iMac 800 or PowerMac 800???

J

Jasoco

Video Gamer/Collector
Well, I was sold on the iMac 800 up until now. Apple has now put SuperDrive as an option on the low end PowerMac.

Now, my question to you is, Besides the lack of screen and speakers on the Low End PowerMac 800, is there any other reason to not go for the PowerMac 800 instead of the iMac 800?

I was reading my MacWorld mag and they said the 800MHz processor in the iMac isn't as fast as the Desktop Tower versions.

Now, I can either spend $1899 + Tax for an iMac or $1799 + Tax for the PowerMac. That's the $1599 PowerMac + $200 SuperDrive Upgrade.

Is there any benefit to the iMac anymore? Sure, it looks cool, but I originally wanted upgradability.

Like a bigger monitor. But now that Apple went and did something I wasn't expecting, I am undecided again!

With Apple, you never know what will happen!
 
It depends on what you want to do. If you want to use a variety of monitors at high resolutions, you need a tower. If you want to add expansion/pci/video cards and internal drives, you need a tower. If you want to do Final Cut Pro, you need a tower.

If you want to do casual internet surfing, email, iMovie editing, and some office/photoshop/iphoto, then an iMac is fine.
 
Remember, though, if you don't have a screen or speakers, you need to add that to the price. And make sure that you have all the right connectors to connect them to the PowerMac, or you'll be spending more for converters.

Also, I'd just like to point out that you probably won't get a monitor as adjustable as the iMac's. That's one downfall of going with the PowerMac, and you also won't waste a lot of desk space with the iMac.
 
Also.

Think screen resolution

iMac's 1024x768 is a nightmere for working with palette heavy apps like all those today's graphic programs.
 
iMac:
Smaller
Cheaper
Cooler looking
More pre-installed programs
More adjustable


Tower
Faster (bus)
More expandable
Bigger, higher res monitor available
Multiple drives
Better graphic card
 
If you want a machine which you want to keep for a while, get a PowerMac. You can replace the graphics card, add PCI cards (USB 2, bluetooth, etc), put 6 HDs and a second optical drive etc etc etc. It also has a 33% faster bus, faster HD and more L2 cache. In the future, you can put a dual 1 GHz G4 module in a tower, the iMac has no way of replacing the processor.
On the other side, if you can wait a little, I'd wait for MacWorld in July ;)
 
is the PM G4 800 powerful enough to 3D play games like Medal of Honor: Allied Assault or RTCW? (using GeForce4 Ti)

what I mean is that will the games run fast and smoothly if all the game settings were set at the highest?

I am still deciding if I should get the 933Mhz or the 800 Mhz system...anything to replace a UMAX system...:(
 
Well, in the past couple of months, I've changed my mind about fifty times. I still haven't decided.

I want to go Portable so I want a PowerBook. I'd get an iBook, but with rumors looming of an update soon. Ugh! What to do! PowerMac, iMac, PowerBook, iBook. They're all so cool! But I can't decide!

The only one I settled on is the iBook but I don't want to get one that will be out of date in a couple weeks or even days. Would Apple really surprise us with an iBook update so soon before MWNY?

Apple: The Most Unpredictable Company on Earth
 
Don't you just hate that! I was in the same boat. I wanted to Upgrade my Mac because I've been using my trusty iMac 333 for the last 2.5 years and its been a great machine, but I knew it was time to upgrade. It was a toss up between one of the new iMacs or the PowerMac 800. I thought long and hard:confused: . I knew I would pay less if I went with the iMac but I aslo thought at the same time that I would not be able to upgrade it in the future. Also the iMac has a 100 MHz Bus while the PM is 133 MHz. (Probably wouldn't notice a difference anyways)
I decided to go with the PowerMac 800 with a few extra modifications; instead the the 40 Gig HD, I got a 60 Gig and also replaced the CD-RW with the Combo Drive. It costed me an extra $1000 but thats only because I got the 15" Apple Display which is a wicked screen, I love it. I knew I made the write choice for myself, but can YOU?
Later guys
;)
 
I would get a Power Mac 800 MHz G4, but I am wondering can the cpu be easily upgradeable? since it is on a daughter card....in theory it should, but in the website everymac.com it says it is quite difficult to upgrade the cpu....unless I misunderstood what it meant...

I would wait for MWNY Expo for possible new or upgraded macs
 
I never really looked into that. It shouldn't be that hard to upgrade the processor, the daughter card is not hard wired onto the mother board.
 
so it is a little harder than ZIF? that is not too bad after all...if I get a PM 800 then I could always upgrade the cpu to dual 1.6 Ghz G4 or G5!!!

or something like that....
 
Yes, the G4 daughtercard is pretty easy to replace if you have some technical experience. Just be careful ;)
You would probably not be able to replace it with a G5, though, because it probably uses completely different architectures than the G4. I can§t know anything for sure, though, but if the G5 uses DDR RAM, it won't be compatible.
 
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