I don't usually like to see or make "me too" posts, but in this case, I'm compelled to. Joe has summed this up perfectly. Nice post, Joe. Brian Conner -----Original Message----- From: Power Macintosh G4 List [mailto:G4 at lists.themacintoshguy.com] On Behalf Of Joseph B. Gurman Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2003 8:21 AM To: Power Macintosh G4 List Subject: Re: [G4] Which PowerMac If past history and the rumor mill are any indication, the first generation 970's will be: 1. only incrementally faster than the current generation of G4's as long as they run a 32-bit OS (Jaguar), 2. unable to take advantage of the 64-bit architecture of the 970, unless Panther is released well before the autumn target date, 3. unable to take advantage of the possible speed boost from 64-bit until 64-bit-savvy applications are available (hence Apple's manic drive to get developers to the WWDC), and 4. pretty sad compared with the _following_ generation of machines. The best rule of thumb for buying new <any kind of computer> is, what do you need _now_? If you need more speed/bandwidth/storage/whatever now, buy now. If it can wait for n* 6 months, there will be a new generation of machines out every 6 months. Diatribes about faster internal communication, better use of DDR memory bandwidth, 8X AGP slots, PCI-X, and other features that won't affect real work flow significantly can be directed to /dev/null. Joe Gurman