"Current" G4 PowerMac revival?
I was just browsing the Apple website when I noticed that the G4 PowerMac is still a great machine even with the G5 now available.
Apple is still selling the G4 towers (while supplies last) ... but they are still pretty expensive compared to similarly equipped PeeCees.
Am I the only one who thinks there's room in the Apple lineup for an AFFORDABLE G4 tower? I'd gladly buy a 1.25GHz Single or Dual G4 tower (256MB DDR SDRAM, 80GB HD, 64MB graphics card, Panther pre-installed) if Apple would throw in a "free" LCD or CRT display all for $1,499.
My last three Macs have all had limited upgradability (iMac, PowerBook, eMac). I would love to have a tower so I can add a new internal drive, upgrade the graphics card, etc. That said, I can't see paying $1,500 for a standard G4 tower (WITHOUT monitor and WITHOUT Panther).
Come on, am I alone in thinking this is a good idea for the current lineup of G4 PowerMacs? Apple just lowered the price and added Panther to the current line of eMacs without updating the hardware ... why can't that work with the PowerMacs?
Apple is still selling the G4 towers (while supplies last) ... but they are still pretty expensive compared to similarly equipped PeeCees.
Am I the only one who thinks there's room in the Apple lineup for an AFFORDABLE G4 tower? I'd gladly buy a 1.25GHz Single or Dual G4 tower (256MB DDR SDRAM, 80GB HD, 64MB graphics card, Panther pre-installed) if Apple would throw in a "free" LCD or CRT display all for $1,499.
My last three Macs have all had limited upgradability (iMac, PowerBook, eMac). I would love to have a tower so I can add a new internal drive, upgrade the graphics card, etc. That said, I can't see paying $1,500 for a standard G4 tower (WITHOUT monitor and WITHOUT Panther).
Come on, am I alone in thinking this is a good idea for the current lineup of G4 PowerMacs? Apple just lowered the price and added Panther to the current line of eMacs without updating the hardware ... why can't that work with the PowerMacs?
Comments
Originally posted by rustedborg
Am I the only one who thinks there's room in the Apple lineup for an AFFORDABLE G4 tower? I'd gladly buy a 1.25GHz Single or Dual G4 tower (256MB DDR SDRAM, 80GB HD, 64MB graphics card, Panther pre-installed) if Apple would throw in a "free" LCD or CRT display all for $1,499.
Uhm, a single 1.25GHz is $1,299 - buy a $200 monitor yourself.
Originally posted by JLL
Uhm, a single 1.25GHz is $1,299 - buy a $200 monitor yourself.
Good point ... I should have made my estimate $100-$200 cheaper!
As far as the monitor is concerned, it should be an option that doesn't cost as much as it does now. Sure, the 17-inch Apple LCD display is nice ... but I've never noticed the difference in performance/durability between that monitor ($599) and a cheap-o 17-inch LCD monitor that costs $225 at Office Depot (on sale in some stores for less than $200).
Apple should keep the current G4 PowerMac alive the same way they did yesterday with the eMac. They should lower the price and add Panther ... then offer the 17-inch display for $199-$299 extra.
I can imagine a ton of people buying the G4 PowerMac if they could get it with Panther for $1,099 (with the option to add monitor for a grand total of $1,299-$1,399).
That way Apple can drop the eMac when the new iMac comes out early next year and lower the price of the iMac down to eMac levels ... where it should be.
Originally posted by rustedborg
... but I've never noticed the difference in performance/durability between that monitor ($599) and a cheap-o 17-inch LCD monitor that costs $225 at Office Depot (on sale in some stores for less than $200).
The $225 monitor is probably analog.
Originally posted by rustedborg
They should lower the price and add Panther
Panther is included (as of tomorrow).
Originally posted by rustedborg
Good point ... I should have made my estimate $100-$200 cheaper!
As far as the monitor is concerned, it should be an option that doesn't cost as much as it does now. Sure, the 17-inch Apple LCD display is nice ... but I've never noticed the difference in performance/durability between that monitor ($599) and a cheap-o 17-inch LCD monitor that costs $225 at Office Depot (on sale in some stores for less than $200).
If you can't tell the difference, go ahead and buy the cheap-o monitor. You are getting what you pay for, but if you don't mind, no harm done.
Then pick up your 1.25GHz PowerMac for $1299, and you have what you wanted.
Originally posted by JLL
The $225 monitor is probably analog.
Panther is included (as of tomorrow).
You may be right about the $199 17-inch flat panel I saw. I didn't look close at the specs. Still, you can get some very nice 17-inch LCD flat panel displays for less than $500.
Where did you read that Apple will start shipping all Macs with Panther after tomorrow? Apple has updated the iBook and eMac pages indicating they will ship with Panther, but the iMac, PowerBook and PowerMac pages all still list Jaguar.
Originally posted by rustedborg
Where did you read that Apple will start shipping all Macs with Panther after tomorrow? Apple has updated the iBook and eMac pages indicating they will ship with Panther, but the iMac, PowerBook and PowerMac pages all still list Jaguar.
For what it's worth, just about any new Mac is eligible for the up-to-date program, although that's not exactly the same thing.
A friend of mine just bought a PowerMac G4 (1.25 GHz) as his first Mac. I'd say it's a fair value for the price, but it could be better -- and Apple needs to ship more RAM with those things. 256 MB is a joke, but at least DIMMs are cheap.
I received Panther last night, yet I haven't installed it on my new G4. Perhaps Panther will make the 1.6 G5 perform a little better than the the dual 1.25 G4... I won't know until monday. But, again, a new MDD 1.25 x 2 G4 is indeed a sweet machine right now, with an excellent price/performance ratio.
Originally posted by anand
The G4 is great machine and a much better deal than the single processor G5's. I would much rather have a G4 with a fast bus than a G5. Just my two cents.
The G5 is priced at a premium right now because it is entirely new technology. Rev B will bring the price down by $200 or increase the performance by an equivalent amount. The G5 is far superior to the G4, but that doesn't mean Apple should kill the G4 tower of completely. It should definitely be kept around as a BTO option for awhile longer.
Originally posted by rustedborg
Where did you read that Apple will start shipping all Macs with Panther after tomorrow? Apple has updated the iBook and eMac pages indicating they will ship with Panther, but the iMac, PowerBook and PowerMac pages all still list Jaguar.
Please! Macs always ships with the latest OS. Apple aren't producing Macs with Jaguar anymore.
This is not PC land.
Originally posted by JLL
Please! Macs always ships with the latest OS. Apple aren't producing Macs with Jaguar anymore.
This is not PC land.
Well, I want to believe you, but if you go to the Apple Store website you'll find that the iMac, PowerMac, and PowerBook are all listed as shipping with Jaguar ... not Panther.
I hope this is just a mistake ... maybe they haven't updated the website yet. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if Apple doesn't want to open up all those computers, install Panther, and then repackage them all.
Maybe Apple's business practices are starting to mimic PC land.
That meant that last Friday, during the official release of Panther, you wouldn't get Panther with the purchase of a G4 system. You also had to mail in for the upgrade, they didn't have up to date discs for you.
Originally posted by rustedborg
That said, it wouldn't surprise me if Apple doesn't want to open up all those computers, install Panther, and then repackage them all.
No they won't - that's why they have the Up-To-Date program where customers who just bought a machine produced before Panther was ready will get Panther.
All Macs produced after Oct. 24 will have Panther installed! Period!
Originally posted by JLL
No they won't - that's why they have the Up-To-Date program where customers who just bought a machine produced before Panther was ready will get Panther.
All Macs produced after Oct. 24 will have Panther installed! Period!
I ordered 12" PowerBook that shipped on 10/21. It came with Panther. No Panther install CDs though so I ordered the up-to-date CD.
-- Mark
It shipped with 10.2 upgrade CD's but the restore discs had 10.1.