which is better Pentium 4 2GHz or iMac G4 1GHz

jaguero · #1 22nd February 2006, 02:05 AM

Dear Forum

I am confronted with the choice of a
Dell GX260 with a
Pentium 4 2GHz processor and
512 MB of memory or a

iMac G4
Processor: 1GHz
Memory: 1 GB

Which one of these machines will perform better using FC4. It will be use mainly for office tasks but also some heavy-duty statistical tasks and maybe some Geographic Information Systems Tasks.

Now take into consideration that I am running FC4 on a Dell Inspiron Laptop and have some experience with linux on PCs but zero experience with Macs. In fact I have use Macs just a bunch of times (OSX).

nick.stumpos · #2 22nd February 2006, 02:24 AM

I don't think there is any linux support for efi yet so i dunno if the intel mac is a good idea. I could be wrong, I know redhat said it was a goal of theirs to get it to boot but i dont think they have succeded yet

***Firewing1*** · #3 22nd February 2006, 02:28 AM

G4 isn't intel-mac... I'd go intel, though, as more packages are availible for the i386 arc...
Firewing1

nick.stumpos · #4 22nd February 2006, 02:29 AM

nice call sorry i am tired and read it wrong

Jman · #5 22nd February 2006, 03:10 AM

Sounds like you need some specalized software, and will need to evaluate what platforms it will run on, Mac, Linux, or Windows, and their recommended system requirements.

jaguero · #6 22nd February 2006, 01:51 PM

Now, if I am right the G4 is a supported platform for FC4 so I will get most packages that are included in the FC4 (or FC5 soon I hope). Then if I need anything else I can compile it myself. I know sometimes this is a hassle but I have done it in my PC for those specialized software.
My question is more about performance; the Mac has “theoretically” less power (1GHz vrs 2GHz) but twice the ram. I Think I need both good CPU performance and the most memory I can get so in these circumstances, which computer do you think is better? Now if I add 512mb to the PC your opinion will be the same?

yur1022 · #7 22nd February 2006, 07:23 PM

Knowing that FC4 will be the OS, I would definitely go with Dell GX260, assuming that all other components (you did not mention) are identical or similar between Dell GX260 and Mac iG4.

With Dell, you will see a lot more people running FC4 in same or similar platform (who will be of great help if you need), many more packages already-compiled and tested, and much more certain future (in that future FC or linux variants will very likely run in Dell).

The performance difference of 2GHz P6 with .5G mem and 1GHz G4 with 1G mem will not be much significant. But, you can easily upgrade Dell's mem to 1G, but upgrading G4 to 2GHz processor is not feasible/practical. With mem upgrade (which in fact does not cost much either), Dell should perform better (at least noticeably, if not very much) than iMac.

Well, iMac looks cute, doesn't it. If it matters, grab it. It is a very decent machine. If the "look" is not one of main concerns, I would go with Dell.

yur

***Firewing1*** · #8 22nd February 2006, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yur1022

Knowing that FC4 will be the OS, I would definitely go with Dell GX260, assuming that all other components (you did not mention) are identical or similar between Dell GX260 and Mac iG4.
With Dell, you will see a lot more people running FC4 in same or similar platform (who will be of great help if you need), many more packages already-compiled and tested, and much more certain future (in that future FC or linux variants will very likely run in Dell).
The performance difference of 2GHz P6 with .5G mem and 1GHz G4 with 1G mem will not be much significant. But, you can easily upgrade Dell's mem to 1G, but upgrading G4 to 2GHz processor is not feasible/practical. With mem upgrade (which in fact does not cost much either), Dell should perform better (at least noticeably, if not very much) than iMac.
Well, iMac looks cute, doesn't it. If it matters, grab it. It is a very decent machine. If the "look" is not one of main concerns, I would go with Dell.
yur

Couldn't have said it better...
Firewing1

taurus · #9 22nd February 2006, 11:45 PM

I also suggest the Dell since we are all running Dell here at work... I have FC5Test2 currently running on brand spankin new Dell Optiplex GX620.

Lt_Anton · #10 23rd February 2006, 01:12 AM

If I had to pick one of those machines I would definately go with Dell. As has been said previously, more people are running on a Dell, and there are more pre-compiled packages out there. Not to mention the cost difference between the two. But that is just me