10-20-2005, 06:11 PM

Hi all,
I currently have a 17" PB with 1.5Ghz, 1.5GB ram and I am a webdesigner. Lately i've noticed some slow downs on my PB when working with large files and having several apps open at the same time (flash, photoshop, dreamweaver). I really liked the new iMac with front row and the built-in iSight. I also want to move to a larger screen and higer resolution for a more spacious screen. Though I have no idea how much will the performance change between my current PB and the new iMac 20" 2.1Ghz with 1.5GB ram. Basically I will be running the basic design apps such as photoshop, image ready and flash. Also I will be encoding avi files to mpeg4 (which takes ages with my PB). Will I see a noticeable difference if i switch from my PB to the iMac? I've heard that the iMac G5's are not that more performant then the G4's. I have no clue my self so I would really appreciate any advice. Im also considering of changing to G5 dual core 2.3 (but a bit pricey). Can someone outline the main performance differences, or anything that I should take into consideration? Thanks and sorry for the long post.

10-21-2005, 03:11 PM

afaik the imac is the basic desktop model, therefore any processor intensive applications, ie. the stuff you do! will mean the imac is probably going to be naff for what you want, infact, I think it'll be worse than your PB.

Might be worth considering a powermac

10-21-2005, 03:25 PM

I doubt the imac will be worse than the Powerbook, since the iMac is 64bit for a start. My 1.6 iMac outperforms my 1.33 powerbook FWIW. If you got a 2.0 GHz iMac and plenty of ram, I think you would be fine IMHO.

If you want to see a great improvement though, you are better off with a Powermac as suggested.

10-21-2005, 03:30 PM

Well its either I get the top iMac 20" with 2.5GB of ram, or ill get a "low" end PowerMac such as the 2.0 or 2.3 with probably 512MB ram which i will eventually upgrade ofcourse.

10-21-2005, 04:08 PM

FWIW I have a 17 inch 1.6 iMac G5, and it runs sweet - however, I have no powermac to compare with.

If you really want the power, I think a powermac is the way to go. However, the speed of the iMac you are considering along with the RAM will not be slow either - Have you a store nearby where you can go and try them out?

10-21-2005, 04:11 PM

Originally Posted by Kyomii

FWIW I have a 17 inch 1.6 iMac G5, and it runs sweet - however, I have no powermac to compare with.

If you really want the power, I think a powermac is the way to go. However, the speed of the iMac you are considering along with the RAM will not be slow either - Have you a store nearby where you can go and try them out?

No, I live in Geneva, and they will only receive the powermacs and new imacs in the 2nd week of november in shops, and in low quantities... I've been looking for benchmarks to compare the two but i cant find any...

10-21-2005, 04:21 PM

Go on eBay or somewhere like that, and get a used 2.0 GHz dual processor PowerMac. Heck, Apple may even have some left in its refurbished/closeout section. Or you could try Powermax.com, or another site like it. Upgrade the memory to 2 GB. Do NOT buy the memory from Apple; they hose you on prices. Try Crucial or Kingston. You'll notice a huge improvement, and you'll get a great deal, since the dual processors have just been replaced with dual core.

10-21-2005, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by Meyvn

Go on eBay or somewhere like that, and get a used 2.0 GHz dual processor PowerMac. Heck, Apple may even have some left in its refurbished/closeout section. Or you could try Powermax.com, or another site like it. Upgrade the memory to 2 GB. Do NOT buy the memory from Apple; they hose you on prices. Try Crucial or Kingston. You'll notice a huge improvement, and you'll get a great deal, since the dual processors have just been replaced with dual core.

As I said, I live in Geneva, and I never bought 2nd hand stuff from other countries or internet. Im worried that after giving up about 3 grand for a good G5 it will get lost on the way to my house...

I found a 2nd hand Dual 2.5Ghz G5 with 2 more years of apple care, 2.5Gb of ram and a 23" Cinema Display for about 4'000$ for the same price I can get a brand new 2.0 Dual Core with the same display but a lot less ram... Is the dual core ALOT more performant then the previous models?

10-22-2005, 12:24 AM

Originally Posted by Yeungster

afaik the imac is the basic desktop model, therefore any processor intensive applications, ie. the stuff you do! will mean the imac is probably going to be naff for what you want, infact, I think it'll be worse than your PB.

Might be worth considering a powermac

i actually just sold my Powerbook 15" 1.25Ghz/1.25GB RAM for the new iMac 17" 1.9Ghz/512MB RAM and this iMac is DEFINITELY MUCH FASTER than the Powerbook. especially rendering effects in iMovie or Final Cut Express is MUCH MUCH MUCH faster. normal applications such as iChat, Firefox, Word are all a little faster, but the processor intensive apps like Photoshop and Final Cut are where you notice the speed difference the most. just thought i'd let you know since i was in your exact same situation.

10-22-2005, 02:46 AM

I use an iMac G5 for work and home and use all the packages that you mentioned as well as Final Cut Pro, Cinema 4D and a fair amount of GarageBand. I usually have at least 10 Apps open at once.
The iMac works with no problems at all with all these tasks.
All I would do is take the RAM to 1.5GB.

It is definitely a lot faster than the 1Ghz G4 Powermac that I used to use at work.

Hope this helps
Paul

10-22-2005, 04:07 AM

Well from what I see, the iMac is actually pretty much faster then the current PB I have, and plus if I get 2.5GB of ram and the 2.1Ghz 20", I might see a good change in the performance...

10-23-2005, 07:07 PM

Originally Posted by ldjalal

Well from what I see, the iMac is actually pretty much faster then the current PB I have, and plus if I get 2.5GB of ram and the 2.1Ghz 20", I might see a good change in the performance...

But 2GB of ram is over $800!! That's just crazy