hi-res 17" screen, you'll have to weigh up how much you need it


hope that helps :)
 
Well if you do a lot of editing, I would budget for firewire 800 drive or eSATA raid connected to ExpressCard.

Laptop drives are not as fast as desktop drives, unless you have the budget for a $1000 mTron or other fast SSD drives that writes at 100 MB/s or faster but tiny compared to HDs.
 
Yeah there is no way a quad G5 loses to a Mac Mini.

Hell for some tasks the G5 is still faster than any Intel machine. Note I said some tasks, admittedly very very few.
 
Genghis Khan said:
atm, he has a dual g5 (not a quad)...the mac mini would be faster, smaller, quieter etc
Click to expand...

I was simply replying to iToaster, but there's no denying the MBP would be faster and more energy efficient. If I were you though, I would wait for the rumored case redesign and/ or Montevina. :)

P.S. I did find a PM G5 w/ around 3500, so I wasn't just making it up ;)
 
Eh, quad G5 is a little faster than a Mini, but I wasn't looking at the benchmarks at the time, all I remembered was looking at G5s vs mini and I knew one of the 2.5s was slower... memory (human) is a funny thing. Regardless, OP, you know the path to take and I trust you will make the right decision (MBP owns PM G5 in speed).
 
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