Who's switched to 1.8 GHz single processor Power Mac G5?

I posted a new thread on the Power Mac forum earlier today detailing my "dilemma" between buying a 1.42 GHz Mini or a 1.8 GHz single processor Power Mac G5 for my first Mac. You can check it out if you wish.

Anyhow, I'm wondering if any of you switchers has gone straight to this particular PMac and if so, what your experience has been so far. When I search online for user reviews, it seems that the dual-processor ones get the spotlight and all the fanfare. Someone please enlighten me with their opinions and experiences about the single!

Signed, the :dummy:

djmitch said:

I posted a new thread on the Power Mac forum earlier today detailing my "dilemma" between buying a 1.42 GHz Mini or a 1.8 GHz single processor Power Mac G5 for my first Mac. You can check it out if you wish.

Anyhow, I'm wondering if any of you switchers has gone straight to this particular PMac and if so, what your experience has been so far. When I search online for user reviews, it seems that the dual-processor ones get the spotlight and all the fanfare. Someone please enlighten me with their opinions and experiences about the single!

Signed, the :dummy:

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if your considering the 1.8 single then you might as well buy the imac. it will give you close to the same performance, and save you money. the duals is really the only logical way to go on the powermacs in terms of performance. i dont know why the even bothered with the single

I am happy with my single powermac G5. I originally had an iBook, but the Powermac was for me. I already had a monitor, so the Powermac's expandability was a plus over the iMac. The iMac and Mac minis come with slow hard drives and the G5 is easily upgraded in terms of dual channel memory and fast serial ATA hard drives. As good as my P4 2.4GHz with the added benefit of the wonderful OSX. Dual processor systems don't always add up to the sum of their parts. You need software written for SMP. Full version of Photoshop.

For my moderate usage, I am very pleased.

I agree: The single Processor configuration definitely has its deserved place in the lineup: New 'switchers' who want a machine they can easily upgrade with additional harddrives/optical drives etc. may be put off by the expensive dual-proc configurations.

I'm still a PC user so I'd have to opt for the cheapie switch (i.e., Mac mini) first, then after getting used to it and determining if the switch is really for me, I would consider springing for a G5.

menace3054 said:

if your considering the 1.8 single then you might as well buy the imac. it will give you close to the same performance, and save you money. the duals is really the only logical way to go on the powermacs in terms of performance. i dont know why the even bothered with the single

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Actually, I priced both systems and found them to be the same if they both have 1 GB of RAM and everything else the same. In this respect, the iMac just doesn't make sense when I already have a working 19" CRT monitor. Also, I'm used to a big box where upgrades (adding a drive, PCI cards, etc.) are not a problem. In this respect, the Power Mac is the only way to go in Macworld - I want something I can grow into instead of quickly grow out of. Lastly, I believe the single PMac does have its place: for people like me who can't justify the price of a dual-processor PMac for my level and type of usage (Internet, Office apps, some Photoshop LE work, some web design, and 3D gaming). I appreciate your input anyhow!

marhan said:

I'm still a PC user so I'd have to opt for the cheapie switch (i.e., Mac mini) first, then after getting used to it and determining if the switch is really for me, I would consider springing for a G5.

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That's part of my dilemma: do I spend the extra $700 CDN for the PMac but find out that Mac really isn't for me? I wish I knew someone who could lend me a Mac for a trial run before I leap into such a large purchase! (I'm not asking for one - I'm just lamenting!)

I've had my PowerMac G5 for about three weeks and it's my favorite system to use. It's not the fastest and neither does it have all of the
tools I need for work but it's a very pleasant machine to work on.

I rejected the IMac as I checked it out at CompUSA and found that
it warm to the touch. I don't like the idea of convection cooling on
processors that can run this hot. I also already have a monitor.

I can do upgrades to the box in the future or even use it as a server
to display its output on one or more other systems.

And I'm hoping that processors will get cheaper in the future giving
me more options. I suspect that the MacMini will help improve
economies of scale in the production of Power chips.

mmoy said:

I've had my PowerMac G5 for about three weeks and it's my favorite system to use. It's not the fastest ...

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My current system is a Hewlett Packard 850 MHz Athlon with Windows 98SE and 256 MB of RAM, so "not the fastest" is a pretty subjective statement. That is, it may not be the fastest to you, but to me the PMac G5 1.8 single would probably blow my mind! Thanks for sharing your experience - your arguments are swaying me even further from the Mini at this point ...

The fastest machine that I've used lately was a Quad Processor Itanium system with 8 GB of memory running Windows Server. Everything came up lightning quick. These processors cost over $2,000 each, and these had 5 or 6 MB of cache on board. The only
problem is there isn't any software to run on them.

I ran into a coworker today and he told me that he recently bought a Dual 2.5 PowerMac G5 with a 23 inch Cinema Display. I thought that his machine was mine as
I saw it in the shipping room. You cannot miss a PowerMac G5 box. It's huge and in black with a huge G5 on the side.

This guy is like me as he has several Windows laptops and other systems and this is
his first Mac. We tend to be a little ahead of the curve for systems. Another guy at
work went out and bought a Mac Mini today. He thinks that it's a cool device but he
doesn't plan on working on it. He's just using it as a server for his Linux systems.