Quad Advice

[dwdrummer959]

Hi all,
I’m considering getting the Quad G5 as my first Mac, but I have a few questions I’d appreciate thoughts on before I make my decision.

1: Apple obviously has to continue to support PowerPC Macs. How long do you think that will last? Do you think OSX will be less optimized for PPC? What about third party developers?

2: How long do you think the Quad will last? I’m a programmer and a heavy multitasker. I don’t do any video or audio editing, however I can see getting into that stuff as I play various musical instruments and have dabbled in video editing in the past. I realize the Quad is overkill for my current needs, however, it’s my future needs that I worry about. I’ve read that Macs generally last longer than PCs. Is 5 years too much to ask from the Quad?

3: Is the liquid cooling system anything to worry about?

I suppose I should mention that I don’t really need a new computer right now. My current computer is a 3 year old HP laptop that shows its age here and there, and has a few problems (like a randomly flickering screen backlight), but it’s still running (knock on wood!) Should I just wait for Intel Macs? Intel PowerMacs probably won’t be out till ’07 at least, and that sounds like a long time to wait. And while a Yonah or Merom based Powerbook sounds very tempting, we probably won’t see those till at least June, and they will of course be Rev. A. Also, how much software will be ready when the MacIntels arrive?

As I mentioned, I am a programmer (and a big tech nerd), so while I want the Quad just because it’s a Quad, I don’t want to do anything foolish that I might regret.

Feel free to add any additional comments or suggestions that you think I should consider.

Thanks for your time and sorry for the long post,
//Scott

 

[Zoowatch]

1. i would say it will serve you well for another 5 years. all Mac softwares should continue to support PPC for at least another 4 years or so.

2. the Quad is not liquid cooled. it uses fans for cooling. watch out for fan noise (+ any faint beeping / chirping sound)

3. you are not the only foolish buyer right now. many of us are investing heavily for this machine too.

4. of course, technology moves on, and one day the Quad will be just an average computer while newer stuffs emerge. u must always bear in mind that as long as it serves all of your computing needs well, u shouldn't feel bad about seeing another latest model of PowerMac being introduced. if u think u will feel let down by seeing 3.5Ghz Intel PowerMac, then don't buy the Quad. Proceed only if u are sure u will be proud and happy with it as the years pass by.

 

[Bear]

1) Best guess is at least through 2010 for PowerPC support from Apple and probably longer. Apple will still be selling PPC systems in 2007 and they will need to support them at least 3 years and probably more like 5 to 7.

2) The QUAD can last several years. It depends on what you wind up using it for. I work with Photos from a d-SLR and am expecting at least 3 to 4 years out of the QUAD.

3) It is liquid cooled according to some interviews I heard. Should be no issue.

4) It's up to you as to what you want to do. In general, if you're doing programming and word processing, you will have applications available the day Intel Macs are shipped. Photoshop and various Pro applications may not be ready until 2007. All the iLife applications will have Universal binaries available when the Intel Macs ship. (Heck they ship now with the Intel Mac developers releases.)

 

[dwdrummer959]

Thanks for the advice!
//Scott

 

[ReanimationLP]

Mmm... Quad. *drools*

The liquid cooling system, they will replace if it leaks. You'll probably get many years out of the Quad, heck, my G4 is still serving me perfectly fine.

 

[Demon Hunter]

I'm almost positive it uses liquid cooling... if you look on the website it shows the "radiator" design of previous models.

I wouldn't worry... I think the Quad will be a beast for many years to come.

This may be the last of the PPC PowerMacs... top-of-the-line forever (in terms of Apple history)... that's really something to own.

 

[FFTT]

The new Quad has all the features most anyone could hope for in a serious workstation.

By the time, you've outgrown the need for up to 1000 GB of internal storage
and 16 GB of DDR2 RAM, I'm sure Apple will have something worthy of your next purchase.

Apple still supports OS 9 classic in the current models, so I doubt you'll have any OS support problems for many years to come.

This is a true dream machine for even the most seasoned professional.

 

[alex_ant]

I don't know why the consensus seems to be 2010 before Apple drops PPC support. It took them barely 2 years to leave non-USB2 Mac owners hanging out to dry with the new iPods, and they stopped updating OS 9 almost immediately after releasing OS X. I would say all current PPC Macs will be obsolete and unsupported (w/ new OS releases) by 2008. They will still be perfectly usable after that time, depending on which developers continue to release software for them. But I would definitely not plunk down $3k on a quad PPC right now unless I were significantly better-off than I really am.

 

[FFTT]

Apple will not leave their major PPC user base behind that quickly.

Any notions that they would discontinue PPC support in 5 years is rediculous.

We're looking at several years before Intel based machines are adopted across the board anyway.

More than likely, the Intel offerings will start with the consumer models
and laptops.

 

[Zoowatch]

hi there

it seems that i was wrong on the liquid cooling system

where did u guys find out that the Quad is liquid cooled?

i'm just curious to see if Apple has mentioned about liquid cooling for Quad somewhere (but i didn't see it)

 

[Zoowatch]

Knowing Apple... i think they will leave G5 / G4 users behind by requiring that Mac OS X releases after 2010 can only be installed on Intel Macs.

so even if the hardware is still powerful enough to run the latest operating system that Apple is releasing... Apple might 'block' G4 / G5 users from installing the OS on their machine while upgrading to an intel-based hardware might become the only choice

 

[RHutch]

I did some searching on the Apple support and hardware sites and could not find anything that said that the Quad's would be liquid-cooled, but I know that I have read somewhere that they were.

 

[Bear]

hi there

it seems that i was wrong on the liquid cooling system

where did u guys find out that the Quad is liquid cooled?

i'm just curious to see if Apple has mentioned about liquid cooling for Quad somewhere (but i didn't see it)

Inside Mac Radio had an interview with someone from Apple a few days ago, and it was mentioned there.

 

[papersushi]

I want to correct someone who posted previously on the cooling system for the new PowerMac G5.

The Quad indeed is liquid cooled. (Well, you still have fans on the back of the machine for air circulation)

The other two dual core PowerMacs are fan cooled.

 

[Zoowatch]

I want to correct someone who posted previously on the cooling system for the new PowerMac G5.

The Quad indeed is liquid cooled. (Well, you still have fans on the back of the machine for air circulation)

The other two dual core PowerMacs are fan cooled.

that's a good news to hear...

no wonder the case which house the 2 dual-core processors are so large

hopefully we can look forward to a quieter machine (with no heat problem)

i had used a PM2.7 (also liquid cooled) before and the heat it generated could easily keep the area around my desk warm without any central heating.
but the more annoying thing was that the fan was too loud to get used to...
(some friends of mine asked if I had switched on a vacuum cleaner!)

 

[Zoowatch]

Apple will not leave their major PPC user base behind that quickly.

i am keeping my fingers crossed.

if Apple decide to leave behind PPC users then i can I assume that, at that time (~2010/2011), about 1/2 of the active Mac users will have to carry on with outdated OS?

 

[FFTT]

There will be a time when the existing processor perfomance may not be enough to push future applications as they become more and more complex, but the operating system difference between OSX Tiger and Leopard should
not prevent any current gear from running.

Any applications that you can run today will still be running on your existing
machine.
As more and more applications finally move beyond Tiger, you'll still be able
to set up a Tiger Partition on your newer gear.

As long as your software gets the job done with reasonable efficiency
there's no reason to replace it.

I have friends still running OS 9 boot volumes to run ProTools, Photoshop, Macromedia apps and so on . The gear and the software still do what they were intended to do.

The same thing goes for any Windows based machine you buy today.
Sooner or later you'll have to upgrade, but as long as the hardware and software still gets the job done many will decide to delay the move beyond
XP.

 

[g0gie]

I would buy the quad ina split seconds if i had the funds...