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23" ACD or iMac G5 20"?

C

Caitlyn

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 30, 2005
842
0
Hey everyone.
With the purchase of my MacBook to replace my portable machine, iBook, I was planning to buy a 23" Apple Cinema Display to use for extended desktop.

So, I looked into it on eBay and for about the same price of a 23" Apple Cinema Display I can buy myself a 20" 2.1GHz iMac G5. Now the reason I bought my MacBook was because I wanted the one computer setup. But recently a lot of points and benefits of having two computers have been brought to my attention. What do you think?

Would I be better off buying the ACD or the iMac? The iMac is enticing because of the dedicated graphics card that would run Pro apps like Aperture and the non-universal Photoshop CS2 very well.

Any thoughts are more than welcome! Thanks! :)
-Caitlyn
 
Do you need the pro apps? Personally I'd go with the imac because you have another computer in case something backfires with your macbook. Do you think you need another computer though? Do you need the extra screen space?

When I had an external screen for my powerbook, I just found it annoying connecting and disconnecting everything I had from the ports.
 
23'' that nice... i have a 20'' and its nice but 23'' would be even better. I'd say go ACD, as your MacBook would be faster then the iMac, and i'm not a fan of having a faster laptop then desktop.
 
Get the iMac, you get almost as much screen space, plus a great computer. I just sold my 2.1 G5 iMac on eBay for $1350. I'm sorry I had to let her go, but I needed that intel chip to run Windows. Anyway... yeah, get the iMac.
 
Well, I plan to get into FCE...but supposedly that runs fine on a MacBook...?

I also want to try out Aperture with my Fuji DSLR, but Apple's site says it won't run well if at all on MacBook's graphics card.

I also use Photoshop on weekly basis. It's okay on the MacBook with 2GB RAM, but I bet it would be faster, running natively, on a G5 2.1GHz machine.

So, thoughts seem to be split so far. More would be appreciated. :)
 
iMac...I think you will like the face that you can have a second computer incase your MB starts to moooooooooo and falls apart :eek: haha, jk, but I do think having a very powerful iMac with the isight would be very nice for the same price as a 23" screen.
 
Do you guys think I would see a major speed decrease from this 2GHz 2GB RAM MacBook vs. an iMac 2.1GHz with 2.5GB RAM (I'd max it myself)?

Keep opinions coming, please. :)
 
The only reason you can buy another computer for the price of your 23" display is (1) Apple Displays are very expensive and (2) 23" Displays are very expensive. No need for a 2nd computer. Dial down either one and you can save a lot of $$$.
 
Caitlyn said:
Do you guys think I would see a major speed decrease from this 2GHz 2GB RAM MacBook vs. an iMac 2.1GHz with 2.5GB RAM (I'd max it myself)?

Keep opinions coming, please. :)
Click to expand...


My 1.66Ghz Core Dou Mini with 1.25GB of RAM is A LOT faster then my 1.8Ghz 1Gb RAM iMac G5. I think that One Core of the Core Duo(or all of the Core Solo), is about the same speed as a single G5 chip, with similar Ghz
 
Well I want my computer setup to last me until the end of my high school career which is two and a half more years. So that was why I was considering the iMac, as I may not be able to use all the "pro" apps I mentioned before as well on this MacBook.

Again, as I've said, opinions are a big help. :)
 
Caitlyn said:
Do you guys think I would see a major speed decrease from this 2GHz 2GB RAM MacBook vs. an iMac 2.1GHz with 2.5GB RAM (I'd max it myself)?

Keep opinions coming, please. :)
Click to expand...


My 1.66Ghz Core Dou Mini with 1.25GB of RAM is A LOT faster then my 1.8Ghz 1Gb RAM iMac G5. I think that One Core of the Core Duo(or all of the Core Solo), is about the same speed as a single G5 chip, with similar Ghz. So with a Single G5 vs Core Duo, and seeing how 2Gb of RAM is more then you need for most apps(there are not many that need more the 2GB) i'd say a Core Dou will be a lot fast, and since both Macs have plenty of RAM, i'd bet even more on the Core Duo
 
My friend has a macbook and photoshop runs very poorly on it. If you want to run aperture however, there is no question- you have to get the imac.
 
Well Photoshop is okay with 2GB RAM, I just think it would be much nicer on a native G5. Aperture and Final Cut Express I think would benefit from the video card.
 
zap2 said:
My 1.66Ghz Core Dou Mini with 1.25GB of RAM is A LOT faster then my 1.8Ghz 1Gb RAM iMac G5. I think that One Core of the Core Duo(or all of the Core Solo), is about the same speed as a single G5 chip, with similar Ghz. So with a Single G5 vs Core Duo, and seeing how 2Gb of RAM is more then you need for most apps(there are not many that need more the 2GB) i'd say a Core Dou will be a lot fast, and since both Macs have plenty of RAM, i'd bet even more on the Core Duo
Click to expand...
I agree, but the author runs photoshop and aperture- its not going to be faster for those uses.
 
I'd say go with the G5. You're basically pitting 3 inches vs full blown computer. I know you can argue that you're going to keep the lcd for whatever next machine you ever get, but you have to think about whether or not you'll have anything you have now in 3 years because people on these forums tend to upgrade more than the average computer.
 
Caitlyn said:
Do you guys think I would see a major speed decrease from this 2GHz 2GB RAM MacBook vs. an iMac 2.1GHz with 2.5GB RAM (I'd max it myself)?

Keep opinions coming, please. :)
Click to expand...

If you max that RAM out, with one 2GB stick, that one stick will cost you $682.99 (from Crucial). That 20" iMac still cost the same as a 23" ACD?
 
XIII said:
If you max that RAM out, with one 2GB stick, that one stick will cost you $682.99 (from Crucial). That 20" iMac still cost the same as a 23" ACD?
Click to expand...


I thought the MacBook had 2 RAM slots?

As to the OP.. if you need PS and Aperture, you do have to get G5 if you want a good time, but if you can do with out them, or deal with it being slow.. the 23'' ACD will be more useful in the long run... unless you like to update a lot, in which case get an iMac G5, and pick up a 23'' ACD in a while
 
I don't buy from Crucial. Too expensive. I could get the computer for about $1000 to $1100 and then the 2GB stick I think runs about $200 to $250 at places I've shopped from in the past. The 23" ACD is $1299. So yeah, I think it'd be close. Maybe even cheaper because I wouldn't max the RAM right away.

And yes, the MB has 2 slots. He was referring to the iMac G5.
 
zap2 said:
I thought the MacBook had 2 RAM slots?
Click to expand...

I was talking about the iMac G5 (2.1ghz). It has two RAM slots, but one has a 512mb stick soldered on. To max it out at 2.5GB, you have to buy a 2GB stick to put in the one free slot.

Caitlyn said:
I don't buy from Crucial. Too expensive. I could get the computer for about $1000 to $1100 and then the 2GB stick I think runs about $200 to $250 at places I've shopped from in the past.
Click to expand...

$200 for a 2GB stick?! That's 1/3 of Crucial's price.. I didn't think they were *that* far behind cheaper suppliers..
 
23" ACD all the way. I have a MacBook and would LOVE even a 20" ACD. But offer me a PPC iMac? Nope.
 
XIII said:
I was talking about the iMac G5 (2.1ghz). It has two RAM slots, but one has a 512mb stick soldered on. To max it out at 2.5GB, you have to buy a 2GB stick to put in the one free slot.
Click to expand...


Oh.. the iMac..opps.. i was never a fan of RAM lock into the computer(also done on the iMac G4, there were 2 slots but one was user upgradably.. the other could be upgrade but took a fair know-how of computers and tools)
 
zap2 said:
Oh.. the iMac..opps.. i was never a fan of RAM lock into the computer(also done on the iMac G4, there were 2 slots but one was user upgradably.. the other could be upgrade but took a fair know-how of computers and tools)
Click to expand...

Yeah - sucks doesn't it. I don't really see why its necessary either..
 
Caitlyn said:
I don't buy from Crucial. Too expensive. I could get the computer for about $1000 to $1100 and then the 2GB stick I think runs about $200 to $250 at places I've shopped from in the past. The 23" ACD is $1299. So yeah, I think it'd be close. Maybe even cheaper because I wouldn't max the RAM right away.

And yes, the MB has 2 slots. He was referring to the iMac G5.
Click to expand...

23" ACD is now 999+tax.
 
Right, right. Forgot about the price drop. Well, with the tax, it'd bring me to about $1100 more or less. The 2GB RAM stick would cost me $229, but I could always wait on that.

So, basically, price would be the same if not very, very close. Assuming that, which is a better bet for me?
 
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