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Why is my new iMac 2.16 Core 2 slower than my eMac 1.25?

B

bear1973

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 28, 2006
76
0
I just received my new 20" iMac 2.16 Core 2 Duo. I love it, or want to love it, but I've noticed that it's really quite slow when doing things like switching applications, starting new ones, and sometimes just completing basic tasks like opening a file from Word or getting the print window to open. It took no less than 15 seconds to switch over to Dreamweaver, for example, and all I had open was Word, iChat, and Entourage. That's really not a lot.

The hard drive seems to be running constantly as it completes these tasks. This was one of the reasons I bought the computer - I hated these annoying little slow downs that occurred when doing basic tasks. (don't get me wrong, when I'm encoding video, this machine blows my old eMac away).

Is this because I'm still at 1 gig? My eMac had 768 MB and wasn't this slow. Does the Intel processor demand more RAM? I was hoping to hold off a bit.

Any ideas?
 
Memory will help. Those apps are pre-Intel apps. Once native Intel versions of these apps come out, you won't need as much memory and they will scream.
 
Definitely run as few PPC only applications that require Rosetta as you can. Dump Word and Entourage at least when performance is necessary. Substitute Pages and Mail.app if possible.

Memory may help since you report disc activity, but it might not take you all the way to where you want to be.

B
 
balamw said:
Definitely run as few PPC only applications that require Rosetta as you can. Dump Word and Entourage at least when performance is necessary. Substitute Pages and Mail.app if possible.
Click to expand...

I concur. None of those Apps that you mentioned are being run natively and are being emulated. More RAM will help with those until the universal versions come out.
 
Thanks for the info...

...that's got to be it. I wonder why I, MacUser for 20 years, didn't figure this out? I've owned nine or ten Macs now and just expect the new one to do everything faster when it comes out of the box.

I think I'll make the switch to Mail (although I'm so used to Entourage!), but doubt I'll be able to give up Word anytime soon.

As for RAM, will it make much difference if I grab another gig now for 1.5 gb and then pick up another 1 gig stick later for 2 GB, or does it really pay to get a matched pair. DataMem.com has one for $238 (2 gig matched), but I'm a bit tapped right now after the iMac.

Thanks again.
 
bear1973 said:
...that's got to be it. I wonder why I, MacUser for 20 years, didn't figure this out? I've owned nine or ten Macs now and just expect the new one to do everything faster when it comes out of the box.

I think I'll make the switch to Mail (although I'm so used to Entourage!), but doubt I'll be able to give up Word anytime soon.

As for RAM, will it make much difference if I grab another gig now for 1.5 gb and then pick up another 1 gig stick later for 2 GB, or does it really pay to get a matched pair. DataMem.com has one for $238 (2 gig matched), but I'm a bit tapped right now after the iMac.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Getting a Mac right now kinda sucks because it has top notch specs but the performance is hindered by the intel transition. I just got a 12" Powerbook from a friend and i'm surprised at how fast everything runs.
 
I'm sure you can manage until the Universal Binaries of Office and etc come out, I for one am bursting with hate because Adobe is monopolizing the Design Applications world (especially after buying Macromedia) and everyone is still waiting for the damn CS3 Universal. A lot of people are waiting for some UB's to come out, guess we'll just have to wait :) that's the only downside to Intel Mac's if you ask me, still, it's temporary.
 
Nym said:
I'm sure you can manage until the Universal Binaries of Office and etc come out, I for one am bursting with hate because Adobe is monopolizing the Design Applications world (especially after buying Macromedia) and everyone is still waiting for the damn CS3 Universal. A lot of people are waiting for some UB's to come out, guess we'll just have to wait :) that's the only downside to Intel Mac's if you ask me, still, it's temporary.
Click to expand...

Amazing how many more months it will take before the CS3 release also. I'm dyin' here!
 
Swarmlord said:
Amazing how many more months it will take before the CS3 release also. I'm dyin' here!
Click to expand...

Yep, let's organize a rally against Adobe :mad:

We want Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver NOW!!
What sickens me is that PC-Using Designers are winning the fight of Mac Vs PC :(
 
That's a good thing. PCs are just plain better. People piss and moan about Microsoft trying to have a monopoly, but Apple is the company that refuses to let any third party developers build a computer. Apple wants all the profit. Apple has a monopoly on the Macintosh OS. It should be open ended just like Windows. Microsoft doesn't force people to buy a Microsoft PC, they license their software to hundreds of hardware manufacturers. So you can buy a Dell or a Gateway, or whatever you want. You even can do like me and just buy the parts and put a computer together. Apple won't let their customers have that kind of free will. They want you to use the system they setup, and nothing else. That's just plain B.S.

P.S. I work at a printing company and 90% of our work is in some sort of Adobe format, one thing I've noticed is OS X's GUI drains so much system performance that running all those Adobe apps is very taxing for the processor. Adobe just finally got smart, and realized that PCs and the Windows OS are more streamline for speed, not visual beauty. Apple worries too much about how their OS looks instead of how well it performs.
 
SBleed@mchsi.co said:
That's a good thing. PCs are just plain better. People piss and moan about Microsoft trying to have a monopoly, but Apple is the company that refuses to let any third party developers build a computer. Apple wants all the profit. Apple has a monopoly on the Macintosh OS. It should be open ended just like Windows. Microsoft doesn't force people to buy a Microsoft PC, they license their software to hundreds of hardware manufacturers. So you can buy a Dell or a Gateway, or whatever you want. You even can do like me and just buy the parts and put a computer together. Apple won't let their customers have that kind of free will. They want you to use the system they setup, and nothing else. That's just plain B.S.
Click to expand...

Wow from the look of this guys sig, looks like he doesnt have a mac....and from his post sounds like he isnt too keen on getting one anytime soon... do you think he took all that time to sign up just to become a troll??

Dude its macrumors, not troll rumors.
 
I signed up because I work on Macs all day at work, and we have LOTS of trouble shooting todo, and this forum seemed to have a pretty large community going. And no I'll never waste my money on a Mac. From using the brand new G5s here at work, I know that I will never again own a Mac. For the first 5 years of computer use, I learned on a Mac. Then I used a Gateway at my friend's house, and I instantly realized the PC is more for my style. I love customizing. Just look at my car and you'll see that. Macs have little to no customization. Unless you count graphical changes in color schemes. I like knowing exactly what hardware is in a computer, and knowing that I put it together from scratch is a lot more satisfying than changing highlighted txt from Aqua to Graphite colors.

And as I've seen on this forum, and from work experience, Macs are more expensive, and they run slower. So why would I spend $3000 on a new G5, when I spent $400 on my PC and it runs faster than the G5s do?
 
SBleed@mchsi.co said:
So why would I spend $3000 on a new G5, when I spent $400 on my PC and it runs faster than the G5s do?
Click to expand...
You wouldn't. Because a quad-core Xeon based Mac Pro will only set you back $2500.

EDIT: After years of building/specing my own PCs, I finally realized that I want to do work with my computers, not work on them. The time I have saved not "working on the computer" well make up for any additional cost for the Macs.

Furthermore, any Core Duo based machine like the current Macs can easily outperform any P4/Pentium-D 3 GHz box. At least my iMac keeps pace with the latest Dells we've received at work.

B
 
Of course they can. Intel makes inforior PC Proccessors. I haven't had a pentium in my computer for years. And uh My computer has been running completely virus and bug free for damn near a year now. I haven't had to reformat or anything and I've switched out motherboards and proccessors - not because they broke but because I upgraded. And uh We have 7 macs here at work and one PC for the occassional Pagemaker file, and the Macs are constantly needing to be rebooted, and reformatted. The PC running Windows 2000 had been on for 3 months straight now with no rebooting or reformating needed. I just wish they would finish the integration of PC to Mac. It's silly to have these two OSs working against each other instead of with each other. Windows can now run on a Mac, so they should allow macs to run on PC hardware. Oh wait Apple wont allow that will they?
 
SBleed@mchsi.co said:
I signed up because I work on Macs all day at work, and we have LOTS of trouble shooting todo, and this forum seemed to have a pretty large community going. And no I'll never waste my money on a Mac. From using the brand new G5s here at work, I know that I will never again own a Mac. For the first 5 years of computer use, I learned on a Mac. Then I used a Gateway at my friend's house, and I instantly realized the PC is more for my style. I love customizing. Just look at my car and you'll see that. Macs have little to no customization. Unless you count graphical changes in color schemes. I like knowing exactly what hardware is in a computer, and knowing that I put it together from scratch is a lot more satisfying than changing highlighted txt from Aqua to Graphite colors.

And as I've seen on this forum, and from work experience, Macs are more expensive, and they run slower. So why would I spend $3000 on a new G5, when I spent $400 on my PC and it runs faster than the G5s do?
Click to expand...

Yes PCs are faster. I think all we Mac users know this. Especially if you want to overclock.:rolleyes: As for customization, PCs are far superior. From casing to choosing fans, liquid cooling, etc. But then again, it's a PC. What would happen if Apple could allow you to do these things? C'mon, Apple computers are about elegance, simplicity. It's funny how EVERY PC manufacturer fails to top Apple's simplistic and elegnat designs. If you ask me what company has offered a case that's near Apple-like, I'd say Lian Li or Shuttle.

I'd like to state that people don't "waste" money on a Mac. I'd like to hear where YOU bought all you're components for $400 and how it's faster than a Mac Pro. C'mon, you know it's not anywhere as fast as you think. If you bought similar components and compare them to a Mac Pro, I guarantee you'll find that a Mac Pro is cheaper. For instance, build a server with similar specs to a Mac Pro. I've done this, and it's definitely well over $2500. Haven't you read articles on PC sites like Anandtech? Each Woodcrest processor cost around $700 EACH. This is buying from places like Newegg.com. I agree that Apple should have a mid-level desktop that has Conroe processors in them. But only time will tell if Apple will release such a product.

Anyway, I don't wanna get into the specifics, but people who buy Macs are usually design people, who want to use it for productivity and not gaming. But now Macs have an even better value: being able to run ANY OS. From Linux, to Windows. So now you can game on it. And boy is it heaven. :) Oh and I'd also like to state that Windows Vista uses a HELL of a lot of system resources. MORE than OS X that's a fact. And NOW Microsoft is going to be heavily reliant on their GUI. Following Apple's lead like they always are. :p
 
Those are just more stupid generalizations. Im a graphic designer and Im on my three macs at work all day. I only restart the macs for system updates whereas the pc that I have (and no longer need since i now run my print server from the mac) needs restarted at least once a week just for security updates and typically needs a hard restart because of freezing. You could find a personal example to support any opinion.

I've also got a couple cubes and a powermac g4 that Ive built up myself. I know the amount of parts available arent as widespread as they are for pcs but this satifies my need to tinker. Its a personal preference. And your personal work experience doesnt make your generalizing opinions correct.
 
SBleed@mchsi.co said:
Of course they can. Intel makes inforior PC Proccessors. I haven't had a pentium in my computer for years. And uh My computer has been running completely virus and bug free for damn near a year now. I haven't had to reformat or anything and I've switched out motherboards and proccessors - not because they broke but because I upgraded. And uh We have 7 macs here at work and one PC for the occassional Pagemaker file, and the Macs are constantly needing to be rebooted, and reformatted. The PC running Windows 2000 had been on for 3 months straight now with no rebooting or reformating needed. I just wish they would finish the integration of PC to Mac. It's silly to have these two OSs working against each other instead of with each other. Windows can now run on a Mac, so they should allow macs to run on PC hardware. Oh wait Apple wont allow that will they?
Click to expand...

Yay for trolling! I guess you're an AMD fanboy aren't you? Well, Intel's processors have been whooping the crap out of AMD's processors. If you didn't know this by now, then you're dumb. :p

I work with Macs and PCs at work, and NONE of them have to be rebooted or reformatted. So I beg to differ. On all the machines we use, there's SEVERAL design programs installed, and used everyday. I have a MacBook Pro I use 24/7. I haven't had to reboot or shut down the computer. I always put it to sleep. I've done this with my other Apple computers as well. Not everyone will have the same experience of course, but in my experience, if you don't actually TRY to crash a computer, ANY computer will run flawlessly, not relating to what OS is used.
 
Oh by the way, you're sig sucks. There's no such thing as a "Geforce FX 6600". Because there is one without the FX in it. :p I have a 7800 GT. Beat that. :p You might want to get that spelling of "Athalon" right too. Oh and uhh...You're PC SUCKS. :p Mine PWNS yours. :rolleyes:
 
Yeah I am not looking foreward to Vista at all.
Ok. At work we have 2Ghz Core Duo Quad core G5s right?
I have a 3Ghz Athalon ok?
The RAM amount and Graphics card are the same, both the G5s, and my PC have Gaforce 6600 in them.

Doom3:
Mac G5 - 60fps
PC - 75fps

F.E.A.R.:
Mac G5 - 50fps
PC - 65 fps

These are the results I got from doing the framerate test that comes with the games.

Oh and I bought all my hardware from a company called D.I.T. I think their website is ditcorp.com

And as for elegance. The G5s look like large toasters (and heavy as hell), I prefer the origional iMac design. But all Macs usually look like they were geared toward girls.
And the simplicity thing is where I mainly get my dislike for Macs. Apple gave the ability for any joe schmo to pic up a mouse and use a computer. That's why we have so many idiots on myspace and aol. I think that if a person wants to use a computer, then learn about it. Know the machine your manipulating. My brother bought a $3000 laptop, and doesn't know a damn thing about computers. Why did he buy one. I spend most of my time uninstalling the Spyware, and adware he downloads.

I dunno. I took great pride in learning how a computer works, and what makes it do this and that. And I get kinda pissy when over half the computers in the world are being operated by morons. I remember the good old days, when people saw a DOS prompt and ran in fear. But I could, and still can zip around in DOS faster than any GUI either company has come up with.

Ignorance just pisses me off, and Apple paved the way for idiots to use a computer. And uh just to note, I'm not saying that if you own a mac your an idiot. I have to make that clear.
 
yeah my PC isn't exactly the highest end you can get.
I suck at spelling, and I couldn't remember if it was an FX or not. the Macs here at work say they're a 6600 LE, but I know mine's not an LE.

Is Athlon better?
 
SBleed@mchsi.co said:
Yeah I am not looking foreward to Vista at all.
Ok. At work we have 2Ghz Core Duo Quad core G5s right?
I have a 3Ghz Athalon ok?
The RAM amount and Graphics card are the same, both the G5s, and my PC have Gaforce 6600 in them.

Doom3:
Mac G5 - 60fps
PC - 75fps

F.E.A.R.:
Mac G5 - 50fps
PC - 65 fps

These are the results I got from doing the framerate test that comes with the games.

Oh and I bought all my hardware from a company called D.I.T. I think their website is ditcorp.com

And as for elegance. The G5s look like large toasters (and heavy as hell), I prefer the origional iMac design. But all Macs usually look like they were geared toward girls.
And the simplicity thing is where I mainly get my dislike for Macs. Apple gave the ability for any joe schmo to pic up a mouse and use a computer. That's why we have so many idiots on myspace and aol. I think that if a person wants to use a computer, then learn about it. Know the machine your manipulating. My brother bought a $3000 laptop, and doesn't know a damn thing about computers. Why did he buy one. I spend most of my time uninstalling the Spyware, and adware he downloads.

I dunno. I took great pride in learning how a computer works, and what makes it do this and that. And I get kinda pissy when over half the computers in the world are being operated by morons. I remember the good old days, when people saw a DOS prompt and ran in fear. But I could, and still can zip around in DOS faster than any GUI either company has come up with.

Ignorance just pisses me off, and Apple paved the way for idiots to use a computer. And uh just to note, I'm not saying that if you own a mac your an idiot. I have to make that clear.
Click to expand...

Uhh, no. There was NEVER any 2 Ghz Quad Core G5 Power Macs. There was ONLY 2.5 Ghz Quads. By the way, you mixed up Core Duo in it. A G5 is a G5. A Core Duo is a Core Duo. Get your processors right.

And I'd like to ask, what OS are these games running on? C'mon, ports are never going to run as fast as natively developed games. By the way, F.E.A.R. was NEVER and NEVER will be, ported to Mac. So if you're saying that you ran F.E.A.R. on a G5, you're still wrong. Because you can't run Windows on a PowerPC based system. Halo was ported to Mac, and yes it does run slower than the PC version.

Looks like YOU don't know anything about computers. YOU should take the time to learn about computers and how to manipulate them. :p Can I ask if you know how to use Linux? :rolleyes:

Please stop your silly troll. :p
 
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