powermac vs imac (intel)

[tannenhauser]

now that this boot camp thing came out i am seriously considering getting an intel mac.

my problem is that i cant decide between getting the current imac 20" or the upcoming intel powermac. the 20" imac seems like it is more than sufficient for the type of work i do (graphic design). but who is the intel powermac going to be for? the imacs 2mhz dual core processor, with 2 gigs of ram seems like it will last any graphic designer a good 4 years (ive been freelancing with my 17" 1gig/1mhz powerbook since it came out). will these intel powermacs be overkill unless youre doing video edits, 3d or audio stuff. 2 years ago i would definitly get a powermac when they were truly more powerful in a practical way over the imacs, but now it seems like ill be wasting money on computer power that i and many in my field dont need. what do you guys think, does my logic make sense.

[nato64]

doesn't this belong in purchasing advice?

[defaultmike]

Dude, I got my Rev A G5 PowerMac Dual 2GHz at launch. and it sorta sounded like overkill, and at the time, it was. But guess what, 3 years later, and it´s still overkill. And I foresee it lasting me a good 3 more years til I need (not that I won´t do it before) to get a new work computer.

In other words, if it´s purely for work, and not for consumer gadgets (i.e. Front Row et al.) go ahead and get a powermac.

[tannenhauser]

doesn't this belong in purchasing advice?

yeah i thought about posting it there... but i thought this was also speculation since im also questioning what type of market a new apple product will fall into.

sorry if i posted in wrong place.

[Windowsrookie]

well a 2mhz is way way way way better than a 1mhz. I mean my powerbook is only 1.5ghz :)

[namachtag]

neither is overkill..... esp if you apply graphic design to motion graphics... the intel has the benefit that you are on the new tech but the PMac is the overall choice

[Satchmo]

I'd seriously consider the iMac.

If you strictly use it for graphic design, I think a PowerMac Intel is overkill.
It's video card is more than enough for 2-D graphics work...so the PCI slots are not an issue.
You have a gorgeous built in 20" display with the possibility to add another monitor with it's mini-DVI port.

Most of all, the cost of the iMac in all likelihood is going to be half the price of any Intel based tower.:)

[World Leader Pretend]

The iMac. It will still look cool even 20 years from now.

If you have the $$$ though, you should probably wait for the PowerMac replacement.

Good Luck!

[Kusakun]

For me the best option is and is going to be the POWERMAC. But is only my oppinion. The imac is nice one but i wouldnt buy one.

But hey, listen!. It depends on your wallet and the use the mac is going to have.

[ZachPruckowski]

I'd say the Power Mac Intel, for a few reasons:
1) Conroe is going to be head and shoulders above Yonah, because Yonah is laptop chip at it's core. Conroe is going to beat FX-60s (the cheap PM will beat any X2 system at least).
2) Upgradeability. I'm facing this same purchasing decision, but with gaming as a factor as well as graphics work and programming. Buy the $2k Powermac, then upgrade RAM and/or GPU every once in a while.

My plan to get lowest PM w/ 1gig RAM, 250GB HDD, and a cheap monitor. I'm a student, so that could happen in just under $2k if I play it right. Now, that has to be my computer until I'm like 25 (I'm 19 now), but since it's upgradeable, I can add RAM or upgrade the GPU or monitor, spending maybe $100/150 a year