I still drool over the possibility of the G5 Dual Dual. This may have a really long shelf life if it actually gets produced. The raw processing power will be awesome and it should hold up through many upgrade cycles with even the Intel architecture. When will Intel produce a Dual core Xeon, or a chip that can be used in a multiprocessor system.
The Dual core Pentium D at 3.2 Ghz has a thermal design of 130 watts, if you can double that, then the Intel Dual Dual needs 260 watts just for processors.
The G5 Dual Dual may not be quiet and it probably won't be cheap but it should be a heck of a machine.
Great minds must think alike. I have been thinking this for months now. But I just bough a mac mini Wednesday and have since loaded Mac OS X Server Tiger on it and am hosting my website and my own mail server. I also installed all the extra stuff like awstats, mysql, php, etc. I figured why wait when it doesn't really matter how much of a bump the mini might get when it's just going to sit there idle most the time <shrugs> happy with the choice though
I'd love to hear how your mini as server goes. Are you running it at home/work or is it in a colo somewhere?
For the time being I'm signed up with some $5 per month web host that gives me PHP 5 and MySQL 4.1, the primary apps I need. Once the new Macintel minis are out, I'll probably get one of 'em and send it down for colocation. Although the same hosting provider offers a $25 per month plan that gives me unlimited domains and tons of drivespace and bandwidth... so I could always switch to that instead and save some money. I won't have total control of the machine, but maybe I don't really need it. I guess I'll see how this $5 plan goes.
Once you have managed a farm of servers its hard not to have total control of your boxes.
I already bought a dual 1.8 Powermac several weeks ago, so I'm not in the market right now, but that's not going to prevent me from chiming in... 8)
I think that if you're in the market for a Powermac, or an iMac, go for it. I don't think the performance delta between them and their Intel replacements are going to be all that large.
On the other hand, if you're in the market for a mini, iBook, or Powerbook, you might consider waiting-- the additional benefits you get from the 533 or 667 MHz bus of Yonah could be worth it, depending on what you do with your machine (not to mention the possibility of the Powerbook going dual core... Oops! Just drooled all over my keyboard). If it's just used for wordprocessing, web browsing & email, then jump in now, 'cause I doubt if you'll see much of a difference. On the other hand, if you're doing video work, or want to dable in graphics apps, or anything else that taxes the bus, I think I'd wait for the Intel stuff.
After much debate, I just pulled the trigger on a 20-inch iMac. I really wanted a small, powerful tower to replace my Cube, but I don't think we'll see anything along those lines until the transition is actually under way - if ever. The specs of the iMac really make it quite a good value, and Apple has an additional $100 rebate for education buyers this month, so I decided not to wait.
If a G5 PowerBook had been imminent, I would have bought one to use as a portable and on the desktop with a second display. But I figure the iMac will last me three years, by which time the transition should be over and the PowerBooks should have some pretty compelling specs.
Comments
The Dual core Pentium D at 3.2 Ghz has a thermal design of 130 watts, if you can double that, then the Intel Dual Dual needs 260 watts just for processors.
The G5 Dual Dual may not be quiet and it probably won't be cheap but it should be a heck of a machine.
Originally posted by O4BlackWRX
Great minds must think alike. I have been thinking this for months now. But I just bough a mac mini Wednesday and have since loaded Mac OS X Server Tiger on it and am hosting my website and my own mail server. I also installed all the extra stuff like awstats, mysql, php, etc. I figured why wait when it doesn't really matter how much of a bump the mini might get when it's just going to sit there idle most the time <shrugs> happy with the choice though
I'd love to hear how your mini as server goes. Are you running it at home/work or is it in a colo somewhere?
For the time being I'm signed up with some $5 per month web host that gives me PHP 5 and MySQL 4.1, the primary apps I need. Once the new Macintel minis are out, I'll probably get one of 'em and send it down for colocation. Although the same hosting provider offers a $25 per month plan that gives me unlimited domains and tons of drivespace and bandwidth... so I could always switch to that instead and save some money. I won't have total control of the machine, but maybe I don't really need it. I guess I'll see how this $5 plan goes.
Once you have managed a farm of servers its hard not to have total control of your boxes.
I think that if you're in the market for a Powermac, or an iMac, go for it. I don't think the performance delta between them and their Intel replacements are going to be all that large.
On the other hand, if you're in the market for a mini, iBook, or Powerbook, you might consider waiting-- the additional benefits you get from the 533 or 667 MHz bus of Yonah could be worth it, depending on what you do with your machine (not to mention the possibility of the Powerbook going dual core... Oops! Just drooled all over my keyboard). If it's just used for wordprocessing, web browsing & email, then jump in now, 'cause I doubt if you'll see much of a difference. On the other hand, if you're doing video work, or want to dable in graphics apps, or anything else that taxes the bus, I think I'd wait for the Intel stuff.
Just my US$.02.
If a G5 PowerBook had been imminent, I would have bought one to use as a portable and on the desktop with a second display. But I figure the iMac will last me three years, by which time the transition should be over and the PowerBooks should have some pretty compelling specs.