09-03-2004, 11:06 PM

Ok,I am sure you guys have heard this question tons of times before, but in such a massive forum I am just to lazy to search for it. Sorry Mods! I too am a Mod and feel your pain. lol.

Anyways, I am considering getting a 2.0Ghz G5. I want to serioursly get into 3D design and stuff like that and I have heard that Macs are great for that type of thing. Is it worth the money? Or should I get one of the new iMac G5's? Or should I go with a PC? Any advice?

09-03-2004, 11:25 PM

The Mac is very well suited to that sort of work. A windows pc is in a sense obsolete because IMO the registry is indefensible and so a new OS must be made to replace it

09-04-2004, 05:35 PM

I know that the Mac is better for that type of stuff. But should I invest in a 2.0Ghz G5 or should I go for the cheaper,newer imac G5?

09-04-2004, 05:48 PM

Last time I checked, a 1.8GHz G5 iMac was slower than a Dual 2.0GHz G5 Power Mac.

So - do you want lots and lots and lots of power? Or, do you want lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of power?

09-04-2004, 05:53 PM

So do you think going for the dual 2.0G5 would be overkill? Or might it be worth it to invest the 2.5thousand? Each one would probably make my 2.4ghz Jetta laptop seem like a 500mhz PC woulden't it?

09-04-2004, 06:19 PM

I look at buying computers this way - you can either buy a low end computer once every two years, or you can spend more and get a computer once every 5 years. Your choice - I prefer the latter.

09-04-2004, 06:24 PM

You guys seem to be avoiding answering my question. Are you saying that if I get the iMac G5 I will have to buy a new one in two years? From what I gather from you guys there really isn't much of a diffrence in the two diffrent comps? They can both do the exact same things just the Dual G5 would do it slightly quicker?

09-04-2004, 06:40 PM

Originally Posted by Xadreque

You guys seem to be avoiding answering my question. Are you saying that if I get the iMac G5 I will have to buy a new one in two years? From what I gather from you guys there really isn't much of a diffrence in the two diffrent comps? They can both do the exact same things just the Dual G5 would do it slightly quicker?

OK, here we go.... The iMac 1.8 ghz, 600 mhz FSB is $1500(17 in.), $1900(20 in.) USD. The Powermac DUAL(being the keyword) 1.8 Ghz, 900 mhz FSB is $2000 USD. The iMac has a built in screen but the powermac has two processors, if you are on a budget, and you need an LCD you may want the iMac, if you don't care if it is a nice monitor or not, or you have a lot of money go for the powermac and pick up a cheap crapy monitor($200). The Powermac will be nice for processing heavy data all at once, but the iMac will do just fine, but will be a little slower. My opinion is that if you have enough money get the powermac and pick up a cheap CRT. Both will do you work fine, the powermac will do it faster.

09-04-2004, 06:42 PM

IN your case I would go with a Dual G5 Powermac. The FSB is quicker and it's better suited for 3d rendering. If you would have just been doing graphic design I would have recommended the iMac. So my opinion is to go with the G5 Powermac.

09-04-2004, 06:44 PM

Finally!!!! A answer that really spells it out. Thanks!

09-05-2004, 04:38 AM

As i said either one will work for what your doing, it is just the powermac will do it faster. But the iMac comes with the LCD... So it really is up to you.

09-05-2004, 01:54 PM

I have yet to decide what type I am going to get. If I go for the powermac I might have to wait untill next year to get. Grrrrr.....why does everything have to cost money?

09-08-2004, 09:04 PM

What I want to know is do the dual G5's work during everyday use (i.e web browsing, compiling, games, etc) or do programs have to be specifically programmed to use 2 processors. Does the OS itself use two processors for just running tasks? I have G5 on order, but I didn't get it because I do video/graphic editing, I got it for just being a high end PC that isn't Wintel that will last me 5+ years and won't bog down when simply running everyday tasks.

09-09-2004, 02:51 AM

Originally Posted by flyingpostman

What I want to know is do the dual G5's work during everyday use (i.e web browsing, compiling, games, etc) or do programs have to be specifically programmed to use 2 processors. Does the OS itself use two processors for just running tasks? I have G5 on order, but I didn't get it because I do video/graphic editing, I got it for just being a high end PC that isn't Wintel that will last me 5+ years and won't bog down when simply running everyday tasks.

Apple builds Dual CPU computer since quite a while, and they work pretty find for everything. The OS makes use of both CPUs, and programs don't have to be specifically written for duals. But if they are, the speed bump between single and dual is quite a lot. But for everyday use, the difference between a single and dual CPU is not noticeable, as MAC OS X even with a single CPU handles ressources way better than Windows.
But for gaming, well, don't expect a Mac come anyway near a good gaming PC...

09-09-2004, 08:38 AM

Originally Posted by Avalon

Apple builds Dual CPU computer since quite a while, and they work pretty find for everything. The OS makes use of both CPUs, and programs don't have to be specifically written for duals. But if they are, the speed bump between single and dual is quite a lot. But for everyday use, the difference between a single and dual CPU is not noticeable, as MAC OS X even with a single CPU handles ressources way better than Windows.
But for gaming, well, don't expect a Mac come anyway near a good gaming PC...

The main reason I asked it that if I keep this machine for 5 years or so, when this machine is really slooow by comparison. I want to know that both CPU's are being used to run those everyday tasks which at that point will require more power than today. BTW, whatever games that Blizzard (i.e Warcraft. etc.) puts out to run on the Mac is enough games for me. Years ago when I ran a Windows machine, there were too many games, and I would buy the latest game without even finishing the last one. So the *few* games that are available for the Mac is a good thing for me.