Time for a new G5 - help me decide!

MnM, nice setup, but isn't that G5 a tad on the big side sitting on top of your desk? :)

The 20" display arrived today! I pulled it out and was actually kind of disappointed in the size. It looked... small for some reason. I'm used to a huge 19" CRT sitting on my desktop, but it seemed smaller than the 20" 4:3 Dell LCD monitors. I'm sure it's because it's very thin and it's widescreen. I'll have to see how it goes when I can actually use it.

Still waiting on the tower...
 
i know what you mean - i saw the 30-inch for the first time in a store today, but wondered several minutes if this really was the 30" or the 23".. finally figured it was the 30", but i imagined it ALOT bigger..

and now, the 23" i was really planning on getting seems like somewhat a waste..

i have to add i was quite cool anyway - i blew up the movie wich was playing in quicktime to fullscreen, and it was somewhat impressive.

oh well.. - waaaaay too much money!

alex.
 
a 23" a in regular room is huge... a 30" is like a large TV set ! But if it's too small for you (and you have very deep pockets) go for two 30" !
 
Ahh. The G5 has arrived, and I am now typing this message on the new keyboard. It doesn't clickety-clack like the old beige one I've used for years, but it doesn't have the spongy feel of the more recent Apple keyboards either. For that I am happy.

But anyway, it's very wonderful. I certainly don't regret springing for the G5 when I did. :)
 
The widescreen monitors allow you to put your palettes to the side and still have room for one or two full documents. Also, many games will take advantage of the wider screen. It makes first person shooters more fun.

But you're right about the displays' height. A 17" widescreen LCD is only about as tall as a 15" regular aspect LCD. A 20" Cinema would be, what, similar in height to a 19" monitor? Etc.

Doug
 
Well, initial review time! The 20" display does not feel small. It is large enough to show two 8.5x11 size documents in Word, just like dktrickey mentioned. The touch sensitive controls on the right of the display (brightness / power) are very cool, but are a little difficult to locate immediately. I would have liked them to be on the front of the display (but keep the touch-sensitive part). The display is very very nice.

Now the G5! The optical drive thing is pretty cool. Apple has always had a knack for great design, and the spring-loaded cover sliding down when the drive ejects is a neat little feature. At first I was suspicious that it would be more likely to break but I think the worst that could happen is if the spring breaks or something - then it would just be permanently open - I can't see it jamming up or anything.

I'm liking the USB and FireWire ports on the front. The USB / FW ports on the display are tough to access if you plan on pluging and unpluging things frequently. I would have appreciated more USB ports built-in on the back. I have several USB devices that need to be plugged in and I have to use a USB hub to make it work (inspite of the ports on the display).

I haven't even taken a peak inside the computer yet - I just wanted to get it running! I suspect I will need to add more RAM (I have 1 GB). I haven't been able to completely test the apps out, but Virtual PC takes up a LOT compared to other apps (according to Activity Monitor).

One remaining complaint is the fact that Apple is still including the one-button mouse with all their systems. I highly doubt that users will appreciate a one-button mouse on a professional system like the G5. If you want my unused mouse, buy it from me! :p

I am waiting for the new version of Adobe Creative Suite Premium 1.3. Until then I can't fully test out my system. But so far, I'm loving it. :)
 
Glad you're enjoying it. I love mine. It was a bit expensive (DP 1.8) but I wanted an expandable Mac that would play the latest games for more than 2 years.

Everything about it is amazing (except the mouse, but that's not difficult to remedy).
Even the interior is pure genius.

Doug
 
Well, I popped open the G5 for the first time today to install two additional sticks of Edge 512 MB RAM (bringing it up to 2.0 GB total). I noticed the latch on the back for the first time and it is quite ingenious. Popping the side panel off was not as intuitive as the G3 / G4 tower design, but after the panel is removed, it's OK. Removing the big clear plastic thing and the fans to get at the RAM was kind of amusing. The toughest part was squeezing the modules into the slots. It was tough! I really had to push 'em in and it left some nice purple marks on my fingers. :( Not the easiest RAM installation I've done, but not too hard.

I'm still waiting for my Adobe Creative Suite Premium 1.3. I was told by our MacMall rep that the expected delivery date of 1.3 is January 7th. He also mentioned that this corresponded to a release of Acrobat (I think).

So, I still haven't been able to completely replace my old G3 yet...
 
MDLarson said:
Well, I popped open the G5 for the first time today to install two additional sticks of Edge 512 MB RAM (bringing it up to 2.0 GB total). I noticed the latch on the back for the first time and it is quite ingenious. Popping the side panel off was not as intuitive as the G3 / G4 tower design, but after the panel is removed, it's OK. Removing the big clear plastic thing and the fans to get at the RAM was kind of amusing. The toughest part was squeezing the modules into the slots. It was tough! I really had to push 'em in and it left some nice purple marks on my fingers. :( Not the easiest RAM installation I've done, but not too hard.

I'm still waiting for my Adobe Creative Suite Premium 1.3. I was told by our MacMall rep that the expected delivery date of 1.3 is January 7th. He also mentioned that this corresponded to a release of Acrobat (I think).

So, I still haven't been able to completely replace my old G3 yet...
Click to expand...

Damn apple and it's RAM slots!!!! I know what you mean. Sometimes you do hit a sweet spot and the chip will magically flow into the slot, but that usually happens after 15 minutes of pushing in and pulling out the thing with welts forming on your thumbs. I use a dual 2, and I must say that after I upped the RAM from 1.5 - 3.5 I had a nice boost in overall sytem and app performance.

P.S. Mac Mall seems to have gone to crap over the last year or so. I used to buy everything from them and get it next day or in 2 days with regular shipping, then all of a sudden their support sucked, their site worked slow, they let me order things out of stock becasue the site said in stock. Needless to say I now avoid them like the plague.
 
Fahrvergnuugen said:
might be in your favor... CS 2.0 is supposed to be announced today.
Click to expand...
Don't you mean 1.3? I visited Adobe's site and can find nowhere where they mention "2.0". Plus, my MacMall rep told me that Adobe was waiting to ship 1.3 when Acrobat 7 came out... it sounds to me like "1.3" is the latest and the greatest.

I just wish software vendors in general went back to sane version numbers and HP started using capital letters again... <sigh>

ThickAir, I know what you mean about the MacMall.com - if you think it's slow on OS X, try it in OS 9... ugh. Plus, every time I visit the sight I think to myself... "Wow, somebody should be employed just rounding out the product descriptions." Service has been pretty good for us - we have an account setup with a rep, so it's easier buying from them vs. a new vendor.

A small mini-review of the new Apple keyboard. The keys feel great, but because all the keys sort of fit inside the glass "dish", it's easy to get dirty. If a hair gets in there, it's tougher than a normal keyboard to get it out. Plus I hate the fact that if you are not sure whether caps lock is on, you have to move your eye directly above the Caps Lock key to see if the little green light is on.
 
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