When will I *need* a G5? (vs. iMac, buying advice)

dc3dc3
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I have been happy with a Rev B iMac for almost 5 years, but the video power supply just took down the whole machine, so I *get* to buy something new.



Of course, I want a G5 now, but with 17" panel (& Ed discount), it costs $700 more than iMac. (17" Diamond Plus takes off $425 & Combo shaves $180) What could make me regret getting the iMac, and when?

When will 64-bit apps make a difference to a home user like me?--some video-editing app, or...?

When will bus speed, RAM speed, processor speed, HD speed, etc, make a crucial difference?



I anticipate basic tower factors to affect me in year:

2006, when I want to upgrade the HD like I did to my Rev B, the iMac will make it a royal pain at best, and, at worst, with 65 GB to transfer, virtually impossible.

2006, when I want to upgrade the RAM for the second time, and I have to throw away the 256 or 512 that I installed in 2004.

Between 2004-2007, when a problem that could easily be fixed in a tower, like a glitch in the power supply, makes the entire iMac garbage.



&, BTW, How can I best recover/transfer the data from my deceased iMac's HD to a new iMac or G5?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    thuh freakthuh freak Posts: 2,664member
    i dont suspect that 64-bitness will be a requirement for a very long time. like, several years.



    as for saving the hd, assuming no damage has occurred to the hd itself, you can open up the imac, pull it the drive out, and pop it into a tower. i'm not sure how many free space they have in towers these days, but there will probably be room in a g5, or g4, or g3 tower for an extra hd (maybe even 2). i used to have 3 drives in my g3 tower. also, with a tower, u dont have to `upgrade' ur hd like with an imac, u can simply add a new one (therefore not have to transfer all the files over).
  • Reply 2 of 8
    the generalthe general Posts: 649member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by thuh Freak

    i dont suspect that 64-bitness will be a requirement for a very long time. like, several years.



    as for saving the hd, assuming no damage has occurred to the hd itself, you can open up the imac, pull it the drive out, and pop it into a tower. i'm not sure how many free space they have in towers these days, but there will probably be room in a g5, or g4, or g3 tower for an extra hd (maybe even 2). i used to have 3 drives in my g3 tower. also, with a tower, u dont have to `upgrade' ur hd like with an imac, u can simply add a new one (therefore not have to transfer all the files over).



    if he got a g5 he could not just pull out his old imac drive and pop it in the tower. he could get a firewire case though. (it wont just plug into the tower, since the tower does not use IDE.
  • Reply 3 of 8
    bungebunge Posts: 7,329member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by The General

    if he got a g5 he could not just pull out his old imac drive and pop it in the tower. he could get a firewire case though. (it wont just plug into the tower, since the tower does not use IDE.



    Couldn't he just temporarily unplug the optical drive and swap stuff on to the G5's harddrive?
  • Reply 4 of 8
    thuh freakthuh freak Posts: 2,664member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by The General

    if he got a g5 he could not just pull out his old imac drive and pop it in the tower. he could get a firewire case though. (it wont just plug into the tower, since the tower does not use IDE.



    i was blissfully unaware of that. infact, i'm quite surprised that the new towers dont use ide. (checking apple.com)...do the ata busses not have enough space for extra drives...i was under the impression (perhaps wrongly) that ata=ide=ata.
  • Reply 5 of 8
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    It's S-ATA (you'll need a converter, if there's room for it in the G5 drive bay layout) I could be mistaken, but ATA and SATA should be able to talk to each other: it might be limited to a one way cross compatibility, ie, you can use an SATA drive (with converter) at a slower speed on an ATA bus, or perhaps you can use an ATA drive on an SATA bus (again, with a converter), though in either case you wouldn't see the benefit of the SATA bus. Or perhaps they can be used both ways. IIRC, ATA-66-100-133 and SATA-150 are all "compatible" but you really sould check with someone who knows first.



    Of course, for the money you spend on the iMac, there are plenty of great PC desktops. Mac is not the only platform you know.
  • Reply 6 of 8
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by bunge

    Couldn't he just temporarily unplug the optical drive and swap stuff on to the G5's harddrive?



    Not even necessary, someone in MacBidouille published an article, where he discribe how he connected an IDE HD, via the ATA 100 bus of the optical driver (master slave).
  • Reply 7 of 8
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Dude, just get the iMac.



    If you're happy with a Rev B. iMac now, chances are you don't need the G5, nor will you for some time.
  • Reply 8 of 8
    dc3dc3 Posts: 9member
    Fellow Dude, just got the iMac.



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