Dual 800...or new 933?

paco · January 31, 2002 8:18PM

Help

I have to buy a new g4 tower for my business. Compusa has 1 dual 800 for around 2500...or I could go for the new 933.

I have the 22 inch display and use Photoshop and office the most.

I don't want to buy a computer that is already outdated...but ...do you guys feel the dual 800 still has some merit.

any advice would help

ti fighter · January 31, 2002 8:35PM

the dual is not at all outdated ( I tried one, its fast) but concidering that you can get the 933 cheaper and it will have a new graphics card ect.. It might be a better deal. Im not exactualy sure how much a dual g4 will take advantage of both processors in Mac os9 with your appz, but in os x they should be used all the time. So it will be faster for some stuff but i dont know if its enuff for it to be worth it. Find out which machene will be faster all in all (not just processor wise) and get that.

I went for the 933 personaly

Any dual 800 users out their?

[ 01-31-2002: Message edited by: Ti Fighter ]

agent302 · January 31, 2002 8:54PM

isn't photoshop multiprocessor aware? Would make good sense to get the DP 800 then. From what I can tell, the only difference between the DP 800 and the 933 (other than the processors) is the graphics card and the software bundle. The DP 800 has 20 GB bigger HD too

eman · January 31, 2002 9:20PM

I say go for the Dual 800.

cosmo · February 1, 2002 12:11AM

If you spend lots of time in PhotoShop i'm almost certain the dual 800 would be faster. Also if you're going to use OS X i think the dual is a better option.

tigerwoods99 · February 1, 2002 8:30AM

I'm wondering if I should just pick up the new 800 MHz and just sell it on eBay later. I can't stand my slow @$$ G3, and I can't really upgrade it much. However, I bet a 733 would be a lot cheaper.

eman · February 1, 2002 2:09PM

[quote]Originally posted by TigerWoods99:

I'm wondering if I should just pick up the new 800 MHz and just sell it on eBay later. I can't stand my slow @$$ G3, and I can't really upgrade it much. However, I bet a 733 would be a lot cheaper.<hr></blockquote>

Yeah, that's your best bet. This way you'll have a great machine until the G5s arive.

bodhi · February 1, 2002 2:15PM

Dual 800

Dual 800

Dual 800

Dual 800

Dual 800

Dual 800

Dual 800

jeromba · February 1, 2002 3:22PM

i've got a dual 800 and in photoshop this two babies helps a lot .... either in 9 or X.

I think also that there is more life in a dual config... photoshop X will be a killer dual app !

ghost_user_name · February 1, 2002 6:53PM

You'd have to be a loon to not take the Dual 800 over the 933.

sizzle chest · February 1, 2002 7:40PM

Positively the Dual 800, especially since you do a lot of work in Photoshop. MS Office won't be helped or hurt by either machine, but Photoshop is MP aware and you'll get much better results with the Dual 800.

leonis · February 1, 2002 8:02PM

Dual!Dual!Dual!Dual!Dual!Dual!Dual!Dual!Dual!Dual! Dual!Dual!Dual!

I have the Dual 500 and it's even faster than the 867Mhz Slow Silver in Sorenson 3 video compress, After Effects, Cinema 4D, Final Cut Pro.....and so on

In OSX, dual is way better than single

Not to mention Photoshop. Guess what? Photoshop 7 flies with dual machines under OSX. I have been playing with the beta for a while and I can see the difference

[ 02-01-2002: Message edited by: Leonis ]

zonetuke · February 2, 2002 2:21PM

I ordered a Dual 800 for $2,489 with a 3 yr Apple warranty last night after I came home from many martinis! The decision to buy the dual 800 over the 933 seems very logical to me: way more power for a few hundred $ less. I plan on getting a 8500 or GeForce 4 anyways, so the video card is not an issue.

My only worry is that the dual machine will be worth less to me if I run 9. X needs work in my opinion and Apple needs to get off its ass and update it in many ways. Although Q3A will take advantage of duals in 9

Now my problem is how much do I charge my older brother for taking my G3 466 off my hands? It has 448 MB with Voodoo 5.

[ 02-02-2002: Message edited by: zonetuke ]

jeremiah rich · February 3, 2002 7:52AM

I would for sure go with the dual 800....

junkyard dawg · February 3, 2002 1:51PM

Dual 800 for sure...that is a bad-ass computer and it is not outdated at all, in fact it's not going to be obsolete for a long time...Photoshop is optimized for dualies so it will be much faster on a dual 800 than on a single 933, particularly since those computers both have the same motherboards. When you upgrade to OS X it will fly on the dual 800, faster than on a single 933.

If you are handy with a soldering iron, then that dual 800 can be overclocked as well. Some folks over at <a href="http://www.xlr8yourmac.com"; target="_blank">www.xlr8yourmac.com</a> have clocked those things up pretty high...but for us normal people two 800 MHz G4s is plenty fast!

tigerwoods99 · February 4, 2002 6:41AM

Hmm......afraid I might have something here in terms of getting a new G4. I am doing a really good job convincing my dad but I'm afraid of these machines. I think they are just going to be a stop-gap solution and I'm going to be disappointed in a few months when G5 & DDR mobo come. However I really don't know if it will be 2 or 6 months before these beasts arrive, or ever for that matter. I really do want a new computer to replace our ailing G3, but I just don't wanna get screwed. They aren't my ideal machines, but the new PowerMacs are not bad. One plan would be go for 933 (dual GHz I wish but price is the issue) and sell it when the G5s are out. I figure if I beef up the RAM, put loads of extras like software and all that other garbage on I could still get much of what it cost, probably enough to buy the low-end G5. Decisions.....I really want that G5 to take to college. Hmm.....how bout the SlowSilver stays at home and I just get a G5?

It would take work, but I think I can do it! The words "So you think we should get a G4?" are like freakin music to my ears. Dad knows how good X is too, and I've told him our machine can't run much of anything now. Any advice is welcome.

neomac · February 4, 2002 6:47AM

[quote]Originally posted by paco:

 Dual 800...or new 933?<hr></blockquote>

This shouldn't even be a question.

leonis · February 4, 2002 7:08AM

[quote]Originally posted by TigerWoods99:

I figure if I beef up the RAM, put loads of extras like software and all that other garbage on I could still get much of what it cost, probably enough to buy the low-end G5. <hr></blockquote>

Hey Tiger

Keep in mind that loading software doesn't mean it will up the value of the machine. Unless you give away the real package with the computer. Otherwise it's treated as illegal bundle and can't be charged.

RAM's value inside an used machine always is half of the current price of the brand new RAM.

cud · February 4, 2002 10:51AM

All:

would you say that the DDR L3 cache on the 933 is a "non-consideration" as far as speed goes?

Paco:

consider this (if you've got several Mac towers at your work, and if they are physically close together---like a row of cubes)...

it is worth your time to set up these machines to do parallel processing (a "Beowolf Cluster", "Zilla Unit", or whatever the Mac name for it is)

You'll have created a "multiprocessor" machine that more than one person can use.

All the towers have Gigabit ethernet. (Conceivably) you could connect these Macs with a small Ethernet hub (there in the cubes), and then connect that hub to the company ethernet. (This'd probably only be worth the effort if all/most of the machines had Gigabit ethernet (i.e., 1000BaseT).

Actually (if I understand correctly) Mac clustering will work on dissimilar OS versions and architectures.

tigerwoods99 · February 4, 2002 8:28PM

If I keep $300 apps or whatever on the system's hard drive I would think it would be an added incentive. Adding extras always gets quite a bit more I noticed, screw the packaging. So what type of return would either a 933 or dual GHz G4 get me in say 3 months? I REALLY can't wait all that much longer yet I think if I wait about months I could conceivably have a G5 sitting on our computer desk. The thing I was thinking of doing is getting one and possibly being able to keep it as a home machine. Really a G5 would follow me to college, yet my parents would still be stuck with a crapola G3 at home. The SlowSilver oughta be good for them, and maybe I could always get a G5 with my own money? I dunno what to do. Does anybody what kind of education deal I could get on the towers? That could be a factor, or if I could get a really good deal. The waiting is getting frustrating.

Dual 800...or new 933?

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