The new iMac G5

[Bifta]

Originally Posted by Damien

Using a mac REALLY does feel diffrenet

It'd need to feel like a pair of Mink underpants for that price/spec.

[dilli-theclaw]

Originally Posted by Bifta

It'd need to feel like a pair of Mink underpants for that price/spec.

What do Mink undies feel like

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by Bifta

Personally, if I had £1,650 to spend on a PC, I wouldn't waste it on a bit of junk like that, you get much more for your money with a 64bit based PC.

You would spend a fair bit of that on a 1440*900 17 in widescreen tft though.

the £1,350 imac is 20inch. Its actually i good price

Originally Posted by Bifta

Personally, if I had £1,650 to spend on a PC, I wouldn't waste it on a bit of junk like that, you get much more for your money with a 64bit based PC.

Junk? I'm sure you can make a case for saying your choice of PC is better than the new iMac, but I think 'junk' is more than a little strong. You may not prefer it, but to say it's completely useless is a little wide of the mark. Pardon me if I'm not meant to take you too literally, of course.

But insofar as you were replying to my comment that the price wasn't bad for a 64-bit machine: bearing in mind that the iMac is designed for Joe Average PC User, who just wants to use a computer and not worry about it or fiddle with it, can you get a much better deal on a 64-bit PC from the kind of outlet Joe Average frequents (PC World and similar), without any of the customising and PC building that some of the folks on this site enjoy as a hobby or do for a living? Bear in mind not just the restricted number of places you would buy such a machine but also build quality and brand image. Apple is not a budget brand. I did say 'not bad', not 'cheapest'.

[SMHarman]

This is starting to resemble the tail end of this thread from last week.
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/sh...3&page=1&pp=15

Originally Posted by Wayne A

Cant argue there

I think you can argue it very easily. As I keep saying, a lot of people on this forum come at it from the point of view of someone who acutally enjoys taking PCs to bits and rebuilding/enhancing them. The iMac is not aimed at these people.

I don't sit in my lounge resenting my TV because I can't open it up, take out the analogue tuner and replace it with a Freeview one. When I replace my TV, I won't go looking for all the components seperately and construct my own, even though I could if I wanted to. I suspect you wouldn't either. (The fact that the battery in your iPod isn't user replaceable didn't stop you buying one, either )

The iMac is a piece of consumer electronics, designed to do a specific job in as simple and elegant a way as possible, and it does it very well indeed. Its principal handicap is not the fact you can't upgrade it, it's that Microsoft has, for the time being, 'won' the OS war to such an extent that Mac OS is (quite unfairly) seen as something to be avoided by home users. (and, back to your iPod, the fact that its OS restricts the kinds of files you can play on it, and the desktop software you use to manage it, didn't stop you buying it).

Actually, bifta can you try can you find a pc that has the following for £1556? Go on try and match this set up

1.8GHz PowerPC G5 (64 Bit)
1GB DDR400 SDRAM
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra
64MB DDR video memory
160GB Serial ATA hard drive
Slot-load SuperDrive (dvd reader and burner)
Built in bluetooth and wireless
20inch widescreen TFT

and remember that this also has the great design, the size, the computer being inside the montior and of course MAC OSX and dont forget that the PowerPC 1.8 works faster than a normal 1.8ghz

[downquark1]

What are the noticable differences with a 64 bit processor?

Originally Posted by Chris T

I think you can argue it very easily. As I keep saying, a lot of people on this forum come at it from the point of view of someone who acutally enjoys taking PCs to bits and rebuilding/enhancing them. The iMac is not aimed at these people.

I don't sit in my lounge resenting my TV because I can't open it up, take out the analogue tuner and replace it with a Freeview one. When I replace my TV, I won't go looking for all the components seperately and construct my own, even though I could if I wanted to. I suspect you wouldn't either. (The fact that the battery in your iPod isn't user replaceable didn't stop you buying one, either )

The iMac is a piece of consumer electronics, designed to do a specific job in as simple and elegant a way as possible, and it does it very well indeed. Its principal handicap is not the fact you can't upgrade it, it's that Microsoft has, for the time being, 'won' the OS war to such an extent that Mac OS is (quite unfairly) seen as something to be avoided by home users. (and, back to your iPod, the fact that its OS restricts the kinds of files you can play on it, and the desktop software you use to manage it, didn't stop you buying it).

actually the POWER range is for professionals who wanna tinker with their com'puter. The iRange is for avaerge joes iPod, iLife, iBook etc etc

They are excellent quaility as well and have mac osx which is a great OS. Those who bush macs usuallly have no real understanding. I just dont like the imac design with the huge white border on the new one

Originally Posted by SMHarman

This is starting to resemble the tail end of this thread from last week.
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/sh...3&page=1&pp=15

Hmm ... prolly worth re-posting the article that was linked from the last post in that thread, which discusses the relative costs of Mac and PC:

http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/36120.html

This topic, of course, is about the new iMac, and more generally whether the iMac is A Good Thing. It was a bit of an off-topic diversion in a Win2k vs XP thread ...

Originally Posted by downquark1

What are the noticable differences with a 64 bit processor?

Not many, unless the app you're running is written to take advantage of all those extra bits. But if you take two machines, both 1.8GHz but one 32bit and one 64 bit, and run Photoshop on them both (I think PS has been optimised for 64 bit, someone shout if I'm wrong), the 64 bit machine will leave the 32 bit version eating dust, so to speak. Very noticeable indeed.

[KingPhoenix]

Originally Posted by Damien

Actually, bifta can you try can you find a pc that has the following for £1556? Go on try and match this set up

1.8GHz PowerPC G5 (64 Bit)
1GB DDR400 SDRAM
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra
64MB DDR video memory
160GB Serial ATA hard drive
Slot-load SuperDrive (dvd reader and burner)
Built in bluetooth and wireless
20inch widescreen TFT

and remember that this also has the great design, the size, the computer being inside the montior and of course MAC OSX and dont forget that the PowerPC 1.8 works faster than a normal 1.8ghz

Well the monitor is £605, so im pretty sure that the spec for price is beatable, i mean the monitor has got to be the most expensive part here, and still got £900 (or so) to spend!

Originally Posted by KingPhoenix

Well the monitor is £605, so im pretty sure that the spec for price is beatable, i mean the monitor has got to be the most expensive part here, and still got £900 (or so) to spend!

A good quality PC? including 64 bit 1.8 processor, 1gb ram, 160gb HD, Wireless and bluetooth, dvd burner and wireless keyboard and mouse?

Then factor in the quility of the stuff and also the fact that it is all in one slick montior? I think the mac is a good price

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by Damien

Actually, bifta can you try can you find a pc that has the following for £1556? Go on try and match this set up

[font=Geneva,Arial,Helvetica][size=1]1.8GHz PowerPC G5 (64 Bit)
1GB DDR400 SDRAM
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra
64MB DDR video memory
160GB Serial ATA hard drive
Slot-load SuperDrive (dvd reader and burner)
Built in bluetooth and wireless
20inch widescreen TFT

£150 AMD (Newcastle) Athlon 64bit 3200+ 754pin 512 L2cache OEM CPU
£65 Abit KV8 SKT 754 K8T800 SATA Gig LAN ATX Raid Sound OTES Retail Box
£120 Kingston 1gb 400MHz DDR Non-ECC CL3 (3-3-3) DIMM (Kit 2)
£12 Microsol Black Multimedia Wireless Keyboard And Mouse Combo
£670 Iiyama Prolite E511S-B 20.1ins TFT TCO99 Black
£42 XFX Geforce FX5200 128MB DDR AGP8x TV-Out Low Profile Retail Box
£72 Western Digital 160gb Serial ATA150 7200rpm 8mb Cache- OEM
£63 **Special Offer** Benq DW1Ebuyer USB2.0 High Speed Combo USB2.0 £20 Firewire PCI Card with 3xUSB Ports and 2xports IEEE 1394610 Dual 16x DVD-R/RW - Retail
£27 Belkin 802.11g Wireless PCI Adapter
£17 D-Link USB Bluetooth Adapter
£20 Casecom KG-828 400watt Silver ATX Case with USB and Audio
£99 Microsoft Windows Xp Pro With Sp2a OEM
£1377
This was a very quick and dirty, so probably missed things and the components may not work together blah blah but you might just about save £180 (this is priced on ebuyer). Also note this is not a widescreen display etc.
Makes it look pretty good value.