I have a Pro 2.4/4GB--while I love it it is a 13", I'm working from home a lot now and
it's small. I was considering just getting a display & keyboard but now considering used iMac, I'm seeing used 20" G5 1.8/1GB for $300ish; 2.16/2GB for $250.
For work am largely just online and MS Office, thoughts on an iMac of this vintage?
Or is it nearing end of its life ie something bad's likely to happen in the not too distant future....
Hi, my opinion is save your money and buy something newer, G5's I found were a problem and they (software OS limit) are also not supported if what I understand is true. Just waiting for the pro's to chime in and give the facts.
That's getting pretty long in the tooth. I think the Intel iMacs came out in early 2006, so a G5 is at least six years old and likely capped out at Mac 10.4. But I think it can still run Office 2008 and could last a few more years.
On the other hand, it could also die tomorrow. And the difference in the speed and usability between your new MBP and an aging iMac could be frustrating. Why not dedicate that $300 to a new keyboard and display and enjoy all the whiz-bang of your new MBP?
I wouldn't take a G5, or any other PowerPC, for free let alone pay for one. These are beyond Vintage, they are Obsolete. Apple doesn't make or supply parts for them anymore; when something happens, you have to look for used and refurb parts or component level repair. This week alone I saw 4 G5 iMacs with a variety of issues, including dead LCD, shot power supply and swollen capacitors (logic board).
A G5 will run 10.5.8, and that's as far as it can go.
You don't need to use an Apple Display with your MacBook Pro, you can use any external display. There's some nice displays out there (20-24") for $200-250 and you get all the benefits of your modern MBP. Also, for a nice clean solution, look at a Henge Dock.
__________________ Apple Certified Macintosh Technician (ACMT) / Support Professional (ACSP) MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012) 8GB RAM, 256GB Flash Storage Mac mini (Late 2012) 16GB RAM, Fusion Drive (128GB SSD/750GB 7200RPM) iPad mini 16GB, iPhone 4S 16GB
I'm just reinforcing the posts to avoid any G5 or PPC Mac.
If you're going used, then a mid-2007 iMac as a minimum and my 24" 2.4GHz 16/10 display hits the sweet spot for me and it can run every OS X from 10.4.10 to ML 10.8.x.
But I'm a bit confused here as your MBPro can do almost the same. Even the first 2.4GHz MBP models.
Hi, my opinion is save your money and buy something newer, G5's I found were a problem and they (software OS limit) are also not supported if what I understand is true. Just waiting for the pro's to chime in and give the facts.
Don't sell yourself short !
I've always thought of you as an ole pro!!!
Plus one for getting an external monitor. It's too much mental overhead (for me) to sync my work between two machines, so I opted for the thunderbolt display. You just grab your laptop and go whenever you need to be somewhere else.
If you don't need or care about thunderbolt, then there are a lot of very high quality PC displays that are dirt cheap out there.
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