Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

2Ghz iMac G5 or wait til Jan?

hubristol

hubristol

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 28, 2005
102
0
Hi, I'm planning on buying a Rev B 2Ghz iMac G5 when my last paycheck comes in on the 30th (I can't wait) :D . But I was curious as to how most people felt, speculatively, about the upcoming revisions to the mac mini line. Everyone seems to be buzzing so much about the hardware upgrades for the iBook that I haven't really found a great deal of opinion about the new mac minis about to be released (beyond comments relating to its possibly tivo style functionality). I was wondering whether I should go ahead and buy my iMac on the 30th since an upgrade to the iMac isn't being expected for several months or whether there's a chance that the intel mac minis may be as fast (even though, for some reason, I doubt this will be the case).

I'd be using the iMac for video and photo editing mainly. Thanks for any help anyone can provide. I also hope this isn't a duplicate / redundant thread topic. :\
 
dmw007

dmw007

macrumors G4
May 26, 2005
10,635
0
Working for MI-6
I doubt very much that the iMac will be updated any time in the near future. So I would say to go ahead and buy the 2GHz iMac G5 in question hubristol.

As far as an intel Mac Mini being fast/faster as/than a 2GHz iMac G5- I highly doubt it. The PowerPC G5 is an amazing chip that eats pentium processors for breakfast! :) So unless the intel Mac Mini's come with a dual-core 2.16GHz pentium m- don't worry about it.
 
B

brogers

macrumors regular
Apr 6, 2002
192
0
Greensboro, NC
Go For It

I just got the new iMac with built in iSight. I'd get it. With the Intel chips coming, there is a big question mark about a lot of things....speed, stability (at first anyway), enclosures...etc. I'm just not sure I see Apple making a Mini that is better than than the iMac. This thing is sweet too. I just got a friend to switch after he saw and played with it. That is my third this year!!!!

Anyway, get what you want. There will always be something better in a couple months.
 
Eidorian

Eidorian

macrumors Penryn
Mar 23, 2005
29,190
386
Indianapolis
I get faster than realtime encoding on my 17" 2.0 Ghz iMac G5. I didn't think it'd be that fast. I'm happy with it. Space heater! Best winter computer ever. :D
 
dmw007

dmw007

macrumors G4
May 26, 2005
10,635
0
Working for MI-6
Eidorian said:
I get faster than realtime encoding on my 17" 2.0 Ghz iMac G5. I didn't think it'd be that fast. I'm happy with it. Space heater! Best winter computer ever. :D
Click to expand...

No, a Power Mac G5 Quad is the best winter computer ever! :D ;)
 
thedude110

thedude110

macrumors 68020
Jun 13, 2005
2,478
2
You're much better off with a Rev. B iMac than an Intel iMac Nouveau. Wait for Apple to get the Intel kinks worked out before hopping on that train!
 
hubristol

hubristol

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 28, 2005
102
0
brogers said:
Anyway, get what you want. There will always be something better in a couple months.
Click to expand...

Amen. This is sadly (and, paradoxically, awesomely) the situation with technology.

And like i said in the first post, I didn't really believe the mac mini upgrades would be faster than the current iMacs but it's nice to hear that I'm not the only one who thought that. I've heard great things about the iMac G5s and I can't wait to get my own.

The reason i'm not getting the isight version is because I would never use isight or front row and the speed increase with the faster video card isn't significant enough of a leap for me to want to shell out $300 more than a refurbished 20" Rev B for the 20" version Rev C. I'll be having around $1400 spending money and have had my eyes set on the 20" Rev B for a while now. I'll be sure to upgrade the RAM when i start working again after the break. :D

I'm curious, though. Does anyone know whether the RAM in iMacs come in the form of 2x256MB sticks or whether it's just one 512MB stick? I'm assuming it's the former...

And i'll try not to start a "Yippee!" thread when I buy it, either. :)
 
dmw007

dmw007

macrumors G4
May 26, 2005
10,635
0
Working for MI-6
hubristol said:
I'm curious, though. Does anyone know whether the RAM in iMacs come in the form of 2x256MB sticks or whether it's just one 512MB stick? I'm assuming it's the former...
Click to expand...

1x512MB stick.

hubristol said:
And i'll try not to start a "Yippee!" thread when I buy it, either. :)
Click to expand...

Go ahead and do so- just post plenty of pictures of your awesome, new iMac G5! :)
 
mduser63

mduser63

macrumors 68040
Nov 9, 2004
3,042
31
Salt Lake City, UT
Definitely recommend getting it now if you want it. I don't think it will be updated at Macworld, and even if it is, I'd much rather have a new last generation PPC iMac G5 than a new first generation Intel iMac. Intel native software won't be abundant until later next year I don't think, and PPC will continue to be compatible for a long time to come.

The latest rumor is that Mac minis with 1.5 GHz Yonah CPUs will be introduced. They'll be faster than the current G4 Mac minis, but definitely not faster than a 1.9 or 2.1 GHz G5. Especially considering that for the first few months, most software will have to be run in Rosetta.
 
illegalprelude

illegalprelude

macrumors 68000
Mar 10, 2005
1,583
120
Los Angeles, California
i agree with the others. getting the iMac now will be ur best bet. its like anything new, at the launch, there is always problems and lack of software. not even computers, (Xbox 360, PSP, 2001 BMW M3 etc) so usually the 1st release verses a year or in computer world, few months into the release will be a big diff. so I say get ur iMac now and just enjoy it
 
bodeh6

bodeh6

macrumors 6502a
May 18, 2005
773
0
What kind of deal are you getting on the Rev B? If It isn't too much of a deal, the Rev C is a better machine.
 
hubristol

hubristol

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 28, 2005
102
0
Well I can get a Rev B 2Ghz 20" iMac G5 for $1300 whereas a 20" Rev C with my student discount would be $1600. If there were significant hardware upgrades I might contemplate saving up for it, but as far as I can see, the main additions are just the inclusion of iSight (which I have no need for) and Front Row (which I'd have no need for). The better video card, extra memory expandibility, and additional 100Mhz would all be nice but I think i would rather put that $300 towards other things even if I did have $1600+ to spend.

And before anyone says it, I'm intent on the 20". :D Getting a Rev C 17" isn't an option for me.
 
BlizzardBomb

BlizzardBomb

macrumors 68030
Jun 15, 2005
2,537
0
England
It's an awesome machine. Guaranteed to put a smile on your face the second it comes out the box. And as an added bonus you can laugh at your friends when they say "Hey nice screen! So where's the computer?"
 
hubristol

hubristol

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 28, 2005
102
0
lilstewart92 said:
And why not? I have one... it's awesome. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...


hehe, I know for a fact it's as awesome as the 20" but since I'm going to be using the comp for video and photo editing I need all the screen real estate I can get. 17" is definitely a nice size (I've been using my family's eMac for a few years and sometimes I look at the screen and am surprised by how big it actually is) but I liked the feeling that I felt when i looked at the 20" iMac for the first time at my college apple store. :D


You guys need to stop with all the positive comments about the iMac! It's already hard as it is to wait for my lest check to come in so I can order it! I'm more excited about Dec 30th (when my last paycheck comes in) than I am about Dec 25th. It's the first time that the most anticipated gift on my list is coming from myself.
 
FocusAndEarnIt

FocusAndEarnIt

macrumors 601
May 29, 2005
4,628
1,112
hubristol said:
You guys need to stop with all the positive comments about the iMac!
Click to expand...
Oh, it' soooo thin, yet so big. It's white enclosure, it's apple logo, it's keyboard... oh yeah.... the lcd is the computer, wireless, omg, i could go on forever. :D:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom