G5 or Intel?
I'm thinking of upgrading from my bulging G4 Digital Audio with a dual 800 processor. I need to decide between a fairly fast G5 tower dual or an Intel iMac (probably reconditioned), somewhere in the $1000- $1500 price range. I'm a little conflicted since getting a tower G5 would make an easy transition since all my drives and pci boards would just plug in. And I have a pair of nice LCD monitors which could be used with an iMac but are set up for a tower. So the intel would require reconfiguring drives onto several firewire boxes or larger drives and a new backup strategy. All expenses beyond the basic machine. The Intel is tempting as current technology but I am put off a bit by the one piece built in monitor and no pci slots. Still, they are powerful and versatile with pretty powerful video boards, some of them upgradeable, I hear.. And I've heard rumors that the next OS upgrade will exclude Motorola machines. One doesn't want to be left too far behind. I do graphics and video, so the relative strengths in these fields of these two choices are of concern. Thoughts? Rich --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed Low End Mac's G3-5 List, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list?hl=en Low End Mac RSS feed at feed://lowendmac.com/feed.xml -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: G5 or Intel?
On Dec 7, 2008, at 6:18 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm thinking of upgrading from my bulging G4 Digital Audio with a dual 800 processor. I need to decide between a fairly fast G5 tower dual or an Intel iMac (probably reconditioned), somewhere in the $1000- $1500 price range. I'm a little conflicted since getting a tower G5 would make an easy transition since all my drives and pci boards would just plug in. And I have a pair of nice LCD monitors which could be used with an iMac but are set up for a tower. So the intel would require reconfiguring drives onto several firewire boxes or larger drives and a new backup strategy. All expenses beyond the basic machine. The Intel is tempting as current technology but I am put off a bit by the one piece built in monitor and no pci slots. Still, they are powerful and versatile with pretty powerful video boards, some of them upgradeable, I hear.. And I've heard rumors that the next OS upgrade will exclude Motorola machines. One doesn't want to be left too far behind. I do graphics and video, so the relative strengths in these fields of these two choices are of concern. Thoughts? It's heretical, but I would go with a P35-based Hackintosh. I still keep around a Digital Audio (upgraded to be the equivalent of a dual 1.0 GHz Quicksilver 2002) for Mail.app and other functions, but most of my work has been transferred to P35-based Hacks. Certain compute-bound work which takes a tad over an hour on my DA (or my two true QS 2002s) now take no more than 12 minutes on my P35s. This is primarily media authoring and duplication work. Yes, the upcoming OS update will exclude PPC Macs. That is a given. (It could also exclude certain early Intel Macs, although this is not a certainty). The update is deep down in the processor's power management function, which is quite different in Core 2 Intels from PPCs. Hackintoshes have already included provision for this update. That function was fully working as of a few weeks ago. --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed Low End Mac's G3-5 List, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list?hl=en Low End Mac RSS feed at feed://lowendmac.com/feed.xml -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: G5 or Intel?
On Dec 7, 2008, at 6:58 AM, Tony Gamble wrote: On 7-Dec-08, at 9:18 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm thinking of upgrading from my bulging G4 Digital Audio with a dual 800 processor. I need to decide between a fairly fast G5 tower dual or an Intel iMac (probably reconditioned), somewhere in the $1000- $1500 price range. I'm a little conflicted since getting a tower G5 would make an easy transition since all my drives and pci boards would just plug in. And I have a pair of nice LCD monitors which could be used with an iMac but are set up for a tower. So the intel would require reconfiguring drives onto several firewire boxes or larger drives and a new backup strategy. All expenses beyond the basic machine. The Intel is tempting as current technology but I am put off a bit by the one piece built in monitor and no pci slots. Still, they are powerful and versatile with pretty powerful video boards, some of them upgradeable, I hear.. And I've heard rumors that the next OS upgrade will exclude Motorola machines. One doesn't want to be left too far behind. I do graphics and video, so the relative strengths in these fields of these two choices are of concern. Thoughts? Rich For graphics and video work in your budget range, I would recommend the iMac. Your multiple drives could all be handled by a single Drobo unit (www.drobo.com), which now offers a fast Firewire 800 interface (available on the iMac). The next version of OS X, Snow Leopard, is expected to be Intel-only, offering no new features aside from a significant speed boost in optimized code. And the blow of losing all those PCI interfaces is softened by the fact that just about every piece of add-on hardware these days has a USB or Firewire equivalent. Having said all that, I would also recommend waiting until after January's Macworld, since it's right around the corner. Tony I'm gonna have to agree with Tony here. Go iMac! Just sold my G5 dual 2ghz and bought a new macbook and the difference is overwhelming. I can do all the crunching I used to do and have my portable too! Jeff --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed Low End Mac's G3-5 List, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list?hl=en Low End Mac RSS feed at feed://lowendmac.com/feed.xml -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: G5 or Intel?
Note that the slots on the g5 towers are PCI-e format...not the older PCI, so you loose the use of your old cards on either machine (the iMac has no card slots at all). Note also that the G5 and Intel towers all use SATA drives so unless you have a sata controller card in your g4, none of your drives will 'just plug in' either. This is especially true with the iMac which has no slots or extra drive bays to 'plug in' to. As such, plan on leaving your current g4 setup to run those drives/cards as a second machine for the times when you need that hardware. On 12/7/08 9:18 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm thinking of upgrading from my bulging G4 Digital Audio with a dual 800 processor. I need to decide between a fairly fast G5 tower dual or an Intel iMac (probably reconditioned), somewhere in the $1000- $1500 price range. I'm a little conflicted since getting a tower G5 would make an easy transition since all my drives and pci boards would just plug in. And I have a pair of nice LCD monitors which could be used with an iMac but are set up for a tower. So the intel would require reconfiguring drives onto several firewire boxes or larger drives and a new backup strategy. All expenses beyond the basic machine. The Intel is tempting as current technology but I am put off a bit by the one piece built in monitor and no pci slots. Still, they are powerful and versatile with pretty powerful video boards, some of them upgradeable, I hear.. And I've heard rumors that the next OS upgrade will exclude Motorola machines. One doesn't want to be left too far behind. I do graphics and video, so the relative strengths in these fields of these two choices are of concern. Thoughts? Rich --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed Low End Mac's G3-5 List, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list?hl=en Low End Mac RSS feed at feed://lowendmac.com/feed.xml -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: G5 or Intel?
On Dec 7, 2008, at 9:04 AM, Jack Countryman wrote: Note that the slots on the g5 towers are PCI-e format...not the older PCI, so you loose the use of your old cards on either machine (the iMac has no card slots at all). Note also that the G5 and Intel towers all use SATA drives so unless you have a sata controller card in your g4, none of your drives will 'just plug in' either. This is especially true with the iMac which has no slots or extra drive bays to 'plug in' to. As such, plan on leaving your current g4 setup to run those drives/cards as a second machine for the times when you need that hardware. All of the G5 towers except for the the last generation are PCI compatible (Yes, pci-x is backwards compatible) and an external HD enclosure (FW800) takes care of the drives... Jeff --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed Low End Mac's G3-5 List, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list?hl=en Low End Mac RSS feed at feed://lowendmac.com/feed.xml -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: G5 or Intel?
On Dec 7, 2008, at 12:35 PM, g3-5-list group wrote: == 1 of 7 == Date: Sun, Dec 7 2008 6:18 am From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] I'm thinking of upgrading from my bulging G4 Digital Audio with a dual 800 processor. I need to decide between a fairly fast G5 tower dual or an Intel iMac (probably reconditioned), somewhere in the $1000- $1500 price range. The 24 inch iMac is just beyond your price range. But for your kind of work, you may be unhappy with the 20 inch version. It is best that you compare the two side by side. You will find the 20 LCD quickly changes contrast and color depending on where you position your head and on the tilt of the machine. One quick test is to note what happens with listings in the Finder windows where the white and pale blue backgrounds alternate line by line. The G5 solution looks like the easiest and least expensive transition. But then you are buying hardware with mileage and no warranty. You have waited many years to move off the G4 which suggests your needs do not demand the latest and greatest. The G5 would give a dramatic improvement in performance. But you may need to consider whether you might feel behind the power curve with the G5, say only a year or two after Snow Leopard comes out and vendor applications catch up with that. Al Poulin --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed Low End Mac's G3-5 List, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list?hl=en Low End Mac RSS feed at feed://lowendmac.com/feed.xml -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: G5 or Intel?
On Dec 7, 2008, at 11:04 AM, Jack Countryman wrote: Note that the slots on the g5 towers are PCI-e format...not the older PCI, so you loose the use of your old cards on either machine. No, this isn't necessarily true. The early G5s, below 2.0 GHz had regular old PCI slots. The middle G5s, the 2.0 2.3 GHz had PCI-X (PCI eXtended) slots that would take extended PCI cards and also the old PCI cards. Only the very last G5s, the late 2.3 dual, 2.5 2.5 GHz had the PCI-E (also called PCIe for PCI Express) slots that are incompatible with to old PCI cards. Most of the G5's ARE compatible with the old PCI cards. The only model that has overlap is the dual 2.3, the PCI-X version is older (early 2005) and uses PC3200 RAM, the PCIe version is newer (late 2005) and uses PC4200 RAM (the RAM is an easy way to tell, all the PCIe Macs use PC4200 or PC5300 RAM). --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed Low End Mac's G3-5 List, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list?hl=en Low End Mac RSS feed at feed://lowendmac.com/feed.xml -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: G5 or Intel?
On Dec 7, 2008, at 11:13 PM, Kris Tilford wrote: On Dec 7, 2008, at 2:10 PM, Jack Countryman wrote: Strange then that the single 1.6 I passed on to mom, and the dual 2.7 I have here now, will not take the old PCI cards...the slots are configured so they don't fit... The dual 2.7 uses PCIe. The single 1.6 has normal PCI slots. Actually, the dual 2.7 has PCI-X slots. PCI-X is mostly backward compatible to PCI. Jack is most likely referring to the slot keying. Around the MDD era, the old 5 volt PCI cards started being phased out in favor of 3.3v or universal PCI cards. To make sure that a card would still work, the slots keying was changed so you couldn't insert an incompatible card. http://support.apple.com/kb/TA27127?viewlocale=en_US Only some 2.0 and 2.3Ghz G5s and all quad 2.5 G5s use PCIe, which is a completely different beast. -Donald Hall --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed Low End Mac's G3-5 List, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list?hl=en Low End Mac RSS feed at feed://lowendmac.com/feed.xml -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: G5 or Intel?
On Dec 7, 2008, at 10:26 PM, Donald Hall wrote: Actually, the dual 2.7 has PCI-X slots. PCI-X is mostly backward compatible to PCI. Jack is most likely referring to the slot keying. Around the MDD era, the old 5 volt PCI cards started being phased out in favor of 3.3v or universal PCI cards. To make sure that a card would still work, the slots keying was changed so you couldn't insert an incompatible card. You are correct, and off-list I misinformed Jack about a PCI-X card for his 2.7 GHz G5, so apologies to Jack, and YES, your 2.7 can use PCI-X cards. It's strange to me how the 2.7 GHz is an earlier model than the later 2.0, 2.3 and 2.5 GHz versions that use PCIe. I consider PCIe to be an upgrade from PCI-X, much the way that AGP video was an upgrade from PCI video in the earlier PowerMac G4. --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed Low End Mac's G3-5 List, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list?hl=en Low End Mac RSS feed at feed://lowendmac.com/feed.xml -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
