[95Legend6Spd]

Hey guys, here's the deal: I need a new computer, and it needs to have the following

lots of RAM... probably around 1-2 Gigs
fast processor - Dual Mac G4's or Pentium Xenon
large hard drive
fast video card

I would like to know what you guys think - my occupation is photography, and I'm going almost fully digital and doing web design, and I need a box that will multitask and be reliable, yet be able to be upgraded.... should I go with a Dual G4 Mac, or should I go for a Dell Xenon Workstation/desktop machine?? I'm open to any other suggestions, like IBM or Gateway... but I do believe that Sun Microsystems is a little too much (They quoted me $12,134 for what I wanted... geez!) So what would you all suggest for a good graphics-based computer?

 

[Alexander]

Hmmmm......., if me, this is what I'm going to get:

Dual AMD Athlon XP overclocked to about 2000+ each
DDR Ram 1-2 gig like you said.
Do you want RAID??? you can......... HD is big and cheap now 120Gb is available too.
Nvidia Quadro DCC??? hehehee........ of maybe GeForce4 Ti 4600

But it's just me............., Apple is good too, but I better off with PC, because I can tinker with it more.

 

[NickD]

Athlons are the way to go Fastester then equivalent Pentium 4 chips and cheaper. Use www.pricewatch.com to get pricing on parts.

 

[TYPEII]

I say get the G4, especially the New Juiced Up version with Dual 1GHz.

That's what everyone in the Advertising and Photo World are using. Also, get the 22" Apple Cinema Display to go with it.

http://www.apple.com/powermac/

 

[ChrisK]

I'm not sure about the programs out for stills, but in video, I would say go with the MAC. I'm a PC guy myself, but I work in television, and friends of mine work in movie editing, and most places use MACs because of the better video programs, and for better stability of the system. All the editor bays at work are all MACs and Adivds.

 

[NickD]

I'd have to agree with ChrisK. For multimedia work go with a Mac, for CAD, 3D work, programming and/or math go with a PC running Linux and if your big on video games go with a Windows based PC with a kickass GeForce 4 video card

 

[95Legend6Spd]

Hey thanks for the replies guys... I really appreciate your opinions on this matter... Here's what I've decided to do - after looking at the Dell workstation (configured for me it'd be close to $6,000), I've decided to go with the PowerMac G4... here's why:

You get Dual G4's at 1.0Ghz, an 80Gig HD (don't really need RAID, because I'm not hotswapping, and the system bus is 400Mhz!!), a DVD-R (badass!!!) and a CD-R combo superdrive, 64MB NVidia GeForce Titanium graphics card, and alot of software to get me going... it only has 512MB RAM, but I'm going to upgrade to 1.5G when I get some more money (in Sumer perhaps)... but I figure that this setup will be good and most importantly will be able to grow with me... But, I'm a little worried because this is my first Mac, and even though I've used em for a couple of years, it's still foreign when I've been building PC's for a while (Since I was 14 in '94!)... so I'll have to get my Mac, trade in the Legend for a Volkswagen Passat or Jetta, and wear a turtleneck sweater while drinking mochachino... NOT!!!! Just the Mac, thanks...

Thanks for the opinions guys... but my job and needs dictate the Mac...

p.s. - I WAS looking forward to building that dual AMD machine with 2Gig RAM and all teh bells and whistles, but I ruled that out a couple of weeks ago because of downtime and such... thanks again!

 

[wallstrum]

hey - i won't debate the mac vs. pc thing with you (i myself would be a dual athlon fan), but i would *strongly* recommend buying whatever computer you decide to get with the least amount of memory (ram) as possible and then buy as much as you need from crucial technologies - they are one of the top and most reliable memory manufacturers on the market (here is the page for the g4 ram: <http://www.crucial.com/store/listpa...e=Apple+Power+Mac&model=Power+Mac+G4&x=8&y=11>) as you can see, buying the ram from crucial is about half the price of what apple charges (if it was me buying a g4, i would try to get it without *any* ram, and then buy it all from crucial). good luck,

wally

 

[95Legend6Spd]

Hey Wally, thanks for the insight on memory... unfortunately, the G4 Dual comes with 512 as part of the price, but when I upgrade to 1.5G, I'll go to Crucial and check their memory out. Thanks man!

 

[LeoLegendATL]

I think for your case, a mac would be the best choice. There computers are geared more for graphic design, handling large images, web design, etc. and they are much more trouble free than winblows machines. Macintosh's OS is so much more efficient than windows, of course since the market is flooded with windows machines, there won't be as much software for the mac.

 

[Triton3K]

I too am in the same shoes as you because i'm trying to decide whether to get a Mac or PC for my music production. I know Macs are better for music and video editing thats why i'm leaning more towards the mac and basically because I already have a PC so i'll try to have the best of both worlds.

 

[FutureX 2001]

I never buy retail, I always build my PCs myself. The only retail company I would recommend is DELL. As for the MAC vs PC thing, MACs are not more power than PCs no matter who tells you what. However MACs do have the best Multimedia editing software available. WindowsXP is just as stable as the MacOSX. Actually MacOSX is based on Unix, it runs protected memory, much like WindowsXP.

 

[Triton3K]

From my experience, PC's are kinda better than Mac because Pc's just seem to have more expandability and are easier to use. Macs like everyone has said, is much more better for video editing, and music editing programs. Every time I go to a recording studio or Video editing places, they all use Macs because one guy told me that they have very good processors. I'm gonna get a Mac so I can use it with my music programming.

 

[ando]

go G4

I used sell them to los alamos national labs and sandia nat. labs out here in new mexico. as far as comparison to the p4's and the amd's, for digital media such as movies, and photos, they are able to process them much faster which is why the clock speeds on the mac's are slower when compared to the intel's and the amd's......last time i checked, a 800mhz can process something just as fast as a 1200mhz pc. I think that they call it the velocity engine. plus you get the added stablility of a mac. and if you have the $$$...get the cinema display, they're nasty.

 

[95Legend6Spd]

What's up guys... good news... picked up a new G4 Dual Processor machine today... this thing is scary fast... I loaded up a render file that takes my roommate's AMD 1.2Ghz machine 4 1/2 hours to render and the G4 Dual did it in 36 MINUTES!! The NVidia Video card is so badass also... this thing is like owning a Ferrari, without the chick factor I still don't have a large enough display, and I cant' afford one of those Apple Cinema Displays... I think I'm going to get a refurbished Sony 21" Trinitron...? Good deal? I hear these things are going for $400?!?!

 

[wallstrum]

where are you getting that monitor?

 

[FutureX 2001]

The MAC CPUs and PC CPUs are TOTALLY different, they're based on different process. MAC Velocity "Feature" only works on programs designed to work with it, usually such items like ADOBE, never games and such. You can't compare both CPUs, that's like saying PC applications that use SSE2 found on the P4 make the P4 better than the MAC. Which is wrong. The PC is just as stable as the MAC with WinXP and a good company, or if you built it yourself with the right parts.

Go for a PC if you want to upgrade later, or if you plan to do many things on it, ranging from gaming to editing.

Get a MAC if you want a slick GUI with power multimedia software

 

[95Legend6Spd]

Wallstrum, I had planned on buying it off of the Sony Website, but then again, I've never needed a monitor this big, so I'm not used to seeing the $599-$1999 that these people want for one... I found a Sony Trinotron FD Pro Series 21" for $599 that supports up to 1920x16XX, so I might get it... but I'm only needed to run in 1600x1200 for my work... what do you think? What about a Mitsubishi Monitor... I head that they were great...

 

[wallstrum]

do a little reading here: <http://arstechnica.com/guide/system/index.html>, and here: <http://arstechnica.com/guide/flatpanel/flatpanels-1.html>. it is a site that really only reviews pc products, but monitors these days work on both macs and pc's. i am drooling over that sony gdm-fw900, but my eyes pop out whenever i see the price tag : )

wally