Power Mac G5 vs iMac - please help decide

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Hi, I would really appreciate an opinion on the choice between 20" iMac and a power Mac G5(the specs listed below). I've only used Mac's couple of times before and know nothing about them except how to use them with Adobe software(or do I?).
The G5 described below came up as a bundle with Apple Cinema 20" HD Bundle at £1050. It is used but in godd condition as I learned from the seller. I need this computer to work with Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver and Flash for starters(CS3).
I am wondering if it's a decent choice for my interests or should I think of adding a little bit more £ and buy iMac, be it 20" or 24" with some upgrades? My limit is around £1200 but I am really hoping to be able to leve some of the money to guys at WACOM;)
I know it's a pain in the neck message and really appreciate your time.
G5 Processor Dual 2.5GHz PowerPC G5
L2 Cache 512K per processor
Frontside bus 1.25GHz per processor
DDR SDRAM main memory 2GB PC3200 (400MHz)
Supports up to 8GB
Graphics ATI Radeon 9600 XT 128mb with ADC/DVI
Hard drive 2 x 250GB Serial ATA Drives
Optical drive SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
PCI slots Three open full-length 33MHz, 64-bit PCI slots
Expansion One FireWire 800 port, two FireWire 400 ports (one on front); three USB 2.0 ports (one on front), two USB 1.1 ports (on keyboard); AGP 8X Pro slot with graphics card installed, including ADC connector and DVI connector
Bays Two internal hard drive bays (1 occupied); one optical drive bay
Networking Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T
Wireless AirPort Extreme ready (based on 802.11g specification; IEEE 802.11b Wi-Fi certified) Bluetooth option INCLUDED
 
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Your Mac's Specs
17 inch 2 GHz C2D imac (5,1) with 3GB DDR2 RAM, X1600 (128MB memory) GPU - OSX 10.6.3
For me I'd go the imac route. Sure both it and the G5 you listed are great machines the imac is a much better machinne though. And Photoshop CS3 is optimised for the new intel macs. Also the imac (if intel) has the option to go on Windows easily.

And I had a look on the UK apple store and 3 of the 3 imacs there are under your £1200 limit.

Personally I'd go for the upper of the 2 20" models . The lower 20" one is actually cheaper then the G5 you are talking about. And upgrade the ram yourself to 2 or 4 GB. But if you need the screen real estate then go for the lower of the 2 24" models. I'd have a play with both in the store and see which is better for you.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
12" Apple PowerBook G4 (1.5GHz)
The base model iMac would be slower than that G5. The midrange iMac would be about the same, and the 2.8GHz iMac would be faster.

The iMac would be new, with a warranty. The G5 is more expandable and upgradable, but takes up vastly more space on the desk.

And Photoshop CS3 is optimised for the new intel macs.
CS3 is Universal; it runs equally well on equivalent PowerPC and Intel CPUs.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
17 inch 2 GHz C2D imac (5,1) with 3GB DDR2 RAM, X1600 (128MB memory) GPU - OSX 10.6.3
True. And thanks for the fix up about CS3. But the imac has a better GPU right?
 
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Is that true with GPU? That would be quite an important factor when choosing. woudn't it? And how much slower would the base model of iMac be than a G5?
When you say "base" do you mean taken as it comes with a default spec at apple store?
The fact that the G5 is refurbished also concerns me a bit. Is iMac expandable at all?
My desk is quite small...
 

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