The cynical argument - and probably true, unfortunately.
Someone from Apple (Fred Anderson?) addressed this a couple of years ago. Gavriel is exactly right; the resellers have thin margins and few upgrades on which they can boost their profits. RAM is one. And the online resellers use extra RAM as an incentive to buy from them rather than direct from Apple. And Apple, of course, makes huge margins on the upgrades they sell themselves.
I think these'll sell, although it is a tad larger than a Cube.
Yes, about six times by volume. I think I'll hang on to my Cube a while longer, even though I suspect this model means we won't be seeing any SMALL headless tower.
It's a PowerMac. A little slower than the rest of them and a lot cheaper.
I'd put that the other way around. It is a lot slower than the rest and just a little cheaper. It's definitely a step in the right direction, but it's still a bit on the expensive side.
Anyone else think this kills the headless eMac theory?
Screed
I do. With this powermac, they've realized the need for a cheaper tower, and this is probably a first step in (hopefully) a strategy. I hope they'll keep pimpin' the price or bump the specs to that the PowerMac has more speed/features to offer than the 1499 iMac , so that they have approximately the same bang/buck ratio.
Quick question - I want a machine for games (Halo, BFF1942 etc), Office 2004, Safari, Mail, Photoshop and Toast'ing large movies onto DVD. I definately will not be buying any PCI-X adapters.
Which machine would your recommend then, the single 1.8, the dual 1.8 or the dual 2.0? or an iMac for that matter.
Quick question - I want a machine for games (Halo, BFF1942 etc), Office 2004, Safari, Mail, Photoshop and Toast'ing large movies onto DVD. I definately will not be buying any PCI-X adapters.
Which machine would your recommend then, the single 1.8, the dual 1.8 or the dual 2.0? or an iMac for that matter.
oh and yes I would be upgrading the video card.
Thanks.
If you don't care about the price, get the 2.0. If you do care about the price, get the dual 1.8, which IMHO has the best bang/buck ratio.
Quick question - I want a machine for games (Halo, BFF1942 etc), Office 2004, Safari, Mail, Photoshop and Toast'ing large movies onto DVD. I definately will not be buying any PCI-X adapters.
Which machine would your recommend then, the single 1.8, the dual 1.8 or the dual 2.0? or an iMac for that matter.
oh and yes I would be upgrading the video card.
Thanks.
Single 1.8, unless you want to run HALO at silly (or even half decent) resolutions.
Quick question - I want a machine for games (Halo, BFF1942 etc), Office 2004, Safari, Mail, Photoshop and Toast'ing large movies onto DVD. I definately will not be buying any PCI-X adapters.
Which machine would your recommend then, the single 1.8, the dual 1.8 or the dual 2.0? or an iMac for that matter.
oh and yes I would be upgrading the video card.
Thanks.
I think the Dual 1.8 or 2.0. If you're really hard-core, then the dual 2.5.
It's always nice to see them offer more headless Macs, no matter what kind, but it's price/performance that we are really asking for. This is very bad price/performance. 1700EUR for a machine that has insufficient RAM, too small a HD blocking one of the two slots, poor GPU, and no display? Maybe good for a small office web server. For office use, iMacs are better. For home use, iMacs are better. For gaming, a 1000EUR PC will kick its ass even after heavy upgrades.
Good to see Apple trying to do something about their sagging PowerMac sales.
While I still don't like it 100% (mainly the price tage seems a bit high), It's a definite step in the right direction. I was hoping they'd release it in a slightly smaller, minitower case to distinguish it from the rest of the PowerMac line as the "PowerMac Express." I mean, do people really need 3 PCI slots and 2 drive bays? I'd be willing to sacrafice some of those for a smaller case and cheaper price.
But overall, I'm pleased Apple is finally releasing a low(er) cost tower. Now it will be interesting if consumers will notice it or if it will go the way of the Cube.
There are a lot of people out there who buy the "entry level" machines exclusively and won't look at anything else. It's not smart - but it's what they do...
I think it's a good solid machine, and I think Apple needs a machine like that in their Power Mac G5 line-up. It allows them to use existing parts, and for every DP machine they could have built they can now have two SP machines sitting on the shelf.
It may even be a way of clearing out excess 1.8GHz parts.
This is what a lot of people have been crying out for.
YESSSS!!!!!!!!! As a soon-to-be switcher, this is exactly what I want. a single cpu mid tower, the advantage is HUGE, I buy the tower now, and when I want a speedbump next year, I replace the gpu, and add ram, two years from now, add a big hdd, and maybe a cpu upgrade. and in ~four-five years, start the cycle over!
Well this SP Powermac just bumped the iMac out of my purchase list. I'm going to buy the next revisision which should be 2Ghz. I need the PCI slots(I will be doing Audio and Video work) and I want the Gigabit and FW800 as options. Doesn't hurt that I have 2 SATA drive capability either.
No the price doesn't knock your socks off nor does the bus speed but it's workable and I would indeed upgrade the graphics card off the 5200fx.
Good job for Apple. It's not everyones computer but it's still capable and the developer price is nice so I'll be saving even more over the edu price.
YESSSS!!!!!!!!! As a soon-to-be switcher, this is exactly what I want. a single cpu mid tower, the advantage is HUGE, I buy the tower now, and when I want a speedbump next year, I replace the gpu, and add ram, two years from now, add a big hdd, and maybe a cpu upgrade. and in ~four-five years, start the cycle over!
SCREW THE "FREE" 17" FP LCD!!!!(see iMac
God you're right aren't you?
I keep forgetting the price of the new iMac. Maybe it's not as good a deal after all?
In fact, aren't the specs almost identical?
That's kind of changed my opinion of this machine...
Comments
edit: actually it gets as low as $1260 without the Super Drive.
Originally posted by Eugene
The drives in Apple Power Macs do write DVD+RW and DVD-RW media with the built-in software. You don't even need Toast or anything.
A drive like the new DVR-108 (which isn't in any Power Mac yet) also supports reading DVD-RAM.
Then why do they still advertise them as just DVD-R drives?
Originally posted by MattW
The cynical argument - and probably true, unfortunately.
Someone from Apple (Fred Anderson?) addressed this a couple of years ago. Gavriel is exactly right; the resellers have thin margins and few upgrades on which they can boost their profits. RAM is one. And the online resellers use extra RAM as an incentive to buy from them rather than direct from Apple. And Apple, of course, makes huge margins on the upgrades they sell themselves.
Originally posted by chris v
I think these'll sell, although it is a tad larger than a Cube.
Yes, about six times by volume.
Originally posted by Gavriel
It's a PowerMac. A little slower than the rest of them and a lot cheaper.
I'd put that the other way around. It is a lot slower than the rest and just a little cheaper. It's definitely a step in the right direction, but it's still a bit on the expensive side.
Screed
Originally posted by sCreeD
Anyone else think this kills the headless eMac theory?
Screed
I do. With this powermac, they've realized the need for a cheaper tower, and this is probably a first step in (hopefully) a strategy. I hope they'll keep pimpin' the price or bump the specs to that the PowerMac has more speed/features to offer than the 1499 iMac , so that they have approximately the same bang/buck ratio.
Which machine would your recommend then, the single 1.8, the dual 1.8 or the dual 2.0? or an iMac for that matter.
oh and yes I would be upgrading the video card.
Thanks.
Originally posted by Chopper3
Quick question - I want a machine for games (Halo, BFF1942 etc), Office 2004, Safari, Mail, Photoshop and Toast'ing large movies onto DVD. I definately will not be buying any PCI-X adapters.
Which machine would your recommend then, the single 1.8, the dual 1.8 or the dual 2.0? or an iMac for that matter.
oh and yes I would be upgrading the video card.
Thanks.
If you don't care about the price, get the 2.0. If you do care about the price, get the dual 1.8, which IMHO has the best bang/buck ratio.
Originally posted by Chopper3
Quick question - I want a machine for games (Halo, BFF1942 etc), Office 2004, Safari, Mail, Photoshop and Toast'ing large movies onto DVD. I definately will not be buying any PCI-X adapters.
Which machine would your recommend then, the single 1.8, the dual 1.8 or the dual 2.0? or an iMac for that matter.
oh and yes I would be upgrading the video card.
Thanks.
Single 1.8, unless you want to run HALO at silly (or even half decent) resolutions.
Originally posted by Chopper3
Quick question - I want a machine for games (Halo, BFF1942 etc), Office 2004, Safari, Mail, Photoshop and Toast'ing large movies onto DVD. I definately will not be buying any PCI-X adapters.
Which machine would your recommend then, the single 1.8, the dual 1.8 or the dual 2.0? or an iMac for that matter.
oh and yes I would be upgrading the video card.
Thanks.
I think the Dual 1.8 or 2.0. If you're really hard-core, then the dual 2.5.
This is indeed the new Cube, in terms of cost.
Originally posted by Gon
This is indeed the new Cube, in terms of cost.
The difference now is that if it dies, it is not going to cost that much to Apple, if at all.
Originally posted by PB
The difference now is that if it dies, it is not going to cost that much to Apple, if at all.
Yep, and I figure it's good for Apple to have this model out, even if it's only to be able to say "Powermac, starting at..."
While I still don't like it 100% (mainly the price tage seems a bit high), It's a definite step in the right direction. I was hoping they'd release it in a slightly smaller, minitower case to distinguish it from the rest of the PowerMac line as the "PowerMac Express." I mean, do people really need 3 PCI slots and 2 drive bays? I'd be willing to sacrafice some of those for a smaller case and cheaper price.
But overall, I'm pleased Apple is finally releasing a low(er) cost tower. Now it will be interesting if consumers will notice it or if it will go the way of the Cube.
There are a lot of people out there who buy the "entry level" machines exclusively and won't look at anything else. It's not smart - but it's what they do...
I think it's a good solid machine, and I think Apple needs a machine like that in their Power Mac G5 line-up. It allows them to use existing parts, and for every DP machine they could have built they can now have two SP machines sitting on the shelf.
It may even be a way of clearing out excess 1.8GHz parts.
I think it'll sell well.
Originally posted by Messiah
Good.
This is what a lot of people have been crying out for.
YESSSS!!!!!!!!! As a soon-to-be switcher, this is exactly what I want. a single cpu mid tower, the advantage is HUGE, I buy the tower now, and when I want a speedbump next year, I replace the gpu, and add ram, two years from now, add a big hdd, and maybe a cpu upgrade. and in ~four-five years, start the cycle over!
SCREW THE "FREE" 17" FP LCD!!!!(see iMac
No the price doesn't knock your socks off nor does the bus speed but it's workable and I would indeed upgrade the graphics card off the 5200fx.
Good job for Apple. It's not everyones computer but it's still capable and the developer price is nice so I'll be saving even more over the edu price.
Originally posted by a_greer
YESSSS!!!!!!!!! As a soon-to-be switcher, this is exactly what I want. a single cpu mid tower, the advantage is HUGE, I buy the tower now, and when I want a speedbump next year, I replace the gpu, and add ram, two years from now, add a big hdd, and maybe a cpu upgrade. and in ~four-five years, start the cycle over!
SCREW THE "FREE" 17" FP LCD!!!!(see iMac
God you're right aren't you?
I keep forgetting the price of the new iMac. Maybe it's not as good a deal after all?
In fact, aren't the specs almost identical?
That's kind of changed my opinion of this machine...
Originally posted by Eugene
The drives in Apple Power Macs do write DVD+RW and DVD-RW media with the built-in software. You don't even need Toast or anything.
A drive like the new DVR-108 (which isn't in any Power Mac yet) also supports reading DVD-RAM.
Interesting. Not that I didn't believe you, I went to "About This Mac" and checked my Superdrive information. It described it as;
ATA-3 Bus:
MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-816:
Manufacturer
Model
Revision
Serial Number
Drive Type
Disc Burning
Removable Media
Detachable Drive
Protocol
Unit Number
Socket Type
Now if it will write to DVD-RW, my question is will it also erase it? Or would I have to buy something like Roxio Toast to unlock this feature?