How do you rate Apple iMac G5 desktop 17" 1.83GHz intel core duo
processor 512MB RAM  160GB hard drive for a 'home user' who wants to
use office fuctions such as spread sheets and presentations, as well
as some photo or video editing?

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Request for Question Clarification by welte-ga on 12 Jul 2006 08:24 PDT

Hi birt-ga, What other computers are you considering (i.e., other
Macs, Windows machines, etc.)?  You'll be very happy with the iMac for
Office and particularly for photo / video editing.  The built-in tools
are fantastic for home-based photo/video editing.  I'm also not sure
why the Mac has such a reputation for being better for photo / video /
music but not office / business applications.  I use both PC and Mac
and find the Mac to be faster and MUCH more stable.  Multiple analyses
have shown that it is also a misconception that the Mac is more
expensive - it's about the same as a PC based machine for what you
get.

You say you're looking at a G5 rather than Intel iMac - is this a used machine?

     -welte-ga

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Clarification of Question by birt-ga on 14 Jul 2006 04:17 PDT

I am looking at an intel iMac not G5 - my mistake, getting confused
between models. Another computer considered is a Dell Dimension 5150c
intel tech 2.80GHz 512MB RAM 250GB hard drive.  Sony VCG-VAI pentium
is too expensive. Thank you for you helpful comments re the iMac. If
you have any other suggestions they'd be welcome

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Request for Question Clarification by welte-ga on 18 Jul 2006 18:58 PDT

The iMac is a great choice.  The 20" model is even better, but costs a
few hundred more.  On the Dell side, I would probably pick the 9150
over the 5150C - It has better performance and you pay a premium on
the 5150C for portability.  The iMac is more expensive than either of
the Dell offerings, but I think worth the difference of a few hundred
dollars in price.

While some of the Dell machines have faster intel processors, my own
experience with doing video editing under Windows has been anything
but stable.  I have often had freezes, crashes, etc.  Mac OS X
includes some pretty high quality video editing applications right out
of the box and can handle the big files you'll be working with for
video editing.  I've often done video editing on my G4 laptop while
editing Word documents without any significant slow downs.  The new
iMacs are considerably faster.

In either case, I would recommend maximizing the memory, video card,
and hard drive to make video editing less frustrating.  Your budget
will of course dictate some of your decision.

Any other concerns or questions?  If not, I'll post this question as answered.

    -welte-ga

Hi, that Apple will do just fine for the functions you plan on doing.
I would upgrade the ram to 1gb or at least 768mb if you do large video
editing projects. DO you know what the specs are for the video card.
Make sure the graphics card is not built into the motherboard. Get one
that is 64mb or 128mb for better graphic processing. The harddrive
space is good, it will take you a while to fill that up.

I thought for all Intel core-duo iMacs, the video card is built in to
the motherboard.  Am I mistaken?