Computer Quandary

[davidwanat]

So, I'm seriously looking at a new computer. I'm drawn to OS X like a moth to the flame, it's BSD underpinning and nice GUI are (in my opinion) the wave of the future. But I want the most bang for my buck and something I'll be happy with in 3 years.

I can get a killer Dell for ~$2200 (P4 3 Ghz, 120 SATA HD, 1 GB RAM, 8x DVD+R, 17" LCD, ATI 9800 128MB, Audigy 2 sound card)

or

iMac for the same (G4 1.25 Ghz, 160 GB UATA HD, 1 GB RAM, SuperDrive, 17" LCD, Nvidia FX 5200 64MB, blah blah blah)


If I decide to go the Apple way, wouldn't I want a G4 powermac for that kind of payola, I could get a Duel G4 1.25, and similar specs?
I don't think a G5 is an option, I hear they only excel w/ duel CPU and they start around $2000, w/o a display.

I guess a Loaded iBook coming in around $1600 would be sweet too, the coolness of a laptop and saved $$ would about make up for the performance hit.
(G4 1Ghz, 60 GB HD, 640 MB RAM, ComboDrive, 14" LCD, ATI 9200 32MB, Wireless) or a
$2000 PowerBook (G4 1 Ghz, 80 GB HD, 720 MB RAM, SuperDrive, 12" LCD, Wireless)

I'm realizing the OS is almost a mute point. I'm almost totally self contained, in that I don't hardly do any file sharing w/ anyone. The application available for Mac are all but the same, except on the game front, but I'm not a huge gamer.

Oh the agony! What are your thoughts?

**All prices reflect Educational discount

[davidwanat]

Maybe I was too broad in my question....

Which would be better:

PowerMac G4 Duel 1.25
or
PowerMac G5 1.6

[Graphite]

hmm...
Your question about macs sparks a lot of interest...
Ok to start. If your were dreaming of an iMac, get an eMac its cheaper and about the same minus the LCD.

Dual G4 over Single G5 this one IS a tuffy.
Thinking that the G5's optimization has not been shown in ANY bench mark I have seen, I really cannot be certain. But, I know panther will accelerate all these machines like you would not believe. Example 733mhz G4 (about 2000-01) powermac has panther installed on it and its blazing fast, its like "a whole new mac".
I will install it on my iMac on sunday.

Now with the G5 (any mhz) panther is optimized for the 64bit chip (and will be more optimized).. so it can only go faster.

Me, i would go for G5.. over G4powermac.
i would go for eMac over iMac (i only got an iMac cus its pretty)
i would go for any mac over any pc.