In the hopes of eventually scanning MF & LF negatives, and reproducing them accurately, without waiting 5 minutes for Windows XP to process a filter in Photoshop CS, I am seriously considering a new Mac. Have an old G3 that has not been seriously used in years, and want to upgrade to a powerful Mac that will get me by for the next 10 years. Thoughts on how much Mac to buy? Dual 2.5 processor? Is a single-processor model satisfactory? Not interested in going cheap, but don't want to drop $6000 if $4000 will me more than enough. Since scanned LF negatives can be rather huge files, obviously lots of RAM. But beyond that, I'm clueless.
Wait until the new Intel-based PowerMacs come out. Then buy one of those -- I usually buy the middle one. Load it up with 5GB of RAM. And that's about it. Buy lots of external hard drives. That should keep you for about 4-5 years. That's what I did 4-5 years ago and am waiting for the new Intel based Macs. The current Macs are great, but then you'll be buying into a outdated chip, given the switch in the Mac line. IMACs are very capable and could work, except that they have a limit of 2GB of RAM, which isn't enough for Photoshop and large files. Prices vary widely on RAM so shop around when you add the extra RAM. Also, it's very easy to install RAM yourself.
I NEVER thought I would say this, but: I think my most recent Mac will be my last. I have two G3 s, which are wonderful machines. My G4 stinks, in my honest opinion. The fan is so loud that it can be heard two rooms away. I have had issues with every iteration of OSX I have used. The combo drive petered out on me. It spins my disks at an alarmingly rapid rate of speed, leaving marks on them, and no, it will not read them any longer.
Photoshop 7 works very, very quickly in OSX, but I have yet to figure out how to make my Epson 2200 print correctly without switching back to 9.2.2, and I am not a novice Mac user.
After having several pc's give up the ghost, or become chronic chrashaholics, I became a Mac enthusiast; the machines almost NEVER crashed, the OS was intuitive, and more than reasonably idiot proof. The G4 I have (dual 867 processors) has left a bad taste in my mouth. Recent revelations that Apple will now be using Intel chips, as far as I am concerned, was the final nail in the coffin with respect to the attrition of reasons to spend a LOT more money for a better computer. I just don't any good reason to spend more money for a machine whose predecessor has not been very good to me. Maybe I just got a lemon...
errr, there is quite a large speed penalty in Macs at the moment... if handling big files is an issue, get a decent pc, 4 10k rp drives set as 2 raid 0s (one raid for the system and one for scratch) 3 meg of ram and the update to PS to allow you to use it. don't take my word for it, take a big file to a decent shop that allows you to test a pc specced like that against a top of the range mac...
if being future proof is an important part of the plans, it might make sense to wait a few months for the intel desktop macs. the powerpc macs will still be useful for a long time, but pretty soon they won't be supported by new software releases anymore.
beyond that, i think any of the new ones will have plenty of processing power for the kinds of photoshop work most people anticipate doing. be sure to budget money for a very good monitor, plenty of ram, a big fast hard drive (or two), and some kind of archiving strategy.
i don't think you'll have to spend more than $4000.
if you have to buy something right now, you can get great deals on used recent model G5s, and amazing deals on dual processor G4s. you could save most of your money for the monitor, drives, etc., and upgrade the cpu when it starts to feel like a drag. or when something new and shiny seduces you.
Websites like macintouch.com are good starting points for catching up on what is happening in the Mac world. Right now Apple is switching its computers over to the Intel chips, and their higher end workstations won't have the newer chip until later this year. But Adobe also needs to update Photoshop to take advantage of the new chip's performance anyway, so it is a bit of a waiting game.
But anything will be a huge improvement over your G3 or a mediocre Windows box, so you might consider getting the new Intel based 20-inch iMac and loading it with the maximum amount of RAM. It would still be a huge leap over everything short of a maxed out dual G5 tower, but the advantage is that it will be even faster once the software is upgraded in a few month.
A higher end XP machine will outperform a contemporary Mac for Photoshop, but once the Mac-Intel chips and software are up to speed (summer probably) they will very likely be the system of choice.
It is always better to buy a less expensive processor and more RAM instead... RAM is the first thing to upgrade.
First, let me say I am no computer guru, but I will relate my experience to you. Several years ago I bought a new Dell with a Pentium II. It was their "Power" model of the time, with all the bells and whistles: fast system bus, etc. When our daughter went off to university we bought her a bottom of the line Pentium 4, since she was only using it for word processing. Surprisingly, since this computer was four years newer, the 4 ran much more slowly, bogging down on many tasks that were transparent on the old machine, even though the new one had more memory and a larger HD. I ran diagnostics, and checked for spyware, etc.; the computer was just slow. I guess the low end model was cheaper because they scrimped on bus speed and controller cards etc.
I don't know how much any of this applies to an Apple. But if you plan to keep it for many years the extra money may pay for itself many times over in time saved.
I try to buy the top of line model of the second edition of a model line, for Macs. First editions are liable to have manufacturing bugs and a premium price. Try to be patient. With this strategy, I've been able to get 3-4 years out of each machine before feeling that I was hopelessly bogged down.
Mac II Ci > PowerMac 9500 (604) > 333 mhz G3 Tower > 1 ghz Powerbook Ti = all great, long life machines that I could add upgrades to and get a long life. The Ci is still operational, for old kid's games and word processing, with over 80,000 hours on the clock.
I've hada few dogs too, but when Apple gets it right they make some great hardware. Buy smart.
You have received good advice. Max on RAM, wait for newer Intel machines, look for compatible hardware and Photoshop upgrade. My G3 iMac and Mini are at max RAM and perform well for 6x7 and 6x9 if you take your coffee while you wait!
yours
Frank
Right now I'm running a dual 1G processor G4, with 1.5G of RAM. It has served me very well for about 3 1/2 years without a single hiccup. I work on fairly large files... 6x12, 6x17 and 6x24 scanned @ 3200 dpi. This works out to about 700 Mb on the high side, and my current Mac can handle that reasonably well (without layers). That being said, I'm chomping at the bit waiting for the new Intel based Dual core, Dual processor machines from Mac. When I buy I'll max out the RAM, and get as many of the largest drives as I can fit in the box. I had a chance recently to play with one of the new Intel based IMacs... it was stunning. I currently use a G5 IMac in my home office, and the Intel version made mine look like "Ned and the 1st reader".
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