Help - suggestions for G5 configuration

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
i'm getting a G5 soon - finally - but i'm on a very limited budget so i need to know what to get for the best bang for my buck.



i was thinking of not getting a 20" or even a 17" Apple display 'cause they cost heaps. I can get a 19" CRT for super cheap and invest the money saved into the actual computer. i already have a 15" Apple LCD which i use to expand my powerbook. Can i have both a CRT and a LCD plug into my G5?



with the money saved i thought i would get the -

Dual 1.8GHz PowerPC G5

1GB DDR400 SDRAM

250GB Serial ATA

8x SuperDrive

ATI Radeon 9800 XT



now my big question - is the Nvidia Geforce 6800, the uber card for the 30" display, is it much better on it's own to the 9800 XT? i want the best video card and of course i don't need the 6800 for a 30" screen.



thanks for all your help,

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Maritzio

    i'm getting a G5 soon - finally - but i'm on a very limited budget so i need to know what to get for the best bang for my buck.



    i was thinking of not getting a 20" or even a 17" Apple display 'cause they cost heaps. I can get a 19" CRT for super cheap and invest the money saved into the actual computer. i already have a 15" Apple LCD which i use to expand my powerbook. Can i have both a CRT and a LCD plug into my G5?



    with the money saved i thought i would get the -

    Dual 1.8GHz PowerPC G5

    1GB DDR400 SDRAM

    250GB Serial ATA

    8x SuperDrive

    ATI Radeon 9800 XT



    now my big question - is the Nvidia Geforce 6800, the uber card for the 30" display, is it much better on it's own to the 9800 XT? i want the best video card and of course i don't need the 6800 for a 30" screen.



    thanks for all your help,




    describe what you do with your computer. as far as the displays, assuming your 15" Apple LCD is an ADC connection, you'll be fine. the g5 comes with a dvi to vga adapter, and the other port on the 9800XT is adc. definitley stick with the 9800XT--i have it and its great, especially if youre saving money. the ram and HD space are the reasons I'm asking about what you do--those can be tweaked a little depending on what you say...
  • Reply 2 of 4
    Thanks for the reply,



    i'm a graphic designer - so indesign and photoshop. but i'm wanting to do some video editing in the future.



    thanks - i'll get the 9800 XT and maybe up the ram to 2 GB



    thanks again
  • Reply 3 of 4
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Maritzio

    Thanks for the reply,



    i'm a graphic designer - so indesign and photoshop. but i'm wanting to do some video editing in the future.



    thanks - i'll get the 9800 XT and maybe up the ram to 2 GB



    thanks again




    I would recommend the 2GB, but dont buy it all from apple. get the standard config from them, and then buy the rest from Ramjet or Crucial (I use Ramjet). I would also suggest partitioning that hard drive so that your volume drive doesnt have tons of huge grpahics or video files (and when the time comes, throw another HD in the second bay.) Happy buying!
  • Reply 4 of 4
    If you are 2D and video editing, save your money on the GPU and buy the RAM. The 9800XT is a bitchin card and has been top of the heap in it's generation (last 12 months)



    It's pretty much exclusively the 3D guys to whom the Nvidia 6800 makes sense when just looking at performance/cost. That said, the 6800 really the top card of the next newest generation for OpenGL work and will be roughly twice as fast as the 9800.



    The fact is that either card would be overkill for most of Apple's market, except:



    What Apple has done which is ingenious is to make the 30' display, transforming a video card which is overkill for all but hardcore 3D into a necessity for anyone who itches to always have the most screen real-estate (Apple's huge 2D market). They have us where a piece of drool-worthy hardware is connected to another expensive piece of drool-worthy hardware, only available as an option connected to their most high margin computer. Pretty smart actually.
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