Switching -- Maybe
Need advice. Current owner of HP P4 1.8 Ghz PC. Looking to upgrade.
I had settled on a new HP Pavilion with the following specs:
Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 3.20E GHz/ HT + 1MB L2 cache
1 GB DDR / PC3200 (2 DIMM)
250GB 7200 rpm Ultra DMA Hard Drive
8X DVD+RW/+R drive (DVD writer & CD-writer combo)
256MB DDR NVIDIA GeForceFX(TM) 5500, DVI
800MHz Front Side Bus
USB 2.0: 6 (2 front, 4 back)
FireWire (IEEE 1394): 2 (1 front, 1 back)
and more...
As a former Mac user (10+ years ago), I walked into an Apple store (not planned, just happened by) and confusion set in.
My primary home computer uses:
1. Bring some work home (MS Office based stuff)
2. Finances
3. Digital Photos and Video
What is the likely best angle -- a G5 iMac (assuming that it has some decent specs when introduced) or a (seemingly overkill) PowerMac?
Other specific questions based on posts on this site:
1. "All macs are slow" ???
2. "Macs are slow to launch web pages" ???
3. "Mac graphics cards suck" -- how important for my above primary uses?
Advice welcome.
I had settled on a new HP Pavilion with the following specs:
Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 3.20E GHz/ HT + 1MB L2 cache
1 GB DDR / PC3200 (2 DIMM)
250GB 7200 rpm Ultra DMA Hard Drive
8X DVD+RW/+R drive (DVD writer & CD-writer combo)
256MB DDR NVIDIA GeForceFX(TM) 5500, DVI
800MHz Front Side Bus
USB 2.0: 6 (2 front, 4 back)
FireWire (IEEE 1394): 2 (1 front, 1 back)
and more...
As a former Mac user (10+ years ago), I walked into an Apple store (not planned, just happened by) and confusion set in.
My primary home computer uses:
1. Bring some work home (MS Office based stuff)
2. Finances
3. Digital Photos and Video
What is the likely best angle -- a G5 iMac (assuming that it has some decent specs when introduced) or a (seemingly overkill) PowerMac?
Other specific questions based on posts on this site:
1. "All macs are slow" ???
2. "Macs are slow to launch web pages" ???
3. "Mac graphics cards suck" -- how important for my above primary uses?
Advice welcome.
Comments
The best version of MS Office Runs on a Mac
>> 2. Finances
There is Quicken
>> 3. Digital Photos and Video
There is iPhoto and Final Cut Pro
1. "All macs are slow" ???
Ofcourse not! 95% of what I do on a 400 MHz Mac is quite fast
2. "Macs are slow to launch web pages" ???
No.
3. "Mac graphics cards suck" -- how important for my above primary uses?
The only use it's important for is video work I presume
The only use it's important for is video work I presume
Modern/shipping* video cards cope fine with 2D operations, including office tasks, video editing and the like, unless you have a truly monster-sized desktop (like the Apple 30"). A faster video card is most use in 3D, which means games for most people (until CoreImage/CoreVideo arrive with 10.4 and make more use of the GPU).
*Is the GeForce 5200 still a modern card? (;
I still use my PCs 90% more than my Macs just because I'm used to the PC more.
Originally posted by a10t2
It seems like that HP you have picked out is overkill for what you want to do as well. Unless gaming is a concern a G4 or G5 iMac would be more than adequate.
You may be correct, but for a $1000 the extra speed and ram would definitely kick start the video portion of my home fun.
Originally posted by cooop
Check out iLife, a suite of four "digital lifestyle" applications that come pre-installed on every new Mac. iPhoto and iMovie, included with iLife, are best-of-class apps that manage photos and edit video respectively. iDVD allows you to easily burn your iMovies and iPhoto slideshows onto DVD. So your digital photo and video needs are already covered.
iLife was the kicker once I walked in the store. It looks great for the types of tasks I want to do. And if I really want to bounce up on the video front, Final Cut Express (especially at $99) looks like fun as well.
So, this video piece gets to the crux of my question: how much Mac (iMac or PowerMac) do I need to enjoy the initial and future experience of the machine and software? (Someone noted that I should not focus on the hardware specs. Yet, I want at least as much speed as I have today.)
I'll second what everyone else has said for your needs -- Office 2004 for the Mac, Quicken (or QuickBooks or MYOB), and iLife, with Final Cut Express as prosumer option if you find iMovie confining at some point -- and second that the three "complaints" mentioned are pretty much hogwash. The third is only true for extremely high-end cards, a frustration that only affects people working in high-end 3-D and superhardcore gaming.
Macs are far more pleasant and rewarding to use than Windows PCs, IMO -- in many, many areas. Good luck in making your decision.
Edit. Just saw your last post. Well, we'll have to wait to see what the specs for the iMac G5, but even a 1.6 G5 will be as fast -- and much faster, in some areas -- as your current HP P4 1.8 Ghz PC. If you can sort through some of the hyperbole, you can read up some of the info on the G5 here.
Originally posted by Hobbes
..., but even a 1.6 G5 will be as fast -- and much faster, in some areas -- as your current HP P4 1.8 Ghz PC. ...
No speed issues here. My Pb 1ghz G4!!! is mostly on par with my neighbors
2ghz Sony Vaio. The only noticeably advantages in performance is photoshop rendering of large files. Yes, but so what? Did i mention the Battery lasts longer yet?
BTW, i wouldn't hesitate a second, Mac OS X alone is worth the switch.
best
Like vox barbara I have a pb g4 1Ghz, and also a DP800 and a new HP 2.8 with hyperthreading, 512Mb Ram, XP Pro etc etc
The only thing I'd get a windows machine for is games and 3D work - openGL is just faster on the windows side. A question of better graphics drivers.
Trust me, native Apple apps (Mail, Safari, Preview, iPhoto, etc) run just as fast as their windows equivalents on my HP box. Launch just as fast. No difference. And that's a laptop vs. desktop.
Web pages launch fractionally slower (maybe, and I look at them all day) but are far better rendered on Safari than IE. Plus Safari is standards compliant, tabbed browsing etc. Plus no security issues.
The refinements of the interface put Windows to shame. The AA, spatial touches, more consistent metaphors etc.
For what you say you want - a mac just makes it easier and more pleasant. As a user experience, the mac is still second to none.
You'll get a kick out of your Mac years from now when your PC has just kicked the bucket. My DP800 is 3 years old but still really good, a joy to use, and Tiger will make it even better.
Personally, I think the powermacs are better investments - more upgradeable and with power to last you many years. Even for relatively modest needs now.
Look at the technologies Tiger is set to introduce - way before anything comparable on the Windows side. Spotlight alone is amazing.
Hmm, I think this makes me a fan : - > Good luck with your decision.
bathgate
I forgot - I use MYOB AccountEdge 2 extensively too - great product, very stable on a Mac. Haven't tried it on PC.
I'd get something upgradeable for CoreImage down the track - GPU's are going to take more and more of a role in user interface operations and being able to speed-up your interface through a faster graphics card instead of new system will be a bonus. IMac's will probably not offer this upgradeability any time soon.
bathgate
Macs are a hassle free investment; the user experience is enjoyable. That is what matters at the end. Having a Windows PC at home is not worth it unless you are a gamer. The macintosh has solid games btw. Check out www.insidemacgames.com or any of the other game sites for the macintosh. The games than run on 2GHZ PC equivalents are playable on a 1GHZ mac without significant code optimization.