Anybody running a G5 1.6 GHz?

I'm a recent switcher from the Windows world to Macs. I bought a brand new Powerbook 1.33 GHz laptop recently, and I love it.

The fact is, I will never trust my data to Windows again, but this means that I'm going to need a desktop Mac in the very near future. Right now I'm deciding between an old Sawtooth G3, or a brand new 1.6 GHz G5. My question is this: Has anybody here tried gaming and video work on a 1.6 G5? What kind of speed do you get from it? I'm planning on immediately adding a sound card to it, a way better video card, and dumping at least a gig of RAM into it.

Despite my newfound love for the Mac, I still find PCs to be considerably faster, so this is why I'm concerned about the speed of a new G5. If a 1.6 G5 will run any game, and do video work fairly well (assuming a 128MB graphics card) then I'll probably go that route. Otherwise, I'd might as well just get a little pokey G3 for daily work.

Any ideas?

I would Suggest acutally a dual 1.8 GHz G5 or if you have the money, a dual 2 GHz G5. In the test specs, the pentium 4 can outdo a single processor G5 but it can't out do any of the dual processor models. Also, just remember, i can guarntee a good fraction of the games on Mac are good. Usually, only the good ones are ported over

I have heard on Techtv that the single processor G5 are just worse overall because of the parts they use. Apparently, in the early models at least apple skipped on high quality and went for cheap. So get one of the Duals.

Solution

I may have the solution to your problem! If you currently can not afford a Dual CPU G5, wait until they update the line(sometime between now and July), because most likely, it will have an all dual-lineup...

ApplejustWorks said:

I may have the solution to your problem! If you currently can not afford a Dual CPU G5, wait until they update the line(sometime between now and July), because most likely, it will have an all dual-lineup...

Click to expand...

I absolutely agree with you on waiting. I'm not going to get my G5 until after they update the lineup. I've also decided that no matter what, I'm going to get a dual processor system. I've been in the computer industry long enough to know that dual processor systems are absolutely the way to go.

I'm going to buy a dual processor setup with bluetooth, upgrade the RAM to 2 gigs myself (with Crucial memory), and add a 128 MB graphics card. I can't wait!

By the time the new updates come out, I'm hoping ATI will have a 256MB video card for us.

Osiris22x said:

I absolutely agree with you on waiting. I'm not going to get my G5 until after they update the lineup. I've also decided that no matter what, I'm going to get a dual processor system. I've been in the computer industry long enough to know that dual processor systems are absolutely the way to go.

I'm going to buy a dual processor setup with bluetooth, upgrade the RAM to 2 gigs myself (with Crucial memory), and add a 128 MB graphics card. I can't wait!

Click to expand...

:drools:

I run a 1.6 G5 at work with zero problems. We got it 3 months ago.

Jerry

I've had my 1.6 G5 since about October of last year. Plays games great. I even skimped on the ATI card and settled for the 64MB Nvidia card. I was using a beige 300Mhz G3 before this so I felt it was a nice step for the price.

i have a 1.6 g5 as well, and ive had it since january. I've had no problems what so ever with it, i love it. It's got 1.2 gigs or ram in it, and i bought the ati 128mb g card recently. The original card was ok, it ran medal of honour allied assault smoothly, apart from the normandy level, that was pretty slow. But i when i put the new g card in, the graphics were better, and it allowed me to have the real time shadow effect thing on, which made the germans look alot more realistic, and it ran smoother as well. Normandy was a bit slow still but not as.

I am running a 1.6 here at work with no problems. I don't play any games on it, obviously, but for Photoshop and Quark it runs pretty dang well. Even in the single CPU configuration the G5 is faster than a dualie G4.

jjh

Dual CPUs are overpriced and superfluous IF you don't do professional DV and 3D modeling.

Don't listem to ignoramuses who make absurd and unfounded claims that the 1.6 is somehow made of inferior components.

I have 1Gb of DDR400 in my 1.6 with the lame FX5200, and UT2K4 runs at 1024x768 with all graphical settings turned to maximum, and the game flies. The same GPU (but not the "Ultra" model and with 128Mb Ram) and same amount of Ram on P4 2.4GHz, and it barely runs UT2K3 at playable frame rates if set to highest levels in graphics.

Hmm, that's not quite true. I've run UT2003 on my PC (2 GHz) with a gig of RAM and a 128 MB NVidia card, and it absolutely flies with all settings cranked to max.

Osiris22x said:

Hmm, that's not quite true. I've run UT2003 on my PC (2 GHz) with a gig of RAM and a 128 MB NVidia card, and it absolutely flies with all settings cranked to max.

Click to expand...

There's an unsettling PC spec vs Mac spec debate developing here . So back to the point. Osiris22x, it depends on what you want to do with your desktop mac. Applebook is right, they are overpriced and you only really need a dual if your going to be doing a lot of video editing, 3D CGI or heavy duty compositing. Otherwise, get a lower end model and bump up the RAM (buy third party, Apple'll rip you off.), with all of the latest Apple machines it's the RAM that speeds those babies up not processor speed (although that does help!).

Gaming wise, if you're really into PC games, keep your P4 next to your new Mac. I'll fight anyone on this, but there just is not and industry corporation valued demand for mac gaming. You can all be in denial for as long as you like, but until Mac prices drop, become more accessible to people with low incomes and expands it's user base, the PC will continue to beat the s**t out of Macs in terms of Gaming. PC games are developed for Windows/AMD based PCs, Mac games are developed as an after thought. Sorry, I'm not a Mac bashing Windows PC user, but that's just the way it is at present.

I actually completely agree with you johnnyluu. I will be keeping my PC next to my Mac for gaming only. I don't see the Mac catching up in gaming terms for a very long time. Well I'm not getting my G5 for another 3 or 4 months so I'll see what's available then, as I'm sure Jobs will announce a new lineup on June 28th at the WWDC.

According to test results, the G5 1.6 has 50-60% more raw processor power over the 1.25Ghz G4

That's pretty impressive. I'm running a 1.33 GHz G4 right now and I'd like to see a performance increase if I'm going to lay down the cash for a desktop.