Forums | MacLife

Hello, I am new to the apple world, being a PC user for all my life, but now that both of my PCs are crud and unreliable I want to try my luck with an Apple computer. I am asking for either a Dual G5 for my Birthday/christmas present or a 1.25, 1 GB ram iMac. Now, it may seem like a really dumb question, but I need to ask some questions. For example I had read some things that the G5 was not compatiable with some software since it is so new, and that no one has taken advantage of the 64 bit system, and that has me wanting the G4 iMac since the technology has been used for a while. Also, I wouldnt have even had this debate until tonight when my dad was talking about the sheet I gave him explaining why I want an Apple computer, and he had recently talked to my uncle, who is big on Macs, and he was talking about the G5. I knew about the G5, I just thought it was too much to ask right away, but now my dad has it in his head. Also, if I am goin to get the G5 which graphics card should I go with. Just to give you a little backround, I am a huge photographer and also use Photoshop frequently, along with Flash and Swift. Oh and is Safari the best internet browser? Thank you for the feed back.

1. A dual G5 with cheapest Apple monitor will cost you $3700 vs $1500 for iMac, a difference of $2200!
2. There is no program that take advantage of 64 bit system as of right now, but if you are going to keep this computer for a few year instead of upgrade, you might as well get the G5.
3. The basic G5 come with a decent video card depend on model, a Ati 9600pro(either come with dp G5 or $50 upgrade) seem to be best bang for the buck.
4. As long as you have plenty of memory, 512 to 1g, I would think all of the program you mention will work just fine.
5. Safari is pretty god, but a lot of us found out the it will crash from time to time (quite all by itself )

Enjoy your new experience!

Thanx for the responses. I don't want a CRT monitor due to, well really, just the look. I am a really sleek kind of guy and it needs to look good, and i change around stuff a lot and a CRT monior are very bulky. I know this was probably a really dumb question, I just wanted to knwo what would be the better choice. I know apple computers generally last longer, technology wise, more than computers, and they are more stable so that is the reason I want one as badly as I do. I did hear something really cool though, something that I never would in our PC domiated school, one of my friends is getting a new computer and said that he wanted an iMac. It shocked me. I really think that the iMac was such a good idea, due to the design that is, because people want something that stands out, and that is something PCs generally can not do. Also, I am not really a "computer guy", I use the programs and and skilled at them, but I could never put anything together, thats why I owuld just rather have it put in from Apple. I know the G5's are easy to install ram, I just dont want to screw anything up, what wouldi need to do it exactly? Thanx

Again, thanx guys, another question I have is: At Comp they say you have ot pre order the dual G5s, but I didn't hear how long it will take to ship, because, well, I wasn't talking to the guy, lol. Any way, now when i see people's signatures on here that say, "Ordered August, Arrives October" will I have a two month wait?!?

I've built quite a few SMP systems (2-4 way).  And for the most part very few software programs can utilize both processors effectively.  I guess it all depends on what you're going to do with it.  You may be better off loading up a 1.8 G5 than you are spending every last penny on a Dual 2 G5.  It's your call, but I would get a piece of paper and write down everything you expect your new computer to do.  Then, I would do some research into the applications that you'll end up using and how you'll be using them.  Only then would I decide what hardware to get.  My 1.8 hauls plenty of ass, and does everything I need it to do (just have to get more RAM).

I really wish someone would benchmark the entire G5 series of machines against the iApps and games, just to see how things pan out.  Of course, maybe they did that and didn't like the results, who knows.

-Mike