Thread

Help Needed in Selecting a Mac

· PowerPC · 6 posts · Apr 13, 2005 View original thread ↗

#1 Wed, 13 Apr 2005 - 00:32

I was originally gonna buy a mac mini but decided to spend a bit extra and get a Power Mac instead. I would appreciate a little feedback from the experienced users on the following:

1) Dual or Single CPU: The price difference is reasonable. I'll mainly be using the system for everyday work like Office, Internet, P2P etc with a bit of a Photoshop. I've never really done any video editing or sound production but I might get a video camera in a couple of months and hook it up. What about the OS? Does a single vs dual cpu make a big difference using the OS? Also, is 1.8GHz G5 a decent CPU.

2) Video Cards: The FX5200 that ships with the Mac isnt that great. I have an x800 Pro in my PC. Would I be able to use that card on my Mac? I do like to game every now and then.

3) Hard Drives- How many hard drives can you connect in the Power Mac? Can I simply go out and buy a hard drive and add it to the Power Mac? Also, is RAID supported onboard or do I have to look for an add-on card for that

4) Memory: Will any DDR memory module work fine that works on the PC?

5) If I order a refurbished system from Apple now, will it come with Tiger? Also, do educational discounts apply to refurbished systems?

Thanks
-Abbas

#2 Wed, 13 Apr 2005 - 00:56

1) Get the Dual. It'll be worth it in the long-run.

2) No, you'll need a Mac-specific card. My advice is to BTO your machine with a 9600 XT for an additional $50. Not a bad deal.

3) The G5's case supports two hard drives. Industry standard Serial-ATA. You can get RAID, but it is software RAID through OS X. I wouldn't rely on it if you value your data and the performance boost isn't that great. I don't know of any Serial-ATA RAID PCI cards for the Mac... yet.

4) Yes and no. Macs are a lot pickier about RAM than your average PC, and rightly so. You'll be fine with name brand RAM like Crucial, Viking or Kingston. You're rolling dice with generic RAM. Proceed at your own risk.

5) Probably not, but it will probably ship with a Software Upgrade coupon good for getting Tiger on the cheap, $10 I believe. Though, I'm not really sure of this. Call Apple for a definitive answer.

#3 Wed, 13 Apr 2005 - 01:32

Thanks Lateralus.

Is the Dual 1.8 a good buy? There's a big difference is price in that one and a dual 2.0. Also, the refurbished unit is $1699 but can that be built to order?

-Abbas

#4 Wed, 13 Apr 2005 - 01:46

Quote:

Originally posted by Abbas:
Thanks Lateralus.

Is the Dual 1.8 a good buy? There's a big difference is price in that one and a dual 2.0. Also, the refurbished unit is $1699 but can that be built to order?

-Abbas

you can't BTO a refurb.

PowerMacs are due for an update any time now, but June is when it's expected... should be fairly significant too.

but a dual will definitely be worth it in the long run, as Lateralus said.

in fact, I don't even need to post, he handled it pretty well

but be mindful that the PowerMacs were last updated in June of 2004, and are definitely due for a revision very shortly, but I don't expect it before June at Apple's annual WWDC.

#5 Wed, 13 Apr 2005 - 02:20

I probably have written this three times (at least) by now, but I'll repeat myself again. The current G5s are terrific - I love mine - but in June they will be a whole year old. It really is hard to believe, but it is true. They line could be updated at any time, but at the latest, new ("Rev. C") G5s will be seen at the Worldwide Developer Conference in late June. Many expect the upgrades to be significant. Since we're on the verge of that announcement, unless you really want one now, it will definitely pay off to wait.

#6 Wed, 13 Apr 2005 - 05:17

Again- many thanks and I guess I will wait until June as its just a couple of months ago. I have my ibook G4/1GHz to keep me going which is my first Mac.

-Abbas