G5 or Intel to replace old Sawtooth G4?

[ekman]

So my dilemma is similar to others', I guess. I'm looking to replace a 5+ year old 400 MHz Sawtooth G4 and am interested in what I should expect in terms of Rosetta apps' performance on an Intel iMac relative to my ancient machine.

I'm tempted to pick up a G5 iMac or PowerMac at a bargain price, and an Intel Mac of some sort in another couple of years. The CFO of my household probably won't approve another computer any sooner than that... :)

But of course I'm tempted just to bite the bullet and make the jump now. I run the usual stuff on my G4, Photoshop, Nikon Capture, Microsoft Office, and some games like MOH, SC4K, etc. Most of the games don't do well on the G4, so I'd be interested in hearing if anyone thinks they'd do better on an Intel Mac, even under Rosetta.

My suspicion is that my G4 is so old and slow that everything will be sufficiently speedier even under Rosetta that I shouldn't let that be the factor that keeps me from getting an Intel box. But I'd like to hear others' experiences.

Thanks in advance.

[scrouds]

Welcome to AppleNova!

Firstly, the G5s of the world aren't being sold at bargain prices, but at their full retail.

The other major thing is that (someone correct me if i'm wrong) Rosetta can't use the graphics hardware to run games. So you might be missing out on the favourite games.

[Kit Fisto]

If you get a 1.6 or 1.8 G5 on ebay you will see a significant performance increase, but be able to continue to use your current software. Then, you can switch to Intel Macs at your convenience once all the transition problems are over.

[ekman]

Yeah, by "bargain" I mean a G5 iMac from the Apple refurb store or from Amazon, which is discounting the G5 iMacs pretty heavily right now.

[Kit Fisto]

So, by the fact that you are leaning towards an iMac, I take it that you do not have a decent LCD that you are using with your G4 Tower? If you are still using a CRT, yes, an iMac is a good way to go.

edit: ah, I just looked at the price on amazon. $1500 for a 20" at 2.1 G. Yes.

[ekman]

Yes, I'm still using a CRT with the G4. My grand plan is to get an iMac (G5 or Intel) this year, give the kids the G4 and in a year or two replace the iMac with an Intel Powermac, giving the iMac to the kids.

All pending approval from the household CFO, of course. I'm leaning toward the G5 iMac just because of the price, but the geek in me is shouting to get the Intel box (either iMac or notebook).

So that's the dilemma.

[Kit Fisto]

If you get an Intel based iMac, you may want 2 Gig of RAM to run your programs. Read some of the reviews about how Rosetta performs and they will mention that everything needs double RAM.
Nice talking with you.

[WMD]

How about upgrading your current CPU? You can get dual 1.8GHz G4s for the Sawtooth for $600, and a single 1.8 for $400.

http://www.sonnettech.com/product/encore_st_duet.html

[defaultmike]

I'd go with the iMac Core Duo. It'll be faster than the G4 even when using emulated apps, also, by the beginning of next year they'll be universal binaries, and then, it'll be like getting a new computer.