G4 desktops vs P4 desktops for a home/small business user
Aug 01 '01 (Updated Aug 03 '01)
The Bottom Line For a home or small business user, try looking at an iMac or Pentium 3 or Athlon first. They are a better deal dollar for dollar.
I already wrote a review on the PowerMac G4 and numerous reviews on computer processors. What I will do in this epinion is to compare the G4 desktops vs. the P4 desktops for a first time or second time buyer for home use or small business use:
One question many of my computer and network clients ask me is, "Will it be worth is for me to spend the extra money right now by buying a G4 (for Mac users) or a Pentium 4 (for PC users)? Most of the time I tell them, "No or not yet." I believe for a first or second time user looking for a home/home business computer, there are better deals in buying the cheaper G3 iMacs or Pentium 3 or Athlon machines.
First, let's look at the PowerMac G4 as it would relate to a relatively new user with modest needs:
When the G4 first entered the market, Steve Jobs of Apple deemed this a supercomputer. After all, the Motorola G4 had a 128 bit processor/altivec engine designed for fast calculations...especially in high end graphics. Another thing that makes the G4 and other Motorola processor so good for graphics is the use of RISC over CISC (used by most PCs). RISC or reduced instruction set computing works better with rendering graphics that CISC or complex instruction set computing. For word processing, internet, and e-mail, RISC and CISC perform about the same. Apple used its own selective benchmark tests to show that the G4 "crushed" its PC competitors when rendering graphics on Adobe Photoshop. Starting then at $1599.00 for the computer alone without the monitor, the price of the entry level G4 desktop has remained high to this day. The entry level machine is now $100.00 higher. I have computer repair clients in Silicon Valley who are Fortune 500 companies who still don't use the G4 desktops in their graphic design departments. I usually tell my home and small business clients (who like Macs) to opt for the iMac, which houses a G3 processor and starts at under $1,000.00 dollars. And being an all-in-one unit, you get the screen, too. Now if that client wanted just one kick-*** machine and didn't mind going well over $2,000.00 w/monitor and foresaw buying and using Adobe and Macromedia software, then I would say, "Go for it." But so far, the only clients I have had who may have those needs are the graphic design departments of large companies.
Now, let's look at a similar home user who would want to consider the Pentium 4:
Where the G4 offers the 128 bit altivec engine, the Intel Pentium 4 processor has its SSE2 architecture and 400 MHz bus which is supposed to wallop the Pentium 3's SSE and 133 MHz bus. Benchmarks since its introduction have not shown the Pentium 4 to be that much faster and in some cases, slower than the Pentium 3. One of the main reasons for this is that much of the software does not allow the benefit of the newer SSE2. Rambus is also supposed to be a better RAM as it relates to the Pentium 4 but many of my fellow techies only see Rambus as more expensive without adding any performance increase on the machine. While the 1.3 to 1.8 GHz speeds on a desktop Pentium 4 look good on paper, I a have not seen anything under $1,150.00 for a Pentium 4 machine w/o the monitor. Most Pentium 4s that I see when I walk into the main computer stores are closer to $2,000.00+ out the door. For the home or small business user, there are plenty of Pentium 3 or Athlon complete systems in my area for well under $900.00. With the lack of applications that take advantage of SSE2, I still don't see the need for a home or small business user to get the Pentium 4...even for graphics. The AMD Athlon utilizes RISC as well as the PC standard CISC processing so it's usually a better deal, dollar for dollar, for a PC graphics machine.
One final note: Not only do I look at techie's industry benchmarks for the G4 and Pentium 4, I also look at sales and see that for several years running, a $2,000.00 machine has not been the norm in the top selling machines of the the computer industry (pcdata.com)
I do not believe that the G4 or Pentium 4 are bad or overpriced machines for everybody, they just are not the first thing that comes into mind when recommending a machine for home or small business user with modest needs.
Note: I mistakenly put this review in the components section under Pentium 4 processors...but thanks to another epinions member (quasar - advisor on epinions.com), I found this "comparison" section. I am cross platform and have found this section very fun to read since emotion rules over objectivity when it comes to Macs vs. PCs. Also if you are a cross platform tech ranging anywhere in the IT food chain from A+/MCSE all the way to dual PhD supergeek EE/EL, let me know in the comments section if you disagree and let me know why you would recommend G4/P4 first for a home user. jh
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Epinions.com ID:
jefhatfield
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Location: California, USA
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