New 17" 1.8ghz iMac, or refurbed 1.8 PM?

bucci

Ok people, I need help.



I'm looking to buy a second Mac and I'm torn between buying a new 17" iMac with the 1.8ghz G5, or a refurbed 1.8ghz PowerMac (single CPU). Price wise, they're the same. Is the PM's "upgradeability" that much of an asset? Last I heard, the bus on the PowerMac's ran faster, but can this be confirmed? I'm having trouble finding all the specs for the single CPU 1.8 G5 PM's.



So what does the AI forum community think?

stoo

The PowerMac's bus does indeed run faster, at half the core speed rather than a third (PowerMac bus speed: 900MHz, iMac: 600MHz).



Does the PowerMac price include a monitor (or do you have one already?)

placebo

1.8 Powermac, hands down. Firstoff, because it's possible to get something else than a crap graphics card in there. Second of all, it's a whole lot faster. And lastly, it's more expandable in general.

bucci

The PowerMac price does not include a monitor, but I already have a Samsung SyncMaster 172. Hmm.. speaking of, do the nVidia 5200 cards have a DVI plug on them, or an HD15?

Quote:

Originally posted by Stoo

The PowerMac's bus does indeed run faster, at half the core speed rather than a third (PowerMac bus speed: 900MHz, iMac: 600MHz).



Does the PowerMac price include a monitor (or do you have one already?)

jacob wootten

Quote:

Originally posted by bucci

The PowerMac price does not include a monitor, but I already have a Samsung SyncMaster 172. Hmm.. speaking of, do the nVidia 5200 cards have a DVI plug on them, or an HD15?

I believe the card has a DVI plug and an ADC plug...but it does come with a DVI to VGA adapter (correct me if I'm wrong).

robin hood

It depends on what you "want" from your new computer. If you would prefer a tower because you want to add a second hard drive, want to upgrade the graphics card to something else, get the tower. If you would prefer to have a more power efficient, quieter computer with built in high quality monitor, get the iMac G5.



Also, the iMac G5 can only be upgraded to 2 GB RAM, whereas the 1.8GHz tower can go to 4 GB. So if you want to upgrade the RAM to 4 GB after purchasing it.



In a way though, unless there is a very specific reason why you need a tower, I would recommend going for the iMac G5.

stoo

I suspect that 2GB is the limit because the iMac has 2 slots but 2GB DIMMs aren't available. When 2GB DIMMs are released it should handle them fine.

bucci

Thank you everyone for your input. I decided upon a refurbed Dual 2.0ghz PowerMac. It was $500 more than the other two options I mentioned earlier, but I figured I would be kicking myself a few years down the road for not spending the little extra now.



Another factor that low ranked the iMac was the 100-120V power supply. I'm sure that's great if you're in the States, but I'm currently overseas (and will remain so for quite awhile) where most stuff is 220V. The design can be as shiny and compact as it wants, but if I need to lug around a 7kg step down converter with me everywhere I go... the iMac no longer becomes an option.



(steps down off soap box)



Thanks again for your help guys.

emig647

I love my dual 2.0... you can't go wrong with those machines especailly if it is a REV B.

bucci

Hmm.. What's the difference between rev. A and rev. B? Last I checked, rev. A had one PCI-X slot, and 2 PCI's, whereas rev. B had 3 PCI-X slots. That's the only difference I saw. Are there any more?

emig647

Quote:

Originally posted by bucci

Hmm.. What's the difference between rev. A and rev. B? Last I checked, rev. A had one PCI-X slot, and 2 PCI's, whereas rev. B had 3 PCI-X slots. That's the only difference I saw. Are there any more?

Rev B's have less fans. They use a heat pipe distribuation mechanism instead of 2 fans blowing on the separate areas.



Rev B's are also 970fx as opposed tot 970. That means 90nm process shrink opposed to 130nm. This leads to less power and less heat. The Rev B has a better power supply (there were sound artifacts on the Rev A with most of the machines).



Those may seem like small differences but they aren't because it leads to a more stable machine. Better cooling... leads to a quieter more stable machine.



The complaints on Rev B compared to Rev A have been very minimal.



BTW I'm comparing dual 2.0 machines. I don't know about the 1.8's.

splinemodel

If you're wondering which one you need, chances are you don't need the Powermac. get the iMac, and use your Samsung as a second monitor.



Rock.

aurora

powermac over imac for many many reasons. enough said.