I am a graphic designer working exclusively within CS2.
Would you guys recommend a 24" iMac or a Mac Pro?
I read something from linked to in another forum on Mac Fix It (I think) about problems with Adobe apps running on the Mac Pro's, and Adobe's unwillingness to help people who had support contracts help them resolve the problems. I havn't heard the same problems on the original Intel iMacs so it might be isolated to the Pro's for some reason. I would do your homework before relying on Rosetta for your livelihood and check reports on Mac Fix It and www.macintouch.com to see if this seams to be widespread, and if so be willing to spend some time on the Phone with Apple to trouble shoot Rosetta so that these PowerPC based programs run properly.
Other than that, as a designer, I don't see how you could go wrong. The screen size is great, and speed should be fine for most print and online media creation. Since Adobe apps won't be UB until next spring and your relying on Rosetta to run them I would get as much memory as possible, but other than that it has everything your probably need.
That report on MacFixit is troublesome. The guy said he is crashing constantly in CS2 under Rosetta and Adobe won't help him because the CS2 box says "for G4 and G5", not Intel Macs.
Well, he should really be calling with Apple so that they can fix what is wrong with Rosetta. This might be localized to the Mac Pro's, I have seen PhotoShop benchmarks on the intel Macs so someone has it running. It could be someting simple, see this report on Macintouch. Again, if you are making money on the computer and need reliability with PowerPC applications it might be best to wait or at least read as much as you can to see what troubles that might come up and if there is a work-a-round or fix out there to make it stable. I'm sure that Apple will work hard to find solutions to the Rosetta problem since they want to sell the new computers to people who still rely on non-UB applications to get their work done.
I am a graphic designer working exclusively within CS2.
Would you guys recommend a 24" iMac or a Mac Pro?
Wait untill MWSF, we will likly see revs of both models and by then we will have more info and a release date for CS3 which you will need anyway if you are serious about an intel Mac.
This is great but what does he do when the universal versions are released?
The universal version, when released, should work fine on a G5 Quad. It's not as if they are going to remove PPC support. The G5 Quad is a very capable machine that should serve well for years. Even for Universal apps, the Mac Pro generally isn't that much faster than the G5 Quad, most of its benefits are in other parts of the system. The cost of a G5 Quad + 4GB of RAM is probably the same as the cost of a Mac Pro + 4GB of RAM.
I don't see how a couple of months (until the universal binaries) can be such a big thing speed-wise that one running Photoshop should not get an Intel machine.
Is it slow? Hell, even if it's only third as fast as on PPC, it's still a lot faster than the G4's that have been used to do the exact same work for a long time. And after the universal binaries come out it's a lot faster.
Reliability = crashing is something you need to take seriously and research though.
For what it's worth, if I was a graphic pro, I wouldn't buy an all-in-one computer. If I needed processing power, I wouldn't buy an all-in-one computer. I would buy one for office work, programming work, general home use. So in this case I'd definitely go for the Mac Pro.
Buy a 24" iMac, and up the processor to 2.33, up the RAM to 2Gig, and up the graphics card to 256mb. And you will do just fine with that! Works out at $2,549 in US store, and with the next build of the OS 10.4.8 they are paying serious attention to Rosetta. Besides, before you know it, it will be 2007 and Photoshop will be Universal.
p.s. The machine will be so fast, even under Rosetta Photoshop will still fly, and when Photoshop is made Universal it will scream on that machine.
Unless you are doing intense video editing, or you want to use the machine as a computer and a server, then you wont need the Mac Pro.
If you already got a good screen, Mac Pro (really more powerful (based on benchmark))
If not, go for the 24". You will be more than pleased with a 24" and it's still a very good comp. Just make shure to boost the Ram to the maximum you can.
Comments
I am a graphic designer working exclusively within CS2.
Would you guys recommend a 24" iMac or a Mac Pro?
I read something from linked to in another forum on Mac Fix It (I think) about problems with Adobe apps running on the Mac Pro's, and Adobe's unwillingness to help people who had support contracts help them resolve the problems. I havn't heard the same problems on the original Intel iMacs so it might be isolated to the Pro's for some reason. I would do your homework before relying on Rosetta for your livelihood and check reports on Mac Fix It and www.macintouch.com to see if this seams to be widespread, and if so be willing to spend some time on the Phone with Apple to trouble shoot Rosetta so that these PowerPC based programs run properly.
Other than that, as a designer, I don't see how you could go wrong. The screen size is great, and speed should be fine for most print and online media creation. Since Adobe apps won't be UB until next spring and your relying on Rosetta to run them I would get as much memory as possible, but other than that it has everything your probably need.
http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?...60907081235462
I reccommend a G5 Quad. Purely because CS2 isn't universal and will run at speeds of a high end G4 on intel machines.
This is great but what does he do when the universal versions are released?
I am a graphic designer working exclusively within CS2.
Would you guys recommend a 24" iMac or a Mac Pro?
Wait untill MWSF, we will likly see revs of both models and by then we will have more info and a release date for CS3 which you will need anyway if you are serious about an intel Mac.
This is great but what does he do when the universal versions are released?
The universal version, when released, should work fine on a G5 Quad. It's not as if they are going to remove PPC support. The G5 Quad is a very capable machine that should serve well for years. Even for Universal apps, the Mac Pro generally isn't that much faster than the G5 Quad, most of its benefits are in other parts of the system. The cost of a G5 Quad + 4GB of RAM is probably the same as the cost of a Mac Pro + 4GB of RAM.
Is it slow? Hell, even if it's only third as fast as on PPC, it's still a lot faster than the G4's that have been used to do the exact same work for a long time. And after the universal binaries come out it's a lot faster.
Reliability = crashing is something you need to take seriously and research though.
For what it's worth, if I was a graphic pro, I wouldn't buy an all-in-one computer. If I needed processing power, I wouldn't buy an all-in-one computer. I would buy one for office work, programming work, general home use. So in this case I'd definitely go for the Mac Pro.
p.s. The machine will be so fast, even under Rosetta Photoshop will still fly, and when Photoshop is made Universal it will scream on that machine.
Unless you are doing intense video editing, or you want to use the machine as a computer and a server, then you wont need the Mac Pro.
What apps do you use?
Can I see samples of your work?
Once these are answered, I can give you my recommendation, but it's more than likely going to be the iMac.
If not, go for the 24". You will be more than pleased with a 24" and it's still a very good comp. Just make shure to boost the Ram to the maximum you can.
the pro will do more but its overkill