soon-to-be PC convert has some questions
How come the powerbooks and powermacs are so uncustomizable?
can't order:
- non-dual 2GHZ powermac g5's
- 2GHZ powermac's with less than 512MB ram(I already have compatible ram)
- 1.5 GHZ powerbook without a backlit keyboard
- 1.5 GHZ powerbook with less than 512MB ram(I already have compatible ram)
I guess my problem is that I was raised on PC's and they were totally customizable. Now when I re-read this post it kinda sounds like a troll. I apologize for that. Perhaps someone could give me a link to a store that sells powerbooks(powermac g5s are just too expensive) with more flexible options.
can't order:
- non-dual 2GHZ powermac g5's
- 2GHZ powermac's with less than 512MB ram(I already have compatible ram)
- 1.5 GHZ powerbook without a backlit keyboard
- 1.5 GHZ powerbook with less than 512MB ram(I already have compatible ram)
I guess my problem is that I was raised on PC's and they were totally customizable. Now when I re-read this post it kinda sounds like a troll. I apologize for that. Perhaps someone could give me a link to a store that sells powerbooks(powermac g5s are just too expensive) with more flexible options.
Comments
Regarding the Ram, 512MB is minimun because you need 512 for OS X to run smoothly. Consider yourself lucky that you have all that extra ram lying around, and dump it in there so you can have a kick ass system on top of the 512.
If you want a G5 with only one 2GHz, you should either go with the 1.6 or a Dual processor Powermac G4. IMO, a single processor in the G5 eliminates the need to have a G5. anyways, I'm halfway through this psot but I have to run--I'll come back
Regarding the Ram, 512MB is minimun because you need 512 for OS X to run smoothly. Consider yourself lucky that you have all that extra ram lying around, and dump it in there so you can have a kick ass system on top of the 512.
If you want a G5 with only one 2GHz, you should either go with the 1.6 or a Dual processor Powermac G4. IMO, a single processor in the G5 eliminates the need to have a G5. anyways, I'm halfway through this post but I have to run--I'll come back
Again, coming from the PC world, I am used to that being the opposite when I order dells for my clients. If I buy extras at the time of purchase, I am used to getting those extras cheaper.
BTW - are g5 laptops gonna be available this summer? I can't seem to do a search here for g5 since it is "too small a word".
Basically, there are a couple of ground rules for Apple's BTO offerings:
1) They will not ship a machine that can't boot up and run with baseline capabilities (i.e., it must have HD, optical, RAM, graphics, etc.) This is a user friendliness issue, basically. Apple attaches huge significance to the out-of-box experience, which certainly includes setting the thing up and booting it right out of the box.
2) In an effort to keep costs down (Apple is a lot smaller than Dell), their assembly lines are highly automated and they try to keep as many standard components as possible in order to order them in large quantities and keep the unit cost down.
3) There is a certain baseline feature set for Macs that is much higher than PCs, simply because Apple's installed software and the whole "Digital Hub" strategy require it to be there (and also because software development and support are much cheaper if you can just assume Ethernet, FW, USB, optical, etc.).
4) In order to make things as clear as possible, Apple tries to make the choices between their models flatly obvious. When they've tried changing things up, their customers have reported confusion (which is better, the dual 533 or the single 733?) and so they just don't do that now. The models march upward unambiguously so that you don't have to wonder about a dual 1.6 vs. a single 2.0. This is advantageous for people who don't want to get involved in Dell's a la carte style of selling machines, but as you've discovered it's weird for people who do.
As for the PowerMac G5, there are two things to remember.
First, the duals have dual-channel RAM, which means two banks of RAM, which have to have sticks installed in parallel. 512MB of RAM is 2x256MB, one in each channel. That's about as low as Apple can realistically go, since at this point the savings going to 2x128MB would be negligible, and not worth the absurdity of putting that amount of RAM in that machine.
Second, one the major feature of the machine is bandwidth. There's lots of bandwidth in that system. What that means is not speed, but rather a lack of bottlenecks in the system. In the case of RAM, people have measured the PMG5's performance with various amounts of RAM, and it just keeps going up and up and up. 512MB is adequate, but you'll notice a significant jump if you add another GB, and another jump if you add another GB, and so forth. RAM is the main bottleneck in a G5, so the more you have the faster it'll go. (Although, obviously, sometime around 2GB you'll hit a point where you have to really be hammering the machine to notice.) The dual PM G5s can take up to 8GB of RAM, so there's plenty of room for growth.
As to the PowerBook G5, I'll be shocked and amazed if you see it this summer. That's not to say that it won't happen, but it's not considered a sure thing. Especially since they just got bumped, and 'Books are on a 9-12 month upgrade cycle. I don't expect a refresh of the line until late fall/winter, and I'm not sure it'll be a G5 even then. Time will tell.
Hope this helps.
Originally posted by sleze
How come the powerbooks and powermacs are so uncustomizable?
can't order:
- non-dual 2GHZ powermac g5's
- 2GHZ powermac's with less than 512MB ram(I already have compatible ram)
- 1.5 GHZ powerbook without a backlit keyboard
- 1.5 GHZ powerbook with less than 512MB ram(I already have compatible ram)
I guess my problem is that I was raised on PC's and they were totally customizable. Now when I re-read this post it kinda sounds like a troll. I apologize for that. Perhaps someone could give me a link to a store that sells powerbooks(powermac g5s are just too expensive) with more flexible options.
You know, you should be happy that they come with higher ram than 256mb. This way, with your compatible ram, it will be 256mb more than if it came with 256mb ram originally. Right?
Originally posted by sleze
How come the powerbooks and powermacs are so uncustomizable?
can't order:
- 1.5 GHZ powerbook without a backlit keyboard
- 1.5 GHZ powerbook with less than 512MB ram(I already have compatible ram)
...
I guess my problem is that I was raised on PC's and they were totally customizable.
Since when are any *laptops* totally customizable?
I agree with you in that the customer should be able to configure (esp. the Power-series) machines better, or else the BTO pricing should be more reasonable. I'm picking up a Powerbook on Monday myself, and I'll take one with the minimum 256MB of memory. Would've much preferred a single 512MB stick, but as things stand now, Apple Store's 256MB -> 512MB upgrade costs a lot more than a whole new 512MB third party component. So I plan to add a separate 512MB stick and end up with 768MB total.
I guess my problem is that I was raised on PC's and they were totally customizable.
Originally posted by Gon
Since when are any *laptops* totally customizable?
I agree with you in that the customer should be able to configure (esp. the Power-series) machines better, or else the BTO pricing should be more reasonable. I'm picking up a Powerbook on Monday myself, and I'll take one with the minimum 256MB of memory. Would've much preferred a single 512MB stick, but as things stand now, Apple Store's 256MB -> 512MB upgrade costs a lot more than a whole new 512MB third party component. So I plan to add a separate 512MB stick and end up with 768MB total.
I meant that PC workstations were totally customizable. IE - I can order one with or without a sound card, firewire card, NIC, video card, etc. I can order one with a large variation of processors, memory configs, etc. Laptops are so small that no matter what type (PC or apple) you are pretty much stuck with a limited selection(although much more limited with powerbooks).
Thanx for all the replies. I guess I will wait until the end of the summer and hope the top end powerbooks drop in price again or jump in performance.