I hated Macs--now I'm buying two--advice needed

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I've seen the light and am going to be purchasing two Apple computers in the near future. One desktop for home and one notebook for home/school usage. I know absolutely NOTHING about Macs except that the software is--the f'ing bomb. Thats why I am switching.



My current setup is pretty nice and I really don't want to step down in performance a LOT, although some I can live with. It is a Windows XP Pro based P4 3Ghz 800 Mhz FSB, 512 Dual Channel DDR 400 Ram, 160 Serial ATA 7,200 8MB Cache HD. However; it is getting old and its time for an upgrade.



I will use the desktop computer for all of the "power" stuff, aka digital photo editing (photoshop), video content creation (iMovie?), some gaming (think Halo)--in that order. The notebook more so for browsing the net, Itunes, typing up word documents, and wireless capability is a must--for both of them.



Ok, I have 3 grand to spend--I could perhaps get 3.5 if it will behoove me but I want to limit costs as much as possible. I need help and don't trust the people on the other side of the phone at Apple. Please help a noob.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    The Powermac G5 are the only way to go for you.

    Take a dual.



    And if you want raw power, the dual 2,5 is the only way to go, if you want more power than your P4 3 ghz. It's a fine watercooled machine.

    If you don't mind game, the regular 9600 XT will be fine.



    Don't forget also to buy some memory to crucial (not from Apple), buy a pair of DDR 400 1 GB DIMM. With 2,5 GB ram, you mac will run fast as hell. Remember that with mac os X, the G5 are very RAM hungry.



    If you want to spend less money take the dual 2 ghz, but with a better video card than the geforce 5200 ultra. The radeon 9600 XT worth the 50 $ of extra.
  • Reply 2 of 15
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    I'd say that the Dual 2.0 could hold its ground quite admirably, so unless you want to make a quantum leap performance-wise, I'd get that. I'm on a single 1.8 right now, and it feels just as fast as my friend's 3.2GHz Alienware.
  • Reply 3 of 15
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    You might have trouble getting a dual PowerMac + a laptop for $3000. I'd suggest the mid-range iMac (~ $1500) and the 12" iBook (~ $1000). Once you add in some goodies like extra RAM, you'll be close to $3000. You might be able to get a 12" PowerBook rather than the iBook, but you'd probably be getting up above $3000.
  • Reply 4 of 15
    yevgenyyevgeny Posts: 1,148member
    You seem to be a student, so you get educational pricing if you go to Apple's education store. This gives you about 10% off.



    So for your laptop, you should get the iBook with the combo drive. Wireless is built in. Bump the RAM up to 512 and the laptop cost comes to $1,039.0 for a great laptop.



    Now for the desktop...



    The problem here is that you can build one heck of a killer photoshop machine. Another problem is whether or not you want an Apple LCD display (or if you are a hardcore Photoshop junkie, a CRT because the colors are better adjusted).



    Dual 1.8GHz CPUs are more than adequate for anything you will want to do. These two CPUs will last you quite some time. Dual CPU's cost $1,799 (Apple store edu prices)



    You probably want at least 512MB of RAM. Two extra 128MB chips will cost a whopping $50 if you buy it from a thrid party (e.g. crucial.com)



    You probably don't want the stock video card, go for the 128MB RAM Radeon 9600 XT (+45 at the Apple store edu price). This card will be better for games.



    Don't get wifi for your desktop since it won't really be going anywhere.



    So far for a desktop, we are going for $1,994 as long as you are willing to install your own RAM.



    You may/may not need a monitor. If you want a really good LCD, you could buy the Apple 20 inch for $899. If you already have one, then you don't need to buy one. If you want an LCD but not an Apple one, then head off to Best Buy or Fry's or somewhere like that and shop for an el cheapo monitor.



    So apart from the monitor you can get a laptop and a desktop for right at 3,000. The iBook is an incredibly versatile laptop and the dual 1.8GHz PM is quite effective.



    ...rereading your post, it look slike you aren't a student. Things will cost about 10% more, so about at 3,300 for everything...



    Hope this helps. You can tell I used to sell Macs while in college
  • Reply 5 of 15
    yevgenyyevgeny Posts: 1,148member
    Some useful questions for us to know are:



    Do you want to use photoshop for fun, for work, or for serious work?



    Do you already have a monitor that you want to continue to use?



    It looks like you have really light laptop uses in mind. You might be able to get away with only 256MB RAM. 512 is reccommended as it is just useful to have more ram.
  • Reply 6 of 15
    yevgenyyevgeny Posts: 1,148member
    Oh, and welcome to the Apple club. I don't own a Mac because my work gives me free Dell laptops, but I did manage to convince both my roommates to switch to Macs from Linux and Windows XP. You will definitely find the Mac platform to be user friendly, stable, powerful, safe, and best of all reliable.
  • Reply 7 of 15
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    Oopps , I did not read accurately your message. You want one laptop and one desktop for 300-3500.



    So my answer will be :



    - powermac G5 dual 1,8 with the 9600 XT and some extra ram (total 1 GB)

    - I book 12 inch with an another 256 MB ram (total 512 MB)
  • Reply 8 of 15
    I would also recommend you get an Apple refurb. from the Apple store. They were selling 2.5x2 PowerMacs for $2600 or so when available, 2.0x2 for a little over $2k, similar deals for laptops. You might even get a little more off the top with the student discount. I would look for a good deal on a refurb 12" PB, it's agot a little more life than an iBook (better graphics, BT and Airport already included). Also check Apple retail stores, they often have demos, customer returns, etc. at substantial discounts, and I find that I got a better student discount there (got $200 off an already discounted customer return 12" PB). Then start saving for a cinema display



    Edit: oh yeah, all this stuff comes with full Apple warranty, so no worries about buying.
  • Reply 9 of 15
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Placebo

    I'd say that the Dual 2.0 could hold its ground quite admirably, so unless you want to make a quantum leap performance-wise, I'd get that. I'm on a single 1.8 right now, and it feels just as fast as my friend's 3.2GHz Alienware.



    My Powerbook G4 1GHz feels faster than my 3.2GHz P4 super-dooper-whatever. The PC draws to the screen so damn slow. Using palette-heavy apps (Adobe) is a royal pain in the ass, since it means waiting for the fields to fill up. Just for the record, it has 2G of RAM, so that's not the issue. The issue is that Windows makes computers slow.



    I'm going to go out on a limb and proclaim that I do more CPU intense work that almost anyone on this forum. There are a few people right up there, but the fact of the matter is that unless you're really pushing the envelope (games, CAD, huge raster files) you don't need the latest and greatest. I'm actually considering an iMac, and I do "push the envelope" for everything except games. What's more important than pure CPU speed, for almost any computer related activity, is having copious amounts of RAM.
  • Reply 10 of 15
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    I recommend a dual 2gig powermac. This will leave enough money left over for the laptop you want. The dual 2.5 are nice, but you pay quite a bit for the extra power.



    If you play games, you'll want a radeon 9800 or nvidia 6800. Otherwise, the stock video card will be more than adequate.



    RAM, you'll want more memory but pay pay apple prices for it. Rather, buy it from anywhere else on the web. ramseeker.com is a good place for finding cheap RAM on the web.



    Oh... and wireless. You'll definately want wireless for at least your laptop.



    Keep your old monitor and mouse if possible. They will work fine with any new Mac.
  • Reply 11 of 15
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Splinemodel

    My Powerbook G4 1GHz feels faster than my 3.2GHz P4 super-dooper-whatever. The PC draws to the screen so damn slow. Using palette-heavy apps (Adobe) is a royal pain in the ass, since it means waiting for the fields to fill up. Just for the record, it has 2G of RAM, so that's not the issue. The issue is that Windows makes computers slow.



    I'm going to go out on a limb and proclaim that I do more CPU intense work that almost anyone on this forum. There are a few people right up there, but the fact of the matter is that unless you're really pushing the envelope (games, CAD, huge raster files) you don't need the latest and greatest. I'm actually considering an iMac, and I do "push the envelope" for everything except games. What's more important than pure CPU speed, for almost any computer related activity, is having copious amounts of RAM.




    Right, with today computers, for most needs, there is no need to have the latest and greatest.

    The only real issue, is to have enough RAM. All my macs have 1 GB of ram.

    Without benchmarking, I canno't see any diferrence in term of user experience between my dual 2 ghz at my office and my Imac G5 20 incher at home. I will also say that my powerbook 1 ghz is not so terrible, booting apart (because of the slow 4200 rpm HD).
  • Reply 12 of 15
    dacloodacloo Posts: 890member
    Quote:

    Windows XP Pro based P4 3Ghz 800 Mhz FSB, 512 Dual Channel DDR 400 Ram, 160 Serial ATA 7,200 8MB Cache HD



    Gee, when did you buy that computer? Seems like modern specs to me, not old at all!



    My Athlon XP running at 1,5 is getting old, not yours!
  • Reply 13 of 15
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Splinemodel

    My Powerbook G4 1GHz feels faster than my 3.2GHz P4 super-dooper-whatever. The PC draws to the screen so damn slow. Using palette-heavy apps (Adobe) is a royal pain in the ass, since it means waiting for the fields to fill up. Just for the record, it has 2G of RAM, so that's not the issue. The issue is that Windows makes computers slow.



    I'm going to go out on a limb and proclaim that I do more CPU intense work that almost anyone on this forum. There are a few people right up there, but the fact of the matter is that unless you're really pushing the envelope (games, CAD, huge raster files) you don't need the latest and greatest. I'm actually considering an iMac, and I do "push the envelope" for everything except games. What's more important than pure CPU speed, for almost any computer related activity, is having copious amounts of RAM.




    Are you useing XP? if so I recomend ditching it for 2kpro - Much smoother and faster in my experience
  • Reply 14 of 15
    Quote:

    Originally posted by a_greer

    Are you useing XP? if so I recomend ditching it for 2kpro - Much smoother and faster in my experience



    Adobe apps run like crap on any version of windows.
  • Reply 15 of 15
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Splinemodel

    Adobe apps run like crap on any version of windows.



    When compared to osx you are right, but xp IS worse than 2000 at heavy apps like that, xp gets in the way more than 2kpro, just look how many services a 2kpro install runs fresh, v a XP pro fresh install.



    At work we have 2 media workstations ome running XP the other running 2kpro, the xp rig has a gig o'ram and a nvidia 6800 and runs photoshop 5 a little slower than the 2k box with 512 and a GeForce 2 MX
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