PowerMacs

[Thyrd]

Got a mate who was curious on what some of the mac fans on zgeek think.
He's investing in a powermac, however he cant decide on which one to purchase. Generally he buys a computer that will last many a year as opposed to the constant upgrading treadmill. The dual 2.0 isnt too bad, allows for the PCI-xpress graphics cards and has up to 4 gig of ram, however maybe its worth an extra grand for the dual 2.3 or even 2.7.
He games, does a bit o' programming and just other general uni stuff.
(Btw, he gets student discount on these so they arent as expensive as they normally are).
What do you all think?

-He isnt going with a PC however much you try for those that might try pushing him that way.

[rayjayjohnson]

if he games, the faster processor the better. it's the one point where the slower clock speeds of g5 processors lacks. ideally, the dual 2.7 with a cinema display!

[Davo_Dinkum]

Oh I lived on macs for the first 14 yrs of my life. Don't miss them at all.

We own one of the first models of Macs ever. Can't remember the exact model, will find out.

[Gruff Nutz]

Thyrd,

The dual 2Ghz model doesn't use PCI-X. Apple downgraded the mobo on the 2Ghz when the 2.7 came out.
Apple tend to do this (don't ask me why) but they will intentionally cripple the 'better value' computers to justify the high prices of the top-spec systems.

If PCI-X matters to you, go for the 2.3 at least, personally I don't think it's a big deal.

I'm typing this on an earlier gen dual 2Ghz, (before the crippling) and it is a nice system but horrendously over-priced for what it is. My advice to your friend: if you want a nice mac, be prepared to get sodomised by apple, especially if you live in Australia when the post-sale customer service SUCKS.

EDIT: I'd also avoid the apple LCD monitors. You pay a good 30% more than any other good brand for the same thing and apples 'tolerences' for acceptable faults in their LCD's are awful for the money you pay.

EDIT 2: I retract my previous statment about the Apple LCDs. The latest prices are actually quite resonable.

[rayjayjohnson]

will pci-x really matter that much?

and i can tell you why they cripple the 'better value' competitors - cause they're the new microsoft