1.8 G5 isn't enough!

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Now that I have my first Mac, my 1.8 G5 isn't enough. I wish I had a dual G5 (for faster video editing). Do Macs hold their value? Could I sell this in a year and upgrade then? Should I sell it now and upgrade?
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 24
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by alligator

    Now that I have my first Mac, my 1.8 G5 isn't enough. I wish I had a dual G5 (for faster video editing). Do Macs hold their value? Could I sell this in a year and upgrade then? Should I sell it now and upgrade?



    First you should elaborate a little. How ram do you have, what soft do you use for video editing ?



    First your G5 need a lot of RAM especially for video editing. With 2 GB of RAM it should rock.

    Second FC has real time effect even with a simple G4 500. Compositing needs more power, but i am surprised to hear that a G5 is to slow for Final Cut.



    Second if you want to have a dual, sell your one now. You will lose only a small value of your computer.



    Third : if you use premiere, it will suck on any macs : change for final cut.
  • Reply 2 of 24
    zapchudzapchud Posts: 844member
    Of course, it doesn't hold all it's value, but in my experience, it holds it's value much better than a PC.



    For what do you need more processing power?
  • Reply 3 of 24
    After one year, expect to do much better than 50% for sure.



    Consider that a $1000 iMac from Late 2001 sells for ~$300 on eBay today. I bet you'll be able to get close to 75% of your purchase price, if not a little bit better.
  • Reply 4 of 24
    Maybe I'll try the RAM route instead. I'm still sitting with the stock 512.



    Yes, I'm using Final Cut Express, and maybe it's just due to the length of my last editing job. Of course, maybe it's the need to have the fastest thing on the block too, I'm not sure.
  • Reply 5 of 24
    zapchudzapchud Posts: 844member
    Hmm.. have they updated FCE for the G5 yet? I don't think they have. And if/when they will, you'll be able to eek more, if not a lot more power out of your machine. A dual G5 would of course kick butt in such applications of course
  • Reply 6 of 24
    resres Posts: 711member
    Where did you buy it, some places have a 30 day money back guarantee.



    Even if it is too late to get your money back from the store I'd sell it right now and go for the dual 2GHz G5. You would take a bit of a loss, but you would probably get 90% of your money back.
  • Reply 7 of 24
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    Frustrated with waiting for a Powermac G5 dual I to bought the 1.8 MHz machine. As of right now (pre-Panther) I find my self wanting more. Don't get me wrong it's faster then my previous dual 1 GHz machine, but that's not saying much. Like alligator I'm also trying to use it as a video machine. However I find myself going back to my HP Dual 2 GHz Xeon using Avid. Hands down the best looking machine I've seen in a while, just not what I call pro material. It's going on EBay; just reentered my original order for the dual. Sometimes it?s worth waiting..
  • Reply 8 of 24
    macusersmacusers Posts: 840member
    I got my 1.8 yesterday and it feels like the fastest computer I have ever used... video editing is so freaken fast... and Phtostoshop is just amazing speed. I cant even imagine how the Dual must be
  • Reply 9 of 24
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MacUsers

    ... and Phtostoshop is just amazing speed.



    So fast you have to type like a madman just to keep up, eh?



  • Reply 10 of 24
    I have a Macintosh classic II, how much can I fetch for it?
  • Reply 11 of 24
    mithrasmithras Posts: 165member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by alligator

    Maybe I'll try the RAM route instead. I'm still sitting with the stock 512.



    Yes, I'm using Final Cut Express, and maybe it's just due to the length of my last editing job. Of course, maybe it's the need to have the fastest thing on the block too, I'm not sure.




    Definitely boost the RAM.



    Consider these benchmarks of the 2x2Ghz with 512MB RAM (yellow), and with 2Gb RAM (black):



  • Reply 12 of 24
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Mithras

    Definitely boost the RAM.



    Consider these benchmarks of the 2x2Ghz with 512MB RAM (yellow), and with 2Gb RAM (black):







    thanks for the informative graphs, Mithras. I do wonder, however, how a 1.8 GHz with 2 Gb would compare. I really do think that this would be very definative.
  • Reply 13 of 24
    coolmaccoolmac Posts: 259member
    Relax and enjoy your 1.8ghz G5.

    There will always be faster computers and you don't want to get caught up in chasing the latest & greatest.



    The 1.8 is I'm sure super fast & if you plan on getting Panther it will be that much faster!
  • Reply 14 of 24
    Yeah, I'm going to hold out for Panther. When the OS is optimized for the G5, I'm sure it will scream.



    Plus, I want an iPod, and my wife would flip if I changed my mind on my 1.8 G5 and tried to get an iPod.
  • Reply 15 of 24
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by alligator

    Maybe I'll try the RAM route instead. I'm still sitting with the stock 512.



    My suggestion: Get more ram immediately!



    With your current setup, doulbing your ram will speed-up video editing more than doubling the number of processors. That's right, I'm willing to bet that a 1.8G with 2 gigs of ram will be faster than a dual 2G with 512.
  • Reply 16 of 24
    It's looking like a ram issue. Stick 2 gigs of ram into most machines and they should fly, particularly on video and definitely on Photoshop!



    So...you went for the 1.8 G5. A good call. Nice chip. Fair graphics card. And if you look at the benches in above chart...far from a snail...only just behind the dual 2 gigger in several PS benches.



    For a couple of hundred, you can load the ram by another 2 gigs...and I'll vouch it'll cripple the dual 2 gig G5 on PS with only 512 megs of ram.



    All for a couple of hundred! That's far less than the hit you take selling your 1.8, buying the dual 2 gig and finding you need to stick more ram in the dual 2 gig to get it to really fly.



    With the money saved? Get Panther, get an iPod...



    ...and put the change towards a rev B PowerMac dual 2.5 in Jan/Feb next year!



    Then it WILL be worth putting your PowerMac on eBay!



    In the meantime? You'll have loads of fun on your 2 gigs of ram 1.8 G5 with iPod and Panther...(yeesh, the speed increase from that alone and the ram...you'll be flying...)



    Lemon Bon Bon
  • Reply 17 of 24
    ryukyuryukyu Posts: 450member
    Just thought you guys might be interested in a little "benchmark" that I ran.

    Encoded (in Quicktime Pro)a 2 pass VBR, MPEG2 file for DVD (720x480) on a G5 Dually with 1.5 gb ram, and then on a dual 1ghz G4 with the same amount of ram.

    Finished on the G5 in 2 hours 36 minutes. The G4 took 10 hours.
  • Reply 18 of 24
    tidristidris Posts: 214member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by dfiler

    My suggestion: Get more ram immediately!



    With your current setup, doulbing your ram will speed-up video editing more than doubling the number of processors. That's right, I'm willing to bet that a 1.8G with 2 gigs of ram will be faster than a dual 2G with 512.




    So, how much exactly are you willing to bet, and how can I make sure I will be able to collect the money?
  • Reply 19 of 24
    tidristidris Posts: 214member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Mithras

    Definitely boost the RAM.



    Consider these benchmarks of the 2x2Ghz with 512MB RAM (yellow), and with 2Gb RAM (black):







    It is a big mistake to extrapolate Photoshop results to Final Cut Pro/Express. Very different animals.
  • Reply 20 of 24
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Tidris

    It is a big mistake to extrapolate Photoshop results to Final Cut Pro/Express. Very different animals.



    Photoshop and FC benchmarks will certainly vary differently between machines.



    In this context the photoshop graphs nicely illustrate how ram, rather than cpu speed, can be the limiting factor. Video editing will be mostly ram bound on a machine equiped with only 512megs and running OS X.
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