Potential convert.
Potential convert.
I'll start off by pledging my request for acceptance - naturally, I am new here and rather unaware of any code of ediquite that might suggest which forum would be appropriate for my windows-warry drabble. I appologise in advance if this post offends anyone here. Also, my commendments to the makers of this site: Your work is absolutely fabulous.
I suppose you could brand me a windows user with a miniscule budget. (Ha, there's a new bracket for all of your brains...) My computer, a circa 1999 IBM struggling to run XP SP2, is on it's last, weakening legs and is increasingly less able to handle the requirements of the programs I deem nessecary to be using. Obviously a replacement is in demand, and I do intend to make the most intelligent choice to phase out this archiac computer as my primary tool. Apple, a company whose work has hypnotized me over the past two years, is my primary choice. That said, however, I am strongly undecided on which model to purchase, and equally of confusion, when.
You'll understand, being the decerning audience you are, that my farmilliarity with the PC world leads me to great hesistance about the Macintosh ideology. I am used to a plethera of (often bad) choices, prices, and outlets from which an expected Windows experience is available, and obviously any consideration of Macintosh eliminates these concerns, or benefits, depending on your position.
This is the part where I pledge for the assistance & wisdom of this forum; the portion of this extended drabble where I plead for your advice in how to best convert - both financially & economically. In point form, then...
-I am eligable for a student discount.
-My budget is approximately 2, 500 Canadian.
-I require a substancial degree of power for the use of programs such as Photoshop CS, Quark & so on.
-I would appretiate the mobility of a laptop, although I am hesistant to purchase 'outdated' G4 hardware in place of the orgasmic G5 option.
-I intend to have aquired this computer system by September.
Thank you again for your consideration, and any help you might be so kind as to provide. Please have a fantastic evening!
-Ryan
I'll start off by pledging my request for acceptance - naturally, I am new here and rather unaware of any code of ediquite that might suggest which forum would be appropriate for my windows-warry drabble. I appologise in advance if this post offends anyone here. Also, my commendments to the makers of this site: Your work is absolutely fabulous.
I suppose you could brand me a windows user with a miniscule budget. (Ha, there's a new bracket for all of your brains...) My computer, a circa 1999 IBM struggling to run XP SP2, is on it's last, weakening legs and is increasingly less able to handle the requirements of the programs I deem nessecary to be using. Obviously a replacement is in demand, and I do intend to make the most intelligent choice to phase out this archiac computer as my primary tool. Apple, a company whose work has hypnotized me over the past two years, is my primary choice. That said, however, I am strongly undecided on which model to purchase, and equally of confusion, when.
You'll understand, being the decerning audience you are, that my farmilliarity with the PC world leads me to great hesistance about the Macintosh ideology. I am used to a plethera of (often bad) choices, prices, and outlets from which an expected Windows experience is available, and obviously any consideration of Macintosh eliminates these concerns, or benefits, depending on your position.
This is the part where I pledge for the assistance & wisdom of this forum; the portion of this extended drabble where I plead for your advice in how to best convert - both financially & economically. In point form, then...
-I am eligable for a student discount.
-My budget is approximately 2, 500 Canadian.
-I require a substancial degree of power for the use of programs such as Photoshop CS, Quark & so on.
-I would appretiate the mobility of a laptop, although I am hesistant to purchase 'outdated' G4 hardware in place of the orgasmic G5 option.
-I intend to have aquired this computer system by September.
Thank you again for your consideration, and any help you might be so kind as to provide. Please have a fantastic evening!
-Ryan
Comments
save your money... get the cheapest G4 iBook you can find and load it up with ram (NOT from apple-the ram that is)...
If you want a laptop, a 15" 1.33 GHz PowerBook would just fit in your budget with the edu discount, but the 12" would give you a lot more room to move. Neither one will be that powerful compared to the PowerMac G4 though.
I would suggest the dual 1.25 GHz G4, listed at the bottom of the page. It's fast, has two processors, and has plenty of room to grow, unlike the G5. Just make sure you get plenty of extra RAM - again, don't just select more RAM from Apple when you're ordering it, because Apple severely overcharges. Just go to Crucial.com or something and buy at least 512 MB extra (given the applications you want to run, maybe buy an extra 1 GB).
As far as when to buy... I'd say buy it when you need it. There is a little complexity added because you don't want to buy a computer and then immediately have it be upgraded. If you want it by September, I would suggest ordering a month early just in case you run into delays. Plus you'll have some time to install your programs, set it up how you like it, and get used to the Mac OS.
The PowerMac G5s are going to be updated sometime between now and when you want to buy this machine, so at least wait until then. Right now the dual 1.25 GHz G4 is better than the single 1.6 GHz G5, but the dual 1.8 GHz G5 is better than either of those. Once the G5 is updated, Apple will probably stop selling the dual 1.25 GHz G4, and the low-end G5 will be a more viable option. Assuming the low-end G5 is a single 2 GHz, it should do better than a dual 1.25 GHz G4 except in strongly AltiVec-optimized tasks.
Originally posted by Luca
Assuming the low-end G5 is a single 2 GHz, it should do better than a dual 1.25 GHz G4 except in strongly AltiVec-optimized tasks.
Having the low-end model as a single processor might not make sense,long-term. Apple will need something to differenciate their top-end computers from their lower-ends, when they start putting G5s in other stuff. If there was only a clock-speed difference(~400 MHz) between a low-end G5 and a high-end iMac, which would you choose?, considering that the iMac is tons cheaper, when you add a display to the G5...It just wouldn't be logical for a consumer product, the iMac, to have the same specifications and speed(about) as a professional machine, the G5.
The problem is when the low end PowerMac is not that different from the higher end ones. The dual 867 was nearly as good as the dual 1 GHz, but it cost nearly $1000 less.
Uh.... no? The iBook will NOT give him a "substantial degree of power.
Photoshop and Quark, not Maya or Blast or FCP Pro or Shake.
The big questions to ask are how big are your PS files and do you do print or web graphics?
And are you a student and how long do you plan on keeping the machine?
And do you use the machine professionally or for school?
Because a 1GHZ G4 PBook with 1GB of RAM will suffice for all but the largest PS files and even then its all a matter of HD speed once you get to the swap disk. Unless you run excessive amounts of filters and use Illustrator CS for large files, a 1GHZ G4 baseline should be where you start. More screen real-estate, i.e. a laptop and LCD or a large LCD will 'speed' things up more than working on a G5 and a small screen.
Originally posted by cowerd
Pa 1GHZ G4 baseline should be where you start. More screen real-
1.33 GHZ is the baseline
Originally posted by blackwave
Well, bluntly, I do highly appretiate the screen real-estate... hence my distaste for the 12" models... I plan on keeping the computer for around 3 years as a PRIMARY, or two as a primary if it's a laptop.
Personally, I went with the 15" PB, but I'm a coder and the fine points of LCD screens are sort of wasted on me. For graphics creation and a fixed budget, no question - I'd take a 12" iBook or Powerbook. Low budget -> iBook and a huge CRT, high budget -> Powerbook and the best LCD the budget allows for. The logic behind all this is, laptop screens are going to suck anyway, so you shouldn't pour lots of money into one.
My last powerbook, a 500mhz G3 Pismo was purchased three and a half years ago, and still works great. I'm optimistc my new 15" PB will be useful for at least a couple of years more.
For those who say that Photoshop and Quark does not require more than 1GHz, you obviously haven't maximized the capabilities of the software. I am not sure if blackwave is that much of a hardcore user, but if it's his choice to have "substantial degree of power", let him have it.
Once you have a list of potential machines in front of you, evaluate the size of the files you'll typically be using (as previously suggested). If you plan to be cranking on 500Mb files then you'll pine for the bandwidth of a desktop, although I can tell you from personal experience that I've often used my 600Mhz iBook for such tasks (dreaming of a beefier machine).
If it turns out that you can afford a current G5 desktop (of any description) and you don't mind being chained to one location, then get it. A dual processor machine is nice, but anything is better than what you're currently running and if you plan to upgrade in another three years then you'll be entirely within the envelope of the "computer slowdown"; the point at which you'll sense how slow your computer is compared to how fast you'd like it to be.
If you can't afford the G5 desktop then consider the best G4 desktop, a dual model might be more affordable in that line. The savings you experience would likely allow you to afford to try and max out the computer's RAM or to buy some additional software.
If you want mobility (because it certainly is a nice feature) see if you can afford the latest 15" G4 Powerbook ('cause there ain't a G5 model yet). Don't wimp out and get the 12", that's the other issue I have with my cute little iBook: the screen is maddeningly tiny for working on Photoshop files. If that's all you can afford then be prepared to be doing a lot of Tabbing and Shift-Tabbing in Photoshop, just to clear your palettes out of the way.
Most of all, do it. Buy the machine, it's the rare occasion that a person misses Windows after making the move.
Originally posted by Paul
SP2 is out?
save your money... get the cheapest G4 iBook you can find and load it up with ram (NOT from apple-the ram that is)...
is SP 2 out?!?
and if you can wait until September, I would... New G5s should be coming out soon and you should be able to get the old machines for a decent price... look for a Dual 1.8 on the cheap after the new models are announced around WWDC04
Originally posted by Paul
is SP 2 out?!?
No