Powermac buying advice...

spmurph

Registered
Hey guys,

I purchased an iBook in January and fell in love with OS X almost instantly...I couldn't stand looking at Windows XP's "fisher price" user interface and seeing the color grey everywhere. It's funny, because the thing that made my decision to give Apple a try at first came off their windows programmer migration guide, which really made me a believer of this OS and their way of doing things. Before I get off track here though, I decided to replace my desktop machine also with a powermac and need some advice...

I have always built my computers, but since that's not an option anymore I am going to order direct from apple, and the new release of Tiger and also rumors of new systems being released have brought me here to ask for opinions:

When will they start to preinstall Tiger on the systems, meaning if I wait to purchase until 4/29 will I still have to do that up to date program and request a copy?

Is it wise to wait for new powermacs to be announced? With the educational discount I am purchasing a Dual 2.5Ghz one now and wonder if it's enough speed anyway?

Those are the two questions that I can think of at the moment, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks...

Sean
 
There are rumors of speed bumps coming soon, so you may want to wait for those. Its up to you. I think macrumors.com has the info on them, but they are just rumors, so don't treat them as truth. However if there are going to be speed bumps, the prices of the 2.5s will most likely drop. For that reason alone, its probably a good reason to wait if you dont need the system asap.

As far as when will tiger be preinstalled, I would say within a day of its release.
 
http://www.macosx.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51436 (Thread about the rumors reported by ThinkSecret)

I agree...wait until the first week or two of May to order a new machine. If they do release something, then you can either choose the newer model or get a nice deal on the older version.

According to the rumor, the DP 2.5GHz G5 model will become the middle of the line version...so the prices for it should be similar to what a DP 2.0GHz G5 is selling for currently.
 
It's all a case of how long you can wait vs. how productive you'll be on the machine now.

on thing i'll suggest: don't buy the current "mid-range" when it becomes the new "low-end" machine. it will be crippled (ram slots, pci slots).
instead, either buy a current "mid range" (now, or as a "stock clearance" after new models) or wait for the new ones and get a new middle-range or high-end one.
 
Seeing that you have also Built your own computers in the past, Do Not Buy RAM from Apple, they over charge, but hey everyone overcharges for RAM, cause nobody wants to fiddle around with that stuff..

DealRam has the same 1GB sticks for the Powermac G5 for way less...95 USD, as of today.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone, and taking time to reply...

I'm thinking the first week or so of May sounds good to me, although thinking about the new computer has me pretty anxious so I hope I can wait until then :) .

I've been on macrumors.com and also thinksecret.com regularly, so I guess if it's not there it isn't anywhere yet...(they've gotta be good if apple's suing them)

RGrphc2, i'm glad you said that, because I was indeed wanting plenty of RAM and won't mind installing it myself...

Any other advice anyone wants to input more onto this subject, go ahead, because i'll still be checking in with it.

Thanks again.
 
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