Dual Core 2.0 - or Quad 2.5

[VanMac]

Planning to buy one of the new PMs.

I would likely buy the Quad right now, but it is not available yet, and not sure if I want to wait. I'd like to make some movies for the family for Christmas, so time is getting short.

I will likely use this machine for Final Cut Pro, some photo stuff, and just getting more into that type of thing. Not likely to do any production type stuff, but I want the horsepower to do what I need, and even things that I dont. I have a little 12" iBook for email and stuff.

So, I'm debating purchase of the Dual 2.0 now, or waiting a bit for the Quad. I'd hate to buy the dual now, and then always be wishing I had the Quad. I'm kinda answering my own question, but would like some input from those that are more experienced with this level of hardware. Will the dual core 2.0 satisfy my requirements for making home movies, using Final Cut Pro, and the likes, or will the Quad be the thing to wait for.

Thanks in advance,

 

[Bear]

Congratulations, you've correctly identified that the dual 2.3 is not a cost effective option.

If you're going to get the quad, you need to order it now if you want to see it in November.

How much will you be using it for Final Cut Pro? The quad will cut the render time down a lot. This page shows that the Quad 2.5 will do Final Cut Pro encoding & rendering in noticeably less time than a dual 2.0.

Also what's a "little" photo work?

Anyway, get the Quad. You know you want the Quad. In either case get enough memory and disk space when you order the machine.

 

[p0intblank]

I say go the Quad if you can afford it. That's the model I am most likely getting.

 

[generik]

Don't goad yourself into buying something that you can't possibly utilise. The quad is the most powerful workstation mankind has ever seen

Nice price premium for it though.

My advice: if you depend on it to make a living, go for it. If you are just gonna use it for that occasional "editing these little videos of Emmie first steps" or some such, save the cash and get the Macintels next time.

Heck, I foresee in the future they might release slower quads (than the present ones) to fill up a few other market segments too.

 

[Demon Hunter]

Anyway, get the Quad. You know you want the Quad.

Good man. That's what I say.

 

[themedium]

so all of you would aggre that if final cut pro, pro tools, and many other audio programs are being used, to get the quad??

 

[ipacmm]

so all of you would aggre that if final cut pro, pro tools, and many other audio programs are being used, to get the quad??

If you can afford the quad...I would get it, it will last you longer and will be a lot faster. But if you need a new PM right now, I would get the Dual Core 2.0 and upgrade it.

 

[Xephian]

I would get the dual core 2Ghz then buy a high-end intel Power Mac when they come out.

 

[VanMac]

Congratulations, you've correctly identified that the dual 2.3 is not a cost effective option.

If you're going to get the quad, you need to order it now if you want to see it in November.

How much will you be using it for Final Cut Pro? The quad will cut the render time down a lot. This page shows that the Quad 2.5 will do Final Cut Pro encoding & rendering in noticeably less time than a dual 2.0.

Also what's a "little" photo work?

Anyway, get the Quad. You know you want the Quad. In either case get enough memory and disk space when you order the machine.

For Final Cut....not sure how much I will be using it. I'm just getting into this stuff. I have about 50 miniDV tapes from over the last 6 years that I want to make movies out of, as well as other material.

Photo stuff....not sure. Whatever I can play around with. Likely some photoshop on a minor level. Possible get into some 3d stuff. Whater I can get time to muck around with.

I'm thinking I'll just relax my timelines on when I wanted to get some movies done by, and wait for the Quad. I can do some minor stuff with iMovie if I want till I get it. I want to purchase it from the Apple store in Toronto, so I'll have to wait till they are in stock. Hopefully not too long.

 

[Bear]

...
I want to purchase it from the Apple store in Toronto, so I'll have to wait till they are in stock. Hopefully not too long.

Just remember that if you want a CTO system, it's usually less expensive to order it.

 

[GreenDice]

Congratulations, you've correctly identified that the dual 2.3 is not a cost effective option.

.

I am thinking to order the 2.3 dual. The quad is too expensive for me. Upgrading 2.0's graphics card to 256MB and and its hard drive to 250GB brings the gap to about $375. The question is if 2.3 dual is$375 faster. $375 is about 19% of the 2.0's $2000 price tag. Is 2.3 19% faster? I guess it is not, based on this guy's initial benchmark http://media.99mac.se/g5_dualcore/. Also, using old single core benchmark results from Apple (http://www.apple.com/powermac/performance/), my guess the performance differernce is about 10 to 12%.

However, I am able to get the 2.3 dual for $2000. The gap is actually $300 for me and I will overpay roughly $150. I am more than happy to do that because that having that extra 10% performance gain in Photoshop and Aperture is important.

My conclusion is that: 2.3 dual is not most cost-effective but I am willing to overpay $150 because of the extra performance. It is similar to people who buy Powerbook over iBook.

 

[zap2]

get the quad if you can ,its a QUAD!!! that word just sounds cool!

 

[Sogo]

Man, i would go for the quad! As stated, it just sounds cool! Also, I like to believe that it will last you for some time before you need to upgrade it. Again, as you said, you might have some buyers remorse. And i think we all know how that feels, except for maybe a few.

 

[biohazard6969]

dude get the quad if u got the dough!!!! u no u want it, and i mean its the sexyest thing since.....well....sex!!!!

 

[dmw007]

If you have the $$$, go for the Quad Power Mac G5!

 

[dmw007]

dude get the quad if u got the dough!!!! u no u want it, and i mean its the sexyest thing since.....well....sex!!!!

Um...not so sure that I would go that far...

...but they are awesome Macs!

 

[slipper]

wow $5000 worth of equipment just to make christmas vids of the family.

Grinch

 

[Makosuke]

To be completely honest, it sounds like the 2.0 is going to be perfectly sufficient for what you're working on--I have the original dual 2.0 (which on account of the slower subsystems is probably 10-20% slower than the new one), and it handles exactly the sort of stuff you're working on without issue. Toss in a couple of nice fast drives and plenty of RAM with the money you save (buy 'em youself instead of BTO to save) and maybe an external SATA card once they become available, and you'll probably be quite happy.

That said, were I in your shoes and had the money to blow, I'd totally get the quad just because I'm a speed-craving geek and it's wicked-fast. You'll certainly notice the difference in FCP and the like, even if you don't really *need* that boost.

Final note: You can still get the old dual 2.7GHz from Apple for about $500 less than the quad 2.5, which has the advantage of PCI-X slots for which cards currently exist. It's probably not the best long-term investment, but it does give an in-between speed option to consider.

 

[themedium]

i'm leaning more towards the quad, but because i'm planning on getting a mac-intel based powermac about 3-6 months after they come out, would it be easier for me to sell the dual core 2.3, instead of the quad? i know the resale on macs is very good, anyone have an idea on what machine would give me the better resale compared to the original price?

 

[chucknorris]

To be completely honest, it sounds like the 2.0 is going to be perfectly sufficient for what you're working on--I have the original dual 2.0 (which on account of the slower subsystems is probably 10-20% slower than the new one), and it handles exactly the sort of stuff you're working on without issue. Toss in a couple of nice fast drives and plenty of RAM with the money you save (buy 'em youself instead of BTO to save) and maybe an external SATA card once they become available, and you'll probably be quite happy.

That said, were I in your shoes and had the money to blow, I'd totally get the quad just because I'm a speed-craving geek and it's wicked-fast. You'll certainly notice the difference in FCP and the like, even if you don't really *need* that boost.

Final note: You can still get the old dual 2.7GHz from Apple for about $500 less than the quad 2.5, which has the advantage of PCI-X slots for which cards currently exist. It's probably not the best long-term investment, but it does give an in-between speed option to consider.

VOICE OF REASON:

Listen to Makosuke. There is NO stated reason for you to get a quad-core PowerMac. Your usage just can't possibly justify it.

You may have to wait slightly longer for a render, but it will definitely be quite acceptable by nearly anybody's standards.

The quad is for professionals and is priced as such. If I had more money than I knew what to do with, I would buy one, but otherwise not.

 

[DaftUnion]

quad, Quad, QUAD! You know you want one. That thing would last forever with those specs.

 

[VanMac]

wow $5000 worth of equipment just to make christmas vids of the family.

Grinch

Ya, pretty cool huh

I do IT consulting for a job, mostly applications for large corps. One of the reasons I'm leaning towards the quad is to gain experience in some of the pro applications and increase my skill set. It's not unthinkable that I may be able to generate some income based on this knowledge.

Either way, it will be a cool toy to play with

 

[VanMac]

Just remember that if you want a CTO system, it's usually less expensive to order it.

Not exactly sure what you mean by this.....

 

[chaos86]

Don't goad yourself into buying something that you can't possibly utilise. The quad is the most powerful workstation mankind has ever seen

Can't possibly utilize? How many times have you bought a machine that just barely excedes your needs because you dont want one that you cant possibly utilize then a year later reminisced about that decision and thought wow I can think of lots of things I could be using that power for. The difference wont be noticed now, but the better machine will last an extra year or two at it's dying end in 2010-12.

This is the last and the greatest powerPC based machine we will ever see. Go all out I say.

 

[Macabron]

If money is not an issue just get the quad. It will last longer, you wont have to worry about "Rosseta" working fast enough on a Macintel, and the resale value is going to be right up there. And lets say in six months it's not top of the line but second, then six more months and it will drop to third, right there you have a top 3 system for at least a year and a half! But I think it will be even longer looking at how the updates have been going. Just as an example remember the last DP G4, acording to barefeats they still give G5's a run for their money! And how long have they been out of production?

GET THE QUAD!