Mac now or wait

[archivue]

you can also buy a 20" emac on the apple store with two optional upgrades :
bettre video card and 2 gigs of ram... then you can ad a second good monitor (eizo, lacie,...).
Start with that combo... and change it in 2 years while keeping the second monitor !

[Howard Slavitt]

No point in waiting months for the new Mac OS. I have the 2.66 dual Intel with only 3 Gigs of RAM. I just installed the new Photoshop CS 3 and it's blazing fast. I have two extra hard drives; it helps for running Photoshop CS 3 to have one hard drive dedicated as a scratch disk and have your OS and apps on one and data on a third. I'd buy the bare machine from Apple, and buy extra RAM and hard drives from Other World Computing. OWC is great to deal with and you'll save a lot of money.

[Frank Petronio]

I'd try to wait another month for the next speedbump/cost value benefit bump. But I doubt it will be significant - a few hundred $

3 gb ram is getting cheaper too

[Ted Harris]

BTW, for those that don't already know .... and most do .... never buy additional RAM from Apple, it costs something like 4x the street price for RAM. If you worry about such things you will want to be sure the RAM you buy is Apple certified, but most from reputable sources will be. My source for RAM for nearly 20 years now is www.datamem.com. I consider them the Midwest Photo of memory and storage. Prices are almost always the cheapest or nearly the cheapest and service is unbeatable. Ask for Bud.

[Henry Ambrose]

I second what Ted wrote about datamem.com. They are a great outfit to deal with.

I've been very, very pleaseed with my 24" iMac and only 2GB RAM. (upgrade to 3 GB is coming soon, the price for 2GB chips has dropped a bunch) A great fast computer and a big monitor all on one for not much money.

If you are buying a MacPro don't bother with the external hard drive for scratch. First is to put all the RAM into the machine you can afford. RAM is way faster than any scratch disk. I don't know how much RAM PS3 can address but put that full amount and a bit more into your new MacPro.

If you do feel the need for scratch disks (or more disks for whatever reason) put them inside on the main bus for maximum speed and no cables and cords hanging off your nice new computer. Its easy to do with that great case design they did this time.

[Doug Keyes]

Vance,
I may be too late to this thread but this site has good info on when to buy in the product cycle. http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/
As far as others comments, I agree with max. amount of ram you can afford, then extra internal hard drive if you still have money. Buying ram and internal hard drives from third party (non-mac) is cheapest and very easy to install yourself (as with most mac hardware and software).
This forum http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/ has good info on hardware as well. The monitor is another choice to consider. The mac lcd screens are good/accurate but I find them too bright. Eizo makes arguably the best lcd but pricey. I think NEC? might also have a good screen. You will want a large screen (at least 20") if doing 4x5 work.
Good luck,
Doug

[solonphotos]

...
Apple was to release the new OS (leopard) in June but now looks like October. Some previous threads on this site have suggested that the leopard OS will be more compatible with PS CS3. I am very concerned about messing up an expensive computer. What advice would you folks provide:
1. Get the Mac now and start learning PS, etc and then buy the leopard upgrade in the fall.
2. Wait until October to jump in so as to avoid having to do all the gyrations involved with upgrading.
Any advice, suggestions will be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Vance Gese

Vance,

Go for it. I bought the Mac Pro quad 3.0 and brought it up to 10 GB of RAM - plus a fast raid 0. It is fast beyond belief. I will wait to see what bugs are in Leopold - and then add it as needed. Get the full PS CS3 and add it to a fresh Intel Mac Pro. There are lots of problems with trying to migrate older system software to the new computer.

This is discussed here:

http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx/.3bc3f95d/22

Dick

[Doug Dolde]

"Apple is expected to release new MacBook Pros in the morning (Tues, June 5th), but whether or not they will represent more than just a minor bump remains unknown. "

http://www.macrumors.com/

[Mike Lewis]

The 1GB RAM that came standard in my Mac Pro has these bizarre "wings" on the DIMMs; apparently they are heat sinks which help keep the machine quiet. I need to buy another 4GB of RAM, but I'm very interested in keeping the machine as quiet as possible. Does anyone know if these DIMM heat sinks come standard with third-party RAM for this machine, or if they are available as a separate item from third-party RAM dealers?

thanks,

Mike Lewis

[Doug Dolde]

Yep Apple announced the new MB Pros today. Now they sport up to 4GB of ram. I think finally we have a desktop replacement in a laptop.