23, 24 or 30"?

[G5Unit]

Now that I have a steady flow of money i caould afford to buy a Dell 2405fpw monitor in about 2 months. I could also afford the 23inch probably by the end of the year. But I have a Power mac single 1.8ghz with an x800xt which can handle the 30 inch. With 1.25gb of ram would my Powermac Be able to play halo really good on it? I would be able to afford the 30inch in about 8 months if there are no price drops. Gaming and Movie/phto editing is what I use the computer for mainly.

 

[edesignuk]

I don't think anything could play anything smooth at 2560x1600, and even if it could, it would be a waste of time anyway. IMO the 30" is for video/grpahic editors etc (or if you're just really rich and have that kind of money to throw around ).

I still see the Apple 23" as a bit of a ripoff. So in short, I'd get the Dell 24" and enjoy it!

 

[G5Unit]

OH and my birthday is also on the 20th of dec so I would be able to get it even sooner.

 

[mcarvin]

OH and my birthday is also on the 20th of dec so I would be able to get it even sooner.

Can't recommend the 2405 enough. I've been using it for about 2 months now and it makes all the difference. Being able to have one of my key Omni apps and another app of my choice side-by-side WITH a video playing in the corner is so worth it. And if you keep your eyes open for deals, you might get one cheaper than the $780 I paid for mine. I also plan to hook either the PS2 or Xbox into it.

/12-20-72. Rock on.

 

[FFTT]

Aw heck if you have that much to spend get 2 Dell 2405 FPW's

Then you can have picture in picture on one screen and picture BY picture
on the other or dedicate the second display to your game module and make all your friends drool!


Actually, go for the Dell 2405 and add a few GB's of RAM ( in pairs ) to your tower, then save up for a dual PowerMac transfer your X800 and your RAM
and you'll be rockin.

 

[excalibur313]

Does the 20" suffer from a lot of these problems you are talking about with the 23"?

 

[FFTT]

No the Apple 20" is fine!

No one is complaining about the 20"

It's a personal choice of design vs. price and features
between the Apple 20" and the Dell 24" for about $100 more.

 

[link92]

I don't think anything could play anything smooth at 2560x1600, and even if it could, it would be a waste of time anyway. IMO the 30" is for video/grpahic editors etc (or if you're just really rich and have that kind of money to throw around ).

Halo can be run at 1920x1200 to have usable graphics, and the only game I know of which that runs at 2560x1600 stabily is BZflag, get around 100fps on my 6800 Ultra DDL.

 

[excalibur313]

If you get apple care are you allowed to return a monitor (or even computer) within a few days for any reason you want? (ex if there was a dead pixel or two)

 

[FFTT]

You can buy Applecare any time within the original warranty period.

If you are just buying a display, you'll be covered by the 14 day
no questions return policy if you find defective pixels.

If you are buying a system, your Applecare policy will cover both
your CPU and your display as long as they are purchased together.

The Dell 2405 has a standard 3 year warranty, so that's another thing to consider.

 

[iGary]

Don't short change yourself.

If you can wait and afford it, get the thirty. Mine's coming end of this month.

 

[FFTT]

iGary, you're so spoiled !

G5 Unit is running a single processor 1.8 G5. ( a headless rev A iMac )
He's also had quality control issues that Apple is reluctant to repair.

I think he would be much better off going for the Dell 2405

then saving up to upgrade his CPU FIRST.

He might be able to grab a reduced price dual 2.3 after next week

and he's going to be so much happier in the long run.

He can transfer his X800 GPU to the better tower and have a fantastic system.

 

[BakedBeans]

if your card can handle the 20incher then then just go for it, i saw it, i fell in love with it and why i can justify one i will get it.

they are amazing.

but i have to say (regrettably) i agree with edesign on this one, 24 inch is good value and still pretty freakin big

 

[G5Unit]

iGary, you're so spoiled !

G5 Unit is running a single processor 1.8 G5. ( a headless rev A iMac )
He's also had quality control issues that Apple is reluctant to repair.

I think he would be much better off going for the Dell 2405

then saving up to upgrade his CPU FIRST.

He might be able to grab a reduced price dual 2.3 after next week

and he's going to be so much happier in the long run.

He can transfer his X800 GPU to the better tower and have a fantastic system.

Your saying I should sell my 1.8ghz g5 and buy a 2.3ghz next week. Then transfer all my upgrades to the new machine?

EDIT: What could I even get for my powermac. I dont have the box.
EDIT2: I have been having problems with my mac because of the bad logic board(problem with not sleeping for 2 hours then crashes on starting up quicktime or a game)

 

[1nsanity]

MAke yourself happy by getting a great product and saving money feature full monitor!!

Dell all the way!

I'll post pictures later!

 

[FFTT]

Your saying I should sell my 1.8ghz g5 and buy a 2.3ghz next week. Then transfer all my upgrades to the new machine?

EDIT: What could I even get for my powermac. I dont have the box.
EDIT2: I have been having problems with my mac because of the bad logic board(problem with not sleeping for 2 hours then crashes on starting up quicktime or a game)

I read that in your other post and though maybe it's best to move on to a better machine.

Apple should replace your logic board, but I know they've been evasive.

If it is still under warranty I'd ship it back to them demanding that they fix it or give you credit towards a 2.3 if that's doable. Not sure

Either way you're going to be much happier with a dual 2.3

 

[G5Unit]

Thanks FFTT. As a kid it's hard to convince my parents of anything. When I ask them they will say,"That computer cost us 1500 dollars!" I talked to my dad and he might call them up and negotiate with them. I usually call up apple and people but we are more likely to get what we want if an adult is on the phone.

 

[dollystereo]

Get an apple display, they have a better color calibration, and realitiy color.
They rocks, any model.
I have a dual VP191b viewsonic, and was a bad move, I was a fool, for that price I could afford the 23"ACD.

 

[FFTT]

Your single 1.8 G5 tower has a known logic board issue and Apple SHOULD repair it under warranty period.

They've already extended a recall for the 1.8 GHz Rev A iMacs because of
a bad batch of capacitors on those midplane boards.

Apple builds great products for the most part, but sometimes 3rd party suppliers cause these kinds of headaches.

If Apple won't repair it, then it's probably best for you to cut your losses
and sell it on eBay for whatever you can get.

Your X800 GPU should have no problem transferring into a dual 2.3
I'm not sure about your RAM, but the charts at OWC and Crucial
should give you that information.

I would get the CPU issue taken care of as a first priority then
work on a display.

Displays will continue to drop in price and improve, so there's no hurry.

If the G5 update Rumors are accurate, you could see a very favorable price drop on the existing dual 2.3 GHz models.

The best situation would be if your dad can talk Apple into accepting a return on your 1.8 providing that you are paying the difference for
a 2.3 even if it's a refurb.

Give it a shot anyways.

Good luck

 

[G5Unit]

Your single 1.8 G5 tower has a known logic board issue and Apple SHOULD repair it under warranty period.

They've already extended a recall for the 1.8 GHz Rev A iMacs because of
a bad batch of capacitors on those midplane boards.

Apple builds great products for the most part, but sometimes 3rd party suppliers cause these kinds of headaches.

If Apple won't repair it, then it's probably best for you to cut your losses
and sell it on eBay for whatever you can get.

Your X800 GPU should have no problem transferring into a dual 2.3
I'm not sure about your RAM, but the charts at OWC and Crucial
should give you that information.

I would get the CPU issue taken care of as a first priority then
work on a display.

Displays will continue to drop in price and improve, so there's no hurry.

If the G5 update Rumors are accurate, you could see a very favorable price drop on the existing dual 2.3 GHz models.

The best situation would be if your dad can talk Apple into accepting a return on your 1.8 providing that you are paying the difference for
a 2.3 even if it's a refurb.

Give it a shot anyways.

Good luck

My dad just left for an 11 day trip to Europe for Motorola. So I will have to wait a little before any of this takes action. Yeh I have a job, I will sell my monitor, I will sell my gamecube, and I have a bunch of other little things I could sell. I KUST NEED BUYERS! Does anyone know how big of a difference it would make if I got a 2.3ghz? And won't the old ones that arn't duel core be a lot slower then the new ones on tuesday?

 

[FFTT]

I'd wait till next week to see what the real story is.

In the meantime, hopefully you've kept records of your contacts with
Apple tech support, because you may need them to validate the original
date of your warranty claim.

Dual core processors could be fantastic for performance gains, but
they are still bleeding edge technology with no proven track record.

The 2.3 chips have gone through the gauntlet in Apple's Xserves,
so they're quite solid.

Either of these would be a vast improvement over what you have now.

 

[tuartboy]

I'd wait till next week to see what the real story is.

In the meantime, hopefully you've kept records of your contacts with
Apple tech support, because you may need them to validate the original
date of your warranty claim.

Dual core processors could be fantastic for performance gains, but
they are still bleeding edge technology with no proven track record.

The 2.3 chips have gone through the gauntlet in Apple's Xserves,
so they're quite solid.

Either of these would be a vast improvement over what you have now.

He's dishing solid advice. Take heed.

The real question: what do you need? It may not be wise to spend so much money on something you ultimately do not need. If you do not need a better computer, replace the logic board and be done with it.

Really think about it. I use an "underpowered" G4 and am rather content with it because I know I do not often need the extra cycles...

 

[G5Unit]

I am an 8th grader who does movie editing, photoshop, internet, itunes, typing, gaming, and im ing. I think it would be a good computer for me.

 

[FFTT]

In reality a new 2.0 G5 iMac G5 20" would handle your current usage
but I just don't think you'll really be content with an AIO and you already own a sweet X800 GPU.

What sent up the red flags for me is that you were considering spending between $800 and $2400 on a new high end display while your single processor 1.8 tower was still having problems.

If Apple is willing to repair your tower under warranty, then you could
just keep it and hold out for a while till you see what develops.

Unfortunately,
The replacement logic board would probably come from original, reserve discontinued, stock meaning it could also fail eventually but then you'll be out of warranty.

This is why I'm recommending that you cut your losses and move on.

 

[Euan]

between the Apple 20" and the Dell 24" for about $100 more.

Totally agree. Depends how much you like the Apple screens