Dual G4 or 1.8GHZ G5?

gaberiles

I'm thinking of buying either a dual 1.25Ghz G4 or a 1.8GHZ G5. I'm mostly interested in using the machine for editing video in Final Cut 3 and 4. Which computer will be a better deal for me?

(Unfortunately, the dual G5 is way out of my price range.)

Thanks.

markiv

My advice would be 1.8 Ghz, Dual 1.25 Ghz is almost an obsolete model and also that 1.8 Ghz PCI-X and USB 2.0 ports, most important YDL is going to be out with 64 bit operating system. G5 would be way faster than dual 1.25 and also that you could increase the RAM upto 8 Gb that would really b helpful for video editing. Just my 2 cents.

res

I'd really recommend waiting until you either save enough money for the dual 2GHz G5 or the next revision comes out (which will hopefully have duals across the line).



If you can't wait, I'd say go with the G5. It will be faster for most things, and will probably keep its value better then the G4.

powerdoc

Same advice than Res : wait for the next revision of powemac G5 ( a lower priced dual may be in the way) or choose the 1,8 G5.

murbot

Purchasing advice belongs in General Discussion. Moving...

beige_g3

Same advice as the others. No need to buy into older technology. The G5 will be of use to you longer than the G4 will .

mac write

I would get the G4, This thing is super fast.



The G5 is new and apps aren't optimized for it. You will get years out of the G4.

steve

Performance-wise, it just comes down to whether the improved bandwidth on the G5 is enough to overcome the dual processors and dual L3 caches. Back when the G4's all went total dualage, with twin G4's across the board, I said that the day of the dualie was upon us, and that anyone buying a single-processor tower was succumbing to highway robbery, given Apple's portable offerings. And if I were buying a PowerMac today, I would stand by that logic.



The real question you should be asking is whether you can hold out for the dual 1.8's (or whatever), rather than buying the 1.25's. See, the dual G4 also costs a lot less than the single G5, so that makes it all the more worth it. You can almost get a Cinema Display for the money you save. (Almost. )

powerdoc

Quote:

Originally posted by Steve

Performance-wise, it just comes down to whether the improved bandwidth on the G5 is enough to overcome the dual processors and dual L3 caches. Back when the G4's all went total dualage, with twin G4's across the board, I said that the day of the dualie was upon us, and that anyone buying a single-processor tower was succumbing to highway robbery, given Apple's portable offerings. And if I were buying a PowerMac today, I would stand by that logic.



The real question you should be asking is whether you can hold out for the dual 1.8's (or whatever), rather than buying the 1.25's. See, the dual G4 also costs a lot less than the single G5, so that makes it all the more worth it. You can almost get a Cinema Display for the money you save. (Almost. )

The life expectancy of the G5 is higher. This computer should be able to be updated with G5 reaching 3 ghz. In two or three years the OS X updates will only concern the G5 and no more the G4.

All the major companies will be concerned by the optimisations of their soft for G5 and not anymore for the G4. Because this companies are more focused by power users than anything else.



The G4 dual is a good machine. People owning a dual G4 1 ghz or faster should not change of machine right now unless they are heavy power users (in that case : the dual G5 is the only choice). But someone considering buying a mac now, should consider a G5. Now a single G5 do not make a huge difference compared to a dual G4, but in three years the story will be different.