Purchase Advice (replacing dual G4; buy a dual G5 now or wait for Intel?)

[del-uks]

Hi there,

Since the Intel switch has been announced, I'm really not sure what to think about the current line of Apple products anymore...

Anyway, I'm a sound enginneer and I need more power to finish my current work. The Dual 1.25 G4 I'm using is getting a bit old now and I've been considering getting external DSP hardwares in the wait of Intel based Mac (or many other solutions, actually)... but today a local Apple dealer has made an offer with the last Dual 2.5 G5 PowerMac they got in stock for about $ 2'390.00 each.

I'm really tempted...

Let me know what you think...

[The Return of the 'nut]

that's not really a particularly outstanding deal. nothing to make it a "can't turn down" situation

New updated powermacs are likely coming within 2 months if you can wait. PowerPCs will likely be in PowerMacs for at least a year more so the intel switch really shouldn't affect you purchasing decision for a long time.

I'm not too familiar with sound engineering but I'm curious as to how the Dual 1.25 G4 can't fullfill your needs anymore. I know sound engineers who use much less powerful machines and get by pretty easily. What exactly are you doing and can you wait a couple months for better products/deals?

[del-uks]

Maybe I should precise that I live in Switzerland and the current price for a new 2 x 2.3 G5 PM is about $ 2'700.00 here.

I'm using Pro Tools LE with a DIGI 002 and I usually work in 96KHz / 24 bit, number of tracks depends on projects (max. 32) and I use a lot of CPU hungry plug-ins...

The current line of PowerMac has been here since april 27... do you really think they gonna update the line in 2 months? :confused:

[The Return of the 'nut]

Maybe I should precise that I live in Switzerland and the current price for a new 2 x 2.3 G5 PM is about $ 2'700.00 here.

I'm using Pro Tools LE with a DIGI 002 and I usually work in 96KHz / 24 bit, number of tracks depends on projects (max. 32) and I use a lot of CPU hungry plug-ins...

The current line of PowerMac has been here since april 27... do you really think they gonna update the line in 2 months? :confused:

general theory is that AppleExpo in Paris in September has a very high chance of seeing new PowerMacs will dual core G5s. Of course, it's just speculation but recent announcements by IBM show the processors are available and its just a matter of time before Apple uses them.

I didn't realize PowerMacs were that expensive overthere.

Despite that, I still think it would be wise to wait a bit if you can get by. If not, then by all means go for it. If it'll allow you to do your job better and more efficiently its a worthwhile investment no matter what

[Brad]

We have a whole forum dedicated to questions like this, appropriately titled Purchasing Advice (http://forums.applenova.com/forumdisplay.php?f=22)! I'm moving your thread there now. Be sure to browse other discussions there too, as surely someone else has had the same or similar questions at some point.