No turning back now....

[gcyc]

My first post here, so bear with me...

Today I sold my year-old PC to a friend at work. It was a great machine, all in a petite black shuttle case. It was my workhorse, leaving it to download torrents, watch a few movies/tv series, and play a few games. I thought everything was fine...

Until I bought myself an iBook.

I was looking at getting myself a laptop around june, to take with me on my courses that I do for work. I quickly looked at the apple store, saw the iBook and my jaw dropped. Where have people been hiding these beauties? I then decided to have a look around to see if I could get any user reviews of the iBook, which in turn lead me to the MacRumors forums. I heard talk about an iBook update at WWDC2005, I waited, but alas, nothing was announced, apart from something to do with intel which didn't interest me at the time. A couple of weeks later a speedbump was announced for the iBook line, and I gladly opened up my wallet to the monster that is Apple.

In the past few months I've found myself using the iBook more and my Windows XP box less... and then I decided that it would be ideal to buy myself an apple desktop. But which one? the iMac all-in-one, or the PowerMac? I like both of these machines, but I can only afford one. Most of the things I'll be doing is Excel/Access/Web/Mail/Photos/Torrenting.

What would you reccommend?

I hope I dont miss my old box too much...

G.

 

[wordmunger]

Well, to use Access you'll have to use Virtual PC. So that means you'll be dealing with some performance issues, as well as not entirely leaving Windows.

Otherwise, the iMac will do you just fine. It's a great machine!

 

[GimmeSlack12]

Although the Dual Core G5's are fantastic machines I think there is more to use in the iMac. Of course there are no expansion bays on the iMac, but for the price and function of it all I would go that route. I just myself bought an iBook 1.33gHz (after I heard of the updates). I love this iBook but I would have gotten the iMac if it weren't for me moving to England. So of course I needed something small that I could move around with.
I vote for the iMac. Cheap, powerful, 20" screen, Video camera built-in, DVD-R built in. ****ing sweet machine.

 

[generik]

iMac too.. or even a fully loaded Mini should suffice for most tasks

 

[20rogersc]

iMac too.. or even a fully loaded Mini should suffice for most tasks

I agree, there's no point of getting a Powermac G5 if you're only doing what you stated, and an iMac G5 would be fine. However I do think that the mini could work as well, and then if you want to upgrade to a Powermac at some point, you can use the screen from the mini.

::20ROGERSC::

 

[gcyc]

A few concerns with getting an iMac though...

With my old PC I could leave it on overnight without any worries. I could let it sit there torrenting all night long as it ran cool and quiet. I know I'm not alone in thinking that Macs are works of art

I wouldn't want to leave it on overnight doing its thing if its going to be roasting... any views on the temps these things get up to?

 

[Danksi]

A few concerns with getting an iMac though...

With my old PC I could leave it on overnight without any worries. I could let it sit there torrenting all night long as it ran cool and quiet. I know I'm not alone in thinking that Macs are works of art

I wouldn't want to leave it on overnight doing its thing if its going to be roasting... any views on the temps these things get up to?

The new iMac's (iSight) sound like they're running a lot cooler than the older rev's. I've left mine running over night rendering iMovies, iDVD's, copying Gb's of files etc.. probably not too CPU intensive, but definately not running HOT. (between 45-65'C according to the temp monitoring widget I have installed) - still very quiet during these hot periods too.

 

[gcyc]

The new iMac's (iSight) sound like they're running a lot cooler than the older rev's. I've left mine running over night rendering iMovies, iDVD's, copying Gb's of files etc.. probably not too CPU intensive, but definately not running HOT. (between 45-65'C according to the temp monitoring widget I have installed) - still very quiet during these hot periods too.

Doing those kinds of things thrash the HDD quite a bit I imagine, thats the bit im worried about as I dont think I'll be doing too many CPU intensive tasks.

 

[p0intblank]

For what you listed, especially working with photos, you probably won't need anymore power than an iMac G5. Power Macs are really meant for intense photo work in Photoshop, video editing and rendering, etc. The iMac is one nice all-in-one computer. And it has an iSight built-in which is sure to give you hours of fun of looking at yourself. I say go for the iMac. It's perfect for your needs and more.

 

[~Shard~]

Another vote for the iMac. Save yourself some money by not buying the PowerMac and spend it on extra RAM or other upgrades for your iMac. The iMacs are excellent machines, very fast and powerful, and will easily be able to handle the needs you've described above. I leave my G4 iMac on all the time, and torrenting and so forth has never been an issue - so it definitely won't be on a G5 iMac. (I once had it running solid for a month downloading every episode of Doctor Who = ~175 GB! )

Oh, and if you do upgrade the RAM, buy third party RAM, don't buy from Apple, as they charge a premium for their RAM. Just make sure where ever you buy from has a lifetime guarantee and certifies their RAM as Mac-compatible.

 

[BrandonSi]

A few concerns with getting an iMac though...

With my old PC I could leave it on overnight without any worries. I could let it sit there torrenting all night long as it ran cool and quiet. I know I'm not alone in thinking that Macs are works of art

I wouldn't want to leave it on overnight doing its thing if its going to be roasting... any views on the temps these things get up to?

I've leave mine on 24 hours, downloaded several things via bittorrent over night, never notice any heat problems, and I've got rev B. Of course I have the screen set to sleep after 10 minutes, so maybe that helps, but I really think this heat (and noise) thing is blown out of proportion.

 

[~Shard~]

I've leave mine on 24 hours, downloaded several things via bittorrent over night, never notice any heat problems, and I've got rev B. Of course I have the screen set to sleep after 10 minutes, so maybe that helps, but I really think this heat (and noise) thing is blown out of proportion.

Yeah, I agree. My G4 iMac is whisper quiet and runs at a great temperature all the time - and from what I've heard the G5 iMacs are even better.

 

[p0intblank]

~Shard~... holy sh*t, dude. ~175 GB downloading... I can't even imagine. LOL And I thought ~1.5 GB was a lot!

 

[emptyCup]

Since you already have an iBook G4 there is no advantage to a G4 mini except a larger screen. With an iMac G5 you will not only get a bigger screen but also a bigger/better everything else. They are fine machines. I have a Rev A which I leave on all the time. It runs neither hot nor loud (although some games do spin up the fans).

I agree that a PM is overkill, but adding some third party memory is a good idea. Best wishes.

 

[~Shard~]

~Shard~... holy sh*t, dude. ~175 GB downloading... I can't even imagine. LOL And I thought ~1.5 GB was a lot!

Yeah, and that was just for one series... yes, I'm a freak for liking Doctor Who so much...

I don't have any maximum transfer restrictions from my IP, so the flood gates are open! On average I probably download and upload 100 GB/month. Most of it I watch, delete, or burn to DVDs for archiving, but still, my Internet connection is pretty much pinned 24/7.

 

[zach]

i know i'm just repeating what everyone else has said, but get an iMac.

since the latest upgrade they are really the COMPLETE package. i mean, just adding the cost of a iSight and 20" display to a powermac G5 is about half the cost of an iMac to begin with, and of course you're getting Front Row and Photo Booth too.

and they're absolutely gorgeous. for anything short of hardcore video editing/rendering/compiling/gaming, they've got QUITE enough power for you. load it up with a gig or two of ram and you're good to go.

 

[Malfoy]

Hi guys. This is my first post, and I have a similar question to the OPs. (Not trying to jack this thread). I tried a powerbook(1.5 ghz, 1gb ram) last Xmas and it was a huge let down speedwise so I sold it a month later. Anywho, I'm stepping up the plate again because I like where Apple has come since then. I'm 90% I'm going to be getting a Powermac come December. Going QuadMac(I personally feel that name is mislead but anywho) w/ 7800 GT. My question is, with the impending mac world in january, do you guys think there will be an update to the QuadMacs that would make me regret getting one in December? Should I hold off till Macworld or bite the bullet in december? I'm sure you guys are more in the loop than I with what Apple is planning. Thanks in advance.

 

[balamw]

I decided that it would be ideal to buy myself an apple desktop. But which one? the iMac all-in-one, or the PowerMac? I like both of these machines, but I can only afford one. Most of the things I'll be doing is Excel/Access/Web/Mail/Photos/Torrenting.

I'm in similar place, love my iBook, want a desktop too. Just got a nice Samsung 19" LCD, so that makes me want a headless box, and rules out the current iMacs. The mini is a bit underpowered to replace my 2.8 GHz Dell, and the pmacs are overpowered for what I want. Ideally what I'd like is a single 2.0 GHz headless G5. Maybe I should look on for one on eBay.

Then I think that Intel is just around the corner, so wait. With Crossover Office running things like Access should be nice and easy without having to pay the performance hit for VPC and/or even rebooting the machine.

Or, maybe I should just sell the Samsung LCD and buy the darn 20" iMac.

B

 

[gcyc]

Thanks for all of your replies guys, much appreciated!

I'll be placing an order for a 17" iMac this weekend...

I did notice that the intels will be out q2/3 next year, but I don't fancy laying down some cash on a Rev.A, then when the Rev.B's start appearing I'll be in just the right time frame for a new one

 

[tekmoe]

i bought a powermac as my desktop. it's much more futureproof and easier to work on.

 

[Makosuke]

To the original poster: I concurr that for what you're up to, the iMac is probably the best call, and from the sound of it the drive overheating (which is all BT would do) is your only potential concern. So I'll offer a possible workaround, if you're a really dedicated BitTorrent addict: Just buy an external FireWire HD (or even USB2) and run all your torrents off of it. That way you know exactly how well it's cooled (get a case with a fan), you can put your hand on it if you're paranoid, and you can put a beefier drive in it to handle the 24X7 action.

Plus, if the torrenting does end up toasting the drive after a while (I've heard of it happening, although the buffering that Azureus does seems to significantly lighten the access loads and disk wear), your boot drive is safe--just pull the drive in the external, get it replaced under warranty, and you're good to go.

After all, a case won't cost more than $50, and a nice drive with a 5 year warranty can be had in the $85-130 range (160GB Seagate on the low end, 300GB Maxtor Maxline III intended for 24hr use on the high), so for a modest additional investment you can rest easy. Plus, you can use spare space on the external to backup the internal boot/data drive, for added security.

That's what I'd do if I had similar concerns.

My question is, with the impending mac world in january, do you guys think there will be an update to the QuadMacs that would make me regret getting one in December? Should I hold off till Macworld or bite the bullet in december? I'm sure you guys are more in the loop than I with what Apple is planning. Thanks in advance.

This is going to depend entirely on whether IBM's just gotten the ball rolling with their dualcore design, or whether they're still dealing with the same clockspeed issues that have capped the G5 at 2.7GHz so far. Although I'd like to see an update in January, my realistic guess is that, when a speedbump comes, it'll probably be a little later--Feb or March, at least, and not at any particular event. They've been trying to go that route, particularly with the Pro machines, recently.

I'd just go for it were I you--since you're waiting till December anyway, there's still some time to guage how things are looking until then (for example, if IBM announces faster processors before Apple puts them in a new machine), and if a speedbump was ready in December Apple wouldn't necessarily hold it until January anyway--MWSF will be the time for an iPod update, Intel laptop, or that sort of thing, if anything (it's a consumer show, after all).

Boy, I'd love to have a Quad 2.5 myself...

 

[Xeem]

I can't see a good reason to not go with a new iMac. It will easily do everything you want.

 

[FFTT]

As long as you add 1 Gb Ram to the iMac, I think you'll be in great shape
for few years until the dual core Quddys go on sale for $1799.

 

[jaduffy108]

Hi guys. This is my first post, and I have a similar question to the OPs. (Not trying to jack this thread). I tried a powerbook(1.5 ghz, 1gb ram) last Xmas and it was a huge let down speedwise so I sold it a month later.

>>>Good move on the PB...will be selling mine soon too. Same reasons...and then some

Anywho, I'm stepping up the plate again because I like where Apple has come since then. I'm 90% I'm going to be getting a Powermac come December. Going QuadMac(I personally feel that name is mislead but anywho) w/ 7800 GT. My question is, with the impending mac world in january, do you guys think there will be an update to the QuadMacs that would make me regret getting one in December? Should I hold off till Macworld or bite the bullet in december? I'm sure you guys are more in the loop than I with what Apple is planning. Thanks in advance.

>>>Extremely unlikely... there will be an update to the PMs in January. (Honestly, there's no way it's gonna happen). "Bite the bullet" as soon as you wish. The quad with a 7800gt is a VERY solid combo. Assuming the apps you use are multithread(!)...you will not be disappointed in the speed. If you are getting the quad for gaming...don't waste your money! Games are single thread apps.

ENJOY!

 

[me_94501]

For those of you concerned about the possibility of drive overheating and have not yet seen a new iMac up close, there is an additional vent in the back. Apple seems to be addressing any heat issues that may exist.