Is now a good time to jump in?
Hi all, My old Dell is dying fast and, I'm just itching to be on a Mac again. I may be able to hold out a month or two until my machine kicks it. So my question is, is now a good time to jump into the world of new Mac hardware or would I be wise to hold off at least until after Macworld SF? I'm still debating the Powermac vs. iMAC choice and do like them both. So, do I jump on an Apple-Store refurb deal now or wait a bit?
Comments
Depending on what you want/need, you may be able to either get something with newer technology, or if you don't want to spend top dollar, today's models at a lower price.
It's not too far away, so hopefully your pc can keep chugging until then.
Originally posted by OldCodger73
If you're going to go the PM way, then wait for MWSF-- it's conceivable that the speed on the low end and mid line model might get a modest bump. If you're going to go with an iMac you might as well do it now, as it hasn't been out long enough for an update.
That sounds like a good idea. I am not expecting anything big at MWSF but nevertheless I am happy that my Dual 1.85 has been delayed (Probably due to the slow supply of the NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra in Australia) as I will wait now to see what happens in 2 weeks time.
I am dying for my 30" though, so a 2 week wait is tough.
Originally posted by mattyj
Not at all, they're completely different and incompatible. PCI-X is basically faster version of regular PCI. PCI Express is a new bus achitecture as far as I know - future proof technology, and replaces the AGP graphics bus on new PCs, so Powermacs don't have PCI Express as they wouldn't need to still have 8xAGP slots.
Oh jeez, what a misleading bit of nomenclature by Apple. I thought the AGP graphics card was still being used simply because no PCI-Express graphics card was available yet. I would have been so bummed if I had bought a PM without knowing this, (the PM is great but, I had a misconception about its hardware). Thanks!
Originally posted by mattyj
Not at all, they're completely different and incompatible. PCI-X is basically faster version of regular PCI. PCI Express is a new bus achitecture as far as I know - future proof technology, and replaces the AGP graphics bus on new PCs, so Powermacs don't have PCI Express as they wouldn't need to still have 8xAGP slots.
Oh jeez, what a misleading bit of nomenclature by Apple. I thought the AGP graphics card was still being used simply because no PCI-Express graphics card was available yet. I would have been so bummed if I had bought a PM without knowing this, (the PM is great but, I had a misconception about its hardware). Thanks!
Originally posted by znalg
Oh jeez, what a misleading bit of nomenclature by Apple. I thought the AGP graphics card was still being used simply because no PCI-Express graphics card was available yet. I would have been so bummed if I had bought a PM without knowing this, (the PM is great but, I had a misconception about its hardware). Thanks!
PCI-X is the professional form of PCI used on servers and workstations (which the PowerMac technically is). It predates PCI Express (PCI-E) by several years. Who ever decided to give PCI Express its name probably figured that the average home user wouldn't ever encounter PCI-X, so it wouldn't be an issue. If Apple is at fault for anything its combining a consumer tower and a professional workstation into one machine.
Originally posted by BenRoethig
PCI-X is the professional form of PCI used on servers and workstations (which the PowerMac technically is). It predates PCI Express (PCI-E) by several years. Who ever decided to give PCI Express its name probably figured that the average home user wouldn't ever encounter PCI-X, so it wouldn't be an issue. If Apple is at fault for anything its combining a consumer tower and a professional workstation into one machine.
Thanks for the info. I'm glad to hear this wasn't an attempt to be misleading on Apple's part.
And, quick question: How is your dell dying? what happened? Or is it just windblows is so bad, your brain waves are harming the computer by your sheer hostility towards it?
Originally posted by pins and needles
If you want the iMac, go for it. I'd hold out, blow my cash and get the duel processor G5 powermac. Get medium, not high end. First set of G5s, one was 89% as good as top end, but 700$ less. iMac, though, has weak graphical capabilities, but it's good for programming.
And, quick question: How is your dell dying? what happened? Or is it just windblows is so bad, your brain waves are harming the computer by your sheer hostility towards it?
The latter, yes. My brain waves seem to have a bad effect on Windows. Also, my hard drive is maxed out and I don't have the gumption to get a new bigger drive and rebuild from scratch.
I'm focusing on getting the 20" iMac and my uncle was thinking iMac but now is considering the 17" Powerbook. We both want to buy new, and I'd like to stick to a $2,000-ish budget and his is around $3,000.
I told him to hold out on getting anything until after MacWorld just in case. I guess you guys are saying not to expect any changes in the iMac line, but how about the Powerbooks? And when/how often are product updates done?
We're both probably going to be buying around April/May before my education discount opportunities disappear, any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated.
Originally posted by Hodog16
I told him to hold out on getting anything until after MacWorld just in case.
This is a wise advice.
I guess you guys are saying not to expect any changes in the iMac line, but
how about the Powerbooks? And when/how often are product updates done?
Normal update cycle is around 6-9 months. However, in the past some models waited 9-12 months to be updated. The examples I have in mind right now are the Pismo Powerbook (the last G3 Powerbook before the first G4 model) and the last 15" Titanium.
Long story short, expect a Powerbook update (significant or a simple speed bump) anywhere between January and April.