2.5 G5 Problems??, can't buy 'em? Options

[ourmanflinty]

I just got quoted on two 2.5 Ghz G5's and two 23" cinema displays for our customer but was told by MacWarehouse that the 2.5's are 'in constraint'...which was explained as they are not available, there are problems and he couldn't say when or if they could get them...anyone else aware of this or is he just stalling me 'cos they have no stock. The quote was ridiculous as well, only £2.50 less than on the apple store ha ha someone please tell me how to get them cheaper!

[PhilTrueman]

Greetings,

You could try Gordon Harwood Computers

http://www.ghc.co.uk

I got my G5 and Cinema display from those guys - not a bad price and excellent service.

PT

[Dave Bourke]

"In constraint" smells kinda funny to me. Definitely not worth it just to save that amount. I'd look elsewhere.

Kind regards.

[scrambles]

Hi,

I just had MacMall tell me yesterday that the dual 2.5's were on hold because the video card has been discontinued, and they won't ship anymore until it is replaced with an upgrade with 256 dedicated memory. He said it'd be 2 or 3 months before they were shipping them again.

I can't imagine "disallowing" people to buy the existing models, especially at this time of year. But apparently Macmall isn't the only one with this new policy. Nothing on the website, of course.

Mike

[CanadaRAM]

Constraint means that APPLE is shipping fewer machines than there are orders for. Believe me, if the retailer had any machines to sell they would gladly take your money. But they are at the mercy of Apple shipping the stock. The "reason" for the backlog is immaterial. Sometimes retailers feel they have to make up some kind of justification "there was a fire at the plant that provides rivets to the company that makes brackets for the video card manufacturer who supplies Apple and so all these machines are hung up waiting for rivets.." - it doesn't matter a whit. Either Apple is shipping or they are not .

All retailers in a country will be in the same boat, unless one company had bought a large stock of G5's they haven't sold yet. Those situations tend to even themselves out in a matter of days, though, as the stocks are sold. The other way some sellers get around this is to import machines from another country - this may void the warranty and may get you a machine with the wrong voltage and/or a foreign language manual. This is called gray market - and is not recommended.

Generally, the only way to get a machine that is under constrained supply is to put down a deposit and get in the queue for the machine. Ordering a standard stock model -usually- gets it to you faster than a build-to-order.

Why do you believe that you should be able to find a machine significantly cheaper than the Apple Store? Apple gives the retailers between 3% and 5% profit margin at Apple store prices. Sometimes on models Apple has on promotion, the dealer makes nothing at all.

Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com

[ourmanflinty]

So how are peoples g5 dual 2.5 lc's performing? Any problems?
I heard from a UK post pro studio that they'd taken three, one had been as solid as a rock and the other two had been problematic..
Does anyone have any feedback on these monsters...

Did you take out extended applecare??
Have you added any options?? Are they too noisy??
Do you run them with the door off and drool over the innards??

A musician client of mine is looking for a soundproofing solution for his G5 but they are kinda pricey...

Will a digi HD3 accel user really notice the difference between a d2GB and a d2.5GB? Only at extremes I think but what do you say?

[thedomus]

I've been using mine 24/7 since the beginning of September - rock solid! (touch wood) Powerful, quiet and bootiful!
Shame Logic 7 is such a twat!

[PhilTrueman]

Well - been using mine since November. So far so good. But then again - I haven't really pushed it. Messed about with Motion today - had the fans going on and off - but I've yet to see what it's like with Audio work. I've got an order in for LogicPro 7 - but quite a lot of MacMusic folks are scaring me on how crappy it is.

Does anyone have anything good to say about LogicPro 7?

I've got two video jobs coming up using FinalCutPro and Soundtrack - I'll let you know better after that.

To answer ourmanflinty - the G5 2 x 2.5Ghz is good so far. No - I didn't take out Applecare. Options are 2Gig RAM, extra 250Gig HD, M-Audio 1010LT. No, I don't run with the door off - I just worship it in situ and let it get on with its job. If I was in a professional studio - I would want some soundproofing - but it wouldn't need a lot, well - I don't think so.

Cheers guys - and thanks for all the info

PT

[ourmanflinty]

So what's wrong with it, Logic 7? I've only come across problems with third party AU's, I better hunt through the forums...

This post has been edited by ourmanflinty: Mon 20 Dec 2004, 14:33

[tsuliman]

Our company purchased about 85 of the 2.5 GHz G5s, and we only had a few problems. No more than any other shipment, PC or Mac, actually. We had only one that leaked glycol from the radiator, and no, it didn't eat a hole in the floor. Otherwise, the machines are stable, fast, and very quiet. They are used primarily with the Adobe suite of products, as well as some video editing.

Personally, mine is running very well, and I am beginning to use Logic after using ProTools LE for several years. I have both installed, and whilst I haven't been using Logic for long, my gut reaction is that it is best suited for MIDI-centric projects. It is not terribly intuitive. It does work well with my Digi002. The beauty of it is the plug-ins that come standard, especially the instruments. It is an amazing value when you look at all you get. The Space Designer and samplers are worth the price of admission. The way I would like to work is to use PT for recording acoustically, and use Logic for mixing and digital instruments, but it isn't so easy to get your files from PT to Logic. Digidesign wants you to buy DigiTranslator for $500 so that you can make AAF files, but that seems a bit steep. Overall, though, I haven't found any problems with Logic other than the learning curve.