G5

kano476

I'm thinking of getting a mac after christmas but i'm a bit confused as to what i should get since Im not sure whats on offer. we used to have one of the original imacs with mac os 9. ive seen ads for the G5 and was just wondering if anyone knew what it was like? although my friend said it cost upwards of 3grand. is this true?
I really like the look of mac os 10 and iwas also wondering what itunes is like, since you can now get it on windows. is it really worth changing over systems???

Hugh_C

a little research might help...

http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/irlstore

kano476

cheers but i really want to hear from people who have bought one of these and what they think of it. specs are kinda good though.

good to see not all of them are over 3grand

ssh

You didn't mention what you want to use it for.

I use Linux and Windows in work a lot, but splashed out on a G3 800mhz 12" ibook 3 months ago. I use it for watching divxs, browsing and some programming. It's fairly decent, and performance wise is pretty acceptable. The odd jumping while watching a divx, though I'd imagine that's an unoptimized codec rather than the cpu itself

The G3 is perfect for my needs and MacOS X is damn nice, though I'm very shocked that apple expect people to fork out €120 a year to use the most recent version.

All in all, sure, go for it. If I didn't play so many games I'd consider getting a mac desktop too...

flywheel

it's not *quite* an upgrade *every* year anyhow the new G4 iBooks come with Panther pre-installed...

BrianG

The Bouncer

Unless you are into high performance computing the G5 may be overkill as the box price does not include monitor. I would look at the iMac or PowerBook depending on requirements. As for OS X Panther is a great OS and you will never have half the hassle of Windows (drivers crashes etc).

B

lotas

if your getting in to it to start, try the emac (www.apple.com/emac). originally designed for students and schools, apple started selling this normally. its about 800 dollers, comes with a G4 processor, and is basicly a 17" imac. like the original imac, its just one unit. some come with the super DVDR drives, some with just normal cdr drives. all now come with OSX panther too. the emac on the irish apple store starts at 899. the exact url is here. id get a emac, but just bought a second had imac. pretty broke. the G5 is a 64bit and 32bit chip and is the top of the range. it would be like buying a ferrari for your first car. that being siad, you could go out and spend about 3 - 4 grand on the box, an other 900 euro on a monitor (that sort of system demands a Cinema display and then your set. but its a lot. anyway, up to you. sorry for the waffelly answer BTW!

kano476

right. g5 + disp = over 3g's no matter what model. thats that idea out the window!

emac sounds pretty good 899 euros. 1,200 with 512mb ram and 160gb hd. I had pretty much made up my mind to get the 17" imac g4. it starts at at about 2,069 euro but thats just with 256mb ram but if i was getting it I would get the 512mb (an extra 121euro) Its still a bit more than a PC but seemed like the best deal. has dvdr/cd-rw aswell which is what i would be mainly using it for aswell as internet/games/publishing mainly. and the 1.25ghz doesent sound too bad. But now Im not so sure!

It has 80gb hard drive but is it worth spending extra and getting 160gb??? Its only an extra 150euro or so but would I really need it? Im not really sure how fast hard disk fills up on mac's thats why i ask.

The only thing that puts me off buying a mac is the price since dell are offering a 2.6ghz 128mb (i think) 80gb pc with lexmark printer for roughly a grand. Although I'm kinda sick of windows it doesent sound like a bad deal comparing to what im about to fork out!

Abnyone know any sites/shops where they sell macs a bit cheaper than apple ireland? coz this seems to have about the lowest prices in ireland.

lotas

i got my mac from the buy and sell. you may want to see about buying one second hand. also, they are still selling a G4 power mac. other idea is a G3 or G4 ibook. its a laptop, but its a mac and they are (kind of) cheap. plus you can bring it any where. try: http://www.compub.com/index.php?cPath=21_32: eMac G4 1GHz, 128MB, 40GB, CD, Radeon7500

AdMMM

Originally posted by kano476

It has 80gb hard drive but is it worth spending extra and getting 160gb??? Its only an extra 150euro or so but would I really need it? Im not really sure how fast hard disk fills up on mac's thats why i ask.

For casual use, 80gigs should be grand. 40gb's could hold about 8-9000 128kbps mp3's. Add on about a 5 - 6 gigs for games and the like and you should still have plently left over for all your pr0n!

kano476

u sick puppy. hrrrrmmmm decsisionsssssssssss.....

tonky

kano476:
Just keep an eye in Buy&Sell or equiv.
A nice G4 with decent Disk and AGP card and OS-X will get you hooked. OS-X IHMO transformed the Mac. Prices may be a bit steep, but worth it. I don't know what it is exactly, you just seem to enjoy using it. It's a Mac thing.

AdMMM

Originally posted by tonky
kano476:
Just keep an eye in Buy&Sell or equiv.
A nice G4 with decent Disk and AGP card and OS-X will get you hooked. OS-X IHMO transformed the Mac. Prices may be a bit steep, but worth it. I don't know what it is exactly, you just seem to enjoy using it. It's a Mac thing.

Aye, those one-button mice are a bit fool-proof

The Bouncer

Since you say you will be burning DVDs and each is aout 5gig my own mantra is get all the space you can afford ALWAYS. Remember when 1GB semed huge! As for the cheap Dell, yes they are a lot cheaper but you will probably end up going insame using windows unless you are an experienced user.

B

AdMMM

DON'T BUY A DELL!!!!

I notice that it (emac) only has a RADEON 7500 or the imac only has a Geforce 4 Mx400 / FX5200! Those cards are like putting a .5 litre engine into a Ferrari,there just not going to cut it!

You say that you want it to play games, if so then I recommend a Windows PC, developers don't seem to realise that there's a market for gaming for the MAC!

If you go for a MAC, then it should be for the following reasons:

I want something that's totally fool-proof
I want to use the Internet (average user)
Money is no object for me, £120 is good value for 256mb ram!!!!
I want to be unique

If you go for Windows, then it should be for the following:

I want good media management (MediaCenter 2004 T.B.H )
I want to play games a lot!
I use the internet a lot!
I want to use quality software!
I'm going to go to LAN parties / home LAN / Office LAN / WAN

---

IMHO, for good value you should go for a WINDOWS PC, with a bit of time, you can make Windows XP look truely unique ( http://members.boards.ie/sionnach/desktop.jpg ) and stable.

I'd recommend getting a PC Kit from Komplett.ie or getting a pre-built system from http://www.jaguarcompsys.ie .

---

If you're still content on getting an APPLE, then buy this (IMHO) :

eMAC
• 256MB SDRAM - 1 DIMM
• 160GB Ultra ATA drive
• Keyboard & Mac OS
• eMac 1GHz
• DVD-R/CD-RW drive
• ATI Radeon 7500 - 32MB DDR
• 10/100BASE-T Ethernet
• 56K internal modem
• Two FireWire 400 ports
• Three USB ports
• Apple Mouse


Subtotal 1,319.00

---

Hope I've been of help to you!

ZENER

Quote:
If you go for a MAC, then it should be for the following reasons:

I want something that's totally fool-proof

> Yes it's foolproof but only as long as you are a fool. With Unix at it's heart its ready when you are to advance to some serious computing.

I want to use the Internet (average user)

>What is an "average user"? The Mac supports all the current technologies for the Internet plus has has the industry standard Apache Web Server ready to use out of the box when you get DSL and start your own web site !! It also comes with an excellent email client with "proper" junk filters and Safari browser with out of the box popup filter.

Money is no object for me, £120 is good value for 256mb ram!!!!

> You could get it cheaper by shopping around.

I want to be unique

> I am ... I am !

Quote:
If you go for Windows, then it should be for the following:

I want good media management
(MediaCenter 2004 T.B.H )

>You want media management ! Try iLife (Free) iPhoto - plug in camera save pictures -what drivers ?! - iDVD Excellent DVD authoring with pro results - iMovie, Simple to use and streets ahead of Movie maker on the PC - iTunes - Manage music without the hassle burn CD's buy songs in the store update your iPod. The great thing is they all come with the OS and are fully integrated - sorta like Office !

I want to play games a lot!

>Most decent games available for the PC are making their way to the Mac - MOH - CM4 - Soldier of Fortune etc. etc.

I use the internet a lot!

> Your point is ...???

I want to use quality software!

>You mean Office Mac - Photoshop CS - Dreamweaver MX - Limewire - Quark - Toast - Lightwave - all available for the Mac !! Oh and if you really feel nostalgiac theres even I.E as well !! Full support for Java as well not so with Windoze XP its a seperate download.

I'm going to go to LAN parties / home LAN / Office LAN / WAN

>This is unix for god sake all the above are supported and in some cases exceed the windows implementations standards.

Firewire as standard on all Macs - USB2.0 standard on all new macs - G5 has serial ATA plus they look way cooler that a beigebox PC - whats original about that

Buy a Mac - you wont regret it - nicer people too

Tinky

AdMMM

I was hoping some mac die-hard wouldnt contradict me

In case you don't know, there are many case's you can buy for a PC, Antec's Lanboy, Xaser III, Chieftec Gaming Case the list is endless!

ZENER

Quote:

I was hoping some mac die-hard wouldnt contradict me



In case you don't know, there are many case's you can buy for a PC, Antec's Lanboy, Xaser III, Chieftec Gaming Case the list is endless!

Thats just the point though. The PC isn't independantly individual ! None of the cases I've seen for the PC even approach the quality and class of a Mac. You dont need to explain why a Mac looks like it does, the image of simplicity just works and enhances the user experience of the computer. It's instantly recognised as something different something what was that word ... ah yes .. UNIQUE !!!

Tinky

Capt'n Midnight

RE: though I'm very shocked that apple expect people to fork out €120 a year to use the most recent version.

http://www.micromail.ie/cgi-bin/shop.pl?item=0&categ=ZZOS
Windows XP pro 359 + VAT (Upgrade €229) + Client licenses etc...

tonky

At the risk of getting bombed, I have to say the main problem is NOT the PC per se, it's Windows, having done and still doing tech support for all Windows versions from 3.1, believe me, I've seen it all. Prior to the G4 and OS-X, I would'nt touch a MAC. The combination of a unix based, solid, stable OS, top quality hardware and software was too appealing to refuse.
Basically, I just used the MAC more day by day until I ran out of reasons for using the PC/Windows at all, it's as simple as that. Nothing to do with being a die hard.

I love PC's/Windows, they keep me in work removing viruses & diallers, fixing drivers and the hundred and one other issues that come up.

Some people become very passionate about their MACS, not a few of these are individuals who have suffered years of head-wrecking struggles with Windoze.
In the end it's down to personal choice, but at least now there's a realistic alternative. (respect to the Linux supporters out there, I use RH from time to time also!).

kano476

murderer u ave never used a mac butty so stay outta dis one until u know what u is talking about! its settled. imac g4 i am buying. the discussion is over bye bye.

nah i know macs are really good and windows drive me cracked so there.

AdMMM

Not by a long shot TBH!

In case you havent noticed tinky, there is quite the modding scene for pc's. I know some people over irc who've put a PC into a MAC case and people who buy a model car and put their PC into that. As individual as you can get TBH!

and Stephen, I don't have to fucking be an expert on mac's to give you an opinion! I value you opinion greatly and always have so if you're gonna dismiss people's point of views straight away then simply FO!

IMHO, this thread was a complete waste of time. You had your mind set on what you wanted straight away, and even if someone told you that OS X was the buggiest piece of shit to ever grace this planet, you still would have bought a MAC!

ZENER

Quote:
In case you havent noticed tinky, there is quite the modding scene for pc's. I know some people over irc who've put a PC into a MAC case and people who buy a model car and put their PC into that. As individual as you can get TBH!


Er !? Are we still talking about computers here ?? Who changed the subject to cars . . . when . . why ???



Tinky

kano476

Originally posted by |.Murderer.|
Not by a long shot TBH!

In case you havent noticed tinky, there is quite the modding scene for pc's. I know some people over irc who've put a PC into a MAC case and people who buy a model car and put their PC into that. As individual as you can get TBH!

and Stephen, I don't have to fucking be an expert on mac's to give you an opinion! I value you opinion greatly and always have so if you're gonna dismiss people's point of views straight away then simply FO!

IMHO, this thread was a complete waste of time. You had your mind set on what you wanted straight away, and even if someone told you that OS X was the buggiest piece of shit to ever grace this planet, you still would have bought a MAC!

You have no idea how long you had me laughing there! it's ok calm the fook down (at least the wind up worked!) ok yes its already settled that im buying a mac, but this thread wasnt a complete waste of time because I didnt have my mind set on what I wanted so please dont think you know more about me than i do. I still have one or two questions about it though because it is a big step changing from windows to mac os and i want to make sure im not wastin money. one thing i want to know is what sort of web publishing tools are available for it? i know theres dreamweaver but its very expensive. Cause i'll be getting into web designing again wheni get it. Is there any alternatives?

Here's specs for mac im buying:

Apple Imac g4
* 512MB DDR333 SDRAM (PC2700) - 2 DIMMs
* 80GB Ultra ATA drive
* Keyboard & Mac OS
* 15-inch TFT display
* iMac 1GHz
* DVD/CD-RW drive
* GeForce4 MX - 32MB DDR
* Two FireWire 400 ports
* Three USB 2.0 ports
* 56k Modem
* Apple Pro Speakers

Subtotal 1,572.69

ZENER

Quote:
one thing i want to know is what sort of web publishing tools are available for it? i know theres dreamweaver but its very expensive.

There are several apps for web design on the Mac. There are many more that can be used under X11 which is integrated into Panther.

To be honest though, if you seriously want to get into webdesign it's better to get the apps most creators use and one of those is Macromedia MX Studio which includes :

Dreamweaver MX
Flash MX
Fireworks
Cold Fusion
etc.

Other important apps would be a good graphics package.
The GIMP on Panther is FREE.
Adobe Photoshop/Imageready would probably be considered the "Standard" app.

I'll have a look for others and post back here although a fairly basic editor comes with Netscape.

Regards

Tinky

AdMMM

Originally posted by tinky



I'll have a look for others and post back here although a fairly basic editor comes with Netscape.

Regards

Tinky

Dont worry, he won't get past the editor on Expage.com

Seriously though, if you want an editor that can be set to any ability (Beginner, Medium, Advanced, Hardcore) check out 1st Page 200 ( http://evrsoft.com/download.shtml ). Not sure if it works for MAC, but I'm sure you could get an emu to run it for you

lotas

yea, 1stpage is good, but only works on windows. virtual pc could solve that, but moving to a mac is usually because you want to get away from windows.

kano476

Originally posted by |.Murderer.|
Dont worry, he won't get past the editor on Expage.com

think your funny do ya?

emus for windows are usually crap and as lotas said the whole reason for changing to mac is to get away from windows.

lotas

that being siad, the emulator for windows under linux (well more of a virtual machine then emulator), vmware, is actually pretty good. now, mind you it is running on the same hardware so it would be fast. but yea, main reason i got a mac and installed linux was to get away from windows. i may use it under vmware for little things (havent installed it yet, thanks god!) but it will be very little things.