Help me choose a new Mac! PLEASE....

Question

I switched to the Macintosh back on Jan. 2nd, 2005 with the original iMac G5. Then I moved to Mac OS X Tiger when it came out and have been obsessed with the Mac operating system ever since. I am one of those people who run Quicksilver and have 15 icons next to there clock.
Currently I have the Intel Core Duo mac mini (1.66GHz) and am happy except... I need hard drive space and dedicated graphics! I do film and fell in love with Motion a few months back but am unable to run it. I want to know if I should stay with the mini, save for a Mac Pro, move to the PowerMac G5, or what ever.
My only objective of moving back to PowerPC is speed and old, and well I use Parallels. What is everyone's opinions?
PS: I have a 20 inch cinema display so any iMac is out of the option. WHY WON'T APPLE MAKE A MAC PRO FOR $1,499!!!!!

Answer 1

Anyone in this situation really needs to consider not just what their needs are at the present time, but also what interests may develop in the period of time the system being bought is likely to remain in active service.
For most people, the question wouldn't be all that critical - web browsing is web browsing, and a bit of Word, email, a library of music in iTunes, a few amateur video projects maybe in iMovie.... those are not really demanding on systems and any Mac capable of supporting those uses is likely to be fine for a few years.
But for users with an interest in the pro-level applications, the chances are that they will be pushing their systems quite hard, and be looking at new versions of the applications and new software titles for specialist uses over time, so unless these potential additional demands are taken into account at the time a purchasing decision is being made, there's a real risk that the system bought will run out of steam rather faster than it runs out of viable life.
In this particular example, it makes no sense at all to buy a G5 system, even though in themselves the G5 power macs are very powerful. Pro-level software into the future will be increasingly designed to make more and more effective use of Intel hardware, so G5 technology will be a limiting factor into the future. That makes the Mac pro the only real option and even if the 20" cinema display wasn't already owned, the expansion options in the Mac Pro make it the obvious choice over and above an iMac or MacBook Pro.
And to the OP.... wait long enough and the first generation of Mac Pros will eventually reach $1,499 in the refurb store. Might take a while though!