New dual or 933 ??

scottnscottn
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
If the prices on the 933 are now $1499 and it looks like you can get a $200 rebate on on it w/ the 17", for a home user switching from a PC, would you go that route instead of putting out a bunch more for one of the new duals? I want the superdrive (big reason for going to the mac). That would put it at around $2300, only $300 more than an iMac 17" (which was my other option).

I do want to do video editing (DV camcorder), etc....



Thanks

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    kecksykecksy Posts: 1,002member
    Reasons to get Dual 867:



    1) Dual processors. Makes a huge difference. 2 X 867 is defenently faster than 1 X 933, especially now that Jaguar makes getter use of multithreading. DV apps run alot faster in general on a DP machine.



    2) DDR. Memory performance may be limited by the system bus (By how much? We don't know), but since Video editing requires frequent disk access, DMA requests should be speedy.



    3) Expansion. If you need audio-in, a second optical drive, four hard drives, or 2GB of RAM, you'll need a dual 867.



    4) You don't have to pay for Jaguar. Now the dual 867 isn't that much more expensive. Jaguar would cost you an extra $129 if you bought the 933.



    Reasons not to get the Dual 867:



    1) No SuperDrive. The Dual 867's Combo drive may burn CDs at 16X versus 8X with a SuperDrive, but the ability to burn DVDs may be valable if you're interested in Video. You can add a SuperDrive to the dual 867 by the way, although it will set you back $200.



    2) Dual 867 was a 32MB GF4MX. The 933 has a 64MB GF4MX, although the extra 32MB is pretty much use less unless you're a gamer/3D artist.





    Basically it comes down to whether you want better performance or a SuperDrive. You'll have to decide.
  • Reply 2 of 10
    brianmacosbrianmacos Posts: 548member
    Personally now with the new Powermacs out I would go with a Powermac for sure. It will leave you way more options for the future as far as upgrading.
  • Reply 3 of 10
    thuh freakthuh freak Posts: 2,664member
    [quote]Originally posted by Kecksy:

    <strong>Reasons to get Dual 867:

    .

    .

    .

    4) You don't have to pay for Jaguar. Now the dual 867 isn't that much more expensive. Jaguar would cost you an extra $129 if you bought the 933.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    not true. anyone who bought a comp or osx.1 since mw can get jaguar for $20.
  • Reply 4 of 10
    rogue27rogue27 Posts: 607member
    Dual 867 with DDR for $200 more than a single 933 without DDR?



    That isn't even really a question, except maybe in the rhetorical sense.
  • Reply 5 of 10
    smirclesmircle Posts: 1,035member
    Originally posted by scottn:

    [quote]If the prices on the 933 are now $1499 and it looks like you can get a $200 rebate on on it w/ the 17", for a home user switching from a PC, would you go that route instead of putting out a bunch more for one of the new duals? <hr></blockquote>



    I'd definitely buy the "old" machine instead of the dual.



    Reasons: DDR is a hack in the new duals. they may have PC 2700 - but the CPU nevertheless has a RAM-interface with a max throughput with only 1.3GB/s. So in the end, it is just a marketing gadget and mostly useless.

    The single 933 may be faster in situations where you do brute-force calculations that are not parallelizable (browser rendering?)

    Every penny saved can be spend for some even newer machine in the future.

    You get a better gfx-card. 32MB may be a bit small for Quartz Extreme...
  • Reply 6 of 10
    scottnscottn Posts: 9member
    The 867 would be $400 more w/ superdrive. Also has half the video ram.

    I was just thinking for $2300 (after rebates, etc...) the 933 would be a good buy.



    Thanks for the info
  • Reply 7 of 10
    scottnscottn Posts: 9member
    Also, I can pop another 512mb ram into the 933 for under $100. I am sure (based on apple store prices) the 2100 DDR is gonna be expensive. Still leaves it $300 less. Not sure I will get alot out of the duals other than DV video rendering, and I am not doing it for money. The only other attractive thing I see is the ATA100 bus and even then I am not sure how much REAL performance difference there is.

    I can put another 60-80gb drive into the 933 for under $100 bucks also and use it strictly for my video stuff.



    Thanks
  • Reply 8 of 10
    o and ao and a Posts: 579member
    I think its best to get the dual 867 i'm seriously thinking of buying it except for the fact that it does not have a superdrive and the otpion is pricey.



    Also the graphics card is a little weak it ought to be a 64meg card cause of jaguar



    whaddya know the pics were real
  • Reply 9 of 10
    banjo billybanjo billy Posts: 80member
    i just bought a duel 1 ghz machine!
  • Reply 10 of 10
    no_friendsno_friends Posts: 18member
    Wow.....



    The last 12 hrs have been mega exciting what with the new release of Power Macs and reduceds in prices on current models and the EMac getting a superdrive!!



    Anyway.... it my point. .........



    New Dual 867 or Old 933





    I'm pretty new to all this so someones going to have to help me out here.



    What I would like to know is. Does bus speed really make that much difference??? and is the Dual 867 going to be faster than the Mac?? and will it be worth the saving?????



    Cool thanks!!

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