Buying A G5- Advice Please Options

[djanogil]

Hi,

I'm selling my dual 867 G4 mdd and will get a G5.
As I'm not swimming in dollars, I'm thinking of getting the 2X2Ghz G5, with 2 gig ram and two internal drives.
I heard that Apple are working on the next g5 with Intel chips,
do you know when they're due and if I should wait for these?

Thx

Jean

[edge100]

This is a tough one.

With computers, there's always something better coming along. The difference is, this time, you know what that "something better" is.

Do you have a lot invested in current software, and do you need to use it now? If so, the Dual Core 2.0GHz G5 would be the best bet. It will run everything you can throw at it today, and will probably be good enough for about 3 years. After that, there will surely be software it can't handle, or people will just have stopped writing new stuff for the PPC platform.

If you can wait until the new Intel PowerMacs come out (or, more likely, the Mac Pro, based on the new naming scheme), AND if you can wait for your favorite software to be ported, then I'd wait. You'll get a longer lifespan out of the Intel machine.

I'm in a similar situation. I have a lot invested in current software, and I need a new machine (upgrading from a Rev A G5 iMac). I could go with the Intel iMac, which is benchmarking at about the same speed as a 2.0 - 2.3 GHz Dual Core G5 (pretty damn fast for the money!), but I'd only be able to use Logic 7.2 and the Live Beta. NONE of my other plugs have been ported. OR, I could go with the Dual Core 2.0, which is just as fast, and is FAR more expandable, but costs slightly more (including cost of an LCD). If I go with the iMac, I can also purchase a new audio interface (no drivers for my old one, plus it sucks!), but no software. If I go with the G5, I don't get the new interface, but all my stuff works today.

Tough call!

[djanogil]

Yeah I know it's a tough one..
Thing is I can't spend one day without my music computer, so by the time the old one is sold, I need the new one,
which means I can't wait, unless I sell the G4 in a few months, but I have a good offer on it and also it's becoming too lightweight for the softwares I'm using.
I use Cubase SX3, Kontakt2, Waves, Korg Legacy Collection, the Arturia and N.I instruments etc...
I'm also thinking of getting the altiverb.

I'll stick to these soft for the next three years so I guess it will work well on a dual 2ghz G5,
anyway hopefully night and day with the G4.
Also I'd better buy the cheaper G5 and save money to get a DAV BG1 mic pre..

Thx

Jean

[mortalengines]

Just to throw my two cents in. I hear nothing but good things about the current batch of dual processor G5s. I would probably wait 6 months (or more) to get one of the MacIntels....Let somebody else suffer through the betas & updates & "hotfixes" (to coin a microsoft phrase). That stuff just gets in the way of what's really important. Making music. If nothing else, try to hang on to that G4 (unless there is some stuff you simply CAN'T do) for a while until all the software & hardware developers are on the same page again.

[lepetitmartien]

We can suppose the next models to take over the G5 powermacs won't be around before fall (but we can't be sure… it's partly based on the availability of the relevant CPU from Intel).

G5s are rock solid but expect some software troubles for upgrades starting end of 2007 when editors will stop making universal binaries (nothing official, just a guess). i see great G5s coming by second hand I'd like very much at home now (got a mono 1,8 myself) and the software running on it will continue to do so if you don't want absolutely to upgrade all the time. They are wonderful machines.

On the macintel side, be sure most of the upgrades will have to be payed… so it must be thought of.

[UP Multimedia]

If the new G5's are all they are said to be... Wow. I can't imagine one that is a flawless as my current G5... I want one, but I don't need one... Hell, this one only has a few miles on it... What makes them so much better? How does it calculate into human/user terms? I don't care about the 10,000 megawattdigitalrectifiyer superchargedaudiomaximizerthingy... Why is it better than my current G5? I mean... Really how can a non tech head justify the purchase? I need something here to help me convince my partner I absolutely must have it...

[emgcarra]

Thanks everybody...Now I know that there is a lot that we all share...But, for the records, What would you say:
1 Wait until things get a little more clear...?
2 Buy a second hand G5 for lets say, a year...and will see..?
3 Remain quiet and working without falling in those allegations...?
4 I think I will go for "Slow Upgrade" & "Fast Music" route.

[edge100]

Just to follow up on my previous post, I decided to go with the Dual Core 2.0 G5 over the Intel iMac.

In the end, I couldn't justify waiting for all new software. Logic is great, but it wont cut it for me by itself. I need RMX, BFD, Absynth, B4, Live, Vintage Warmer, URS, and Reason. All of these will run at the same speed on the Dual Core G5 as they do on the iMac, but they'll do it NOW.

Plus, the G5 has the following advantages:

Free internal SATA drive bays
Up to 16GB RAM
PCI Express slots, for next gen audio/vid cards
Digital audio IN and out (which I can use as an aggregate device with my audio interface for a nice send/return loop with my external reverb)

The G5 is everything the Intel iMac is, and so much more. I would wager that it will be at least 3 years before the major manufacturers stop making PPC binaries all together. There is just too huge an installed base to give up on them totally. If it were one year from now, and the Powermacs were replaced by the Merom-based MacPro, I'd give it a second thought. But by then, software will be out.

I need a computer now, so I'm going with the Dual Core G5.

[UP Multimedia]

Smart choice... On the G5 Dual... Can't go wrong. I'm still waiting for someone to tell ne why the IntelG5 is better... How will it improve and speed up things in a non-technical way where I can see, feel and know? Is it so fast that I'm going to say: "Wow!!! Awesome!!! Whew!!!" Or am I going to say: "Hmmmmm, really can't tell.... Do it again..."

If it does prove to be faster and more solid than my current G5, and I don't have to pay for new upgrades for all my Softwar/?Drivers/Serial Numbers/Activation/Verification Codes... I might "think" about it. But it has to be a serious kick ass machine that everyone is raving about.

[gdoubleyou]

I expect universal support will be around for 4-5 years, the majority of users are on PPC, and that won't change anytime soon.