Time for a new G5 - help me decide!

MDLarson

MDLarson

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Well, it's been 5 years and 11 months that I've been using Mac OS 9 on my work computer - a Power Mac G3 400 (Blue & White)... THE TIME HAS COME TO UPGRADE! I have secured a "Yes you can get that." from my boss; now I have to decide on a model and when.

I am leaning towards the Dual 2.0 GHz G5 tower with the 512 MB to 1 GB RAM upgrade. Getting rid of the modem too (save $29!!!) I am also getting the new 20" display.

My chief concern right now is timing. I have the patience to wait a month or so if I have reason to believe new G5s are coming out. I would love to see them ship with a two DVI-port graphic card (I am trying to avoid ADC like I always have). What would you do in my position and why? :)
 
Well, one month of patience wouldn't be enough to get a freshly introduced G5 powermac from the MWSF'05. So, it looks like the current powermacs will be your choice. What's the price-limit?
 
I have basically that very system; it's a dream. Get it!

Do you do work where multiple displays would be useful?
 
You think they might introduce new G5s at the San Francisco show? I'd wait until January 10-14 if it was a reasonable bet.

I don't have a price limit per se. We purchase things here when we perceive a need and we have the money for it. We don't budget for a new computer every X amount of years. That said, here's what I have authorization to buy:

Dual 2.0 GHz Power Mac G5 - $2,499
512 MB to 1 GB RAM upgrade - $150
20" Apple Cinema Display - $1,299
Removal of 56Kbps Modem - ($29)
Computer total - $3,919

Adobe Creative Suite Premium Upgrade - $749
Macromedia Studio MX 2004 Upgrade - $399
 
brianleahy said:
I have basically that very system; it's a dream. Get it!

Do you do work where multiple displays would be useful?
Click to expand...
Yes, dual-displays would definitely be very helpful in my environment. However, I don't like ADC - it's a great idea, but it didn't become a broad standard. I don't want to have a monitor tied to a computer if I can help it because we tend to swap computers and monitors around (including PCs). That's why I am very interested in a dual-DVI graphic card. Yeah, I know I can probably buy a card that has two DVI ports on it, but that's extra cost and extra hassle.

So, to sum up; I'd love to go dual-display. But, NOT if it means a less-than-ideal setup. Plus, Exposé has given more power to a single-display system.
 
I don't know if there will be an update for the G5 powermacs, but even if there was one, it would surely take some time till it will be delivered to the consumers. I actually wanted to exclude the idea of waiting for an update. However, waiting one month might be of benefit since you could get your powermac shipped with tiger..

Do you think 1gb of ram will be enough? You seem to be into graphics and I think it might be useful to have another 1gb, huh?
 
Ah, I forgot about Tiger... RARRR. ;)

I figured 1 GB would be enough for now (two 512MB modules). And with 8 RAM slots I can wait until I figure I need more - then I can add as I see fit.
 
I would tend to think that waiting one month for Tiger would be like expecting PowerMac G5 updates in a month... unlikely to happen.

I doubt that a computer purchased in January would be eligible for a free Tiger upgrade, as I seriously doubt Tiger will be released in January. Most rumor sites are predicting a late March debut, which concurs with Apple's own statement of Tiger being available in 1Q 2005 (the very last day of 1Q 2005 wouldn't surprise me).
http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2004/10/20041015152607.shtml
 
Absolutely a negative on Tiger in January... Don't expect it to ship any earlier than March...

But new PowerMacs are certainly something that could happen in January. If not at MWSF, then maybe some time later...
 
Well... OK then. I think I'll start putting the PO together. :)

Out of curiosity, is it reasonable to assume that the next round of Power Macs will NOT have the ADC display connector?
 
As a source of comic relief at this point, I'd like to post what I have to deal with on my current system... Updating even the smallest detail on a large site like LarsonSystems.com in Dreamweaver MX 6.1 sometimes required me to reconfigure Dreamweaver's memory allocation (involving restarting due to Mac OS 9 not freeing up memory sometimes). I have 640 MB of RAM and could upgrade to 1 GB, but we all know that a memory upgrade is only a bandaid on the wound of Mac OS 9... ;)
 

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MDLarson said:
Out of curiosity, is it reasonable to assume that the next round of Power Macs will NOT have the ADC display connector?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't bet on it. It seems too unlikely that Apple would drop a certain connection method in spite of the fact that most users with Apple displays have an ADC display. As far as I know, ever since the original graphite Studio Display through the last generation of Cinema Displays (the graphite/pinstriped ones), most of the displays sold had an ADC connector. The early graphite ones did, but the with the second generation CRT Studio Display, ADC was the standard connection on all the monitors, including the LCDs.

While all that may not be precisely factually correct, I think it's a good generalization and safe to say that many, many Mac users still have ADC displays. I would think it would take another 6 to 12 months before Apple actually drops ADC connections from their computers, but Apple has been known to pull some fast ones once in a blue moon...
 
Congrats on the new PowerMac!

(Btw.: In OS 9, you might still want to activate Virtual Memory (give it 641 MB). Although it's not _actually_ going to be used much by the system, OS 9 strangely enough acts much better if you turn VM on.)
 
True, but they did offer a cheap, build-to-order, PCI SCSI solution (an Adaptec 2904/2906-type card, I believe), as well as backward compatibility with legacy peripherals in the B&W's ADB port.

Although, Apple does really market the "whole package" (computer + monitor) when you purchase from them -- granted, a lot of people still purchase 3rd party monitors, but Apple does a lot to match the computer's and monitor's styling. If all they offer is DVI monitors, then perhaps they will transition to DVI-only cards (bundled with VGA-to-DVI dongles, hopefully) -- keeping with the standards.
 
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