Which one to supe up?

[Oysterboy]

I have two Mac desktops and I would like to spend a bit of money increasing the performance of one of them, but unsure about which one. The first is an older MacMini (1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo), it needs an upgrade to the HD (prolly a SSD) and RAM (can go to 4 GB - actually 3+ with 2x2Gb sticks). Not sure if it is really going to get me much if I upgrade the CPU but that is an option.

My second Mac is a G5 PPC. Not really much I can upgrade here, have 4 GB of RAM (could go up to 8) and I suppose putting in a SSD would be a good thing.

All-in-all I am pretty happy with the G5 and recognize that it is probably the better computer. However, the fact that the mini is an Intel machine will allow me to be current in my software.

Opinions on the way to go here?

 

[Intell]

What speed and GPU is the G5? At most things, except gaming, the Mini would likely be faster as is.

 

[LordeOurMother]

dependson what you do. 8gb of ram is much superior to 4; but the newer software is also tempting.

id say:
if you need professional software:
Do you need the latest software?
A. Yes; Go mini or get a early mac Pro
B. No; G5 as 8gb of ram and more cores/processors will be preferred.

If you need consumer software ie; netflix, facebook, youtube, the mini is superior due to access to modern web standards such as newer flash players.

 

[Intell]

Depending on which G5, the Mini would outperform the G5 in computational tasks with ease with its current 1.86Ghz Core2Duo. It would outperform every G5 but the quad.

 

[Oysterboy]

Exactly what I wanted to know. Sounds like the mini is the way to go. My G5 is a 2.3 Processor. Honestly, it is the failure to upgrade the small stuff (ie flash) that bums me out about the G5

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

Exactly what I wanted to know. Sounds like the mini is the way to go. My G5 is a 2.3 Processor. Honestly, it is the failure to upgrade the small stuff (ie flash) that bums me out about the G5

If you were doing work that required use of more cores and had a Quad-core G5, I would say different, but the Mac Mini seems like it's the way to go. Some computers, if they are older yet have more cores, etc., can be more "responsive", if you will, but that's another story. For example, my dual-core PowerMac G4 1.25Ghz Mac is more "responsive" than my 2.1Ghz iMac G5 (single core), yet I feel the G5 is generally faster for what it is.