04-14-2006, 06:40 PM

hi

i was on these forums a while ago when i got a mac mini, and i went back to windows. but i just built my pc, and even though it has lots of good hardware (amd64 3700, 1gb ram, 200gb hdd, etc), i miss the mac!!!!

anyway, long story short, i want an imac. the design is practical, and well thought out, and i miss the OS. but i have a question:

there are currently 2 types of imacs available, the intel and the G5 one. which is better? apple spent a lot of time and hype and fuss about how wonderful the G5 was, and now the intel is many times faster??? it doesn't make sense. my question is,

which one:
will have the best support for software in the future?
boots faster?
runs programs faster (like internet, garage band, etc)?
has more overclocking potential?

i'm also serious about that last one, so don't hold back on your comments and answers!!!

thx a bunch, and it's great to be back

04-14-2006, 06:44 PM

As far as I can see from the Apple store the new Intel iMac is the only iMac available. It is NOT possible to get a new G5 iMac from Apple. They have been phased out. There may still be some resellers with stock but Apple themselves have none to sell.

04-14-2006, 06:48 PM

the local apple store here still has some imac G5's, but they are pushing the intels a lot. what makes the intel ones so much better? like i said, apple was fussing about how wonderful the G5 was, and now the intel is soooo much better? which one should i get?

04-14-2006, 07:11 PM

Originally Posted by platinum

there are currently 2 types of imacs available, the intel and the G5 one. which is better? apple spent a lot of time and hype and fuss about how wonderful the G5 was, and now the intel is many times faster??? it doesn't make sense. my question is,

which one:
will have the best support for software in the future?
boots faster?
runs programs faster (like internet, garage band, etc)?
has more overclocking potential?

i'm also serious about that last one, so don't hold back on your comments and answers!!!

thx a bunch, and it's great to be back

yes apple hyped the g5 a lot and it is extremely wonderful i am using it right now and cant even hit the potential of my dual 2.7ghz powermac. but technology happened and the new intels are better, that is the way technology rolls. product a comes out and "OMG THIS IS THE BESTEST EVER" and then product b comes out and "THIS IS NOW THE BEST AND THIS MUCH BETTER THAN PRODUCT A"

best future support is the intels because by the end of the year there will be no more ppc computers made by apple.

which runs programs faster? universal programs will run faster on the intels, non-universal programs will have to be emulated and may run slower until a universal or intel only version is released

boots faster? they both boot fast

overclocking? if you are going to buy a g5 make sure to buy two of them. this is why: once you overclock your g5 and screw it up so bad the computer is rendered useless you will have another g5 sitting there that you will not attempt to overclock overclocking an intel machine? i dont think anyone really knows too much about that yet bc it is a relatively new processor

-chris

04-14-2006, 07:17 PM

that's the thing:

i've heard some stuff about rosetta, and it making even OS X itself run slower, and more spinning rainbow wheels than it should. is this true?

04-14-2006, 07:34 PM

Originally Posted by platinum

that's the thing:

i've heard some stuff about rosetta, and it making even OS X itself run slower, and more spinning rainbow wheels than it should. is this true?

i havent used one yet.

to me it appears to all be a little waiting game, you have to wait a few extra seconds for things to happen (if it is even that long) and you have to wait a little while for all the companies to create universal applications

04-14-2006, 07:55 PM

so... between this:

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL....8.25.7.11.6.3
for $1299

and this

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL....8.25.7.11.6.3
for $1499

which should i get?

04-14-2006, 08:21 PM

Rosetta does not make OSX itself run slower, but the PPC Applications that use Rosetta to run will be noticeably slower. Eventually everything will be Universal and will run natively on both PPC and Intel Macs. There is no way the Intel Macs are 3x faster than the G5's., BUT with Universal Apps the Intel is faster though. If you want a machine that is more Future Proof though, go with the new Intel. I have that last iMac G5 2.1 Ghz with iSight. It's very fast, but the future for Macs is with the Intel Processors.

Over-clocking anything as thin as the iMac G5 or Intel Core Duo would not be recommended. I am sure you would overheat it and for sure void your warranty.

04-14-2006, 08:27 PM

alright./...

i guess intel is the way to go. thx everyone. you've helped a lot

04-15-2006, 12:13 AM

Get an intel for sure. I would go with the 20" as its a bit faster and a bigger screen - your paying a bigger price anyways so mise as well fork out a bit more and have it be even more worth it.

04-15-2006, 12:53 AM

Well, I can answer ever question with one word, Intel. The Intel has so much potential and speed over the G5. Go with the Intel, lovin mine!!

04-15-2006, 07:50 AM

I love my Intel iMac 20".

04-15-2006, 01:15 PM

which one:
will have the best support for software in the future? Intel easily
boots faster? Intel easily- 20 seconds vs. 72 seconds
runs programs faster (like internet, garage band, etc)? Intel unless the program's been scripted for G5 chips, then it'll run Rosetta, and that changes from program to program. Overall, Intel
has more overclocking potential? Not exactly sure, never asked...

Go Intel, but get the 17", the 20", from what I've seen, has had a LOT of problems whereas the 17" runs smoothly.

04-15-2006, 02:05 PM

What problems with the 20"? I have one with no problems.

04-15-2006, 07:31 PM

IDK but I've seen users here who have bought 6 20" iMacs, and all of them in some way or another were defective.