iMac G5 good enough?

novalisnovalis
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I am planning on buying a new machine soon (my TiBook G4 867 just died... or something). I mainly watch movies ( I don't make 'em), and use some photoshop and small Quark-dokuments. There has been a lot of talk about the graphics-card in the new iMac. Is it good enough for my needs? Even on the 20"? (If I play a game it's Civ III). Is the graphics going to be better or worse than that on my TiBook (with 512 MB RAM in both)? How bad is this graphics thing really?



Or should I spend $500+ to get the TiBook repaired?



I don't actually *need* a portable machine.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 21
    imac600mhzimac600mhz Posts: 104member
    The iMac should be a lot faster then ur Powerbook.



    I'm sure it would play civ III with no problems
  • Reply 2 of 21
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    The video card will be much better than the one of your powerbook (titanium). In fact, this card is faster than the radeon 9600 according to some tests (don't get me wrong the radeon 9600 is indeed faster). The 6200 pro is not the best video card by a wide margin, but will be good enough for your needs (civilisation).



    Now if you want to play to Doom 3, it's a bad choice.(only a dual G5 with a radeon 9800 or a geforce 6800 will do the job). Some people have played to unreal tournament 3 on the imac 20 inch ant they say that everything was smooth and nice.



    For photoshop or quark, the graphic card will not do any difference.

    As imac 600 told you, the Imac G5 will be much faster in everything (HD, CPU, video ...). According to the first benchs avalaible, the Imac G5 as nearly the same level of performance than a single G5 tower
  • Reply 3 of 21
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    What are you going to do with the Ti ?



    I would say get it repaired and wait untill the next rev of the iMac -- when it becomes more of a known quantity.
  • Reply 4 of 21
    imac600mhzimac600mhz Posts: 104member
    It does say on the apple iMac page that the iMac will be able to run future games such as Doom 3 and WOW
  • Reply 5 of 21
    stoostoo Posts: 1,490member
    What's wrong with the PowerBook? It might be fixable for a lot less it it doesn't require (m)any new parts.
  • Reply 6 of 21
    novalisnovalis Posts: 23member
    Hi everybody. Thanks for nice answers



    Stoo wrote:"What's wrong with the PowerBook? It might be fixable for a lot less it it doesn't require (m)any new parts."



    The PowerBook will not boot up. The wheel just keeps on spinning. I have tryed everything, and there is a horrible scraping or kackeling sound when ever I start it up. Sounds like somebody is hacking on a fan with a needle or something. The sound is coming from the middle of the machine, just under the screen where the USB connectors are. I have never turned it of for the (almost) two years I've had it, so I guess this is weare and teare of some major parts.



    I'm waiting the results of the expert check-up in a day or two, but I have no hope



    I have been planning on buying a new, stationary machine, but not so soon. This break down is of course an exellent excuse, and money is no big issue to me at the moment, but space *is*.



    I must say I have been really scared off of the iMac G5 because of the reception the graphics card has received here. You all make it sound (in other threads) as if the machine is no good, so I didn't know what to do. But now it seemes that it is faster then my TiBook, so it must be all right for me then anyway
  • Reply 7 of 21
    bill mbill m Posts: 324member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by novalis

    Hi everybody. Thanks for nice answers



    Stoo wrote:"What's wrong with the PowerBook? It might be fixable for a lot less it it doesn't require (m)any new parts."



    The PowerBook will not boot up. The wheel just keeps on spinning. I have tryed everything, and there is a horrible scraping or kackeling sound when ever I start it up. Sounds like somebody is hacking on a fan with a needle or something. The sound is coming from the middle of the machine, just under the screen where the USB connectors are. I have never turned it of for the (almost) two years I've had it, so I guess this is weare and teare of some major parts.



    Sounds like a dead hard disk. You can easily replace it yourself and save repair costs, albeit you've probably lost everything you had on it.

    For example, a Toshiba 40gb 2.5" hd 5400rpm and 16mb buffer costs around $100 if you look around the net. Plenty of cheap storage and performance for your currently dead TiBook.
  • Reply 8 of 21
    freakyfreakfreakyfreak Posts: 22member
    Definately dead hard drive. My family bought an emachines about two years ago and 3 months after we had it, the drive started clicking, and formatted several times without notice. We were overseas at the time so we couldnt get it fixed under the warranty. When we came back my dad refused to believe that it was the hard drive...and kept saying that we were doing something to it. Then one day(after it wouldnt even boot up...but just stayed on the "Windows XP" screen with the little blue thing showing the progress) we went to best buy and asked what the clicking meant and the guy said it was a dead hard drive...so we bought another one and now is all good and dandy.



    Thats my story. And now I need another hard drive for our Sony laptop...but I'm hoping to save the money from that and try to convince my mom to get a Mac.
  • Reply 9 of 21
    novalisnovalis Posts: 23member
    If this is indeed a dead hard drive, I know that I kan fix it my self. There is a prosedure in the manual for that with pictures and all. But the hard-drive is in the front of the machine. The noise I hear is coming from the back. I listened very carefully, because I too wondered if it vas the hard drive. The noise is comming from another part of the machine. And it will not boot from the system CD. The maintenance cd boots, scans all parts (MotherB, Drive, memory, graphics, etc.) and says everything is OK. CD's from Jaguar and Panther will not boot (Yes, I've zapped the ram, booted in single user, deleted the cache, etc) I can't help feeling this is something really bad
  • Reply 10 of 21
    bungebunge Posts: 7,329member
    Can you boot into Target Disk mode? Boot up while holding 'T' I think. Give it a try.
  • Reply 11 of 21
    novalisnovalis Posts: 23member
    The machine is at a pro service in my hometown. I'll let you know as soon as I know what the problem is/ was. Since it started making those scary noises I've been more and more set for a new mac. Now, don't anyone spoil that for me! I've got my wife by the b***s on this one 8)

    She is hysterically afraid of fire, and, according to her, everything elektric that makes strange sounds, will sooner or later explode
  • Reply 12 of 21
    bill mbill m Posts: 324member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by novalis

    The machine is at a pro service in my hometown. I'll let you know as soon as I know what the problem is/ was. Since it started making those scary noises I've been more and more set for a new mac. Now, don't anyone spoil that for me! I've got my wife by the b***s on this one 8)

    She is hysterically afraid of fire, and, according to her, everything elektric that makes strange sounds, will sooner or later explode



    The only thing that can make that kind of noises is a dead HD, its heads scanning the plates back and forth to no avail. But, towards the back of your TiBook, you will find the small blower fan. Maybe something fell through the vents and is kinda blocking from turning freely, thus some strange noises. Maybe the motherboard is sensing a higher current load from the fan and fails to boot accordingly. Now, I don't want to spoil your new mac shopping... just trying to save your old TiBook... it still has lots of life in it.



    Oh, btw, I am getting a new 17" iMac G5 1.8ghz as soon as they become available from walk in stores. I am not replacing anytyhing, just found a great place for it at my living room / HT.
  • Reply 13 of 21
    neutrino23neutrino23 Posts: 1,562member
    Here is one data point.

    http://news.goo.ne.jp/news/pc/it/200...090301-pc.html



    This page is in Japanese, but if you scroll down towards the bottom there is an image of a graph. Click on it to enlarge it. It claims that a G5 iMac 1.8GHz runs UT 2004 212% faster than a G4 iMac 1.25GHz.



    This should work as a direct link to that graphic.



    http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2.../apple0223.jpg
  • Reply 14 of 21
    beigeuserbeigeuser Posts: 371member
    You could find that and more on this page:



    http://www.apple.com/imac/graphics.html
  • Reply 15 of 21
    novalisnovalis Posts: 23member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Bill M

    Sounds like a dead hard disk. You can easily replace it yourself and save repair costs, albeit you've probably lost everything you had on it.

    For example, a Toshiba 40gb 2.5" hd 5400rpm and 16mb buffer costs around $100 if you look around the net. Plenty of cheap storage and performance for your currently dead TiBook.



    Will any 2,5" HD fit my powerbook? I think I have a couple lying around...
  • Reply 16 of 21
    banchobancho Posts: 1,517member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by novalis

    The machine is at a pro service in my hometown. I'll let you know as soon as I know what the problem is/ was. Since it started making those scary noises I've been more and more set for a new mac. Now, don't anyone spoil that for me! I've got my wife by the b***s on this one 8)

    She is hysterically afraid of fire, and, according to her, everything elektric that makes strange sounds, will sooner or later explode



    I would be more afraid of a wife sporting a pair of balls than I would of an electronic device bursting into flame but that's just me .
  • Reply 17 of 21
    macflymacfly Posts: 256member
    what about the fan? thats in the back by the ports and i assume it could make an awful sound if its bearing was screwed. then again, dont know why that would interrupt the booting unless it was somehow tied into a diagnostic thing....
  • Reply 18 of 21
    earthtoandyearthtoandy Posts: 57member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by novalis



    I have been planning on buying a new, stationary machine, but not so soon. This break down is of course an exellent excuse, and money is no big issue to me at the moment, but space *is*.



    I must say I have been really scared off of the iMac G5 because of the reception the graphics card has received here. You all make it sound (in other threads) as if the machine is no good, so I didn't know what to do. But now it seemes that it is faster then my TiBook, so it must be all right for me then anyway



    dont be scared off by these guys... they will say bad things about it if it isnt top of the line. which ina perfect world i would agree with but in the real world you dont nessecarily need top of the line. As was mentioned the iMac will be WAY better than the powerbook you have now. And if you are mentioning things like civ III you will certainly have no problems. The iMac sounds like it will be perfect for you. if you really want super preformance you can get the dual g5 2.5 ghz tower but also spend a couple thousand more or so. The iMac will preform really well for you
  • Reply 19 of 21
    kenaustuskenaustus Posts: 924member
    Before the iMac came out a lot of people were dreaming of specs for a $3,500 computer with a $999 price tag - or Apple was doomed. They were the first ones to hit the boards against the 5200 GPU. From what I can tell "Why no 23" model?" has come in last.



    I have a feeling that the 5200 was the only GPU available that met all of Apple's specs - especially those related to how it would fit into the iMac and heat issues. As other cards become available they will probably added in the BTO options. Let's face it, if something else was there it would be available as it only increases Apple's gross margin dollars.



    I had no problem putting in a BTO order at 6 AM on day one. (Loaded up everything but memory.) I felt that the G5 iMac was a very good balance in design, specs and pricing. (The 20" is about $400 LESS than the G4 iMac 20" and the 17" has similar price cuts.)



    Compared to the AI it will probably kick @ss - especially when Tiger is released in early 2005. I'm not worried at all - even about getting a rev a (I did get AppleCare) and now just have to wait until it gets here.
  • Reply 20 of 21
    kcmackcmac Posts: 1,051member
    The problem with Apple announcing a product and having none ready to ship is that a lot of people start wigging out.



    People that find faults or nit pick the thing to death have their day in the sun and dominate all conversations. Anyone jumping in to try to calm things down or support Apple are called zealots, apologists.



    So people that ordered the new product or thinking of ordering back off from the conversations, get nervous and wonder if the product will be good enough or better than something they have that may even be several years old.



    As soon as the products start shipping and people can actually say they are satisfied or not, this Apple user feeding frenzy simmers down. I have a feeling there will be plenty of satisfied new iMac users very shortly. I certainly know I will be. My iMac is 5 years old.



    The only happy people right now are all the PC users and sideline sitters that get a kick out of watching the Mac people beating each other to death.
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