Thinking about a new computer.

blackwaterstudio

With all the problems I've been having with my PC and XP Pro I'm thinking about picking up a PowerMAC G5. I've been having some problems with my PC and I think it maybe time for another one. I've posted on a few other boards and got the same thing, MAC is no better then PC, PC can run PSCS2 faster, blah blah. Just for simple mind, I went and built a dell to the same somewhat specs and it ran well over $4K and I still hadn't got PS CS2

Here are the spec's I'm looking at;

• Power Mac G5 Dual-core 2GHz
• 2GB 533 DDR2 Non ECC SDRAM - 2x1GB
• Mac OS X - U.S. English
• Accessory kit
• Apple Keyboard & Mighty Mouse - U.S. English
• NVIDIA GeForce 6600 256MB SDRAM
• 2GHz Dual-core PowerPC G5
• 160GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
• 16x SuperDrive double-layer (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
  
  
  
  Monitor;
• Apple Cinema HD Display (23" flat panel)
  
  
  
  Software;
• Adobe Photoshop CS2

DavidTO

I believe that anyone who tells you that Mac is no better than PC has never used a Mac for an long enough to get it. PC definitely has advantages over Mac in certain areas, but overall and across the board I firmly believe that anyone who has had enough time on the Mac would vote Mac over PC. Just ask Andy.

And Aperture will change everything.

Also, the mighty mouse is getting mixed reviews. While some love it, others hate it, and it's really a personal preference kind of purchase, so unless you're getting it for free, definitely try one out first. Anyway, the Wacom Graphire is a better choice for photography. Comes with a mouse and a stylus. Cool.

Andy

I switched in Jan 2005 after 22+ years on peecee. Been using a 2.5dual G5, I now use a G5 (quad) ...coming in 2weeks... and a 15" powerbook. Apple simply rocks. Easy as pie mmmm pie mmm seriously, no sysadmin, the stuff just works.

Buy your ram from Crucial.com and save a mint. Easy to install, a cinch in fact. I do not like the mighty mouse, I use the same logitech laser form-fitting two button mouse I used with my peecees.

Good luck mate

DavidTO

Yeah, good catch on the RAM, Andy. Crucial'll save you a bundle.

Dani

over 4k???

I priced a gateway with the following for well under 4k

Intel® Pentium® D Processor 840 dual processing cores (3.20GHz, 800MHz FSB, 2x1MB L2 cache) with 400-watt power supply (upgraded from 830 3.0GHz)
2GB (2048MB) 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM Dual Channel
500GB (2-250GB) Serial ATA II/300 7200rpm hard drive w/ 8MB cache
16x Double-Layer Multi-Format DVD±/R±RW/CD-R/RW recorder and 16x DVD-ROM drive
[url="javascript:openWin('/gca/dw/vcrd/nvidia6200TC.shtml',615,500)"]NVIDIA® GeForce 6800 Ultra with 256MB DDR3 Dual DVI & TV-Out[/url]
21" Black Widescreen High-Definition LCD Performance Flat Panel Display
WinXP (home or media edition..)

I could upgrade to 4GB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM Dual Channel mem, the NVIDIA GeForce 7800 Ultra card and add CS2 and still be under 4k I think or drop to the original 830 dual processer and save $250.00. Oh and that does include keyboard, mouse, speakers and stuff like ms office etc.

JohnR

I agree about getting ram someplace else: Crucial, Ramjet, etc.

You won't regret getting a powermac! I switched back in 2000 and haven't looked back. :

And Gateway? If I was to get a PC :uhoh I would get a Dull..I mean Dell any day over Gateway. I'm really surprised Gateway is still in business.

Oh..and the mighty mouse comes standard with new macs. I bought one and love it!

Dani

JohnR wrote:

I agree about getting ram someplace else: Crucial, Ramjet, etc.

You won't regret getting a powermac! I switched back in 2000 and haven't looked back. :

And Gateway? If I was to get a PC :uhoh I would get a Dull..I mean Dell any day over Gateway. I'm really surprised Gateway is still in business.

Oh..and the mighty mouse comes standard with new macs. I bought one and love it!

whats wrong with gateway???

I've always had gateways and so has my dad... other than my cd drive pooping out after 2 years... I've never had an issue with any of them *knock on wood*

lol

blackwaterstudio

I'll take a look at the RAM, I had heard you can get it cheaper through somewhere like cruical.

Also, whats the big deal with the mighty mouse? I keep hearing try it before you buy it. However the closest MAC store is 2 1/2 hours away.

DavidTO

jdsphotography wrote:

I'll take a look at the RAM, I had heard you can get it cheaper through somewhere like cruical.

Also, whats the big deal with the mighty mouse? I keep hearing try it before you buy it. However the closest MAC store is 2 1/2 hours away.

If the MM is included, don't worry about it. But it is a personal thing, you just have to try it.

blackwaterstudio

Well just took a look at cruical.com and they want $270 for 2gigs (1gig x 2) and apple wants $300 for 2gigs of ram, $30 offset isn't to big of a deal for me. Am I missing something here?

Andy

jdsphotography wrote:

Well just took a look at cruical.com and they want $270 for 2gigs (1gig x 2) and apple wants $300 for 2gigs of ram, $30 offset isn't to big of a deal for me. Am I missing something here?

Yes, check again and make sure you are comparing like for like.

blackwaterstudio

[font=helvetica, geneva, arial] Power Mac G5 systems use 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-4200) from their website. 2gig ram upgrade $300 2 x 1gig

crucial.com - [/font] DDR2 PC2-5300 • CL=5 • UNBUFFERED • NON-ECC • DDR2-667 • 1.8V • 128Meg x 64 - $287

JohnR

Dani wrote:

whats wrong with gateway???

I've always had gateways and so has my dad... other than my cd drive pooping out after 2 years... I've never had an issue with any of them *knock on wood*

lol

What's wrong? Well, they just about went belly-up a year or two ago. Something to do with their stocks or something. Trying to find out via Google.

seen any of those "Country Stores" around lately? Probably not since they closed them all.

DavidTO

jdsphotography wrote:

[font=helvetica, geneva, arial] Power Mac G5 systems use 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-4200) from their website. 2gig ram upgrade $300 2 x 1gig

crucial.com - [/font] DDR2 PC2-5300 • CL=5 • UNBUFFERED • NON-ECC • DDR2-667 • 1.8V • 128Meg x 64 - $287

I do think that apple recently dropped the prices on their ram, so that could be right.

JohnR

Ramjet is slightly cheaper and just as good.

Andy

Hmm - on 6gigs it was a huuuuge difference - like $500 cheaper from crucial.com

JohnR

Andy, was that for your G5 that you just sold?

Andy

JohnR wrote:

Andy, was that for your G5 that you just sold?

:nono it was for the G5 Quad I just bought
It should be here in a couple weeks.

David_S85

Moderator's note...
...I just moved this thread into the Digital Darkroom - Gear forum.

Hope y'all don't mind.

pathfinder

I run a dual G5 2.5 Ghz Mac with 4 Gb of RAM. I think with PSCS2, you will prefer 4 Gb to 2Gb. Running Smart Sharpen on 16Mbit files is not instantaneous. But keeping the Mac running has been easy. Like Andy, I abandoned Windows after almost 20 years of using it and have no regrets.

Too much work keeping WIN XP running. Now I just use the Mac. I bought one for my wife also - I NO LONGER have to perform IT duty

lynnesite

Dani wrote:

whats wrong with gateway???

I've always had gateways and so has my dad... other than my cd drive pooping out after 2 years... I've never had an issue with any of them *knock on wood*

lol

Dani, the Gateway experience is not just about hardware.

You've NEVER had to reinstall your operating system? Reinstall application programs? Or buy and maintain virus software? Anti-spyware software? Firewall software?


Those that have never tried the Mac experience would have a hard time appreciating the differences. Their slogan should be "Macintosh...it just WORKS."

colourbox

jdsphotography wrote:

I'll take a look at the RAM, I had heard you can get it cheaper through somewhere like cruical.

Also, whats the big deal with the mighty mouse? I keep hearing try it before you buy it. However the closest MAC store is 2 1/2 hours away.

My opinion is that the big deal over the Mighty Mouse is almost entirely fabricated by Apple Computer. But mouse effectiveness is very different from person to person - you might love it, but I still like my $20 two-button scroll mouse better.

Another cheap but good place for Mac ram is macsales.com. They're a decent, established place for Mac stuff in general - their internal and external hard drives are a good deal.

W.W. Webster

Eh?

jdsphotography wrote:

I'm thinking about picking up a PowerMAC G5.

If your decision ends up being decided on the price of Apple RAM (let alone the 'price' of the full hardware and software configuration), or a perceived prohibitive distance from an Apple dealer (as noted by Colorbox as a purchase obstacle for him/her), that might be regretted later as a short-sighted decision IMHO.

On the cost issue, there's price and then there's cost - by which I mean TCO, the total cost of ownership, where all the measurable and unmeasurable costs of ownership are valued). And what's a comparatively short drive to make a purchase compared with a purchase decision with multi-year implications?

And other important issue which has been raised by DavidTO for your consideration is Aperture. I agree. Irrespective of whether Photoshop CS is a cornerstone in your future, Aperture is a serious player for the long term. Personally, if I was you I'd be (and will be, in due course) configuring a Mac for compatibility with Aperture, whether you intend to adopt it as soon as it is availabie, or just want to keep the door open as an option in the future.

But if Gateway or Dell does everything you think you need, at a price you believe is the limit of you can afford or should pay as an initial purchase price, go get it and enjoy it! There is no end to tedious PC vs. Macintosh arguments.

Good luck with your decision.

Mike Lane

I read somewhere (can't find it of course) that the AMD 64 bit processors beat Apple processors hands down when crunching out photoshop stuff. Backup anyone? At any rate, if you're using a 64 bit system you can make use of up to 4GB of RAM in photoshop whereas all the other schleps have to deal with a measly 2GB

measly 2GB, that's funny.

Anywho. Mac, PC ... meh the difference is getting smaller all the time. I used OSX for a while and found it tough to figure out, but I'm just a PC guy maybe. Plus the insistence on one mouse button is so very 1991. And if you're looking for other software (and I don't just mean software from best buy - software apps, downloads, freebies, yadda yadda) you won't find nearly as much for the Mac as you will for the PC.

Me personally. I've got no allegiance. Shoot man, I go to lots of computer sites to build dream systems from time to time. I'd take the dual 2.7 G5 with all the bells and whistles (with 2 30" cinema displays ) if I had $14,000 laying around or the balls to pull it out of the savings without discussing it with the wife first...

But I don't and I most certainly don't so I've got a costco hp desktop thingy.

It'll do.

David_S85

Paint Shop Pro = PC Only
Raw Shooter Premium = PC Only
PTLens Plug In = PC Only
Panorama Factory = PC Only

I'd love to use a Mac, but the software I need, and will want to get in the future just isn't available for the Mac platform. Wish it was, though. :cry

DavidTO

Mike Lane wrote:

Plus the insistence on one mouse button is so very 1991.

Two button mice have been supported for years and years and years. And they started actually making them this year. Yeah, odd that they hadn't sooner, but....

And your math is way off on the mac system....the quad with 2x 30" displays is $8k.

Mike Lane

DavidTO wrote:

Two button mice have been supported for years and years and years. And they started actually making them this year. Yeah, odd that they hadn't sooner, but....

And your math is way off on the mac system....the quad with 2x 30" displays is $8k.

Not with 8 GB of ram it isn't

colourbox

Mike Lane wrote:

Plus the insistence on one mouse button is so very 1991

I hear they are starting to ship that Mighty Mouse with some systems now...they're caught up to 1992 I guess!

But seriously, there's no insistence. Almost any off-the-shelf USB multi-button mouse is supported in OS X the second you plug it in, and in fact, if you mouse around in Word, Excel, Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, etc. on the Mac using a 2-button mouse, you'll find that right-click reveals just about the same context menu choices you've got on Windows. Apple thinks they're making Mac OS less intimidating to basic new users with that single-button mouse, which is sort of annoying but in the end doesn't affect me because at least they didn't hamstring those of us who prefer the power of the right-click on the Mac.

gus

pathfinder wrote:

Too much work keeping WIN XP running.

I'll bite....no-one & i mean NO-ONE treats a computer worse than i do & nothing goes wrong with my PC & xP....totally bullet proof after 3 upgrades & about 3 or 4 years of torture.

Im sure you guys all just made really bad decisions & keep the conspiricy going to cover it up.

Gus (whom is still waiting for someone to tell him what a mac will do better)

Mike Lane

Humungus wrote:

I'll bite....no-one & i mean NO-ONE treats a computer worse than i do & nothing goes wrong with my PC & xP....totally bullet proof after 3 upgrades & about 3 or 4 years of torture.

Im sure you guys all just made really bad decisions & keep the conspiricy going to cover it up.

Gus (whom is still waiting for someone to tell him what a mac will do better)

macs have way better onscreen brushed metal looks to their apps.

Ummmm... And stuff.

gus

Mike Lane wrote:

macs have way better onscreen brushed metal looks to their apps.

Ummmm... And stuff.

DOH !!! Sorry mike..i forgot that bit + they have all those 'cool' widgets i dont need.


that should bring 'em out