g4 v g5

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bikko100

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I'm getting a MAC for my wife....shhhh....she doesn't know ;) Anyway...here is my delima. I live the PC realm and this is my first venture to the world of Macs. I'm a COMPLETE noob so my apologies in advance.


A couple of quick questions. I really appreciate all your help! :D

1: Dual g4 v. single g5?

2: If i wait till after the g5 is OFFICIALLY released do you think i'll still be able to purchase the dual g4 setup through MAC....as i'll be taking advantage of the educational discount?

3: what's the emulation software that allows you to run windows? Is it expensive?
 
1) What is your wife? A professional video editor?! :eek: If this is for home use, I would consider an iMac, an eMac or an iBook instead.
2) I should expect so, I'm not sure though
3) The biggest commercial one is Virtual PC (http://www.connectix.com/products/vpc6m.html). It used to be made by Connectix, but was bought by Micro$oft a few months ago.
RealPC (http://www.fwb.com/html/realpc.html) was discontinued, but development has recommenced recently.
Bochs (http://bochs.sourceforge.net/) is free-ware, but it is much slower and less developed than either of the commercial alternatives.
Hope to see you around!
 
Agreed...unless your wife isa hardcore power user, a 900mhz G3 iBook is gonna serve her well. Or get her a Powerbook.
 
...for power users right now. How long has iChat been optimized for 64 bit? ;)
I really don't see any need for non-power home users to have a 64 bit G5 right now. I think it would be too complicated for her, plus paying double the $$$$ for power that a home user will never tap into. :)
 
Powermacs aren't that complicated... You plug in the monitor and the keyboard and the mouse and press the button! If you can't handle that I really don't think you should own a computer :^)
 
Oh shut up, you're ruining it! ;)
Anyway, let's wait to hear back from this guy, then we can give some more "advice" :D
 
I want a G5 with a lcd monitor... Hell, anything that's a little more complicated then this iMac! Gimmie an iBook with a 15" display I can hack...
 
oohhh ;) heheh I should've given a little more information. I'm an IT consultant/professional ( stop the snickering ;) ). The mac will be dual purpose. 1- she's getting her masters in genetic engineering so she'll be manipulating data/images that are quite large. 2- I'll need a mac to do video/music editing as that's one of the responsibilities i have at work and it's sorta spilled over into hobbie.
 
Ah, well an iMac and an eMac would both do that OK, but either the G4 or the G5 would do all that stuff very well. I would say get a G5 just for the cool factor! :)
 
If you're doing video and audio then get a G5 if you've got the cash. A G4 will do fine too but the G5 would be preferable, especially for all that DNA!
 
By all means the G5 is the world's fastest personal computer (and one of the fastest computers out there). If you can afford the G5 now buy it because it will have the cool factor, a longer life, and better resale value then a G4 down the road.
 
As you can see it's not going to be easy to get a cut-and-dried answer out of us mac aficionados!

I have to disagree with the "resale value" being better by buying a G5 earlier rather than later. As we have seen with almost every "new" Mac that comes out, the price ends up being lowered as they see the demand decrease after the initial spike after the sizzle of the initial roll-out has had time to die down. The G5's are great but if you don't require the best, no need to pay out the nose for it. I would say any G4 will do the job you need and cost you $1,000 less than a fully equipped G5. Personally, I love how the G5 looks but the thing is going to be a BEAST to clean with that dust trap, I mean the perforated aluminum metal screen...

Another thing to be aware of is that if you have any intention of using OS 9 programs on your new computer you may not have that option. Apple is in the process of phasing out any support for OS 9. I would get a G4 computer with OS 10.1 and OS 9 installed. Also, make sure your printer is supported under Mac OS X. I was very disappointed to find out my $1000 laser printer (hp2100M) doesn't work under OSX. So much for X till I buy a new, supported printer.

Hope this helps!
 
Well I was thinking g5 and absolutely DROOOLING over the architecture but then thinking about single v. dual. Of course the answer is always prefaced with "it depends" but the story is in the details and that's sorta what i'm lookin for. I went to the apple store in menlo park, NJ....in the area for business and the sales dude, nice guy, didn't have a clue. So I guess the name of the game at this point is waiting for the price of the g5 to come down a little ;)
 
Originally posted by Natobasso
As you can see it's not going to be easy to get a cut-and-dried answer out of us mac aficionados!

I have to disagree with the "resale value" being better by buying a G5 earlier rather than later. As we have seen with almost every "new" Mac that comes out, the price ends up being lowered as they see the demand decrease after the initial spike after the sizzle of the initial roll-out has had time to die down. The G5's are great but if you don't require the best, no need to pay out the nose for it. I would say any G4 will do the job you need and cost you $1,000 less than a fully equipped G5. Personally, I love how the G5 looks but the thing is going to be a BEAST to clean with that dust trap, I mean the perforated aluminum metal screen...

Another thing to be aware of is that if you have any intention of using OS 9 programs on your new computer you may not have that option. Apple is in the process of phasing out any support for OS 9. I would get a G4 computer with OS 10.1 and OS 9 installed. Also, make sure your printer is supported under Mac OS X. I was very disappointed to find out my $1000 laser printer (hp2100M) doesn't work under OSX. So much for X till I buy a new, supported printer.

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

Ah thanks!! Good points. I have no interest in OS 9. 10.x is what got me interested in mac so whatever i purchase will have to have 10.x I'll prolly wait till sept/oct, hopefully then things will be a little less crazy.
 
Natobasso has made a great point, and it is worth consideration. If your wife's software is not yet or will be ported to X, then having the OS 9 is an important option. My friend just bought the dual G4, the machine screams. He is using it for graphic designs, etc.
My opinion is find out what she needs in software & hardware. Make sure the printer and other third party stuff you have is supported fully under OSX.
I would be comfortable purchasing either system. Why not the G5? It really comes down to $$$. The top of the line G4 is a very capable machine and will be for some time.
 
I would go with the G4 and use the extra cash on either a beautiful apple display (since that is what she/you will look at all day anyway), or some nice applications.

Good Luck!
 
Originally posted by Natobasso
I have to disagree with the "resale value" being better by buying a G5 earlier rather than later. As we have seen with almost every "new" Mac that comes out, the price ends up being lowered as they see the demand decrease after the initial spike after the sizzle of the initial roll-out has had time to die down. The G5's are great but if you don't require the best, no need to pay out the nose for it. I would say any G4 will do the job you need and cost you $1,000 less than a fully equipped G5.
Click to expand...

I'd like to hear you say that in a year. Have you actually tried doing anything that includes editing multiple layers of audio or video on your Mac? "Any G4" will lag behind, and sound like a jet during take-off when that last fan comes on. Unless you really like the small coffee breaks every time you hit alt+r, I'd exclude any Mac with less than five holes in the front.

I guess you didn't actually compare those prices. I did.

G4:

Dual 1.25GHz w/ 2MB L3 Cache per processor
• 512MB DDR333 SDRAM (PC2700) -1 DIMM
• 160GB Ultra ATA drive
• Optical 1 - Apple SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
• Optical 2 - None
• NVIDIA GeForce4 Titanium dual-display w/128MB DDR
• 56K internal modem
• Apple Pro Keyboard - U.S. English
• Mac OS - U.S. English

Subtotal $2,249.00

G5:

• 1.8GHz PowerPC G5
• 512MB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x256
• 160GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra
• 56k V.92 internal modem
• SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
• Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
• Mac OS X - U.S. English
Subtotal $2,399.00

Yea, save those $150 and get a completely outdated processor architecture, slower memory, a dog slow processor bus, a slower hard drive, a slower graphics card and a slower SuperDrive! Great deal! :rolleyes:

bikko, these people are just trying to trick you to avoid the shipment queues getting longer and their own G5 orders taking longer to ship :D get a G5 and be happy!
 
Ksv,
actually I went through and compared prices and they are the same you posted. Of course the architecture of the g5 is above and beyond what the g4 is offereing. Welp, i was undecided but am sorta leaning towards the g5. I can wait a few months to make the purchase and hopefully by then the software and prices will catch up ;) In the meantime i can sit here and learn for you all. Thanks! :thumbsup:


Originally posted by ksv
I'd like to hear you say that in a year. Have you actually tried doing anything that includes editing multiple layers of audio or video on your Mac? "Any G4" will lag behind, and sound like a jet during take-off when that last fan comes on. Unless you really like the small coffee breaks every time you hit alt+r, I'd exclude any Mac with less than five holes in the front.

I guess you didn't actually compare those prices. I did.

G4:

Dual 1.25GHz w/ 2MB L3 Cache per processor
• 512MB DDR333 SDRAM (PC2700) -1 DIMM
• 160GB Ultra ATA drive
• Optical 1 - Apple SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
• Optical 2 - None
• NVIDIA GeForce4 Titanium dual-display w/128MB DDR
• 56K internal modem
• Apple Pro Keyboard - U.S. English
• Mac OS - U.S. English

Subtotal $2,249.00

G5:

• 1.8GHz PowerPC G5
• 512MB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x256
• 160GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra
• 56k V.92 internal modem
• SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
• Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
• Mac OS X - U.S. English
Subtotal $2,399.00

Yea, save those $150 and get a completely outdated processor architecture, slower memory, a dog slow processor bus, a slower hard drive, a slower graphics card and a slower SuperDrive! Great deal! :rolleyes:

bikko, these people are just trying to trick you to avoid the shipment queues getting longer and their own G5 orders taking longer to ship :D get a G5 and be happy!
Click to expand...
 
I was asking myself the same question two weeks ago. The prices had plummeted on dual G4's and I had to take a long hard look at whether the dual 1.2ghz G4 or the single 1.6ghz G5 was the better deal... Here's the conclusion I came to...

1-First of all, the price on the G4 was $1399. It was a refurb, but it has a full 1 year warranty and Apple Care is an option (won't do Apple Care becuase I usually turn over desktops in 12-18 months anyway). The single 1.6 G5 is $1999. I can get the education discount through my wife who is a teacher, so the price was knocked down to $1899 (now it's $1799, but that's irrelevent for this comparison).

2-I need a Superdrive, so that had to be added to the G4. Total upgrade - $175. So now the total cost of the G4 is $1575, G5 - $1899...

So the difference is $325, since both machines use the same RAM, I would have the same RAM upgrade costs on both.

Now, here's the rationalization for going with the G4...

1-Hard Drive prices... The G5 uses Serial ATA, which while faster than regular ATA drives, are also much pricier since they aren't as widespread yet. Using 160GB drives, which have hit about $150 after rebates now, I could put another 480GB in to the G4 for under $500. This is about half of what serial ATA storage costs right now.

2-Rev. A syndrome. I've bought way too many Macs to know that the "Rev. A" model, the first model of a new design line, usually has tons of little quirks that quickly get ironed out in the Rev. B release 4-6 months later. The G5 is a Rev. A design. The G4 is a Rev. B of a line that has existed since 1999. Yeah, the fans sound like a jet taking off upon startup, but after that initial 10 second burst, they are quiet and unobtrusive.

So, since I turn over my Macs pretty regularly, I decided to get the G4 now and pass on the G5. By next year, the G5 will be on it's 3rd revision, Serial ATA storage will be more affordable, and Apple will be touting OS X 10.4 "Calico" (just kidding), which will be significantly more optimized for the G5 than Panther was.

That's my logic, your mileage may vary...
 
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