I have had a G5 Dual 2GHz PowerMac with 4 GB of RAM for almost four years and I am tempted to upgrade to the new Mac Pro Quad Core. Leaving RAM aside for the moment, will I notice a vast difference in performance with this processor upgrade? I use Photoshop and InDesign a lot, plus all the iWork apps, and Acrobat Pro, and I also use Final Cut Express a bit.

I can only see on site speed comparisons with the previous Mac Pro Quad, but not with the G5 I own. In the real world, and cutting out all the statistics, can anyone tell me if upgrading is something I actually need? Or is it just something I want?

The question of want vs. need is always challenging, mazurka, and I know that, for myself, it's easy to rationalize that "line" between the two and decide in favor of "needing" a new Mac/Apple hardware I sure didn't "need" to upgrade my gen. 1 iPhone to the next model, but that didn't stop me from doing so the day it came out!

As someone who did just that about 4-5 months ago and switched from a G5 iMac to an Intel iMac both at home and at work, I can tell you that I've seen a definite increase in the speed/response, as you'd expect. At the office, we upgraded from CS2 to CS4 and putting our magazine together each month is definitely easier - but did we "need" to upgrade? Honestly, no. We could still publish the same magazine using the systems/software we had. I use iLife and iWork a lot too, and there again, I've seen a major increase in zippiness (though I need to note that this also involved upgrading from 2006 to '08.)

Personally, I tend to hold onto my home Macs until I start having issues doing the things I want to do; when I find myself spending more time watching the spinning beach ball or the slow crawl of a progress bar, the idea that I "need" to upgrade dawns on me. Then I usually spend about six months drooling over the current crop of hardware, often "window shopping" in the Apple Store by configuring my dream machine(s) to pass the time, as well as staying abreast of all the new-stuff-imminent reports and rumors so I can time my purchase right...

Given the apps you list, I'd say you'll definitely see the speed/productivity increases, but you should probably factor in the need to upgrade your software as well to take full advantage of a new Mac, so that's an additional hit to your wallet.

Bottom line: Do you need to upgrade? Not yet. But if I may spend your money for you, I'd say do it now!

Thanks for the advice. Yes, I think I'll hold off a little longer. One further concern - will I be missing out on anything substantial when Snow Leopard and other Intel-only OSs and apps come along, I wonder?

You've asked a good question there. At this point I don't think anyone knows for sure since the folks who have received the developer seeds are under a non-disclosure agreement. I think the essential question will be how long will it be before the performance gaps that appear start to affect the software you use? Anytime there is a major OS change some improvements are apparent right away and others only become apparent when manufacturers adapt their software.

If you can hang on a bit longer I'd wait and see what happens with snow Leopard. Some users are likely to notice a larger improvement than others--depending upon the tasks they perform most often. Assuming Apple makes the release date that's not to far off. Then you can get some "real world" feedback from users who are running the apps you use most.

As Sly notes, you ask a great question, probably the zillion dollar one on every Macnut's mind right now... Not only should you weigh where Apple's hardware is going right now, but there's also a major OS X upgrade in the works, further compounding your desire/decision to upgrade right now. Since the early '90s, I've twice had the misfortune of buying a new Mac only for Apple to release not only better hardware shortly thereafter, but also bearing a significant OS upgrade. Curse my luck, both times I purchased a Mac a little too soon to qualify for the free grandfathered OS upgrade...

I read somewhere on either MacOSG or Macsimum News in the past few days someone expressing how the recent non-significant hardware releases might be a sign of Apple's longer-sighted view to getting things ready for the release of Snow Leo; I do agree with that, and would even go so far that soon after Apple does so again this year, Snow Leo will then appear. So holding off for now is indeed the best course to follow, mazurka, in my view.

Yes, I think I've had one or two of those disappointments in my lifetime with Macs (since around 1988) and that's why I posed the question. For instance, the temptation to buy the last generation MacPro was so great that I even configured one in a saved basket on the Apple Store, and wasn't I glad that I never clicked the Checkout button? A few days later the Nehalem processor appeared. So I'll take the advice of everyone who posted and sit on my hands for another few months.

Thanks, all. (I should change my member name to More Money Than Sense)

Don't beat yourself up about this, mazurka; one "rule" that I've come to believe about staying current in the gadget/computer upgrade race is that there's never a perfect time to spend your hard-earned and expect that you'll have the latest-n-greatest for long... as well as the corollary that delaying a purchase decision in anticipation of something "better" doesn't do any good either! Truth is that the question never goes away, regardless of which way you look at it.

In "another few months" you will want to wait until you see what the next upgrade is, and then you should let that be on the market for a few months to make sure it's OK, and then you should wait awhile to see what the next .....

I think the best advice is: If you need it now buy it, if not, don't.