Seeking Power Mac Recommendations?

Pauly asks: "I'm going to do something I've never done: I'm buying a Mac. I'm a long-time UNIX developer and user for whom the prospect of trading a noisy, heat-spewing workstation or two in favor of a civilized Mac is irresistible. I'm quite used to making x86/*NIX hardware decisions. However, I'm finding myself stumped as I look at the G4/OS X options."

"As attractive as the (i|e)Macs are, I'm pretty certain I'll be getting a G4 tower to re-use my subtantial dual-monitor investment. Specifically, for my needs as a developer and power-user, I wonder:

• Are modern G4 towers quieter and/or cooler than comparable x86 workstations?
• Is it wiser to spend money on memory or megahertz?
• Is it best to buy everything directly from Apple, or just a minimum to be fleshed out with cheaper, after-market add-ons?
• What's the best video option for dual-head on Jaguar?
• Does OS X make SMP worth the investment?
• Is the SCSI performance gain great enough to be worth the investment over IDE?"

Comments

BEFORE YOU BUY...!

[Spencerian]

Wait until next week, when the Macworld Expo trade show begins. Next Tuesday is the Keynote address by the Apple CEO, that showmaster himself, Steve Jobs. It's possible that a new Power Mac G4 box will be announced then, which may influence your decision.

OTOH, the current line of hardware is still very robust (albeit lacking badly in system bus, if you ask me) and may be found at cheaper prices as any new hardware is made available.

Generally, the most savvy Macintosh users don't buy anything during the months before the January and July trade shows, but Apple also introduces new product outside of the trade show more often as well.