Which mac will give the best perfromace?

Here's my dilema...

I currently have an iMac G5 20" 1.8GHz with 1GB ram, running OSX 10.4.9
The graphics card is the (unsupported) GeForce FX 5200, 64MB VRam.
I've had this for around 2 and a half to 3 years.

So I have a problem. Every update of SL seems to put more of a strain on my mac and have decided I need to upgrade one way or another.
I particularly suffer from the "texture flicker" that affects so many mac users, and FPS can be really bad a lot of the time mainly since the 1.15 update. In some cases as low as 1.6FPS.
I should maybe point out that I have a 2MB broadband connection that has always been fine so far.

Would maxing the ram for this iMac, 2GB make much of a difference?
I know I can't upgrade my graphics card and am guessing this could make a big difference. But would it be substantial?

So is the above really a waste of time, and would I just be better biting the bullet and getting a new machine?

If so then my next questions is... Which Mac?

If I get myself another iMac, probably the 20" Intel 2.16GHz, 2GB Ram + 256MB graphics upgrade, am I likely to find myself in the same boat 3 years down the line?
Obviously the iMac is limited as far as upgrades go.

or

I could really push the boat out (please try and help me justify this one) and get a MacPro.
Would probably be looking at the lower end models. Either the 2.0GHz or 2.66GHz with 2GB ram, NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB or ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB.
Obviously I'll need a monitor too.

So the price difference is quite substantial. Around £1200 for the iMac or in the region of £2000 for the MacPro + Monitor.

Let me know your thoughts, hopefully it'll help me come to a decision.

Should you buy a Mac PRO? You need to ask yourself two questions: 1. Do I need it for other work? and 2. Would I be happy right now today with a three year old Mac PRO? because in three years that's what you will have.

My advice is that if you don't need the Mac PRO for other work, then buy either a 20" or a 24" IMAC with 2 megs of ram ( your Mac will like this) and get the upgraded graphics card/memory that is available on either MAC (why? it will only cost about $100 more and gives you the best option you can get.)

Three years from now, You can go out and buy the best IMAC again and be glad you saved the money on this purchase. (newer is always better, well usually).

Just my two cents ( and what I am going to do.)

The only real reason for me considering a MacPro over the iMac is that would I be more able to "future proof" it? As you say, in 3 years time it'd still be a 3 year old MacPro. But in 3 years time would I be able to just spend a small amount upgrading it instead of having to buy a whole new machine again. I suppose only another couple of years further on I would probably still have to do this anyway.

I'm sure I'll figure it out, but would still love to hear other peoples thoughts and experiences.

Even from a pure economic perspective, it might be less expensive for you to buy an iMac now plus another iMac 3 years from now, vs a Mac Pro now + upgrade costs.

So "future proofing" is an over-rated concept when it comes to consumer products, especially when you take into account 1) depreciation, 2) future value of money saved, and 3) advances in technology.

From an SL perspective, you may find that a Mac Pro would not give you a better gaming experience over a well-configured iMac.

-peekay

I agree with Peekay about the upgrading/future-proofing aspect.

Assuming you can't justify the extra expense of the Mac Pro for professional (money making) puropses you'd be better off to get yourself a nicer iMac now and put the money you've saved towards the next generation machine you'll need in order to run SL (or other tech intensive games) in 2-3 years.

I used to always buy pro tower Macs because I thought I could upgrade them and extend their usefulness. Problem is that 2-4 years later the technology has changed so much that it rarely makes sense to upgrade. It's kind of like buying a Kia, then in 3 years trying to make it sporty by adding new suspension pieces, high-performance tires, etc. You end up with a fancy 3 year old Kia that will get its doors blown off by a new stock Honda Civic

I've been lucky to work for a company that provides new laptops every 2 years, but if I had to spend my own $ on a new Mac I'd sure be thinking 20" iMac with the 256 MB video RAM upgrade.

Thanks to all so far.

I must admit I'm leaning towards the 20" iMac with 2GB ram and 256mb vram.
Think I'll see if my local Apple store will download SL for me so I can see how it handles it.

Will let you all know what I end up doing, but please let me know your experiences in the mean time.

I won't be naught and cross post, so here's the link to Resident Answers...

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Needless to say, I'm very happy

I have Just upgraded my Ram from 512mb to 2gb on Imac G5 Powerpc running 4mb ADSL, and it was a waste of time. The FPS remains the same as on 512mb, and i also have serious crashing issues, ie re-installing OS X after every crash ...... my advice, buy a PC, seems to be far more stable on PC than on mac !!!

not advice I'd follow... Macs run SL just fine, there are just a couple older ones that have lotsa issues, iMac G5s mainly (and not all of them, only certain ones).

I agree wholeheartedly. My old iMac only had 64MB vram, my new 1 has 256. It makes a lot of difference. Fps are now between 4 to 10 time better than I had before!

The problem with the G5 iMac is the inadequate video card. Adding RAM doesn't fix that, so your frame rate won't increase. The crashes, however, suggest that your new RAM may be defective; try running a thorough memory test.

The newer Intel-based iMacs have much better video (with the exception of the low-end model that only has the integrated Intel 950 graphics), and work well for SL.

You guys are great!!!! Thank u for all the posts!!! I am waiting for Apple to release new iMacs and rumour has it ,it is gonna be released as soon as in two weeks so I am definitelly gonna buy iMac now. Before I was also considering PC because many people say Mac + games = nightmare but if SL runs smoothly on new iMacs then I better buy iMac because all new PCs come with horrible Vista and iMac is much cheaper than high spec Vaio or Dell. ^-^

I got a Mac Pro 8-core 3.0 GHz box with 8 GB RAM and Radeon X1900 hooked up to a 30" Cinema Display. SL still gets choppy. LOL

On my own land on a mostly empty sim I can keep all quality sliders and options maxed with a 512 draw distance and keep 30 FPS with no chop but the minute I go someplace like Midian City or Samurai Edo with lots of details I gotta drop down to 64m draw to get decent FPS (around 40) while walking or running. All sliders at low with local lights off and terrain low for combat.

But CI combat at 80 FPS is kinda fun even if I don't get to see every single leaf on the tree. =^.^=

I must say on the upgradeability side of things that even the Mac towers leave a bit to desired in this respect so, although I've tended to take that route, if you really want an iMac, then saving money and buying an iMac now and then another should you wish it in 3 years is not such a bad idea.

I bought my dual 2.5Ghz Power Mac 3 years ago, and it is pretty un-upgradeable apart from adding things like RAM and disk, oh and I changed the graphics card once. Trouble is, they changed the architectures to standardise not long after I bought it so I got left out of the PCI Express path, I'm just topped out with AGP and the now useless PCI-X. The G5 processors are what they are and it doesn't look like any upgrade will ever be available either, can't speak for the current breed of Intel Macs however. At least the acceleration on processor speeds has kind of slowed down somewhat so it's not so much of an issue.

If Apple has finished chopping and changing architectures year by year then maybe things have settled down, but it's hard to cite expandability as a good Mac attribute - but then was it ever ?

Currently missing my Mac anyhow as it's failed just inside its 3 year Applecare warranty with one of the G5 processor modules overheating and gone away for repair, I thought all the wondrous engineering inside and liquid cooling was great, but just more to go wrong really, on balance I'd rather like a new Intel machine myself instead of this G5 heat demon

I guess what I'm saying is get what's coolest and most economical for you now and don't worry so much about future proofing where Macs are concerned 'cos it may all be a totally different game in 3 years time

Enjoy your new Mac, oh and seriously consider buying Applecare, it's helpful, no-fuss, no quibble, expensive but worth it if something does go wrong !