iMac G5

lonemale · Post by **lonemale** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 3:04 am

I am looking at getting a new Mac, and was thinking of a new Powerbook - but these new iMac G5's look like a pretty good bang for the buck....

What are people's opinions on these machines? In relation to running Live and in general?

Are there limitations that I may be missing? Can the aluminum stand be removed and carried to gigs?

(I am set on Mac, so please no "buy a PC" replies neccessary...)

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 3:17 am

Well the pro's and cons are obvious.

pros:
-cheap,
-fast,
-Live only uses 1 cpu for audio engine, so if you are buying with Live in mind, it is perhaps a better buy than a PowerMac.
-Its 'kind of' portable, for not being a laptop and all.
-2ghz G5 is great for Live
-fast HD with lots of bandwidth in SATA.
-extra ram is cheaper for iMac than for laptops

cons:
-Its not as portable as a Powerbook or iBook
-Its not as portable as a Powerbook or iBook
-Can't easily bust it out in an Airport or Lobby
-No Battery
-No Touchpad (i love the PB's touch pad and low profile kb)

Pretty simple i'd say.
If you don't mind lugging it, get it!
That said, if only Powerbooks had a 2ghz G5 or even G4

You can be pretty sure that the MacIntels next year will hit the performance mark. So if you can live with an iBook or Powerbook G4 in the meantime and tough it out till the MacIntels show up, Life (Live) will be grand in less than 12 months.

I'm content with a G4 1.5ghz till the MacIntels show up.
Freeze makes having an underpowered machine less of a pain, and i've owned an AMD64-3700, so i know what its like to have alot of power that you never use.

Phree · Post by **Phree** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 8:15 am

I actually tried not one but two iMac 17" G5s in February and would NOT recommend it for mobile use. However, you can cart it around like anything else as long as you get a case/carrier for it.

I did not like the internal fan being extremely noisey-poor design IMO. I also didn't like opening up the unit to install memory, although I did. The back cover was a bear a couple of times getting it aligned to screw it back in place. I ended up returning both iMacs solely for the fan issue and sluggishness even with 1GB of RAM. I bought a PM dual G5 but it's for home use though.

For mobile use, I suggest the fatest iBook you can afford or better, the fastest Power Book you can afford. I especially recommend the PB for long use due to it having improved screen clarity over the iBooks. On whatever you buy though, RAM is your friend, so install as much as you can afford.

I'm looking to snag a deal on a PB myself within the next 6 mos. If you want to find legit deals on iBs and PBs now without the hassles of auctions, check them out on Expercom.com.

PS

wavejumper · Post by **wavejumper** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 12:07 pm

got the 20" rev b. it's a good desktop. before i had a 1ghz powerbook. The powerbook was to all extent and purposes dead silent. the Imac is certainly a noisier machine, the fans have been redesigned and the noise is manageable but there. If you have a chance to listen to one running a live demo do so. Having said that I don't notice the noise anymore, in fact i find the buzzing off the motu 828mk2 a lot more noticeable and irritating.

A problem i had was that using an esi USB waveterminal usb soundcard I'd hear a high pitched noise being fed to the speakers. The same happened using an m-audio 410 connected directly to the speakers(tannoy reveal active). It eventually was gone when i started using the motu. in fact the motu killed any noise, buzzing, hums i noticed with the other 2 soundcards.

other than that it works fine and having a 20" monitor is nice.

Oh, and try to lift one if you can. You'll soon realise these are not portable machines.

subterFUSE · Post by **subterFUSE** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 1:09 pm

If you're using a computer and running it into an audio system while the plugged in to Mains power... you're about 99% certain to get some buzz.

There is a simple solution.

Ground Loop Isolator. $20

Anyone using Ableton in a live setting should always keep one of these things in their bag at all times. I really think it should be standard issue with Ableton sotware. Just incude it in the box with the manual and stickers.

plainclothes · Post by **plainclothes** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 4:50 pm

my AKG 171s do well enough to eliminate the fan noises, but i would not consider using my iMac to gig.

that said, my 17 " 2 ghz rev B, maxed out with 2 gb of RAM, is a very happy home for Live, especially after using a TiBook (768/1 GB) for the past few years.it will certainly stand in well until the macintels arrive and it should have pretty good resale value.

also, reaktor is finally a happy plug-in, for those of us apple fools who missed adamjay's good advice to the contrary

CWoodOne · Post by **CWoodOne** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 8:21 pm

If you use a lot of plugins, I'd definitely recommend one of the powermac double processor boxes. Live crashes a LOT, even with frozen tracks of VI's on my 1.8 1 gig ram, 2 external firewire drive iMac....

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 8:26 pm

plainclothes wrote:

also, reaktor is finally a happy plug-in, for those of us apple fools who missed adamjay's good advice to the contrary

huh?

confused...

plainclothes · Post by **plainclothes** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 9:01 pm

hey adam,

i no longer remember the thread, but i thought the gist of it was that you are generally opposed, or maybe vehemently opposed, to anyone bothering to use
reaktor on a mac, mostly for the usual cpu hogger bloatware issues.

read another of your posts about using mostly operator instead, and i agree there as well. thanks again...

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 9:09 pm

plainclothes wrote:hey adam,

i no longer remember the thread, but i thought the gist of it was that you are generally opposed, or maybe vehemently opposed, to anyone bothering to use
reaktor on a mac, mostly for the usual cpu hogger bloatware issues.

read another of your posts about using mostly operator instead, and i agree there as well. thanks again...

ah, thanks for clarifying.

Well v.4 on a Mac, absolutely... I would only use it in Standalone mode to avoid the countless crashes. And even in standalone i would get regular crashes.
Reaktor 5 is much better on a Mac, even when loading in version 4 ensembles.

I think Reaktor is conceptually one of the best if not the best plug-ins available. But i think NI found it increasingly difficult to harness all that Reaktor is into something stable on both platforms.
I've had great experiences with Kontakt 2 and Vokator, so i'm not going to be one to flame NI like alot of other folks do. If my only experience with NI products was Reaktor 4 or Sessions, then yes i would be no NI fan at all.
Reaktor is just such a huge under-taking for them and it always has been. With version 5 though, i think we are finally seeing that such a complex and radical plug-in can finally be stable and somewhat effecient.

And in all fairness, complexity is cool, and can certainly be inspiring when you are in a rutt. I've made some of my best music with Reaktor. and my experiences with Reaktor went on to inspire me making other music that i was proud of with other synths and effects.
But Operator and Automat are my workhorses, no doubt.

Ricka · Post by **Ricka** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 6:54 pm

Just been reading this (obviously) Ok then, I've got a G5 iMac (the big one!!) and got that humming thing with a Firewire Audiophile, not bothered though - it's tons better than the PC I had. This is my first Mac and I wouldn't use owt else. Loving it, Richard C.

mark h · Post by **mark h** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 7:18 pm

my housemate runs Live and Grid simultaniously on a 20" G5 iMac, its a bitch to get to shows, but its certainly got power enough. i still cant get my head around someone DJing and VJing at the same time on the same computer, even when i'm watching him do it

need a big lump of ram for that mind you.

subterFUSE · Post by **subterFUSE** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 8:40 pm

Ricka wrote:Just been reading this (obviously) Ok then, I've got a G5 iMac (the big one!!) and got that humming thing with a Firewire Audiophile, not bothered though - it's tons better than the PC I had. This is my first Mac and I wouldn't use owt else. Loving it, Richard C.

Just get a ground loop isolator. It will cure the hum noise.

polyslax · Post by **polyslax** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 1:26 am

Pro: It kills my former G4 400 Sawtooth, beautiful, minimal, fast for most things. Old Sawtooth is still going strong, just not for music much any more.

Con: Sure there's a bit of fan noise, but not obtrusive for me. It's not a big boy dualie aluminium tower of power!

p.s. I don't gig with it, but they do have bags for such.

Machinesworking · Post by **Machinesworking** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 4:28 am

mark h wrote:my housemate runs Live and Grid simultaniously on a 20" G5 iMac, its a bitch to get to shows, but its certainly got power enough. i still cant get my head around someone DJing and VJing at the same time on the same computer, even when i'm watching him do it

need a big lump of ram for that mind you.

Oh god, Grid2 is only 75$! and exactly what I wanted.

iMac G5 - Pros + Cons?

iMac G5 - Pros + Cons?