01-10-2006, 02:04 PM

It's kinda weird because I was supposed to go with my mother this evening to Compusa to get her 20" imac. Well I just went to Apple's website and saw that they released the intel imacs. Looks like better specs for the same price. Anything we should be aware of? Any reason to go with a powerpc setup versus the new?

01-10-2006, 02:38 PM

Hi I had my imac for xmas, and i would plump for the new one. The only reason to go for the older one is if you plan on using legacy programs which really need the IBM chip and to be honest the gains in speed will probably mean that the new Imac will be able to more than cope.

I say go for the new or why not go for the old at a discounted price!

01-11-2006, 09:45 AM

the software and games ive heard have some problems playing, you need to make sure they have the "Universal" tag on them to use with intel chips and the g chips. Search it on apple.com or macrumors.com for more info on it. Hate for you to get one and buy some stuff for it and it not work with new technology and older apps. Or everything could work. I kno with an iMAC G5 youll be fine, the iMac intel Duo...you may or may not have problems...its really iffy. personally im still holding out til i hear more on updates

01-11-2006, 11:05 AM

Hi there, personally i see no reason not to go for the new updated Intel chips. The version of tiger that ships on the Intel machines is native now to the intel system and I have heard of little to no issues with intel machines running everything. I have just ordered my new imac with the intel chips and i have no concerns over it running everything that i have installe don my current imac g5 isight.

01-11-2006, 11:28 AM

The only caution I would add is that no one really knows how well PPC only apps are going to run under emulation. Apps like Office 2004 will run, how well they will run will remain to be seen. That being said though, everything is going to go to universal binaries, so almost all new or updated Mac software will be compatible.

01-11-2006, 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by baggss

That being said though, everything is going to go to universal binaries, so almost all new or updated Mac software will be compatible.

Does this mean that even though I have a G5 iMac, software that comes out 5 years from now will still be able to work in my machine? Or will the trend in the future to have programs only compatible on the Intel machines?

I just bought the G5 iMac in December for Christmas, now I'm worried no software will be available for it in the near future.

Thanks -

01-11-2006, 11:43 AM

You bring up a good point. Apple has not specifically said how long the Universal Binaries thing will last. At some point, they will drop support for the PPC, just like they did for the 68K Macs. The chance you take by buying a PPC based mac, or by owning a relatively new one, is that Apple will drop support before your ready or able to buy a new machine.

I personally have been eyeing the Quad G5 Macs, but am now facing the same issue. Do I buy now,and get the last Gen PPC Mac or do I wait and get an Intel Mac? One would reason that the replacement for the Quad G5 is going to have to be one **** of a Machine to match what is already out there.

OfficeSpace RULES!

01-11-2006, 12:55 PM

Originally Posted by baggss

You bring up a good point. Apple has not specifically said how long the Universal Binaries thing will last. At some point, they will drop support for the PPC, just like they did for the 68K Macs.

Does anyone know how long the support for the 68K Macs continued after the platform change? I guess I'm trying to get a feel for how long they supported them in the past, before they dropped the 68K...

01-11-2006, 01:40 PM

HI there I believe that support for the old Motorola setups was in excess of 3 years. What i would say is that Apple computers normally have a far greater life span than your average PC. I would personally look to replace any computer I had every 2-3 years, I would not be overly concerned. As it is I had my Imac G5 in December also but due to the flexibility of my finance I will upgrade tot he Mactel version with no real problems, I have listed my G5 Imac on Ebay and it it is making almost the money I paid for it. I tihnk Apple have been more sensitive to recent Isight Imac owners by not selling the new Imac Intels at the same price point. By making the intel machines more expensive it does help the residules of the Isight edition somewhat!

01-11-2006, 01:50 PM

I believe that Apple support for 68K Mac software continued up through OS9.2.2, and some 68K Apps will still in emulation on OSX. Apple officially dropped 68K support with OSX.

01-11-2006, 01:52 PM

The first PPC Macs were released in 1994 (Peformas, the consumer line.....), the 68K Macs were made in the form of the top flight Quadra and top end PowerBooks until 1995.

Mac OS 8.1 was the last 68K (68040 only) compatible release and that was 1998. Apple formally dropped support for the 68K Macs some time in 1999 or 2000 (for the last models).

Even so, the 68K emulator still resides in PPC Macs these days. Even so, I expect PPC Macs to have at least 3-4 years support still, and lets face it, they won't stop working when Apple drops support.

My IIfx here was released in 1990, runs System 7.5.3, a venerable 68030 at 40MHz and it still ticks on. In its the day the IIfx was the Power Mac Quad, these days it's a very quiet backwater but it still works and is still useful for basic stuff.

Vicky

01-11-2006, 01:55 PM

I purchased an iMac G5 last week (!!), and at the time was blissfully unaware that the change to intel CPUs would be taking place SO soon. I bought an iMac G5 because I wanted a good, reliable machine that would last me for several year to come, now I may not be able to buy software for it in the future. As I am still within my 14-day money-back garuntee with the Apple store, I could upgrade relatively cheaply (shipping costs for the return, £60). Perhaps someone with a better understanding of Apple/hardware etc. than myself could tell me if they would recommend me upgrading?

01-11-2006, 02:30 PM

First of all, seriously, and no offence, scour the forums for hundreds of excellent responses to those exact questions.

If you are worried about you Mac becoming redundant in 1-2 years time, that would be foolhardy thinking; that won't happen. Jobs does a marvellous job at making everything sugar coated, but the estimates of the speed gains I think are deliberately misleading. It has been pointed out by others that one minute the PowerPC is where it is at - hammering the Intel processors, and now it's the other way around. Which means the truth lays in between somewhere.

In short, anything that is not intel native and that is most Mac software at present, will have to run on an emulator and that regardless of what Steve Jobs wants to say is going to be slower than your current G5 chip.

However please look at previous threads and use the search, these questions have been asked over and over and it would be a shame for you to miss out on the wisdom imparted in those posts.

Vicky

01-11-2006, 04:21 PM

Thanks for the advice lil, and no offence taken. I've been browsing through other threads, and getting some wise advise, but nevertheless, I'm still unsure of what to do. (Please forgive me, a newly converted mac user, trying to make sure I made the right choice - don't worry, whatever I decide I won't be going back to a PC!).

I know that there's absolutely no danger of my iMac becoming redundant in the next few years. I chose it precisely because I knew that it would be reliable and that I would be using it for several years to come, I'm concerned that I could purchase a similar computer for which I am garunteed to be able to purchase compatible software throughout the whole of it's life, in 3-4yrs time ppc compatible software won't be available/developed and I'll be left unable to install/upgrade anything until I can afford to buy a new machine - I was hoping my mac wouldbe around for longer than that.

On the other hand, if I buy into the mac-intel cpu's now, I face running slower, emulated software and then, I guess, having to purchase it all again when the intel native versions are released - why does it have to be so confusing?!?

I suppose the best solution is to, wait a couple of days, think about it some more, read even more threads/reviews etc. on the subject and decide then. But thanks for your help, and if anyone else wants to add their thoughts, please do (it might just help).

01-12-2006, 12:50 AM

as what vicky said bout the years to come. im still sure that APPLE will keep Universal Software out for the next few years to come until they tottally have everyone switched and get all the bugs out. Im still very interested in seeing who has really tried to unleash the power of the intel mac.