Which Mac to buy

**Frank Petronio** · 4-Feb-2006, 07:32

I hate to open a can of worms, but the price differential, if it exists, is only a couple of hundred bucks. And when you factor the shoddy quality of the budget PC versus the Mac it's a no brainer. You should be comparing Macs to Alienware level PCs, not a Dell Jalopy.

But people stick with what they're used to, with cameras and computers. And I advise people to buy whichever platform they will get the best support from (i.e. who will provide hand holding and tech support - if their husband or kids are PC geeks, then just get a PC).

**Christopher Keth** · 4-Feb-2006, 08:03

Bingo, Mr. petronio. Mac's always seem to be compared to those "Dell jalopies" instead of their real competitors.

**Roger Richards** · 4-Feb-2006, 09:32

I currently use a Mac G5 dual 2.3 Ghz with 2.5GB RAM, Os X 'Tiger' and external FireWire hard drives for digital video editing using Final Cut Pro 5, as well as scanning and Photoshop work. I also use PCs for most other stuff, including Web site construction and maintainance. I have to say that when it comes to serious creative work the current G5's are more cost effective. To build a PC that would run as fast as my G5 system would cost a bit more. I constructed this G5 media dedicated computer from scratch in May 2005, and have never had a crash or glitch. I like both kinds of computers for different things. But for serious image (still or moving) work, I find the Mac is much more intuitive and stable.

My business depends on both types: in addition to the G5, we use a Mac G4 17-inch Powerbook, a G4 desktop souped-up to the gills with memory and internal drives, a G3 as a file storage computer, a loaded up Sony VAIO Pentium 4 with XP Pro multimedia PC for Web work, and a current Dell 15-inch laptop.

Bottom line is, go with what you like.

**Andy Liakos** · 4-Feb-2006, 10:15

Thanks, Roger. Now I know what to do with my G3... it was going to get donated (according to my wife) but file storage is a great idea.

**paulr** · 4-Feb-2006, 10:18

you guys, this is the most civilized, no-bs discussion on the topic i've ever seen. in the land of film vs. digital jihads, these more mundane ideological differences seem like a tea party. scone, anyone?

**Paul Kierstead** · 5-Feb-2006, 18:17

I have a six-computer household, including Linux, Windows and Mac. For the last quite a while, photo work has been done on the windows machine; the mac is for all the 'productivity' stuff, the Linux machines keep it all togather.

I have decided to migrate my photowork to the Mac; I hesitated previously due to the performance gap in the price range I am willing to spend, but the new iMac seemed to be the way to go, so I obtained a new Intel iMac 20", which I have been using for a few days now.

I will say this: If your intention is to scan film, edit and print on the Intel Mac, be prepared to be patient. It isn't just Photoshop that isn't there yet for the new ones, it is scanning programs, printing apps, organization apps, monitor profiling, etc. All the little bits that make up a full digital darkroom are still not universal yet. This makes for a tough decision. When I bought it, I planned on the transition from using the windows machine fully to using the mac fully to take the rest of the year, and I still see that being the way.

I will say, the build quality on the new on is fantastic; it is truly a beautiful machine to look at and use, right down to things like a very flexible power cord which doesn't bend ways you don't want it to, and a very beautiful display.

It's your call: Buy an Intel one, where the future is but where the bleeding edge also is, or a PowerPC one, well mature and good for many years to come. I think we will see solid Universal binaries (i.e. PowerPC support) for an absolute minimum of 5 years for software being produced now. New software by new vendors might be a little different.

One other thing, is expect to see some deals on the PowerPC ones coming up, or perhaps some very nice used ones for good deals.

**Eduardo Aigner** · 5-Feb-2006, 19:21

One word:
productivity
This is all about OS X. And it's great!

**gfen** · 7-Feb-2006, 07:29

I've been using computers for about 20 years now. That's not so long as some, but in that time frame I've done it all from pure recreation to self-taught nerdy to an actual job as a sysadmin. I've seen alot of things and used many different OSes and none of them gets it right like MacOS X does.

It just works, and it works how you want it to in a way that makes sense. I can't explain it; I can still do things more efficently in a Windows enviroment (because that's what all of my customers use) than I can in a OSX enviroment, but X brings a smile to my face everytime I work with it because of how it all comes together. Not too mention, Windows has gotten so ridiculous I refused to help friends and family with XP.

That said, buy a Macintosh. You won't go wrong. However, if Photoshop is your primary focus do NOT buy a new Intel mac. Buy one of the G5's they have on blowout, as Adobe has no intention of releasing fat binaries for the x86 processors til 2007. That means you either buy an Intel and use their Rosetta emulator, or buy a G5.

Buy the G5.

Buy the G5 iMac. They've been dumping last year's G5 iMac in the refurb store for $750 on up. For $950 you can't beat a 2ghz G5, 17" and SuperDrive model. Omit the superdrive for $850. You'll have support for the life of this machine, and there's no comparison between the G5 and the previous systems (I've also been seriously using a G3/500 iBook, a G4/500 cube, and a beige G4/466 to compare this too). The iMac is truly fantastic, and this from someone who thought they'd never buy an iMac.

I admit, I've skipped the bulk of this thread. I should be reading, but there's my input for the small budget types.

**Frank Petronio** · 7-Feb-2006, 09:22

Compared to a "super high-end" strategy it may make more sense to upgrade to a budget G5 iMac for 2006, then swap up to the latest, greatest Intel Mac system next year when everything comes together. The G5 iMac will iMac will still be a useful machine for the students/friends/family that need a simple basic system, and for under a grand you get to work at 90% of full speed for the bulk of 2006.

Rob Galbraith just did a real world test of imaging applications and rated the Intel Macs as "about like a G4 Powerbook" for the Rosetta emulation (scanning and Photoshop apps). So there really isn't any urgency to get an Intel Mac at this point. The quad G5 tower was something like 3-4X faster at this moment.

**Emre Yildirim** · 7-Feb-2006, 22:26

I agree with what most people said here. In my opinion it's better to get a new 'Intel Core Duo' Mac, since this will be the future for Apple. These machines are 3x faster than the G5 and consume less power. I think Apple will eventually have to dump the PowerPC architecture (G3, G4, G5 etc) because it'll be too expensive to support.

Oh yeah, while I use Windows at home, I use OS X at work for software development. I love OS X due to my Unix background, but also because of the nice user interface. Everything just seems to work out of the box.