1.8Ghz Powermac G5 vs 1.8Ghz iMac G5

[hubristol]

Hey, it's probably fairly obvious by my title that I'm a noob. I'm not really wanting to start a thread asking which one is better, but rather looking for some buying advice. By the end of this month I'll finally have enough to save up for my own computer - I've been using the 2 year old 867Mhz eMac this semester that's normally the family computer (although it's been relegated to the computer nobody but me uses). I've been especially saving up for a single 1.8Ghz Powermac because, quite frankly, that'll be all I'd be able to afford.

However, I was wondering if there was any distinct advantage of the 1.8Ghz Powermac over, say, the 1.8Ghz iMac. I've tried to find comparison charts online, and the one chart that I did find proved that the Powermac was indeed faster but not significantly. I'd be mainly using the computer to edit film and photography and would much rather have a Powermac than iMac due to the versatility in upgrading and increase in power that it has. I guess my question is: if push came to shove, would the iMac G5 (let's assume both the hypathetical iMac and Powermac will have 1Gig of RAM to make everything else equal) suffice for my needs or would I still be better off with the Powermac?

Also, does anyone know the average selling price for single 1.8Ghz (and/or 1.6Ghz) Powermac G5s? If questions like these have been asked over and over again and there's a thread you can point me to with some answers, I'd appreciate that as well.

 

[mad jew]

Do you already have a nice screen?

 

[Lacero]

By the end of this month I'll finally have enough to save up for my own computer...

You might as well save up a little bit more and get yourself a dual 1.8 Ghz PowerMac G5. It's certainly a better value in price/performance. If you get the single 1.8 GHz PowerMac, you're paying a lot for the casing, form factor. Spend just a little more and get the second CPU. The PM G5s run amazingly buttery with a second processor.

Otherwise, if you need one right away, I'd go with the equally capable 1.8 Ghz iMac. It's fast enough to edit film, but you may want to invest in additional external firewire drives.

Here's to the Crazy Ones ​

 

[hubristol]

Oh, I'd love to be able to get a dual processor Powermac but, sadly, I really won't have much more than what I have by the end of this month. I'm currently working two jobs to save up for the computer and the second job (a night time custodian) is what's primarily funding the purchase. Next semester, due to the change in my class schedule, i really don't want to have two jobs which means that my income will be almost negligible.

And no, i don't already have a monitor, but I can find those for pretty cheap in the classifieds on campus or on ebay or on newegg, etc. By the end of this month I'll have about $1450...if that would be within the price range of a dual 1.8, I could always just buy that and possibly ask for a really cheap monitor for a christmas present from the folks...

I figure that I could always just save up over time and upgrade to a dual processor powermac down the road if need be but for some reason I've had an aversion to buying an iMac (although it certainly is a capable system) if I could afford a PowerMac instead...it just seems the latter would last me longer and afford more options to upgrade.

 

[MRU]

As Lacero says,

If you havent got a monitor and cant afford the dual PM then the imac would probably be a better purchase.

The speed difference between the two will be negligable with a single 1.8mhz chip anyway.

The PM would only be an advantage if it had dual processor - over the imac.

 

[mad jew]

I think the iMac would be fine. The speed difference is negligible and you'll get a pretty screen inbuilt.

 

[Will Cheyney]

Exactly. If you don't already own a decent monitor, opt for the iMac.
Brilliant machine. I was considering getting one, but opted for a dual 2.7Ghz G5 and Cinema display instead! Haha.

 

[FFTT]

The brand new and very much improved 1.9 GHz 17" WS iMac
fits right into your budget at $1299 or $1199 if you happen to be a school
employee or student.

They have greatly improved the display resolution and contrast ratios,
larger hard drives,new motherboard with PCI-express 128 MB graphics, built in iSight and remote control.

The newest model is an exceptional value and ready to roll with great features that are worth every penny.

I strongly advise against either the single processor 1.8 tower
or the older 1.8 Ghz iMacs. Both have had far too many problems.

 

[QCassidy352]

The brand new and very much improved 1.9 GHz 17" WS iMac
fits right into your budget at $1299 or $1199 if you happen to be a school
employee or student.

I agree. If that's a possibility, go for it.

 

[Danksi]

I like my 1.9Ghz iMac, do a fair bit of movie stuff on it - if I could justify the extra $'s I'd go for the entry level PMac, since I prefer to component approach and expandability. Maybe next year.

 

[dornoforpyros]

I'd be mainly using the computer to edit film and photography and would much rather have a Powermac than iMac due to the versatility in upgrading and increase in power that it has.

Sounds like you've already made up your mind. I had the same choice a year ago and I went with the power mac. I've since picked up a 20" ACD so although the specs are almost identical to a 20" iMac now I still like the fact that I've got an extra drive bay to drop more storage into. Plus the option of upgrading the video card and/or adding PCI cards later.

 

[dornoforpyros]

I strongly advise against either the single processor 1.8 tower
or the older 1.8 Ghz iMacs. Both have had far too many problems.

Actually since the last firmware upgrade(released about 9 days ago) for the 1.8 single powermac mine has been rock solid. Yes, it was problematic before, but since the upgrade I haven't restarted yet, going on 9 days uptime now.

 

[hubristol]

Hey guys, I really appreciate all the input you guys have given. Most of you say that the 1.8Ghz iMac would do me just fine and I take your word for that as, even though I've been a mac fan all my life, I definitely don't know the most. It sort of re-affirmed the tests that I saw (and what i posted earlier) about the powermac only having neglibibly faster speed. I guess I'll look into getting an iMac then.

BTW, the main candidate as far as iMacs go is a refurbished 20" from apple for $1150 + some more $$ for RAM upgrade. I'm more concerned, at this point, with screen size than I am about small upgrades in the processor speed from iMac to iMac or having built in iSight.

 

[FFTT]

It's not the processor speed, but rather the new PCI-express motherboard

that makes such a huge difference.

8X AGP in the old vs 16X PCI-Express 128MB VRAM in the new and a better display are major improvements.

If you're looking at a 1.8 GHz 20" iMac that IS a REV "A" and they did have major issues with the midplane board capacitors.

If the one you're looking at says it has 64 MB VRAM PASS and go for the new one.

 

[Psychic Shopper]

Go for the tower

The tower-Power Mac can easily accept a second internal hard drive, has an easily swapable cd drive, has a slightly faster bus speed, and has PCI slots.
I'm especially happy with my second internal hard drive, took me about 5 minutes to install, it was that easy. I believe that an internal hard drive is slightly faster. I've been very happy with my 1.6 G5, good luck!
Malcom Ryder

 

[visualanté]

powerbook 1.67 versus powermac g5 single 1.8

i just did a side by side comparison, my g4 powerbook was faster than g5 using photoshop....it puzzeled me.....

 

[Chrispy]

The new iMac is really cheat from Amazon.com right now. You can get it for $1299 - $125 rebate so it is only $1174 and there is no tax