Just Cant Decide...G4 or G5

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Help!!!!!! I don' t know what to choose!

Either:

20" Imac- G4 1.25 GHZ
1 GB Ram
160 GB Hard Drive
All for $2700


or

G5 Powermac
Dual 1.8 GHz
512 MB RAM
160 GB Hard Drive
All for $3700

HELP me choose?? I am an intermediate user hoping to do web design, image and video editing.. And Hopefull start building some programs!! :p
 
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Whoops !!!! I forgot that G5 powermac had a 20" Cinema Display Also]
 
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Fomer

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The G4 would be fine would last you a long time, very fast, reliable, etc etc etc

But, I'd go G5 simple fact when I buy a computer I try to go for the best because the worse you buy the quicker it becomes out-dated even if its a few months that still is a few months. :)

...And it'll be a looooooooong time before we see G6. :cool:
 
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Hmmmm... Well for now I'll just say I'm probably going to go with the iMac. I justify this because I'm not going to be getting this until July.....Do you think that by that time there will be a G5 iMac?
 
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jerodhusvar

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Personally, I'd go with the G5, but skip the cinema display. Flat panels are beautiful, they're sexy and all that, but honestly, you can have a CRT that has the same, or better, display qualities for half the price. Unless you're in a space crunch, I'd just get a CRT. As to why the G5, I firmly believe in buying the fastest computer you can afford. Although Apple's don't become obsolete as fast as other computers do, they still do, eventually, fall off the curve.

I guess it also all boils down to what you want to do with the machine.

I think it is more likely that Apple will come out with a G5 eMac before they would do a G5 iMac, but that's just my opinion.

Jerod
 
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Well.....this certainly gives me something to think about..... Do you thinik an iMac is powerful enough for web design, image and video editing, etc.??? And also, around how long would the G5 and the iMac last before it becomes obsolete.
 
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jerodhusvar

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Ok, just my opinions, but they're based on what I've seen in a LARGE publishing company that I am contracting at...

For image editing and web content, the G4 iMac is probably powerful enough to do the job. For video editing I would go with more horsepower. Most of our designers who do web and magazine design work are using G4 Dual 1.25ghz machines. The new machines we are getting in to start replacing older machines are G5 1.6ghz machines. They perform as well as the DP 1.25ghz machines.

For what you are wanting to do, I would still really recommend the G5. Video editing takes horsepower and the G5 has that to spare. Especially if you're looking at the Dualie

As to how long the machines would be usuable, in the business world a computer is usually given a 3 year lifespan. At that point, while not unusable, the new machines that have come out are such a large degree more powerful than the previous models that upgrading is prudent.

Given that the G4 iMac is already one generation older than the G5's, if it were being used in a business enviroment I would say that it would be replaced in 2 years rather than three.

So, if I were you, what would I buy? I'd probably go ahead and get the Dual 1.8mhz machine, or maybe even see if I could squeeze out an extra $500 and get the Dual 2ghz machine. It's going to give the longest possible life cycle. For a monitor I'd get a good 21" Flat CRT. Maybe a Sony, although even a Viewsonic would work adequately. Spend the extra $100 and get a flat screen, though. The curved front on most large monitors is annoying to look at for a long time.

By the way, just so you don't think older Macs are totally unusable. The iMac 333mhxz I use at home is still quite the peppy little machine, and runs OS X nicely. (well, it would if I could figure out the damned mouse driver issue.)

Finally, don't take everything I say as gospel. I'm giving you the benefit of my experiance supporting users doing the kind of work you're wanting to do. Other people may have a different, and valid, perspective.

Jerod
 
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thanks., I was kinda leaning on the G5 from the beginning... But Since I'm not going to be buying this machine until July What type of speeds do you think I'll be seeing then?
 
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jerodhusvar

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ApplejustWorks said:
thanks., I was kinda leaning on the G5 from the beginning... But Since I'm not going to be buying this machine until July What type of speeds do you think I'll be seeing then?

If I could predict what a computer company would do in 6 months accurately and consistantly, I'd not be working as a technician, I'll tell you that much. :)

On a serious note, what you're probably going to see is more speed. I wouldn't be suprised to see 2.25 or 2.5ghz Dualies come out, and maybe the 1.6 go away. And prices will change to reflect the market as Apple sees fit.

Oh, one thing, and I mentioned this in another post... Don't buy your machine decked out with memory. ANYONE can install memory in a G5. Buy it from fastermacs or somewhere like that and install it yourself.

Jerod
 

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