Advice on new Mac desktop

[subgenius]

I need a new mac desktop for my boss that will last 3-5 years, and I'm considering the following options:
1. New PowerMac G5 w/ 17" LCD
2. New iMac G5 w/ 17" LCD
3. New Mac Mini w/ 17" LCD

In this case, the primary concerns are:
1. the stability of the system/keeping it cool
2. value
3. cost of the monitor
4. ability to repair/upgrade if necessary

Here's what I have in mind right now as far as specs go:

CPU: 1.6GHz G5 or 1.42 G4 if Mac mini
Memory: 512 if it's a Mac mini or 1GB if the other two
HD: 80 or maybe 160 GB
Monitor: 17" LCD

I'd prefer not to make any hardware upgrades once he has the system, and I'd appreciate any advice people have. Thanks in advance.

 

[Yossairian]

What kind of computing will he be using it for ?

 

[subgenius]

He'll mostly be using Office apps, surfing the web, watching DVDs...nothing fancy comes to mind. The only reason I'm thinking of getting 1GB of RAM would be that it would probably create fewer hassles down the road (ie 2-3 years from now) as apps and OS X require more RAM to run fast.

 

[Yossairian]

Any of them should be good performance wise then. I would definately get 1gb of ram regardless. The Powermac is probibly going to be the most upgradeable / easily fixable, but it's cost/value is questionable. The Mini looks like the best bang for the buck system, but future upgradeability may not be as promising. The imac is probibly somewhere in the middle. Honestly, if he is going to keep it for awhile I would probibly shell for the Powermac as he will most likely get his $$ worth in the long run.

We still have 3-4 users here on 350-400 G3 B&W powermacs that are god... 3-4 years old now ? They get similar use, office apps, safari, lotus notes etc. I think all we have done to them was add memory, and upgrade to OSX.3. Not the fastest things in the building, but they are still getting the job done.

All IMO of course

 

[cerebusPu]

i vote got imac G5. they are only $1800 for the 20inch LCD version. and it looks REALLY nice.

 

[halfadder]

I think a 20" iMac is the way to go for those needs, just be sure to get 1 GB RAM right off the bat and you won't even have to bother opening it up.

If you're paranoid about long term reliability and reuse, then consider G5 tower + 20" monitor. The 2.5 GHz tower is even more quiet than the 2.0 GHz tower (due to liquid cooling) if that's important to you.

Have you considered waiting until the G5 PowerBooks come out? A 17" PowerBook G5 might fit the bill. It would be a good desktop (especially if you bought him a bluetooth mouse) and since it's only 1" thick, he could carry it in a briefcase if needbe.

 

[Wuzup101]

First, does he need a monitor or does he already have something nice. I might consider getting the 1.42gHz mini w/ the airport/bluetooth and a 1gb stick of kingmax ram. Total on that would be ~$1000 if you bought the ram from newegg. You could then add a 20" Dell wide screan and an apple bluetooth keyboard w/ a logitech mouse. If you got good deals from dell I'm guessing you can find that monitor for under 650.

 

[Commodus]

I'd actually go with the Mac mini in this case, but loaded up to the hilt (the 1.42 GHz model with 80 GB drive, 1 GB of RAM, Superdrive, and so on). For light tasks like Office, web browsing, and DVDs, you don't need the iMac or the PowerMac. What you do need is RAM and the future-proofing of DVD burning. Repair is also less of an issue, I think. You might not have as easy access to the hard drive as you might in a PowerMac, but if a more serious issue develops (the mainboard cuts out, for example), it's a lot easier to physically take the Mac mini in for service than it is either the iMac or PowerMac. It may be better than the iMac for your goal just because you don't have to take the whole system out of service just to fix a display issue.

 

[halfadder]

I'm going to have to go back to my original recommendation and add a rider:

If your boss doesn't need bucketloads of CPU power, than a Mini would be great. Just be sure to put a 1gb stick in there. The 1.42ghz model isn't much faster than the 1.25ghz model, both are limited by the G4's slow FSB.

If your boss wants plenty of power, then go G5. The performance difference between the 1.42ghz Mini and the 1.8ghz G5 tower is tremendous. Note that G5 in the iMac is slightly less beefy because the iMac uses a slower FSB and does not use dual channel ram by default (but it does support dual channel).

 

[subgenius]

My main concern with the mini is that it's new and therefore hasn't been extensively tested as to how it will hold up in the 3-4 year range. If I do go with the mini, I'm not sure I would soup it up to 1GB of RAM, since space is limited in there, and keeping that additional RAM cool poses a small concern, but I'm no expert when it comes to cooling.

I've posed a similar question to my supplier, and will be curious to see what they come up with for a solution. Thanks for everyone's input so far.

 

[win32asmguy]

The Mac mini runs its ram at PC2700, and not even at crazy fast cas latencies like PC Enthusiasts do. Cooling really isn't so much of an issue with it.

If the G4 Cube is any indication of how long Apple-made SFF systems will last, then the mini should last atleast 3-4 years. The only problem I have heard most people's cubes had is a blown out USB or firewire port, which if you get applecare with the system, that will all be covered.

I wouldn't recommend a super high resolution display with the mini though, I ran mine when I had it on my friends 23" (@1920x1200) and the UI runs extremely slow, even with the 1.42ghz g4 and 1GB ram. This could have been a GPU problem, since OSX is known to offload UI elements to the GPU, but atleast it ran much faster on the XGA lcd I owned myself. Just something to think about.