IMac processor speeds?

[Major Matt]

Okay, after 10 wonderful years of recording on my G4/digi 001 system I'm stepping up to an 003. I'm looking at a new IMac to go with it.

My question is about processor speeds. I was wondering how much of a difference it makes between the 2.0 GHz and 2.66 GHz? I'm planning on maxing out the RAM but I never really understood how the processor speed effects how Pro Tools runs. I'm not looking to work at the speed of light but I don't wanna be twiddling my thumbs every time I make a half second fade. Can anyone give me a rough idea of the pros and cons between 2.0, 2.4, 2.66 GHz processor speeds when running an 003 on a new Intel IMac?? Thanks.

[OddsAre]

Compared to your G4, you WILL be working at the "Speed of Light!" I promise you won't be twiddling your thumbs other than while you wait for your mixes to bounce in real time....

You won't see much of a difference between those three speeds, really the RAM is where you will see the difference, so yeah max it out!. Just not through Apple, buy aftermarket, but find good stuff. I'm sure if you search through the forum you will find some good suggestions. Obviously you may see slight differences between the 2.0 and the 2.66 possibly in plug in counts on high track count songs. When mixing if you run at 1024 sample buffer that will tend to get you a bit more power.

With that all being said, if you haven't spent your stimulus check I would take a serious look at the Mac Pro. Now you are talking major difference in over all power, cache, front side bus, RAM speed, PCI-e slots, the ability to run SATA hard drives internally at really cheap prices, super quiet enclosure rather than having the fan on right in front of your face. (I have an iMac as well) The Pros go on and on... price however is quite a bit higher. I bought Samsung displays for quite cheap to help pad the overall cost of the system, and I like them very much. Food for thought.

[OddsAre]

ps- i'd like to see a 10 year old PC right now and how well its doing... ouch!

[Major Matt]

I forgot to mention that I did have to replace the hard drive once but she's still chugging along. Thanks for the advice.