Powermac G5 vs. iMac G5

[andymcafee]

I currently have a powermac dual 1.8 GB G5, 2 GB of RAM, and 250 GB hard drive. I have been thinking about selling my powermac to get an iMac 1.8 GB, 1.5 GB RAM, and 250 GB hard drive. Does this sound like a foolish thing to do? The reason I would want to switch is because the iMac is so much more portable. Any ideas?

[sdfalk]

don't

2 processors vs 1
slower bus
supports less ram

That's a few reasons

[Releaux]

Hi Andy,

It sounds from the last two posts of yours that you're looking at the new iMac to be the center of a mobile recording rig. Is that the case?

It may be workable, but you will definitely be giving up some horsepower. Maybe if you posted what kind of rig you're trying to set up you'd get some more useful recommendations, even some that you may not have considered yet.

As to your original question, I wouldn't trade a dual 1.8 with much better specs for the iMac. You'll be giving up horsepower, expandability, etc. But there may be other concerns that you haven't noted here that may provide a different set of priorities.

[andymcafee]

I would be using a MOTU Traveler and a MOTU 896HD with DP 4 plus other software (Reason, Stylus RMX, and some other plug ins). After thinking about this decision, I think I will keep my powermac. If I really need another computer, I can always break down and get either a laptop or an iMac. The reason I wanted the iMac was to save space and to use as a portable recording setup.

[Releaux]

I don't think you'd be happy in the long run with the reduced horsepower given that you're planning on running soft-synths... you'll need all the juice you can manage.

Also, you didn't mention how frequently you'd be moving around, but the iMacs really aren't designed as portables... They're certainly easier to move than a PowerMac, but unless you were going to be putting it in a custom case, I think you'll definitely get better results from a laptop that's built to take the abuse.

[sdemott]

Just as a FYI: the new 15" 1.67GHz PowerBooks outperform the G5 iMacs & the single processor G5 PowerMacs...

Check out the report on www.barefeats.com & at www.macintouch.com for more details on the testing.

[mortvillefugitive]

Sdemott,
You're the perfect person to ask my burning question. I've been thinking about getting a 1.67 powerbook for my wife for school and other general use. I'll also be occasionally using it as a mobile rig for recording, some multitracking. Because I've already put money into my actual studio computer, I don't really want to wait and put an extra grand into a powerbook G5 when those come out. How has your G4 been handling the 4.52 update, and how much longevity do you think it will have? If I can get a solid 3 years use out of it, I'd be happy. I'm just a little nervous about buying any computer with a 167mHz bus speed. I work at Dell, and even our notebooks are at 533mHz. Your thoughts?

[sdemott]

Originally posted by mortvillefugitive:
Sdemott,
You're the perfect person to ask my burning question. I've been thinking about getting a 1.67 powerbook for my wife for school and other general use. I'll also be occasionally using it as a mobile rig for recording, some multitracking. Because I've already put money into my actual studio computer, I don't really want to wait and put an extra grand into a powerbook G5 when those come out. How has your G4 been handling the 4.52 update, and how much longevity do you think it will have? If I can get a solid 3 years use out of it, I'd be happy. I'm just a little nervous about buying any computer with a 167mHz bus speed. I work at Dell, and even our notebooks are at 533mHz. Your thoughts?

My PowerBook has been great - not a single issue and it's been churning away at the DP sessions.

You know, there is always something "bigger and better" coming right around the corner, and if you hesitate to buy a system that you need because of that you will never pull the trigger on the purchase. I don't think it is unreasonable to expect 3 years out of one of the new powerbooks.

At work I use a PowerBook (G4/1.67Mhz) and Dell (Lattitude 8600) side by side all day - while the Dell is a magnituide of 10 times faster with all the MS Office apps, the PowerBook is much better behaved when handling the system intensive apps (Adobe CS, for instance). and while I have nothing to compare with on the Dell, my PB can handle Final Cut Pro without breaking a sweat. Not to mention (and please don't get offended) the Dell is a flimsy laptop - I wouldn't expect it to survive if I ever decided to tote it around with me like I do the PowerBook. The PowerBook is just overall of more sturdy construction - and quite a bit lighter too.

My suggestion, if you go with the PowerBook, is to be sure to go with a 15" so you can add a 2nd FireWire bus via a PCMCIA card. That way your external HD and the audio interface each have their own bus to work with and won't fight for bandwidth. In fact, I just did a 24/96k recording using the PowerBook in that setup (and the audio interface is bus powered to make it even more interesting) and it handled it like a champ.

HTH

[mortvillefugitive]

Thanks for the advice. I actually hadn't checked the posts for a couple days after I posted, and we had gone ahead with the 1.67 15 inch. It's beautiful, I've been really happy with it so far. No worries about the Dell comment, I work there, but I'm not a big fan. I guess that's why you pay half the price. Regards,
Jason