Apple unveiled the new G5-based iMac, an all-in-one computer with 17/20″ LCD screens. My Take: The product looks good visually, but I would have preferred if the bottom border of the screen wasn’t as long compared to the other three, slicker, border sides (mockup). To customers, I would recommend the middle model: 17″ LCD, 1.8 GHz G5, Superdrive, for $1499 US (just add Bluetooth). Good value.
The New iMac G5 Unveiled
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
why not just call your self Mr. Whatever, I mean, really. desk space and looks mean nothing to you so you should just change your nick. better yet, change it to “Mr. I think everyone should think like me”
Honestly, looks might matter if I was buying a house, but not a PC. Besides, with the damn thing being on the floor, desk space isn’t really an issue. If I wanted something with polish to put on my desk so I could let all my friends come to my house and see how purty my computer is, I woould get a Mac.
As for the car analogy (for everyone else)…
I say let me pay $20,000 for a model with 6-cylinders and a known track record for reliability. You can pay $50,000 for whatever you want, and you’ll probably have something that goes much faster and handles better than mine.
But you know what? Unless you live out in B.F.E. or just like to go driving on deserted roads, it’s not going to matter one bit. Stuck in the middle of traffic, I’ll still get to all my desinations the same time as you. Plus, I can load down my cheapy with the 10-disc cd/mp3 changer, XM radio, cruise control, fancy rims (assuming I was that eager to waste money), and whatever else I want .. and still come out cheaper than you. The only thing I’ll be missing is the ability to go from 0-60 in 3 seconds (which matters not on a busy freeway) and that little symbol thingy on the back of the hood that tells everyone I paid too much for the car
“Everyone keeps on saying the new iMac has the FX 5200 video card, but the iMac tech spec page clearly stats that all models come equipeed with the GeForce FX 5200 ULTRA. Forgive me for being clueless, but what’s the performance difference between the stock FX 5200 and the FX 5200 Ultra?”
apple doesnt tell us anywhere that i can find what they mean by the ultra with just 64MB ram on the card.
on the pc side, no one appears to be selling an ultra with just 64MB memory.
ask apple. and tell them to do a better job revealing whats in their machines while your at it. hiding specs is not good. usually means they have something to hide.
“What is it with people who claim that they could get a similar spec PC for $300? The only things approaching that price have half the RAM, half the hard drive, half the operating system (ie. either Lindows or XP Home), and NO MONITOR.”
pcs from emachines, hp, and compaq are on sale every week at major retailers for $349 with 17″ crt monitors. just check out best buy, circuit city, fryes, staples, costco, officemax, office depot, compusa, etc.
no they arent the same as the imacs and dont compare well, i dont think anyone is trying to compare those. the cheap pcs do compare however to the emac that costs 2x as much.
if you want a pc that costs half of the imac and compares on specs you can see specials and sales all the time as well.
imac with 17″ lcd is $1300
here was a dell with 17″ lcd for $549
Dell P4/2.8GHz desktop w/17in LCD for $549 after rebate
http://dealnews.com/articles/71085.html
“Dell Small Business offers the Dimension 4600 P4/2.8GHz desktop with 256MB RAM, 80GB hard drive, and 48x CD-ROM bundled with the Dell E172FP 17-inch LCD monitor for $749 before a $200 mail-in rebate, $549 after. (Select “Customize it” under the Dimension 4600 option of the “Featured Systems” heading. Then be sure to click “SAVE $250 17in E172FP Flat Panel”.) That’s $100 off our last mention and the lowest price we’ve seen for a 4600-series system bundle with this configuration. Shipping is free, although sales tax is added where applicable.”
deals like this come and go constantly in PC land.
duplicating the imacs specs for half the cost is not hard.
1 Riser card for 1 (maybe 2 if two-sided), PCI express would have solved that problem… the only issue would have been the display connector would be in a different position from the rest of the connectors.
“If that was an upgradable GPU, there was no chance that the new iMac would be 2.2 inches deep as it is now. Think more of 6 inches if that was the case…
The GPU _has_ to be onboard in order for Apple to deliver such a compact product.”
Hey Dan!
I have an iMac G3 model, and I have 3rd party ram in it… NO problems whatsoever. I am using RAM from http://www.1stchoicememory.com
Who cares about it Eugenia!
It could be behind, all-around, but i will not take less space or make the screen more visible.
– Looks like YellowDogLinux has support for the graphics card.
– Would be cool to build a dual-boot system.
– Would be interesting to do some PPC assembler coding with those 32 64bit registers.
Guess what. You spent a whomping $20,000 for your car and I can get one for $13,000. You could have saved $7,000 or more by buying the bottom of the car price list (read ~$4-500 prebuilt computer). So you are not a sharp in the finance area as those who bought the bottom price models.
Apple has succeeded in creating an laptop. That is to say a laptop with the keyboard removed. Great job!
Guess what. You spent a whomping $20,000 for your car and I can get one for $13,000. You could have saved $7,000 or more by buying the bottom of the car price list (read ~$4-500 prebuilt computer). So you are not a sharp in the finance area as those who bought the bottom price models.
Actually, that’s what I have now, and I have to turn off the air conditioner just to get up a heel .. think I’ll spend just a little more next time
But I certainly don’t need a luxury car.
If that was an upgradable GPU, there was no chance that the new iMac would be 2.2 inches deep as it is now. Think more of 6 inches if that was the case…
Uhh what? Modular upgradable GPUs are available from both Nvidia and ATI for laptop computers. Additionally, they could have thrown in a Mobility Radeon 9800 which is for laptop form factors and it would have run circles around that FX5200 garbage.
“Uhh what? Modular upgradable GPUs are available from both Nvidia and ATI for laptop computers. Additionally, they could have thrown in a Mobility Radeon 9800 which is for laptop form factors and it would have run circles around that FX5200 garbage.”
but if they did that they would sell for $1500 to $2100 and would kill their margin.
only apple can get away with selling this outdated, under performing budget hardware for a premium price because it is in shiny plastic and metal cases.
[i]but if they did that they would sell for $1500 to $2100 and would kill their margin. [i]
I should clarify, what I really meant was it doesn’t take a lot of space to allow a GPU to be upgraded. They could just as easily leave in the FX 5200 or some other lower priced solution and put it on a module that allows it to be swapped out later.
seems to price out at: $1488.00
( which is more then $1299 )
Where’s the big savings?
– Win XP Pro
– 80 gig hard drive
– 17 inch montior
– 256 meg memory
– DVD-CDRW
– 80211b/g
– WordPerfect
Was the “Expired” Deal just a Bait-and-Switch?
When the iMac G4 came out, everyone said it looked stupid or weird. Now everyone’s saying how great it is. When the iPod Mini came out, everyone said its underpowered and overpriced. Now it’s selling like hotcakes.
And so will the iMac G5. It has good value for the money, looks simple and friendly, and will appeal to all the iPod owners out there more than any other Apple computer. The G5 processor rocks, the GPU is going to be perfectly adequate for 90% of the people out there, and memory upgrades come for free when you order from any decent Mac retailer.
Mark my words: Apple has another winner this time. Probably much more so than the iMac G4 in the long run.
Jared
“When the iMac G4 came out, everyone said it looked stupid or weird. Now everyone’s saying how great it is.”
actually the imac g4 came out to great acclaim in all reviews i ever read.
but, it didnt sell nearly as well as the original imacs.
this model is an all in one that is done in a similar fashion by several other firms and they dont sell well either.
the price point is too high for a consumer machine and it wont sell well. wont come close to the sales figures apple had with the original imac 5 yrs ago.
if you dont know how to set up security to begin with than yes you will keep dealing with your inability to use your computer properly. >>
1) Windows 98. Not exactly the most modern, secure OS. Full of Holes that are still being discovered.
2) Not my computer. Largely computer illiterate Husband’s work computer.
ever thought you might be doing something wrong if you have to do the same thing over and over again?>>
3) Not the same thing over and over. New spyware, exploits, and viruses come a long all the time.
Yes, it has a firewall and anti-virus software. Yes, I try to keep both up to date. I can’t do a damn thing about fixing all the kruft in IE and 98se except have service packs and patches downloaded when they become avalible … which is usually AFTER the problem occurs.
Thank you very much, I’ll stick to something that is OUT OF THE BOX superior in security and then I’ll bulletproof it in a few moves.
i was under the impression that sales of flat panel G4 iMac were so so. I’d love to hear information to the contrary. However, my impression was that the last iMAC performed considerably worse than the original ones.
(- is noisier)
Actually, my Dell PC is quiet as a tomb. In fact, if the monitor is off, I have to look at the keyboard lights in order to tell if its on.
Actually, I have a Dell like that at work, too.
(- looks ugly)
So, put it under your desk .. who gives a shit? You want to spend twice a much for pretty?
If I have a choice, I go for pretty. You know, for the times when I don’t sit at the keyboard, and thusly do see the computer even if it’s wedged away under a desk.
This is also called ‘having taste’.
(- has a larger footprint)
I swear, most people must live in a cardboard box if they’re that concerned about space. I guess people buying PowerMac towers have the same problem, no?
Yep, they do. And you can also see it on the PC world, where small cases become more and more popular.
Oh, and by the way: just for fun I specced my work-Dell to be comparable to the new iMac, and came to a price tag only about $300 less than the Mac – and a far cry above the $400 or $700 numbers thrown around in this thread. Funny, isn’t it?
yeah its ms issue that you are using a 7 yr old no longer fully supported os….though ms does still release updates to it free of charge.
when was the last time apple released some free updates to os 8?
i have many clients that run windows 98 se and they have no security issues. they run up to date anti virus, they use a firewall, and they run spybot search and destroy periodically.
they also use internet explorer 6. the only things they find with spybot are tracking cookies.
user is the problem sounds like to me.
what you are saying is that macs are so special that they just teach you how to use a computer.
arent you in tech support yourself and you cant even keep a simple desktop computer secure?
Darius, while you’re absolutely right that you can get a perfectly functional Honda Civic for 15k, the simple, undisputable fact is that in my average day, I see probably two dozen BMWs, let alone the number of Mercedes, Lexuses, and so forth. Hell, when I venture to the local mall, every other car is some sort of luxury car. Now, I fully understand that most places aren’t like the Bay Area, but clearly luxury models do sell. This is true for cars, jewelry, kitchenware, you name it. The fact that you wouldn’t buy something like that doesn’t mean you speak for the market.
Again they make a very sexy product. That doesn’t seem greatly useful. I have an iPod and despise the interface and how they intigated it with iTunes so i can only have my libary of music unstead of 2 or three librarys considering i use 3 computers. This product is going to make apple money because it is overpriced like everything they seem to sell if i had money to spend i wouldnt get one i would get something that actully does “just work” like some underpriced overpowered alienware POS.
would it be that hard to turn off comments where the browser agent string denotes internet explorer for apple topics? it always turns into a stupid flame war with people using the stupidest analogies i can think of.
people doing price comparisons: maybe you should remember that the iMac now has a 64-bit processor. comparing it to a lame-o pentium 4/celeron/athlon/sempron is a joke. where’s the comparisons with Athlon64/Opteron/Itaniums?
hey, i own a powerbook, and i love it. if my girlfriend needed a new computer, i’d tell her to get this iMac. i probably won’t get one myself because i like expandability, but for the people who don’t care, i think its a great computer at a great price.
your the second person who claims the iPod has a crapy interface. do you like to troll or are you brain damaged?
Or more to the point. This is a luxury item which will no doubt appeal to the…what’s the right term…”affluent”, “well off”, “comfortable” crowd? Which word won’t offend, but will still hit the mark? The rest of us Lintel/Wintel people will just shake our heads and walk away.
Just for the record, I really wouldn’t mind having one of these, but there’s no way I could justify it to myself to be this extravagant for my own birthay or Christmas or whatever. Not with the hole this would put in my finances.
oh my god are people that undisciplined? my buddy works in a factory and has 3 kids and a house. he is not in debit because he saves cash for stuff and guess what….he saved for 2 years so he could upgrade from his old Mac from 1999 to a top of the line Powermac with a cinema display.
a factory worker is hardly affluent.
“he saved for 2 years”
What a waste. If he’s really on a budget, he could have gotten something less expensive. That’s the whole point here. When you’re on a budget, you ought to have better sense than be buying top of the line. Top of the line is for people who NEED it and people who have money to throw away. Anybody who’s financially sensible will find the lowest cost option that will do what they need. Cinema display, you’ve got to be kidding. It’s one thing if you’re single with no kids, but to be a parent and squandering money like this is irresponsible. Selfish, even.
yeah its ms issue that you are using a 7 yr old no longer fully supported os….though ms does still release updates to it free of charge. >>
No, the issue is that they released an OS full of holes and exploits some of which are still being discovered. And yes, I’m glad they still release updates, but that’s not the point.
when was the last time apple released some free updates to os 8? >>
You confuse the issue. The issue isn’t old OS support but OS security.
Classic Mac OS (of which I am NO fan) was a nice UI over spaghetti code.
<<i have many clients that run windows 98 se and they have no security issues. they run up to date anti virus, they use a firewall, and they run spybot search and destroy periodically. >>
My husband’s work computer has anti-virus software and a firewall. New stuff is invented which exploits it. Also, my dear, computer semi-literate husband has, from time to time managed (I don’t know how) to turn off his firewall, or had it turned off for him.
Here at work on WXP pro, I have to run spybot search and destroy and almost always find something despite the fact that I use a non mainstream browser.
But at home on OS X, I don’t have to do JACK. It came out of the box secure and a few quick clicks made it even harder to crack.
<<they also use internet explorer 6. the only things they find with spybot are tracking cookies. >>
Well, now that I’ve turned off active X, I have fewer phone calls about the computer acting wierd or slowing down. I’d switch him to Netscape or Firefox, but there’s some sites he needs to go to that they just don’t work on. (Opera works okay, but he doesn’t like Opera. But they work under Safari, and he likes Safari.)
<user is the problem sounds like to me. >>
Yes, like I said, DH is semi-literate in terms of computers and this only after repeated attempts at education. He was *still* annoyed even after I explained *why* I turned off the “automatically open attached files” in Outlook. He didn’t grasp the scope of the damage that could do until he saw a friend’s computer get *trashed* because of it.
DH is a genius about marketing and networking with people, but not so with computers.
<<what you are saying is that macs are so special that they just teach you how to use a computer.>>
What? Where? Please cite my quote on that.
Dood, I would love to have anything that could almostly instantly teach my DH how to use a computer.
No, I’m saying that this secure, easy to use *nix OS will cut down on the time that I spend troubleshooting and patching holes on DH’s computer. Plus, I can set myself up as sysadmin and lock him out of changing certain crucial settings. (Not something I can do under W98se.)
<<arent you in tech support yourself and you cant even keep a simple desktop computer secure?>>
Tech support myself? Yes, sort of in the sense that in my office the policy is you call me and if I can’t fix it then we call systems, but am I repsonsible for keeping my work desktop secure? No. Did I have say in how the security is set up? No. That’s the job of Systems, and despite their vigilance, public use and staff machines still get attacked and need to be re-imaged. (My main jobs involve web design, digital microform scanner support, reference, and the upkeep/data entry of several in-house databases.)
Also, isn’t there a multi-million dollar 3rd party industry set up to attempt to keep windows machines safe?
The same level of 3rd party security industry does not exist for ANY *nix based OS.
(I’d switch DH to Xandros or Linspire, but in terms of software/hardware support, neither is quite as full featured as OS X.)
If you look at the iMac that it’s replacing, you’ll see it’s a relatively decent upgrade.
For $1299 you can get either get (source powermax.com)…
iMac G4 – 1GHZ G4. 256MB RAM, 60GB HD, 15″ LCD, Geforce4 MX (32MB)
or
iMac G5 – 1.6GHZ G5, 256MB RAM, 80GB HD, 17″ LCD, GeforeFX 5200 (64MB)
Clearly, they didn’t improve everything, but they didn’t ignore all concerns either.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39163867,00.ht…
of xp pro and lock him out then:
http://store.yahoo.com/buybusinesssoftware/miwixpproem.html
$130 will save you a lot of headaches.
you can get a lot of 7 yr old software, but if your husband cant refrain from doing silly things or has no interest in learning some stuff, then lock him down.
under your thumb….
the g5 is a dud
motorola may have been bad but never like this–
they cant even make them on time or in sufficient quantities:
http://www.macobserver.com/article/2004/08/31.4.shtml
“Apple Expo – Initial iMac Availability To Be Limited, Sources Say
by Brad Gibson, 5:15 AM CDT, August 31st, 2004
PARIS, FRANCE – Apple dealers are being told that flat-panel iMac G5s will be in very limited supply until late-November, early-December. Apple introduced the new iMac today to cheering crowds during the Apple Expo keynote in Paris, France.
Independent dealers say that the flow of new iMacs will be a “trickle” when they initially become available in mid-September. TMO was also told that the 17″ model will be most readily available unit in the beginning, and that 20″ models will be virtually non-existent when the iMac G5 first ships in mid-September.
Supply constraints should ease across the product line in late-November or early-December.
Dealers were not given specific reason for supply constraints, but were told that Apple will be shipping the new iMacs one at a time from manufacturing facilities in Asia. Apple has similarly turned to air-freight shipping to meet initial demand with other product rollouts in the past.
You can find the iMac G5 product line at the Apple Store. You can find additional details on the iMac at Apple’s iMac Web site.”
KadyMae
Yes, I try to keep both up to date. I can’t do a damn thing about fixing all the kruft in IE and 98se except have service packs and patches downloaded when they become avalible … which is usually AFTER the problem occurs.
Again, have you told your husband about the security problems in IE and advised him to use it only when necessary? If the answer to that question is yes and he does it anyway, be sure and keep him away from loaded guns .. he could hurt somebody. Even computer novices understand the concept of ‘Dont use this .. it’s bad, mmmkay?’ If you can somehow convince your idiot husband not to run IE, I guarantee you that your security issues will drop at least 10x. Of course, since you’re running a 7-year old OS, I can’t say the same about stability
If I have a choice, I go for pretty. You know, for the times when I don’t sit at the keyboard, and thusly do see the computer even if it’s wedged away under a desk.
This is also called ‘having taste’.
Lars
Alright, granted … if looks were the only issue involved here, you might have a valid point …
Oh, and by the way: just for fun I specced my work-Dell to be comparable to the new iMac, and came to a price tag only about $300 less than the Mac – and a far cry above the $400 or $700 numbers thrown around in this thread. Funny, isn’t it?
Even supposing you’re right for the sake of argument, $400 is $400. I don’t know where you’re from, but in my neck of the woods, that ain’t exactly chump change. Concerned about security problems with WinXP? I can teach you all you need to know to keep secure in about 20 minutes. So, is 20 minutes of your time worth $400?
joe8
Darius, while you’re absolutely right that you can get a perfectly functional Honda Civic for 15k, the simple, undisputable fact is that in my average day, I see probably two dozen BMWs, let alone the number of Mercedes, Lexuses, and so forth. Hell, when I venture to the local mall, every other car is some sort of luxury car. Now, I fully understand that most places aren’t like the Bay Area, but clearly luxury models do sell.
That just means that people are willing to spend a whole lot of money to impress other people .. that just goes to illustrate my point
janeiro
would it be that hard to turn off comments where the browser agent string denotes internet explorer for apple topics? it always turns into a stupid flame war with people using the stupidest analogies i can think of.
As long as you turn off all comments on Windows-related articles for anyone running an Apple browser – that works both ways, ya know.
people doing price comparisons: maybe you should remember that the iMac now has a 64-bit processor. comparing it to a lame-o pentium 4/celeron/athlon/sempron is a joke. where’s the comparisons with Athlon64/Opteron/Itaniums?
True, but running a fast processor (with half the mhz) and a slow operating system kind of evens things out, IMHO.
It looks very nice, but it’s a shame that the VGA-out only supports mirroring. I’d consider getting one if I could add a second 20″ LCD monitor, but it’s hard to go back to a single monitor when you’re used to spreading documents over two screens.
The cheapest FX5200 AGP card I could find supports a dual headed display, so it’s a shame that this fairly expensive computer doesn’t support it.
Boy, you sure waste a lot of time on a product/company you have no regard for.
Your constant negativity (in that passive aggressive manner of yours) is a real turn off to this site.
I believe you were banned here for a while, but u be back.
Again, I wonder at your obsessive attention to a company /products you don’t like.
If there is a problem with moto not delivering enough.. then well, that’s one problem. Another is that the imac is more limited on upgrade options than say, the old ps/2. This sorta thing wouldn’t happen if they just let CHRP bear it’s fruits, instead of rolling it all back in, and not really using it.
even x86/ia64 is doing that to some degree. but why shouldn’t you be able to plunk a 970 into one running a comparable motorola? Well, because apple has control issues. It may be all right, for some people, but I really want a genesi board that does either, when it’s finished.
Then I’ll be gellin like a felon, drinking hennessy on the genesi..
ok, I’ll stop now, hehe
Top of the line is for people who NEED it and people who have money to throw away.
Or for people who want it and can AFFORD it, because they obstained from buying other extranous things which they might have liked too.
And considering that this guy is apparently without debt, I don’t think that you can call him financially irresponsible or selfish at all.
Someone already responded with the availability of USB or FW speaker systems, but you missed the coolest part—optical digital out. That is cool. I also have to remind you of airport express. That is cool too.
Any complaints about the audio is just looking for something to complain about; clearly not reasoned analysis of the topic. If that is the best pot-shot, then it is a compliment really.
As long as you turn off all comments on Windows-related articles for anyone running an Apple browser – that works both ways, ya know.
i don’t think any of the mac users would mind. the basic gist of mac user’s posts in windows topics is, “we’ve had that for years” (when in reference to features), or “i’m so happy i my computer won’t get mauled by viruses/trojans/malware/spyware/missing dlls/mystery crashing/vendor lock in” (when in reference to most other things concerning windows)
we all know what the other camp is going to say, and what we won’t listen to. why constantly let these threads boil over 100 posts when OS-related, interesting topics only get 15-20 comments.
eugenia, are you listening?
Sounds like a fair deal to me, so long as it works both ways, and I’m going to add another filter to the mix:
Any post that contain ‘M$’, ‘Micro$oft’, ‘Windoze’, etc should be whacked as well.
saving your money for something you really want is irresponsible? hardly. spending money that you do not have on something you really want is irresponsible. it is not like this guy let his telephone and cable bills go into collection or his home go into foreclosure for the Mac, he saved spare cash, which by the way came after he saved for retirement and rainy day fund.
this guy has more wealth than I do and I make 2 times as much as he does. you know why? because he does not spend on credit. buying cheap is not financial responsibility and neither is budgeting, I suggest you read a book that opened my eyes, it is called “the automatic millionaire”. It is not a get rich quick scheme, in fact, the pay out will really only come after you retire, but you will learn how you can save for retirement and how to spend money in a sustainable and responsible way.
I like that idea. the apple boards have a great filter system similar to this type of thing. and you could make it so it can be modified by adding to a text file so the stuff that you did not think of can get added by a copy and past.
Typical comments. Reserve judgment until seen “in-person”. Apple designs always look better that way.
“It looks very nice, but it’s a shame that the VGA-out only supports mirroring. I’d consider getting one if I could add a second 20″ LCD monitor, but it’s hard to go back to a single monitor when you’re used to spreading documents over two screens.
The cheapest FX5200 AGP card I could find supports a dual headed display, so it’s a shame that this fairly expensive computer doesn’t support it.”
I think I read an article about some piece of software that enables dual headed display on the Apple notebooks. Wouldn’t that also work on the G5?
(If I have a choice, I go for pretty. You know, for the times when I don’t sit at the keyboard, and thusly do see the computer even if it’s wedged away under a desk.
This is also called ‘having taste’.)
Alright, granted … if looks were the only issue involved here, you might have a valid point …
I do have a point – looks are important. See the case-modding scene.
But my main point is that different people have different priorities, and that the pure cash price is just one of them.
(Oh, and by the way: just for fun I specced my work-Dell to be comparable to the new iMac, and came to a price tag only about $300 less than the Mac – and a far cry above the $400 or $700 numbers thrown around in this thread. Funny, isn’t it?)
Even supposing you’re right for the sake of argument,
Dell’s website quoted me $2100. I did include a monitor, since so far I have never managed to re-use a monitor – the newer ones were always so much better in display quality that it isn’t even funny.
$400 is $400. I don’t know where you’re from, but in my neck of the woods, that ain’t exactly chump change.
It’s no chump change for me, either.
Concerned about security problems with WinXP? I can teach you all you need to know to keep secure in about 20 minutes. So, is 20 minutes of your time worth $400?
The security problems are just the icing on the Windows cake. I don’t like the way WinXP looks, feels, or handles – never did (and for what it’s worth, I wasn’t a fan of pre-OS X Macs either). It’s acceptable on a game machine, or at work as a glorified X11 terminal; but on my daily-use computer I prefer something I actually like to use.
Is enjoying your computer worth extra $400? Definitely.
Gonzo, you very much overestimate the price of your average PC, for an equivilantly set up machine as the new imac, you can buy one from a company for much less then a mac. You make points that don’t mean anything, who cares if Dell or most other PC companys aren’t offering 64 bit proccessors on their desktop machines. The 64 bit processor in the iMac is made worthless by their other equipment, for instance I could have a 1500RPM hard drive, and 1 Gig of RAM and if I was running a Pentium II processor my machine wouldn’t be too great would it.
“It’s a bit of a cliché at this stage but you simply can’t compare macs to x86 PCs. When you do try, you find that macs are cheaper and, well, better than PCs.”
I certainly don’t agree that you will ever find macs cheaper than PCs, really they can’t be, because there are less mac hardware manufacturers and no reason for apple to vie with itself over prices, and this new imac certainly isn’t better than most PCs that are out right now. What can be said is that You really Can’t compare PCs and Macs directly to each other, but you can still get ideas of what Apple should be expected to produce. Personally I think if I was a mac user right now I wouldn’t allow Apple to get away with building a machine so underpowered. It doesn’t just work when you have to go get memory after a month of purchasing the thing, because it came underpowered. I would be suprised to find a PC that anyone I know purchased that come next year if they absolutely can’t run the games that are coming out, have no way to upgrade their computers to be able to. Even if I had a million dollars, I don’t see anyway I’d be getting this machine except maybe as something to check my email and news in the kitchen.
” Personally I think if I was a mac user right now I wouldn’t allow Apple to get away with building a machine so underpowered.”
Crikey mate.
How old are you?
underpowered??? not taken your meds today???
…without Apple the computer business would much more boring.
“apple doesnt tell us anywhere that i can find what they mean by the ultra with just 64MB ram on the card.
on the pc side, no one appears to be selling an ultra with just 64MB memory.
ask apple. and tell them to do a better job revealing whats in their machines while your at it. hiding specs is not good. usually means they have something to hide.”
Uhhh, hello? This is statement is confusing the hell out of me????? If you go to:
http://www.apple.com/imac/specs.html
it says RIGHT THERE under “Graphics”
“NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra with 64MB DDR SDRAM with AGP 8X support”
for all models of the iMac.
So the question is again, what is the difference between the ordinary FX 5200 and the FX 5200 Ultra?
is available on apples site.
since it’s mpeg 4 stream, scroll ahead to 1:30 in the video for the imac presentaion.
Very nice machine.
For $1,419, you can get this over at Dell.com:
– a 3ghz P4 processor
– 1GB of RAM
– 128MB PCI Express ATI Radeon X300 SE
– 160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive
– 17′ flat panel display
– Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 8x DVD+RW Drive
Now, you guys wanna tell me that the iMac featured here is going to out-perform this?
ok, the iMac will outperform that. that was easy…
(I do have a point – looks are important. See the case-modding scene.)
In that case, why don’t I just go out and buy a case, put it on my desk, and tell people it’s a real Mac .. kind of like what people do with those fake gucci handbag. I’ll just keep the real PC under the desk where nobody can see it … hell even the Mac monitor work on PCs, and might actually be worth purchasing
Whatever makes you happy, dude.
(But my main point is that different people have different priorities, and that the pure cash price is just one of them.)
And if they way a computer looks is of high priority to you, then what does that say about you?
That I’m not a stereotypical geek without taste? But seriously, I don’t care.
But even if you did like XP more, you stillw wouldn’t get a PC, because Macs look better, right?
Please, don’t be obtuse.
You damn well that were not talking about mutually exclusive criterias here; that putting certain emphasis on looks does not equal considering looks to be everything.
If I liked XP, I’d get a PC, because I wouldn’t enjoy using Mac OS X – it’s that simple. But I would make sure that I got a decent looking PC, even if it’d cost me some extra.
Because you don’t like the way it looks .. the way it feels. So, in other words, it’s a personal preference, so why don’t we drop the stupid Mercedes vs Honda shit, mmmkay?
I didn’t argue with car analogies here. And if I did, I would have used Mini Coopers or Jeeps in comparison to Ford Focuses.
Not to mention, the penis waving that goes into the performance comparisons of consumer machines is SOOOO yesterday. Most people don’t care whether it’s 2.7 GHz or 3.0 Ghz….heck, I would venture to guess that most non-geeks wouldn’t be able to accurately define what a “gigahertz” really means. “Well, a giga means a billion, right? But what’s a hertz?”
They just care if it’s fast enough to do what they need, and whether it’ll be fast enough for the next 3-5 years, so the constant comparisons of “I can get more z% more wood out of system y vs. system z for the money” is just getting tiring.
ultraman you use the name so tell us what it means.
yes we can clearly see that apples site calls it an ultra.
but what do they mean by ultra, genius.
normally on the pc side it means the memory or the ramdac or something is a higher performing component.
apple doesnt tell us though, which makes me think that it is a stock 5200 and they just brand it ultra or extreme or what have you to make themselves look good for using a weak part.
on the pc side i only see the ultra tag attributed to models with 128MB vid ram.
so the question remains what is apple doing to the 5200 to make it an ultra. its their card, not nvidias. nvidia doesnt make cards they make gpus and then oems make video cards.
ask apple.
Sorry but I think the new imac is ugly. Regardless of equipment.
Apple copies about eight PC manufacturers years after their products come out, and this is the new, original iMac?
I’m not saying it won’t succeed, though I doubt it will succeed any better than the last iMac, which was a disappointment for Apple. I’m just saying that we’ve come to expect originality from Apple, and this time we didn’t get any.
I have found 2 articles respectively about the 5200 and the 5200 ULTRA here: http://www.clubic.com/
Unfortunately, those articles are in French, and I have some issues with the technical vocabulary. But, doing my best, here are some of the differences (at left, the 5200, at right, the 5200 ULTRA):
0.15 microns – 0.13 microns
GPU 250Mhz – 325Mhz
Memory 200Mhz – 275Mhz
6.4 GB/s – 10.4 GB/s
RAMDAC 1/350Mhz – 2/350Mhz
I’m 21, and it is underpowered. Good luck having fun with 256MB of RAM and a GeForce FX 5200 Ultra. I mean sure that would have been nice amount of ram 3 years ago, and that card ain’t terrible, but you can get Geforce 2’s with 64MB of RAM and those cards are like 4 years old. I have a Gig of RAM and an overclocked GeForce FX 5600 XT with 128 MB of RAM, and I’m very much considering upgrading the graphics card within the next couple months, not because I’m a fps whore, but because doom3 is almost unplayable with that card, what happens when quake 4 comes out next year using the doom3 engine, if you bought this mac you’d have to get a whole knew computer to play it. The default memory amount is not only really low, but it’s plain DDR, I’ve had dual channel DDR for over a year, and let me tell you, it makes a pretty big difference. I’m not a big Apple fan, but I run Linux, so I’ll buy whatever kind of computer I want and just throw that on it, so I look at Apple’s hardware and I normally am very impressed, this is not only a let down from what I expect from Apple, this is treating their users poorly, a whole bunch of poor saps are going to buy this thing cause it looks pretty and it’s going to be reaching the end of it’s life very very shortly. That’s why I say I wouldn’t let them get away with it, I wouldn’t buy it, nor would I let anyone I know buy it.
and how old is that?
the link i posted earlier today for a 64mb 5200 from msi lists a 400mhz ramdac.
we need specs from apple. they are the ones that make the card .
The only thing I want on the desk and around it is the screen, keyboard and mouse. In towns like london, it means a great deal.
Just not the OS I’d want but close. A shameful game with memory though but that’s easily addressed.
Need to wait for the next update for higher CPU andd FSB speeds and maybe more memory and more importantly (money wise), OSX 10.4.
Now if anyone knows a machine with similar specs and form factor and with Linux friendly component in the UK, let me know.
I’m laughing at your “I wouldn’t let them get away with it” statements.
About the most ludicrous statement I’ve read.
you have to understand that a lot of people couldn’t care less about doom3 and other quake like games. Nothing wrong with those but a lot of people just don’t play them.
Memory amount is a real shame though cause that’s useful in any case, if only not to have to remember to close big apps when not using them.
Hey thrift,
why don’t you take a look at dell’s web site and see what they’re selling.
sheesh, don’t let a Unix box for this price get in the way of your opinions.
The new iMac is not original. It’s been done before.
It’s over priced.
It has a nice new CPU and some nice new specs like SATA hard drives, but for the price it is woefully underpowered compared to machines from from other firms that cost a lot less.
It is missing mainstream components and features like a TV tuner and a card reader. And how about a scroll wheel mouse with some extra buttons one of these days Apple. I’m tired of buying Macs only to immediately spend $30+ to get a real mouse.
256MB RAM is what I expect in a $350-$500 cheap PC, not a midrange Mac. This is laughable. Don’t tell us we can add more, we all know that but the point is the cost to add more. Pure and simple Mac buyers now have to subsidize Apple to an ungodly degree.
A Geforce FX 5200 with just 64MB is likewise a card I would expect in a $600 PC, not a nearly $2000 Mac. This is patently hilarious to spend that much on such a weak component. Hey, but at least the 5200 takes advantage of DirectX 9 on a PC….ooops, its embedded in a Mac and that doesn’t matter.
And finally, it is very plain, simple, and though not exactly ugly, it certainly doesn’t strike the eye the way the original iMac, the Cube, or the lampshade iMac do.
So it is without merit in my book.
Apple continues its steady decline.
About pc’s vs. macs and the price thing…
Today IBM released the Thinkpad T42 .. check him out: 1.6ghz Dothan processor, wacky 14.1” TFT screen, DVD-rom/CD RW unit, 40gb hd, 802.11b/g and more for ‘only’ $2229
Now, look up a Powerbook 15” … for less money, you get a 15” screen with 1280 resolution. The rest is also equal or better ….
I don’t want to mention design, but that IBM is clearly not that much cheaper (if at all) than the Mac.
Then …
If I take a Mac out of the box, I have it running and browsing (eg checking email) within 15 minutes. If I try this with an XP box, I have to configure the OS (takes an hour), than download/install 1 antivirus application and 2 anti spyware applications … let’s just say you manage to do it all within 2 hours (without getting hacked!). Just count that time …. in my freelance circus we are talking about Euro 135 (excluding VAT) an hour, so …
And mind you, I’m still not mentioning design issues.
Your post is not original. It has been done before. 😉
Your comment is priceless 😉
“And finally, it is very plain, simple, and though not exactly ugly, it certainly doesn’t strike the eye the way the original iMac, the Cube, or the lampshade iMac do.
”
I love the way people rewrite recent history.
All those previous products were slammed hard here and every where on the net.
Now they’re striking.
It is too laugh, I’m doing a lot of it here.
None of you guys would ever buy a mac anyways.
Anonymous (IP: —.force9.co.uk)
ok, the iMac will outperform that. that was easy…
So you’re telling me a 1.8ghz G5 w/256MB RAM running OSX 10.3 is going to outperform a 3ghz P4 w/1gb RAM running Windows XP in regular, everyday use?
Lars
You damn well that were not talking about mutually exclusive criterias here; that putting certain emphasis on looks does not equal considering looks to be everything.
If I liked XP, I’d get a PC, because I wouldn’t enjoy using Mac OS X – it’s that simple. But I would make sure that I got a decent looking PC, even if it’d cost me some extra.
So you’re saying that if you did like XP better, you wouldn’t purchase one if the only PCs available to choose from were ugly ones?
Ultraman
Not to mention, the penis waving that goes into the performance comparisons of consumer machines is SOOOO yesterday.
Obviously, you missed my point. All things given, I would concede (for the sake of argument) that the iMac in the article and the 3ghz machine I mentioned are about equal in horsepower running their respective operating systems, and they cost about the same amount. So in this case, why do Mac fanatics insist on comparing Mercedes (Macs) cars with Hondas (PCs)? If there is a difference in between the performance of each machine (in the hands of somebody who knows what they’re doing), I honestly don’t think the difference would be so great that Mac users should have a reason to think anybody who bought a PC made a horrible purchasing decision, other than personal preference and bias.
“Obviously, you missed my point”
Obviously, you missed his humor.
referring to:
Anonymous (IP: —.force9.co.uk)
ok, the iMac will outperform that. that was easy…
– M$ Word programmers too lazy to fix problems, but, with time enough to expound about software Complexity.
– Too lazy to learn about the tools on the OS
– Too lazy to write test scripts
– Too lazy to stress test the app, with a 10 year old code base.
– M$ managers not willing to re-structure an application for better reliability,
but, with time to produce more bug-ridden features.
– M$: worst programmer training in the industry
– M$: worst source code management project in the industry: VSS.
Sometime, Free isn’t worth the price.
If You enjoy Microsoft’s poor quality,
then you can get higher quality with Linux with Lower Prices.
Or, you can move to a real OS by Sun, IBM or HP.
Where you will Actually get the quality you’re paying for.
Microsoft fanatics, the worst in the industry.
With the lowest experience level in the industry.
But, they will scream about a dollar sign.
“So you’re telling me a 1.8ghz G5 w/256MB RAM running OSX 10.3 is going to outperform a 3ghz P4 w/1gb RAM running Windows XP in regular, everyday use? ”
in regular every day use, YES… ESPECIALLY when you leave it on for a long time. please dont forget to install your anti virus on your PC etc. which will pull your performance beast right down… OS X runs like a bitch and u dont need AV software… plus, please try to install all the apps that iLIVE provides which are for every day use… oh and dont forget to hit windowsupdate every 2 days…. just inc ase you know….. so every day use REGULAR means web, mail, wordprocessing? maybe a bit of music etc? get a life.. ehll i put my powerbook against your p4 and lets see after a few weeks of continous running and USING the pc how often you a) had to reboot and b) how slow your machine has gotten…
this powerbook ahsnt been booted in about 3 weeks… just sleep, wake etc…
please dont forget to install your anti virus on your PC etc. which will pull your performance beast right down…
*sigh* Where do they get these people? Running anti-virus resident isn’t even a requirement. Hello??
plus, please try to install all the apps that iLIVE provides which are for every day use
You mean like iTunes? The Windows version is horribly inefficient bloated pig of an app, can’t imagine the Mac version being any better.
oh and dont forget to hit windowsupdate every 2 days
Yeah, especially since they’re only releasing patches now like once a month. But since I have a hardware router with a firewall built in, not like I even need most of them.
get a life.. ehll i put my powerbook against your p4 and lets see after a few weeks of continous running and USING the pc how often you a) had to reboot and b) how slow your machine has gotten…
You probably do have a valid point when you say that OSX will run faster over time without a reboot, but here’s my question …
Assuming I had to reboot even twice a week (which is quite a stretch to say the least) in order to keep the PC running briskly, since when did rebooting a computer become such a catostrophic event where people fear it like the black plague of death? It’s like people wake up in the middle if the night in a cold sweat from a nightmare where they had to reboot their machine. I mean, if I need to reboot for something, I go take a piss and when I come back, it’s done. What exactly is the big deal here?
I can understand this obesission from Linux pundits, who have this whole erotic fetish (some would call this unhealthy) with their uptime length, but I really didn’t expect it from Mac users. I honestly couldn’t tell you how often I had to reboot the machine, because I have Linux installed here plus another XP partition, so I reboot frequently for reason that have nothing to do with this.
(If I liked XP, I’d get a PC, because I wouldn’t enjoy using Mac OS X – it’s that simple. But I would make sure that I got a decent looking PC, even if it’d cost me some extra.)
So you’re saying that if you did like XP better, you wouldn’t purchase one if the only PCs available to choose from were ugly ones?
No – I’m saying that you’re being deliberately obtuse now.
yes.
“fucked up shitty DELL LCD”
thats why Dell LCDs have longer warranties.
they win more reviews
they have higher refresh rates
they have better contrast and brightness ratios.
and they cost less.
carry your juvenile cussing escapades elsewhere and talk facts.
http://www.anandtech.com/displays/showdoc.aspx?i=1918&p=14
“Final Thoughts
The Dell 2001FP is arguably what the 192T should have been. Even though the cable management leaves something to be desired, this monitor excels in several areas:
* Multiple input support
* Clean interface
* Good performance
* (Relatively) Low Price
At the same time, on a more personal note, we are extremely pleased with how accurate the specifications are with our tested data. Particularly when it comes to displays, consumers are given the “marketing” specifications. Although Dell’s specifications look somewhat modest compared to other 19″ and 20″ LCDs on the market, we can declare openly that they are the most accurate.
Price and features are the dead winners in this competition. Even though the unit still costs $899 (MSRP), Dell loves to run coupons and deals, even on its brand new items. The 2001FP’s nearest competition, the Samsung 192T and Dell 1901FP both run around $700. Considering the 30% increase in pixels, AV inputs, and faster response time, the additional $200 is essentially a bargain.
Why do we consider the Samsung 192T to be the Dell 2001FP’s nearest competitor? The simple answer is size and price, mostly. A lot of people were disappointed with the mediocre release of the 192T, which was basically a repackaged 191T without zoom features, a narrow bezel or pivot/swivel.
Dell picked an excellent choice when they went with LG.Philips for the panel. Although panel prices have been getting cheaper, innovation in the section has been near stagnant for 18 months (some people considered the 18-bit 16ms TN panels from AUO a step backward if anything). We are very pleased to pronounce the 2001FP our new big LCD champion over the Samsung 191T and 192T.”
The modified mock up would only work if the power supply and speakers were external to the unit. Those are the items that take up that internal area of that white space. Frankly, I’d much rather have the extra bulk floating above my desk than laying on/around it.
you know what?
Your endless negativity is bad for you.
Well, that was the last word….g’night!
It looks “cute” and I’d consider buying one… *IF* it was priced appropriately. This machine should cost no more than $399.99 with rebates bringing it down to the $250 range. Why dosent Apple get it? People might buy MACs if they didnt cost too much. PC manufacturers actually PAID me to put my computer together. With rebates I actually made about $5 after building my 4.6 GHz Pentium.
Besides, Apple wasnt the first to make this type of design, Gateway has had a much more attractive similar design for a while now. Add to that the expense, non-upgradability and inability to run Windows XP or Linix and what have you got? Apple MAC’s dont even have C.
– Maybe we’ve got a Dell web hack here on OSNews.
Can’t get Optiplex’s up on Dell’s web site any more, they look bad now?
Other things you can’t get from dell:
– An AMD 64bit processor
– A Linux laptop or desktop.
– A Fair Deal, what’s with that web site, the best now you see it now you don’t web site in the industry.
Dell Dimension 4600C comes out at $1247, Not $499.
P4 2.8 ghz ( divide by 2 to get it’s real performance compaired to a PIII / PM )
Win XP Pro
1 year warranty – can’t get rid of the warranty
256 meg
80go drive
cdrd-dvdrom
wordperfect
17inch E172FPb
1394 ports
64mb NVidia GeForce4MX
6 months of AOL!!!
Integrated 10/100 Ethernet
Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0!!!
Where’s that Great Deal from Dell?!?
I like the design of the new Imac but I’m seriously disappointed with the choice of GPU – you have a cutting edge design, G5 CPU and then they match it with a Gefocre 5200 with 64MB – come on 128MB should have been the minimum even with this VGA card.
I just don’t understand that at all – the 5200 is just a crap, seriously inadequate VGA card. Apple should have at least gone for Nvidia 5700, AT 9600 or if size, and heat is a consideration, an Ati Mobility 9700/9800 with 128MB of RAM. Now that would have been sweet and more than tempting.
HarjTT
why would you WANT to run Windows on it??? and it you did, Virtual PC will run it very nicely for you (if nicely and Windows can be used in the same sentence.)
AS for you Linux statement, OS X will run pretty much ANY Linux software, and if you must run Linux itself, there are several PPC variants available for you to download an try (Mad Dog, Mandrake…)
Macs don’t even have C?!? Are YOU for real??????
Apple is actually pretty amazing when you think about it. In addition to wonderful designs and OS X they actually succeed in making attractive profits without addressing most of the market. Sales suggest that most of the market wants a $800-$1300 mini-tower.
It amazes me that the PC bigots state that they can buy this-and-that for $299 or whatever and build a better computer than the iMac G5. That’s great. Now, put that 10″ wide, 30″ deep, 25 lb monster on a thin metal stand and bolt on a 17″ LCD to the front. Then use a huge c-clamp to smash the entire thing so that it’s only 2″ thick. Now use a desk-mounted slow-rotating fan to cool it off quietly. Hmm.. not quite the same as an iMac.
Oh yeah, don’t forget to unplug that PC from the internet. It looks like it was infected with a virus about 20 seconds into the experiment.
You guys just don’t understand the iMac. Do you know why a hybrid EV Toyota is about twice the price of a Mustang and not as fast? Did you know that a Lexus RX440 is way more expensive than a Camaro and not as fast?
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=04&kc=6W…
only $200 off but if you watch their site their deals change every few days…they regularly have 20% off sales.
so this for $1789 with free shipping (can have this same pc for $1599 when they have their 20% off sales)
free palm zire handheld
plus
Dimension 8400
Pentium® 4 Processor 530 with HT Technology (3GHz, 800 FSB)
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
512MB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 400MHz (2x256M)
Dell ® Quietkey ® Keyboard
20.1 in 2001FP Dell Ultrasharp™ Digital Flat Panel Display
128MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon™ X300 SE
160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
Dell® 2-button scroll mouse
Gigabit Ethernet
Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+RW/+R) w/double layer write capability
Integrated 5.1 Channel Audio
WordPerfect®, Powerful Word Processing
Dell Jukebox – easy-to-use music player and CD burning software
1 Yr Warranty
so for less money you get better 20″ lcd with higher resolution, better contrast and brightness ratios, more adjustability, wider viewing angles, video input ports for composite and s-video, and a sleeker look.
a free palm
double the ram
a better video card with double the memory
a dual standard +/- dvd burner that is four times faster (16x)and does DUAL LAYER too
faster ddr2 memory
a faster system bus
faster pci express video bus
and you can expand it when it suits you
and you can replace parts easily
and just about anyone can work on it
and you can replace the monitor if it fails 4 years from now
you can run dual monitors (vga or dvi)
Actually, I could’ve found one on there with better specs for a little cheaper, but …
so for less money you get better 20″ lcd with higher resolution, better contrast and brightness ratios, more adjustability, wider viewing angles, video input ports for composite and s-video, and a sleeker look.
a free palm
double the ram
a better video card with double the memory
a dual standard +/- dvd burner that is four times faster (16x)and does DUAL LAYER too
faster ddr2 memory
a faster system bus
faster pci express video bus
and you can expand it when it suits you
and you can replace parts easily
and just about anyone can work on it
and you can replace the monitor if it fails 4 years from now
you can run dual monitors (vga or dvi)
But what difference does any of this make when it doesn’t look as good on your desk ?
– Don’t you think you’re a little off the mark comparing a full blown desktop to an all-in-one design? After all we’re not talking about Dual Processor Power Macs here.
Just the graphics card alone would kill the slim design of the IMac G5.
– Also, you need all the other features to Honestly compare to an OS X machine.
– WinXP Pro for example, 1394 firewire ports…
– And you’re not in that $499 price range any more.
Ok enough of the useless price comparisons. Even dell’s own miniaturized unit the 4600c is more expensive than the dell unit Anonymous (IP: —.chvlva.adelphia.net) posted.
Why is that? because miniaturization cost money. Increased manufacturing cost means more retail price plain and simple.
Compared to the new iMac G5 the dell 4600c is not as minaturized and yet costs about the same (accounting for some extra features in the 4600c)
So please stop take a logical look at what it takes to sell a product may be go to school and take a few business and marketting classes before you post useles drivel.
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&kc=6V…
Dell Dimension 4600C:
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor (2.80GHz, 533 FSB)
Operating System:
Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional
Operating System Enhancements:
Combo: Microsoft® Plus! for Windows XP and Digital Media Edition
Memory:
512MB Dual Channel shared DDR SDRAM at 333MHz (2x256M)
Hard Drive:
80GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive
CD or DVD Drive:
SAVE $129! 8X CD/DVD burner (DVD+RW/+R) with double layer write capability
Enhanced Software for CD or DVD Burner:
Combo: RecordNow! and MyDVD Deluxe
Productivity Software:
Productivity Pack including WordPerfect®
Monitors:
New 17 in E172FPb Flat Panel Display
Multimedia Options:
Front/ Rear IEEE 1394 Ports and Dual Front PCMCIA slots with Data Fax Modem
Video Cards:
64MB DDR NVIDIA GeForce4 MX™ Graphics Card with TV-Out and DVI
Sound Card:
Integrated 5.1 Channel Audio
price: $1,727
mid range imac g5 with 512MB RAM
• 512MB DDR400 SDRAM – 1 DIMM
• 80GB Serial ATA drive
• Keyboard and Mouse + Mac OS X – U.S. English
• 17-inch widescreen LCD
• 1.8GHz PowerPC G5
• SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra w/64MB video memory
Subtotal $1,574.00
As usual this thread went to hell in a hurry.
I REALLY hate the geek pissing contest. Who cares how fast your computer is? Seriously, is it gonna get you the chicks or something? We’ve been past the “your computer needs to be the damned newest to run anything” phase for a while now. I know a lot of people who still run their 400Mhz PC (and Macs) happily. If you upgrade your computer yearly, believe it or not, you’re in the minority. Most people upgrade every 3 to 5 years (I’ve done 5 before, I don’t suggest it to anyone eheh), and most of these people do the least possible to their computer, which includes not upgrading the OS.
I’m a geek, I spend way too much time infront of my computer, and have tinkered with them for what seems like forever. Give me an XP box, I’ll keep it virus free, stable, and performing as well as XP can. I can do the same with a Linux box, and an OS X box. The general public doesn’t usually have this ‘talent.’ I have to take this into consideration when helping people choose what hardware is best for them. I’m not there to hold their hand every time they use their computer. I can’t, in good conscience, point the average joe to Linux, and even XP. I _really_ hope SP2 will change this, but it has gotten ridiculous. I know of too many people who have just plain abandoned their computer because it has become unusable after a year of getting whacked with every virus/worm that the net has to offer.
I can suggest a Mac to someone with the full confidence that their computer will continue to be useful to them until they decide on their own that it’s time for an upgrade. I know a few people who still run OS9 quite happily (why not run OS X is beyond me, but whatever
).
I’ve been trying to convince my father to switch his “video editing” dell box with a Mac, and something tells me the new iMac will be it. He spends more time fixing the box than doing anything productive with it, poor guy.
Why didn’t they make the headless version of this machine? Just to save a cable or two? A headless G5 iMac would have been more cost friendly, more reliable, and a better value.
Steve… how about THE REST OF US ?????
Or you could do what I do… I use my iBook as a headless mac when I’m at my desk, but I still have the option of bringing it out whereever cause it’s tiny. Works nicely for me.
“headless mac” meaning i connect peripherals to it, it still has a head, only it’s a 15″ NEC LCD.
very good point
the ibooks and powerbooks are a much better choice.
would be nice if they could ramp up the cpu a bit though.
“Yeah, especially since they’re only releasing patches now like once a month. But since I have a hardware router with a firewall built in, not like I even need most of them”
LOL. Best comment in this thread. How much did that cost you? See, he doesn’t need a hardware firewall. Releasing patches like once a month? Are you sure you don’t mean you check Windows Update once a month? Don’t get me wrong…I like patches. It means things are being fixed.
Richard Fillion,
Unfortunately it’s impossible to find either a Mac or Windows thread anywhere on the internet which doesn’t degrade into a Mac vs PC flame war. It annoys me too, I don’t mind constructive arguments but when people (both Mac and Windows users) lie to “prove a point”, or just post bait it drives me crazy. They’re not fooling anyone on a “specialist” Operating Systems site, so I don’t know why they bother. Just skip their posts and read those by intelligent people.
Matt
Why does Apple hardware news turn into Dell Deal of the Day, stupid. Yeah I’m in the market for a Jag or Audi let me stop by the Kia dealership along the way.
Apple is gonna sell a lot of these, their problem is that they can’t make stuff fast enough. They have always had supply problem going back to the beige PowerMac days, pathetic.
it was just announced he developed and designed the new imac
more info here:
http://www.gvetchedintime.com/thumbimages/pres.jpg
This is getting kind of ridiculous. All summed up I think anyone whose not being a zealot can decide a few things.
It certainly looks sexy, although the mockup does look even sexier, so it would be nice if the power supply was external(it doesn’t sit on your desk, it’s where the plug is, like the gamecube and most printers), but it still looks better and is more compact than most computers out there.
You could get a PC with equivilant specs and a better upgrade path for much less, but this is very much a different animal than your average PC, and even your average Mac. If you want to play games, this is not for you, the graphics card is extremely underpowered. If you don’t want to install extra memory in the machine, you are going to have an underpowered machine, so it’s in your best interest to buy RAM and install it or to look at something else.
Now my main problem with this machine is not that there isn’t a bunch of people who do want this kind of machine, but that people who would be better off with a different machine will end up buying this not realizing that it’s not for games and that they would be served a lot better with more memory.
A while back I worked at Sears, and for the time that I worked there, we sold imacs. At that time I was proud of the performance of the imac and sold many of them. Now from dealing with the customers there, I know that people who are looking to buy a mac expect the mac to have a certain quality of hardware, and when they see a machine that looks this good they are going to expect the hardware to be even better(especially after they are sold to the G5). Why not, if your going to make a sexy looking machine, why wouldn’t you make a machine that had sexy performance. So my expectation is that the average person who purchases this is going to end up getting something they can be proud of for the first couple months and then realizing they need to upgrade the memory or they can’t run games.
This is unfortunate, and I’m dissapointed that Apple wouldn’t have gave it the extra memory and a better video card and just charged extra for it. That’s what people expect when they buy a mac don’t they, that they are paying more for a better product. Unfortunately for most people, they are going to be paying for looks alone and not realizing that a good looking computer can be a trojan horse.