New Mac (Switcher)
I have been looking at macs for 3 years now and have always wanted one.
Here are the options i have been looking at:
iMac:
? 512MB DDR400 SDRAM - 1 DIMM
? 80GB Serial ATA drive
? None - Bluetooth Module
? Keyboard and Mouse + Mac OS X - U.S. English
? 17-inch widescreen LCD
? 1.8GHz PowerPC G5
? SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
? NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra w/64MB video memory
$1946 CDN
-^-The Graphics is what scares me in this config since you cant upgrade and its not that good imo. Also the all-in-one is nice but that display is too nice to get rid of down the road. but the pricing is definatly cheaper for what you get with the display.
PowerMac:
? 512MB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x256
? 160GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
? ATI Radeon 9600 XT w/128MB DDR SDRAM
? 56k V.92 modem.
? 8x Super Drive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
? Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
? Mac OS X - U.S. English
Single 1.8GHZ with 600mhz bus
$2158 CDN
-^-The way i think of it here compared is that i get all the upgrade abilities that the imac doesnt have and a nice graphics card, double the space, for no display which is extra.
PowerMac:
? 512MB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x256
? Dual 2GHz PowerPC G5
? 160GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
? ATI Radeon 9650 w/256MB DDR SDRAM
? 16x SuperDrive double-layer (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
? Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
? Mac OS X - U.S. English
$2564 CDN
-^-This is pretty much my dream system... Compared to the one above i get an extra procesor thats faster(better bus), little bit better GPU, and DL DVD 16x, for an exta 400 bucks. Again this doesnt come with a display so thats also added to price.
There are other options i have been looking at... as in i could get the Mac Mini+a Decent Dell machine for the price of one of those. $$ is a large part in this desion and i am on a 15inch CRT at the moment so a new display would be nice.
I am yougest of 3 kids in my family with others moved out. I have 2 more years of High School left, so this computer would be for me since my parents cant even search google without help.
So when i look at a mac thats $2500+ a display , that could equal a car for example. $3000 for a computer is way over boarder line when i can get a build to order off dell for $1500 that has 3ghz /512mb/dvd burner/nvidia 6800.
Thoughts comments questions on what i should get (or my parents in this case).
EDIT: When and if i get a mac and bring it home set it up be all pumped then turn it on... use ilife (allready have itunes) and get all done... get my mac version of MSN start surfin on Safari use some expose and dashboard... then what, will the speed just wow me enough to be happy or what could i do on the it to just be, Finaly a mac.
My specs currently:
p3 800mhz
144mb ram
80gb hdd
64mb radeon 7000
cd burner
Windows XP sp2
Here are the options i have been looking at:
iMac:
? 512MB DDR400 SDRAM - 1 DIMM
? 80GB Serial ATA drive
? None - Bluetooth Module
? Keyboard and Mouse + Mac OS X - U.S. English
? 17-inch widescreen LCD
? 1.8GHz PowerPC G5
? SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
? NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra w/64MB video memory
$1946 CDN
-^-The Graphics is what scares me in this config since you cant upgrade and its not that good imo. Also the all-in-one is nice but that display is too nice to get rid of down the road. but the pricing is definatly cheaper for what you get with the display.
PowerMac:
? 512MB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x256
? 160GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
? ATI Radeon 9600 XT w/128MB DDR SDRAM
? 56k V.92 modem.
? 8x Super Drive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
? Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
? Mac OS X - U.S. English
Single 1.8GHZ with 600mhz bus
$2158 CDN
-^-The way i think of it here compared is that i get all the upgrade abilities that the imac doesnt have and a nice graphics card, double the space, for no display which is extra.
PowerMac:
? 512MB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x256
? Dual 2GHz PowerPC G5
? 160GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
? ATI Radeon 9650 w/256MB DDR SDRAM
? 16x SuperDrive double-layer (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
? Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
? Mac OS X - U.S. English
$2564 CDN
-^-This is pretty much my dream system... Compared to the one above i get an extra procesor thats faster(better bus), little bit better GPU, and DL DVD 16x, for an exta 400 bucks. Again this doesnt come with a display so thats also added to price.
There are other options i have been looking at... as in i could get the Mac Mini+a Decent Dell machine for the price of one of those. $$ is a large part in this desion and i am on a 15inch CRT at the moment so a new display would be nice.
I am yougest of 3 kids in my family with others moved out. I have 2 more years of High School left, so this computer would be for me since my parents cant even search google without help.
So when i look at a mac thats $2500+ a display , that could equal a car for example. $3000 for a computer is way over boarder line when i can get a build to order off dell for $1500 that has 3ghz /512mb/dvd burner/nvidia 6800.
Thoughts comments questions on what i should get (or my parents in this case).
EDIT: When and if i get a mac and bring it home set it up be all pumped then turn it on... use ilife (allready have itunes) and get all done... get my mac version of MSN start surfin on Safari use some expose and dashboard... then what, will the speed just wow me enough to be happy or what could i do on the it to just be, Finaly a mac.
My specs currently:
p3 800mhz
144mb ram
80gb hdd
64mb radeon 7000
cd burner
Windows XP sp2
Comments
If gaming and graphics intense stuff is your bag, you're gonna want to "force" your parents to get your "dream system".
Also, it'll last you easily for another 3-4 years.
At work I still use a G4 733MHz and just installed Tiger on it and it, oddly, gets faster as years go by. How paradoxical is that?
I still manage to play (if that's a term I can use) Battlefield 1942 on it (at min rez) and other stuff.
PowerMacs will really really get you the best bang for the buck.
If you just want an email machine and light grahics and dev work and such, an iMac will do ya just fine for a while.
The odd game would be nice, but since the mac's game libray isnt that big its not a big deal. And i have my XBOX for games.
What I would want to do is use mostly the ilife apps... and maybe some final cut. I have tried video editing on this computer but it just is too slow and feels kinda cheap/ unorganized.
Im kinda worried that i'll get this nice 2500$ computer to just make dvds? Im sure the speed will be amazing along with no crashing, viruses etc.
Since I will be out of the house in 2 years iduno if a laptop would be more sutable? how would a powerbook 1.6 compare to tower - the portablility of a notebook.
EDIT: whats up with the new dual core processors.? are they really that good? expensive?
EDIT2: My Current Computers Benchmarks
Originally posted by Power Apple
whatever you do, don't buy the 1.8 GHz single proc Power Mac - it's an embarrasement to the macintosh platform and to the mac users.
That's a little harsh, isn't it? If people want an expandable, inexpensive, yet decently powered system then the low end Power Mac seems to fit the bill. Yeah, it may not sell as well as the others, but it's available because Apple is seeing enough customers for it.
I looked at how much your dual g5 system was and with the discount it showed up as US $1,844.00 (No idea how much that is Canadian dollars.)
At work I still use a G4 733MHz and just installed Tiger on it and it, oddly, gets faster as years go by. How paradoxical is that?
I too, just installed Tiger on my G3. I think it actually slowed down
Originally posted by CosmoNut
That's a little harsh, isn't it? If people want an expandable, inexpensive, yet decently powered system then the low end Power Mac seems to fit the bill. Yeah, it may not sell as well as the others, but it's available because Apple is seeing enough customers for it.
It maybe harsh, but unfortunately I believe it to be true. The single 1.8 GHz PM was introduced in its current version back in October 2004 but was not updated along with the other Power Macs, nor was the price lowered. Imo, it was already a bad deal back when it was launched and it just got even worse with the other Power Macs and now the iMacs beeing updated. I simply don't understand why Apple didn't at least lower the price a couple of hundred dollars...
POWERMAC:
? 1GB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x512
? Dual 2GHz PowerPC G5
? 160GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
? ATI Radeon 9650 w/256MB DDR SDRAM
? 16x SuperDrive double-layer (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Subtotal $2,694.00
-^-looks to me like a great computer. This computer will prob be moving with me after high shcool so the form factor my be a little hassel. The powermac is something $600 more for an extra processor better graphics and faster drive. but no display which i would need to by extra....
IMAC:
? 1GB DDR400 SDRAM - 2 DIMMs
? 2GHz PowerPC G5
? 160GB Serial ATA drive
? ATI Radeon 9600 with 128MB DDR Video
? SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD+RW/CD-RW)
Subtotal $2,089.00
This new update was so exciting but then i thought how much more expensive the PM looked compared and thought this would be the one to get. I would almost upgrade the HDD on this to 250gb for only 95$ or somthing. I think i could live with the 8x drive on this one compared to the faster one on the other. The graphics is ok for the imac but more would be nice, its alot better than that old 64mb.
My main question now is how much better is the dual processor in the powermac? Is it that much better for the extra money... also with the extra cost of the display on that yet...
The imac seems to be the computer for the job, something practicle to stay with the parents here when i move out... and also a great dorm computer.
Also an option to get a powerbook. But nothing like the 12inchers.. i hate small screens and for photoshop and video editing would be gross. The 17inch is too much money and kinda large. So it would be a 15incher if anything. but 1.5ghz superdrive 1gbram is around $2700, close to the Powermac's price and i could very easily use the portablility to the advantage. But would 1.5ghz be enough? and the videoram is kinda limited unless i upgrade.. cost me $3000 around.
Thanx for taking the time to read all of this, i have been troubling over which to get for a good 2 1/2 years. I just dont want to make my parents spend the big bucks and not be able to use it too the max or too the cost. But also want it to last a good 3-4 years.
Also, if one of your older siblings are in college, you can always get them to go in and buy it to get the student discount. Before i graduated from college, i bought a 12" powerbook and saved about 300 dollars.
Originally posted by troberts
Even though there is more flexibility with the PowerMac you should get the iMac because it will do everything you need it to do, and with two more years of school left you will have plenty of time and opportunities to work on your video editing skills. If you like video editing/graphics art enough to pursue a career in it then it will carry you for a few more years, during which time you can decide what type of system will best suite your needs. Regardless of which computer you do get, make sure you get the 250GB hard drive because space disappears quicker than you think it will.
I concur. The iMac is a lot cheaper and will serve your needs well for the next few years. Now that they have a descent graphics card there really is no reason to buy a powermac unless you are going to upgrade to a 6800. The imac is also a lot easier to carry around--big weight difference.
also thanks for not, i dont know how to word it "beaking" me for being some 16 year old asking for sugestions on a new computer.. unlike if i asked else were i would have been flammed... iduno just seems like nice respectfull responses here even though my age.
....savin up for a ipod mini to go with the sweet new mac!
...anyone use the pro studio apps? DVD studio pro looks so amazing to me along with final cut...
how is final cut express compared to the pro version. on some BTO's you can get Express pre-installed for 300 bucks or somthing, looks like a good deal to me to expand on the imovie experience.
Since the new update on the imac I am thinking about getting the 20incher, ive seen comparason of size side by side and it just looks so stunning. also ive herd of many problems with the 20's.
the 2gb ram BTO looks nice to! it would be sweet to me to have a maxed out imac!! just top of the line would be amazing, just do anything with it.
Thanks for the Great responses.
EDIT: 2 DIMM's vs 1 DIMM <? is it just how many slots used? if it is and i got the imac i would prob want 1gb 1Dimm so i can add more next upgrade?