About to "switch" and in need of advice
Hello all,
A Intel-platform windows/linux user about to shift to Apple's amazing products. As I am a bit less literate wrt this platform, I hope you all can help me.
Given:
Probable purchase G5 2x2gHz, ATI 9800
a) What hardware can one purchase to get a video-in/tv-in? I don't think the mac version of ATI's card has such an input. I prefer factory-assembled hardware, but am willing to go where I must.
b) 2 GB/4 GB/8 GB
It used to be a mantra that the PC platform needed more HD space, the Mac more RAM. The $500/GB price of G5 RAM seems high. Does the Mac still use ECC RAM? How much RAM do you all actually end up having committed? How good is the disk-caching system? I noticed references to hard RAM disks... is this a good practice (I am new to the BSD disk cache algorithms)? I was under the impression that it is sub-optimal, given the OS can usually do a pretty decent job of caching whatever files you are likely to hit...
c) Are people still having problems with the Logitech MX 900 mouse? did 10.3.3 fix for those problems/are they on the radar for 10.3.4?
d) On the off chance that anyone has a Fuji S7000 digital camera, does one still need to use a ridiculous "viewer" to access the images directly fromt the camera? Any suggestion s for a good CF/SM/xD/etc card reader?
thanks
-RS
A Intel-platform windows/linux user about to shift to Apple's amazing products. As I am a bit less literate wrt this platform, I hope you all can help me.
Given:
Probable purchase G5 2x2gHz, ATI 9800
a) What hardware can one purchase to get a video-in/tv-in? I don't think the mac version of ATI's card has such an input. I prefer factory-assembled hardware, but am willing to go where I must.
b) 2 GB/4 GB/8 GB
It used to be a mantra that the PC platform needed more HD space, the Mac more RAM. The $500/GB price of G5 RAM seems high. Does the Mac still use ECC RAM? How much RAM do you all actually end up having committed? How good is the disk-caching system? I noticed references to hard RAM disks... is this a good practice (I am new to the BSD disk cache algorithms)? I was under the impression that it is sub-optimal, given the OS can usually do a pretty decent job of caching whatever files you are likely to hit...
c) Are people still having problems with the Logitech MX 900 mouse? did 10.3.3 fix for those problems/are they on the radar for 10.3.4?
d) On the off chance that anyone has a Fuji S7000 digital camera, does one still need to use a ridiculous "viewer" to access the images directly fromt the camera? Any suggestion s for a good CF/SM/xD/etc card reader?
thanks
-RS
Comments
b) I think your characterization is apt. Also, I also understand RAM disks to be sub-par. As for an amount, I'd start with the 2 gig and see if it isn't adequate for your work
c) no problems with the Logitech, though mine is the one before BT version
d) I've found iphoto works great for getting images off my camera. There are plenty of unremarkable and cheap CF readers around
FWIW
Originally posted by quidire
Hello all,
A Intel-platform windows/linux user about to shift to Apple's amazing products. As I am a bit less literate wrt this platform, I hope you all can help me.
Given:
Probable purchase G5 2x2gHz, ATI 9800
a) What hardware can one purchase to get a video-in/tv-in? I don't think the mac version of ATI's card has such an input. I prefer factory-assembled hardware, but am willing to go where I must.
b) 2 GB/4 GB/8 GB
It used to be a mantra that the PC platform needed more HD space, the Mac more RAM. The $500/GB price of G5 RAM seems high. Does the Mac still use ECC RAM? How much RAM do you all actually end up having committed? How good is the disk-caching system? I noticed references to hard RAM disks... is this a good practice (I am new to the BSD disk cache algorithms)? I was under the impression that it is sub-optimal, given the OS can usually do a pretty decent job of caching whatever files you are likely to hit...
c) Are people still having problems with the Logitech MX 900 mouse? did 10.3.3 fix for those problems/are they on the radar for 10.3.4?
d) On the off chance that anyone has a Fuji S7000 digital camera, does one still need to use a ridiculous "viewer" to access the images directly fromt the camera? Any suggestion s for a good CF/SM/xD/etc card reader?
thanks
-RS
welcome to the fold! The first question is, how hot to trot are you to get your machine. If you really want/need it, go for it now. If it's not a rush, I would wait until the end of June, when new PowerMacs should certainly be making an appearance.
I don't really know about a.
For b, certainly the more ram the better. I believe the Xserve uses ECC ram, but the powermac does not. The most important thing to know is never buy RAM from apple as they always rip you off on ram. Just pick your preferred third party ram supplier of choice and go with that.\\
hmmm, that's the best I can do. I'm sure someone much more knowledgeable will help you further!
Originally posted by quidire
d) On the off chance that anyone has a Fuji S7000 digital camera, does one still need to use a ridiculous "viewer" to access the images directly fromt the camera? Any suggestion s for a good CF/SM/xD/etc card reader?
I have the:
SanDisk CF FireWire Reader
Comes with a black case so you can leave the firewire plug sticking out on one end and the reader opening at the other. You'll rarely need to have it unravelled. I take it with me, it's handy. It is very light, almost flimsy but it's not bad at all really. Wouldn't want to step on it though.
$49.99
There are others that are cheaper or more versatile perhaps. That's just the one I have.
I use IBM or Hitachi MicroDrives (great but a bear on the camera battery) and they scream over FireWire using the SanDisk reader. Love 'em.
I far prefer popping out the CF card from the camera, that way I needn't needlessly wear out the camera in various ways, including needing to have it turned on to pull off images or plugged in for power etc. Far easier to just take out a card (I tend to throw in a blank card right away, so I can just take the camera and run. Photographed an arrest last week thanks to being ready
I tend to just pull the files off via the Finder. Usually burn a CD or copy the files as they are to a backup disk. Only then do I import it to an asset manager.
iPhoto is fine and all but I already use iView MediaPro and have since prior to iPhoto's introduction, so I'm not too inclined to switch, if only to maximize what I already paid for.
Anyway...
Welcome to Macintosh
Originally posted by quidire
b) 2 GB/4 GB/8 GB
It used to be a mantra that the PC platform needed more HD space, the Mac more RAM.
That's fairly accurate, although a venture into video editing could easily make HD space just as valuable as RAM. I would describe it more as "a Mac makes better use of additional RAM, and suffers less when hard drive space gets low, as its VM management is much more sophisticated"
The $500/GB price of G5 RAM seems high.
Don't buy your RAM from Apple! Do you have a preferred 3rd party RAM vendor, or do you need a few recommendations?
How good is the disk-caching system?
WAY better than Windows, especially in the area of disk fragmentation.
I noticed references to hard RAM disks... is this a good practice (I am new to the BSD disk cache algorithms)? I was under the impression that it is sub-optimal, given the OS can usually do a pretty decent job of caching whatever files you are likely to hit...
Yes, never mind about RAM discs, you are better off with lots of excess system RAM (4 GB maybe). If you want to read and write huge files faster, then it's time to set up a RAID (which is absurdly simple in OS X).
d) On the off chance that anyone has a Fuji S7000 digital camera, does one still need to use a ridiculous "viewer" to access the images directly fromt the camera? Any suggestion s for a good CF/SM/xD/etc card reader?
Get a name brand reader. Firewire is generally better than USB (although I would think that a USB 2 reader would be pretty fast).
Don't install a single piece of software. Plug in the reader, insert the flash card, and sit back and watch iPhoto launch and enter the Import screen. It's a purely Mac Moment - enjoy!
That's all I've got for now, I'll let someone else chime in on the other questions. When in doubt, though, re-read the previous paragraph.
Originally posted by quidire
a) What hardware can one purchase to get a video-in/tv-in? I don't think the mac version of ATI's card has such an input. I prefer factory-assembled hardware, but am willing to go where I must.
i think tv-in is a windows/pc thing mainly because of all the different graphics card options. there are mac options out there, but i dont know them. i hear a lot about eyetv (i tihnk thats the name) but i dont know if thats what youre looking for.
welcome to our world
-ipod
http://eshop.macsales.com/Catalog_Pa...edia&Template=
The PCI cards should have very little to no lag. External connections, though, do have some lag, so take that into account. Also, there are G5-compatible versions of the PCI cards, so make sure you get one of those.
Congrats on switching! I hope you like the Mac.
Originally posted by ipodandimac
i think tv-in is a windows/pc thing mainly because of all the different graphics card options. there are mac options out there, but i dont know them. i hear a lot about eyetv (i tihnk thats the name) but i dont know if thats what youre looking for.
eyeTV is indeed what I had in mind, and looks quite polished. I'm surprised they haven't been the victim of a lawsuit...
welcome to our world
I love this community! The Wintel community remind me of people who don't know that they should be asylum seekers, the linux crowd is cool, but a bit... well, they don't get out much.
Its funny, and saddeningly shallow, but you can tell a lot about a person by their possessions. Call is socially-concious consumerism, call it pathetic image whoring, we all (myself included) prefer to be identified with companies, brands and products that we can be proud of, both in quality as well as conduct.
Voila.
-RS
Originally posted by quidire
Hello all,
A Intel-platform windows/linux user about to shift to Apple's amazing products. As I am a bit less literate wrt this platform, I hope you all can help me.
Given:
Probable purchase G5 2x2gHz, ATI 9800
a) What hardware can one purchase to get a video-in/tv-in? I don't think the mac version of ATI's card has such an input. I prefer factory-assembled hardware, but am willing to go where I must.
b) 2 GB/4 GB/8 GB
It used to be a mantra that the PC platform needed more HD space, the Mac more RAM. The $500/GB price of G5 RAM seems high. Does the Mac still use ECC RAM? How much RAM do you all actually end up having committed? How good is the disk-caching system? I noticed references to hard RAM disks... is this a good practice (I am new to the BSD disk cache algorithms)? I was under the impression that it is sub-optimal, given the OS can usually do a pretty decent job of caching whatever files you are likely to hit...
c) Are people still having problems with the Logitech MX 900 mouse? did 10.3.3 fix for those problems/are they on the radar for 10.3.4?
d) On the off chance that anyone has a Fuji S7000 digital camera, does one still need to use a ridiculous "viewer" to access the images directly fromt the camera? Any suggestion s for a good CF/SM/xD/etc card reader?
thanks
-RS
I'd recomend looking at some of the offerings at www.formac.com they have some video input/output options and their displays are in my opinion just as sweet as Apples.
Originally posted by quidire
Its funny, and saddeningly shallow, but you can tell a lot about a person by their possessions. Call is socially-concious consumerism, call it pathetic image whoring, we all (myself included) prefer to be identified with companies, brands and products that we can be proud of, both in quality as well as conduct.
I disagree. I use a lot of quality stuff, because I expect the stuff will be worth it (both intangible benefits and often long-term actual costs). OTOH I have no problem going with a cheap/mediocre thing when it is good enough for the job and there are no good grounds for spending more.
As for brands, they are just a way of identifying products and product lines more effectively. Brands can be useful for the customer when they stand for something concrete (ie. stable level of quality, certain kind of fit, features or feel) and the consumer eventually notices this. Some brands are just hot air, advertising and image. I'm not interested in that.
But I do have a Fuji S7000 camera and it works like a dream with Photoshop.
Its also USB 2 so its very quick to take images straight from the camera without the need for an external reader.
I use the File Browser in Photoshop to browse images direct from the camera, or if shooting in RAW mode I use Photoshop CS RAW format input. It mounts on the desktop as a disk so its very malleable.
I store my images mostly in iPhoto though, makes them really easy to quicklu browse and preview.
I haven't even broken the seal on the CD that came with the camera.
BTW machine is Dual 1.8 G5
http://eshop.macsales.com/Catalog_It...em=MIGTVPCISIL
For RAM, as others have mentioned, do NOT buy extra RAM from Apple! Try RamSeeker:
http://www.ramseeker.com/
For the DP 2.0 GHz G5 (PC3200), the lowest prices appear to be $82.00 for a 512MB card, or $245.00 for a 1GB card.
Since the DP 2GHz model includes 512 MB in 2 slots, I'd nab 4 more 512 cards, giving you a total of 2.5 GB for $328+shiping (say $350 total).
But, with a normal TV, you are good to go.. And EyeTV has gotten lots of good reviews..