First personal Mac system

I figured I would buy a Mac to get familiarized with the platform and set my eyes on a g5 based system since they are dirt cheap on ebay and are still compatible with Leopard. . Now my question is should I get a Powermac or a iMac?

 

get an intel macintosh.

if you are on a budget, check the apple refurb store and wait for the mac mini to be available, or get one from eBay or something.

you definitely want an intel macintosh at this point. intel macs still go back to 4 years old. a good deal of software doesn't support powerpc at all (even apple software).

2 years ago, it might have been ok to get an old used g5 just to feel your way around, but it made less sense last year, and this year I really think it isn't going to do much for you.

 

I do not want to spend 500 bucks on something I'm going to touch once in a blue moon. I tried looking a core duo mac mini but those are pricey... The price they are going for doesn't even reflect the age and current price of the components that are inside. And from what I saw a g5 is still adequate. It 's not going to be my main machine.

 

its up to you.

i say try and swing a ~$300 intel mac mini

if it is between one g5 and another, get whichever is cheaper so you burn less money.

 

Snow Leopard is the first version of OS X that doesn't support PPC and most software can be found as a Universal Binary. If you aren't sure whether a Mac is for you, a cheap G5 will do just fine to get your feet wet.