What IS the DIFFERENCE between a G4 & a G5 PROCESSOR?

Mac-Mini 1.42 G4 -vs- iMac 1.6 G5

The differece is only 180mhz!?

What is the cpu speed equivalency of G5 compared to G4?
for ie, iMac 1.6 G5 = iMac 1.8 G4???

Im trying to figure which one to buy..

Mini Mac is less noisy, and from what I've read on other threads, concluding from test bench score has faster hdd performance even though contradictory to system spec made on iMac G5, and eMac coming in at the top. Strange!

Currently Im (almost) cheerfully running (mostly vsti's) Logic 5.5.1 on Windows XP Pro on AMDXP26000 (has a clock speed of 2.13GHz) 333FSB Gigabyte all in one motherboard, DDR333 512MB ram shared 16mb for video.
onboard AC97 sound with ASIO4ALL drivers (negating the need of a real card for its drivers), running close to solid but not sure what mac solid compares to pc solid.

I do not need to record any external audio, would the internal core audio give decent driver performance with vsti's?

Would a Mac Mini G4 1.42 with 512mb ram give similar performance to my setup?

Also, would a USB hub slow down the response of USB2 for when connecting BCF2000 and Evolution MK449C Midi Controller?

I need to make the switch to upgrade and run Logic7.. as I am sick of the "smart reset" bug.

G5 processors are 64bit, while the G4 is only 32bit. At the moment, this isn't much, but with the new OS due any time now, G5 computers will really come into their own (OSX 10.4 will be a true 64bit OS). But even at the moment, a G5 offers considerable advantages over a G4. The clock speed, even if only a little faster on paper, is much, much faster in the real world (it'll chew through most tasks with ease). It can also address much more RAM then a G4.

I'd say the mac mini looks like a tidy little machine, that should compare to your current rig. The iMac, however, will surpass your current setup and allow you to expand.

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A Very Bad Influence

Nicely Done Med!!!

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Can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear!

I think for the time beeing, clock to clock speed of G4's and G5's is about equivalent: my 2x2 Ghz G5 is exactly 10x faster than my 400Mhz G4 Powerbook in most applications. However, don't forget that the processor speed isn't everything. The iMac G5 has a faster system bus, a faster hard disk, and i guess faster memory than the mac mini, and all that counts.

To have a PPC (=mac) and x86 (=PC) equivalence, multiply the G4/5's speed by 1.5: the 1.42 Ghz mac mini should be about as fast as a 2.2 Ghz Pentium 4 or 2200 Athlon, the 1.6 Ghz G5 shoulf be in the 2.4-2.8 Ghz Pethium/Athlon range.

Don't forget, though, that the software optimization is the most important part, particularily if th mac software is optimized for Altivec. That's why the same plugins work far better in Logic than in Cubase on the mac, and also than on equivalent PC's.

If you only use virtual instruments, and don't need to record audio, you can very well dspense with a sound card and just use Mac Os X internal Core Audio. Latencies are excellent (=3ms), just as good as with an external sound card. This is one advantage of the Mac vs PC for audio. I have done live gigs just using an old powerbok wit a master keyboard, and plugging from the headphone port directly to the D/I box and the sound system, mainly using piano sounds, and Logis B3 and Rohdes emulations. The sound guys were mind blown: very powerful, pristine and warm sound, and no latency.

There've been a number of SOS tests on this, check the back issues. Certainly with Logic the G5 performs better clock for clock than the G4.

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(OSX 10.4 will be a true 64bit OS)

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AFAIK this isn't the case at all. Even if it was, until applications are written to be 64 bit aware the difference is marginal. The 64 bit thing is more about hype than performance right now. Certainly you can access a much larger address space with a 64 bit processor.

Quote belsha:

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I think for the time beeing, clock to clock speed of G4's and G5's is about equivalent: my 2x2 Ghz G5 is exactly 10x faster than my 400Mhz G4 Powerbook in most applications. However, don't forget that the processor speed isn't everything. The iMac G5 has a faster system bus, a faster hard disk, and i guess faster memory than the mac mini, and all that counts.

To have a PPC (=mac) and x86 (=PC) equivalence, multiply the G4/5's speed by 1.5: the 1.42 Ghz mac mini should be about as fast as a 2.2 Ghz Pentium 4 or 2200 Athlon, the 1.6 Ghz G5 shoulf be in the 2.4-2.8 Ghz Pethium/Athlon range.

Don't forget, though, that the software optimization is the most important part, particularily if th mac software is optimized for Altivec. That's why the same plugins work far better in Logic than in Cubase on the mac, and also than on equivalent PC's.

If you only use virtual instruments, and don't need to record audio, you can very well dspense with a sound card and just use Mac Os X internal Core Audio. Latencies are excellent (=3ms), just as good as with an external sound card. This is one advantage of the Mac vs PC for audio. I have done live gigs just using an old powerbok wit a master keyboard, and plugging from the headphone port directly to the D/I box and the sound system, mainly using piano sounds, and Logis B3 and Rohdes emulations. The sound guys were mind blown: very powerful, pristine and warm sound, and no latency.

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i love it when people make up stuff like 'yeah times your cpu by 1.5 the get the equal cpu speed'. bollocks. there is no way my 1.4ghz g4 is as speedy as a 2.1ghz pentium 4 when running logic pro and reason rewired, and a few soft synths.

if we're gonna make stupid generalisations, maybe times it by 1.2 or 1.3

according to my old Goldverb test on 5.51gold, it was 1.35x the clock speed.

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Chaas
cJ na

So could we say the G4 1.42 will clock at 1.9ghz?

According to a test bench the iMac HDD performance is not working to its 7200rpm spec!? What should I expect? 5200? 6200?

What would be the track count on a 4200rpm HDD?

Also, both on the iMac G5 & Mini G4 there is only 2 USB ports! And that would be used up by the keyboard & mouse leaving no room for my 2 usb controllers!
Im aware of USB hubs, Im just not sure if they will work like the ones on the Mac?

Would I loose any speed from a USB2 hub? Any drawbacks for using with dumb keyboards and automation mixers?

I've read that the standard Mac keyboard comes with 2 extra USB ports but there is no mention on the Apple website about this.
If yes, would these ports work better than a generic hub?

AFAIK, one port does for the keyboard and moose, leaving the other free.

The keyboard has two ports, and you plug the moose into one of them, leaving t'other free.

G

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Quote MrSleep:

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Currently Im (almost) cheerfully running (mostly vsti's) Logic 5.5.1 on Windows XP Pro on AMDXP26000 (has a clock speed of 2.13GHz) 333FSB Gigabyte all in one motherboard, DDR333 512MB ram shared 16mb for video.
onboard AC97 sound with ASIO4ALL drivers (negating the need of a real card for its drivers), running close to solid but not sure what mac solid compares to pc solid.

I do not need to record any external audio, would the internal core audio give decent driver performance with vsti's?

Would a Mac Mini G4 1.42 with 512mb ram give similar performance to my setup?

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I wouldn't have thought you'll get performance anywhere near what you get from this system with any iMac or Mac Mini.

If you are having any stability problems, try posting an explanation on the PC Forum and people will be able to help you there.

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http://www.jeremycorbett.co.uk

Quote Mahoobley:

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Quote MrSleep:

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Currently Im (almost) cheerfully running (mostly vsti's) Logic 5.5.1 on Windows XP Pro on AMDXP26000 (has a clock speed of 2.13GHz) 333FSB Gigabyte all in one motherboard, DDR333 512MB ram shared 16mb for video.
onboard AC97 sound with ASIO4ALL drivers (negating the need of a real card for its drivers), running close to solid but not sure what mac solid compares to pc solid.

I do not need to record any external audio, would the internal core audio give decent driver performance with vsti's?

Would a Mac Mini G4 1.42 with 512mb ram give similar performance to my setup?

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I wouldn't have thought you'll get performance anywhere near what you get from this system with any iMac or Mac Mini.

If you are having any stability problems, try posting an explanation on the PC Forum and people will be able to help you there.

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I've tried many forums and searched the web extensivly.
No one in the world can solve the problem that was introduced by emagic since v4.0 called "smart reset"

My only way out is to get a Mac and upgrade to Logic Pro 7.

A lot of the things I use to take for granted in Logic like being able to record vsti's, bring up new synths from a new channel without stopping the sequencer is a major thing for me that sonar or cubase cannot do.

Im sticking with Logic. and that sticker needs a Mac.

I'd say you could expect some pretty good track counts with tha Mac Mini's internal drive, and the iMac drive should surfice. Until six months ago, I'd record anything and everything to my PowerBook's internal drive (and this is an old 867Mhz Titanium). I was recording bands using ProTools, and would easily track 15 or more tracks before I even thought about it, and the machine wouldn't complain at all and have room to spare. The only reason it even occured to me to get an external drive was when I had to tell the band to pack up mid session because my 40GB drive was full!

The improvements of using an external drive are obvious now, but at the time I didn't even think about it, and just tracked everything I wanted and never thought about my drive speed. Mac Mini should easily out perform my PowerBook. I know the iMac wipes the floor with it.

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A Very Bad Influence

Thanks Med.

The Mac Mini looks like the best option for me.

I dont think I can handle the noise emanating from the iMac G5.., Everybody seems to complain about.

I wonder if it could be synced up to a pc?

Noise? iMac G5?

I have an iMac G5 that is pretty silent. Are you sure you're not misinterpreting complaints about G5 towers? Now, those things are noisy!

Any more feedback on the iMac noise? I will be doing classical recordings, as well as having it in the studio. I'm currently dithering a bit between an iMac or iBook.

G

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Quote Guy Johnson:

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AFAIK, one port does for the keyboard and moose, leaving the other free.

G

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I've been looking for an OSx compatible moose for some time now, how much did you pay for yours? Did you have any difficulties attaching the USB cable??

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Dual 500MHz G4, Mbox and a wish list.

I found some difficulty keeping the usb cable connected securely. The rear port was the most reliable.

However, I found the moose was just too large, and made a mess of my studio.

I think the salesman took me for a ride, said it was the real sh*t. No kidding.
But he has offered in exchange some dog's bollocks, though I have yet to find out what the interface is.


G

My girlfriend has an iMac 20" G5. She doesn't use it for music, but does do image editing & makes home movies with imovie, which is quite CPU intensive.
It's very quiet & I'm sure it would be fine for classical recording.
Geoff

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www.myspace.com/revox1

Thanks, Geoff.

Mind you, I'm going to wait until Tibbles, or whatever the next OSX release is called. Save me some cash, that way.

G

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Quote Ullanta:

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Noise? iMac G5?

I have an iMac G5 that is pretty silent. Are you sure you're not misinterpreting complaints about G5 towers? Now, those things are noisy!

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My Dual G5 (Rev 2) is almost silent. Even on a 10 hour mastering session yesterday, the fans didn't come on. My external firewire drive (no fan) is noisier than the G5!

Regards

Stephen

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Hmmm... Classical? That usually means location recording. Are you gonna lug the iMac around?

Quote Stephen Bennett:

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Quote Ullanta:

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Noise? iMac G5?

I have an iMac G5 that is pretty silent. Are you sure you're not misinterpreting complaints about G5 towers? Now, those things are noisy!

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My Dual G5 (Rev 2) is almost silent. Even on a 10 hour mastering session yesterday, the fans didn't come on. My external firewire drive (no fan) is noisier than the G5!

Regards

Stephen

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Well, I've got a Dual 2.5, and it whooshes like a jet... ANTICIPATING the heat buildup! It's kind of fun. But loud. And heavy. I record on location with powerBooks, which I fan by hand to keep 'em comfortable. Thankfully Hyundai gives away nice paper fans at the auto show each year...

Quote Ullanta:

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Hmmm... Classical? That usually means location recording. Are you gonna lug the iMac around?

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Yes. They will fit in a suitcase. As will a Mackie 1640 Firewire.

You should see the bloody great flightcase with my G4, Delta 1010, CD burner, FW Drive and the Kitchen Sink, that I drag around @ the mo. Plus the monitor! The desk I use at the moment is small . . . A very nice Alice 8 channel, with good transformer pre's and direct outs.

G

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