I recently got a good deal on a 20" iMac G5 2.1GHz with SuperDrive (with free applecare).
Is there any difference between this and the Dual 2GHz PowerPC G5 tower?

Is this iMac powerful enough to bust out with crazy animation, music and graphic design?
Any help is very appreciated---thanks!

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Big difference, the towers will have two G5 CPUs or a dual core G5, that's like having two CPUs on one chip. the can hold more RAM, room for multiple internal hard drives, the ability to drive two monitors. It's a more powerfull machine than the iMac G5.

It is more powerfull than my current machines and I have now problems getting 32-48 track sessions with my Powerbook.

But I compare the price to the current Macintel iMac models, if the difference is just a coulple hundred dollors the Core Duo imac is three to four times more powerful.

Even the Core Duo mini is more powerful than the G5 iMac.

OK-- thank you for the reply. The poor iMac is still in it's box. Never opened. Maybe it's a sign that I should return it? We'll see. Price is a big issue. Also, the new Intel G5 might come out soon, so all of this is VERY confusing! Thanks for clearing it up a bit tho.

The Intel iMac can also drive a second monitor, should you want to. Core Duo chips = dual processor power. 250Gb hard drive in the 20-inch model (160 in the 17): get an external drive for audio and you're all set.

Saying that, pro app support is still patchy for the Intel Macs.

All things considered, I'd get a G5 quad tower over any macIntel machine -- at least for the next 2 years. First generation is buggy. I had the worked for Apple, and had the opportunity to play with the machines all the time. I also witnessed a few people with a few issues. The internet is a powerful tool to acquire information on the current reliability status and integration of the new iMac. My experience with the quad: miraculous. Stable, lightening quick, 4GB ram and something that should be REALLY a consideration for musicians in a home studio: QUIET.
Make sure to buy Applecare -- it will cover the monitor as well: which is very, VERY important. I had the fortune of working in a Flagship. I can share any information on product knowledge, but not about the company -- Apple was an outstanding company to work with. Any qustions, email me directly.

http://www.fishboisfo.com

I dunno...I have 2 iMac G5s (identitical twins)! In fact I just bought the second one about 3 weeks ago (Apple refurb). It's the best computer I have ever owned (I've been using Macs since 1985). I actually have a lot of 3rd party audio plugins that have not been updated to work on Intel, hence the decision to stick with the G5 architecture instead of intel. If you need to do Photoshop, Adobe has announced that it won't be Intel native until next major revision (next year!).

Animation? Depends on what software you are using and it's availablility on intel, and how soon you need to do work if it's not intel native yet. I would say, unpack that baby and see what you think! Just make sure you have at least a gig (GB) of RAM. I also find the 20" screen plenty big for most work.

For reference, I have been an art director for 15 years, do a lot of work in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver and illustration work using Strata when the need arrises for 3D work. Also, I am running Logic Express with a lot of 3rd party AU instruments and effects and it runs everything beautifully. Hope this info helps.

Here you go these benchmarks were posted yesterday.
http://macspeedzone.com/html/hardware/mach.../06/4_25a.shtml iMacG5 vs 1.83 GHz Macbook.( not the fastest model)

It appears that the current core duos beat the current pro-lineup except for the quads.

Wow-- i've been searching for information on the web for almost 2 weeks before i posted here and i like these postings better. It's very frustrating not knowing what you're getting into.
My wife has an iMac G5 20" and so far it's really cool for multi-track music and graphic design, which is why I bought one of my own. But something is stopping me from opening it up. Maybe i need to hear someone say "yeah, the iMac G5 is great for music and graphic design" And as far as animation, i'm just learning 3D animation using 3D studio max and also studying maya. so i don't know what direction i should be heading as far as what type of system to keep. all the info posted here is cool tho-- thanks. keep posting if you'd like--

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Hello USA mac music users,
I'm French and this morning the thread was very helpful, getting some knowledge about the new intel macs.
Fishboysfo recommend the apple care.I'll consider it in spite of budget questions.
I'm using macs since the apple II in 1980.
I'm working nowadays with an applebook G4 1.25Ghz, 3 est firewire HD (250, 200, 200 Gbytes
DP F4.6, Logic 7.1 VSL library and new tool (very impressive). I'm quite happy with the aluminium G4 and i'm thinking about the powerbook pro or Imac intel....to tell the truth I was surprised that apple get rid of the risk chips seems that G5 double etc is a very powerful and reliable machine.

I have to stay "nomad" and I'm waiting the updates for making a decision. Is Apple thinking stoping all production with the power pc chips??

I think it's a bit tiring and expensive to change hardware so often
an e-mail adress home as the macmusic adress is at work:
jbucchi@libertysurf.fr or jbucchi2@aliceadsl.fr

Regards from Paris

I suspect that they will not make any more PPC after this summer, if not sooner.

The reason for the change, is that IBM has yet to break the 3GHz barrier, and the Intel P4 has been there for over a year. If you can't beat them join them.

Anything you buy now at this very second is obselete so what's your point?


Just enjoy whatever you have I say.