g4 v g5

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.
Click to expand...

Hey KSV, you are making quite a few assumptions here... First off, you are assuming a 1.8ghz G5 is going to be faster than a 1.25ghz dual G4. Without seeing any direct comparisons, since the G5s aren't shipping yet, that's quite a lark there. My guess is that the 1.8ghz G5 will run much faster on some applications, but the 1.25ghz G4 will run better on apps with dual processor support. The big question mark is Photoshop. Photoshop does take advantage of dual processors, so one might think that it would be faster on the 1.25ghz G4/DP. But Adobe will be releasing an update that will accelerate some functions on a G5. Which functions and how much acceleration still remain to be seen, so it's anybodys guess....

The G5 is a great leap forward for Mac users. However, not every buyer needs to be cutting edge. The G4s still available offer a good value for those who don't need the latest and the greatest, who in a year won't care what the G5 is doing, or will sell their machine and upgrade in that timeframe.
 
ksv


Well, you caught me. :) I didn't do all my homework to come up with an exact price figure (okay, I was off by $850!) However, your comment about some conspiracy theory regarding some desire to "thwart buyers from buying G5's so I can get one first" is perfectly ludicrous. At the very least, it's a so-so attempt at humor. I wish more of the world was on Macs, so why would I want to keep anyone away from one. Anyway, to my point.

I was simply trying to point out the fact of marketing which is "strike while the iron's hot." No matter WHAT the product is you try to build up as much product hype as you can, but it's really the initial roll out that's the most profitable. Just look at IPO's (Initial Public Offerings) on the stock market if you want a real world example that gets to the heart of it. In the early 90's Boston Market was the hottest thing since sliced bread and their stock price tripled in one day of trading, had a great few weeks and then tapered off to where it is now...nowhereland. It's just another restaurant.

The computer cycle, as we can see even with Apple products, is about 1-2 years tops. Customers always want something new and Jobs is no dummy. He's going to give it to them. Hence the "brushed aluminum look" and simplicity that the G5 exibits. I bought my iMac G4 about 1 1/2 years ago and it already feels like a dinosaur. That's good marketing!

As far as processing goes, I have read published reports saying that in SOME cases the G5 is faster than the G4, but it's not a quantum leap forward from the accounts I have seen. There was a 30% increase in processor speed for FPU-like tasks, and I think that was in bursts. I could be wrong since I don't have the article to quote at the moment.

A dual G4 should be plenty for what this person is asking for--video and sound editing. As long as the RAM is expandable (which rules out the iMac G4's for the most part.)
 
Since you are new to Macintosh-computers and the comunity, bikko100, there is an important thing to learn about mac/macusers that differs from Windows;
Unless you are a professional that needs the latest you tend to hold on to a mac you bought for a much longer time than a Windows PC. Most people i know who own macs have the original iMac that they bought in 1998! and it's not until now that they have started to look around for a newer Macintosh. Some say that OS marketshare based on sold computers gives a totally wrong picture of reality since PC-owners tend to swap computers at twice the rate of the ordinary mac-user (i have a feeling Steve Jobs and co think we should upgrade as often as pc-users :). I have a mac plus from 1984 that still runs great. if i was just writing and doing simple layouts, it could have still been my main computer!
 
decado,
Yeah power users in the PC relam tend to "upgrade" pretty frequently. I however fall into the mac user behavior and hold on to computers pretty long so i'd like this mac purchase to really last. I'm always down for saving some money but not if i'm purchasing older tech and new stuff is on the way. If i have to wait alittle for the code to catch up with the g5 architecture then so be it but once things are geared towards the g5 i think it'd be safe to say it'll be pretty solid.

iscaro,
no actually i didn't see that thanks!
 
Yes. And i can imagine a G5 will be a lot easier (and cheaper) to upgrade with a G6 card in two years than a G4 would ;)
 
If money is not the problem go for ANY G5 monster! :D I don't mind if my G5 order will take a few days longer ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top