MBP vs Power Mac G5

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Hey all. Trying to decide what type of computer to buy here. Upgrading from a G4 powerbook (12", 1.5 processor, 1.25GB ram, 100GB 7200rpm HD). I will be using the computer for audio recording (up to 4 simultaneous tracks as of now) with various external firewire audio interfaces.

I am aware of the firewire issues with the new 2.4 MBP's so those are out of the question. My choices are a 1 year old MBP 15" Core 2 Duo 2.33 model with about a year of apple care left or a PowerMacG5 dual 2.0 (early or june 2004 most likely) with either 2x20" monitors or one 23" monitor. All will have about 2 GB ram. Price aside which would you all go for. Which has the obvious power advantage, dual core or dual processors. Also the MBP will have 256mb video ram, the PowerMacG5 will have either 64 or 128mb. obviously the MBP has the upper hand there.

Now to add price into the equation. The PowerMac will cost me about $1400 for the setup with monitors. The MBP, about $1900. What would you all do?

Also, can anyone enlighten me on the differences between different "models" (or production eras) of the PowerMacG5. I know the video cards changed manufacturers and ram size throughout the range. Did anything else change substantially? Is one of the "models" exceptionally better than another (other than the very late quad models). Thanks alot...
-ian
 
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Sooper Fast!
Hey all. Trying to decide what type of computer to buy here. Upgrading from a G4 powerbook (12", 1.5 processor, 1.25GB ram, 100GB 7200rpm HD). I will be using the computer for audio recording (up to 4 simultaneous tracks as of now) with various external firewire audio interfaces.

I am aware of the firewire issues with the new 2.4 MBP's so those are out of the question. My choices are a 1 year old MBP 15" Core 2 Duo 2.33 model with about a year of apple care left or a PowerMacG5 dual 2.0 (early or june 2004 most likely) with either 2x20" monitors or one 23" monitor. All will have about 2 GB ram. Price aside which would you all go for. Which has the obvious power advantage, dual core or dual processors. Also the MBP will have 256mb video ram, the PowerMacG5 will have either 64 or 128mb. obviously the MBP has the upper hand there.

Now to add price into the equation. The PowerMac will cost me about $1400 for the setup with monitors. The MBP, about $1900. What would you all do?

Also, can anyone enlighten me on the differences between different "models" (or production eras) of the PowerMacG5. I know the video cards changed manufacturers and ram size throughout the range. Did anything else change substantially? Is one of the "models" exceptionally better than another (other than the very late quad models). Thanks alot...
-ian

The C2D chip is going to be cooler and more efficient I believe.

I use a 2.16 C2D MBP with 2gb of ram for recording. I usually record with 7 inputs at a time when I do drums.

1 Snare
3 Toms
1 Kick
2 Area mics.

No hiccups as of yet.
 
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12" Apple PowerBook G4 (1.5GHz)
http://lowendmac.com/ppc/index.shtml

The Core 2 Duo would be slightly faster than G5s, whether dual-core or dual-CPU. The G5's hard drive(s) would probably be faster, unless you go with a 7200RPM drive in the laptop.

The MBP's video would indeed be better, but unless you'll be doing some gaming on the side, it doesn't really matter.

There are specs for all of the G5 models at
http://lowendmac.com/ppc/index.shtml
As well as on the Apple support site.
 
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hmm, I wouldn't click on a link with "gearslutz" as the name of the site. Spammer??
 
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hmm, I wouldn't click on a link with "gearslutz" as the name of the site. Spammer??
Gearslutz is a VERY VERY popular audio recording/music forum. The link is NOT spam. Do a google serarch, you'll see....
 

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