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lindsayanng

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 4, 2008
1,515
1
East Haven, CT
My husband has had this G4 for about 10 years or more.. He loves it, and it works just fine, but he has started a photography business and needs MORE. We dont have a ton of money to spend on a new desktop (we got our macbook pro a few years ago) but we decided we REALLY need it.

The desk top will be used for photo editing (rather large files) and a lot of internet stuff (for his website)

So what do you think is a good option?? The iMac is definitely within our price range, is this still a step up from the G4? I am assuming so.

The thing is, that computer is a freak bull. It is amazing for how old it is. Its my way of PROVING to pc owners that macs are better (i have never met a 10y/oPC) But its time.. I need to sell it or put it to rest.

So i am taking suggestions on which computer we should get.

I know the bigger the better, but the money isnt there.. whats the lowest i can get but will still do the job of editing large files quickly
 

dpaanlka

macrumors 601
Nov 16, 2004
4,868
30
Illinois
So what do you think is a good option?? The iMac is definitely within our price range, is this still a step up from the G4? I am assuming so.

I'd certainly say so. Any new Mac, even the Mini, is going to seem 4,000 times faster than a first generation G4.
 

lindsayanng

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 4, 2008
1,515
1
East Haven, CT
what do you think a fair price to ask for this computer would be?? i mean, it literally would be PERFECT for anyone who's not a photographer, web designer, or video editor.. for the average person who uploads their camera photos and messes around on myspace, its PERFECT!
 

darkblu

macrumors regular
Jan 20, 2008
146
0
My husband has had this G4 for about 10 years or more.. He loves it, and it works just fine, but he has started a photography business and needs MORE. We dont have a ton of money to spend on a new desktop (we got our macbook pro a few years ago) but we decided we REALLY need it.

The desk top will be used for photo editing (rather large files) and a lot of internet stuff (for his website)

So what do you think is a good option?? The iMac is definitely within our price range, is this still a step up from the G4? I am assuming so.

The thing is, that computer is a freak bull. It is amazing for how old it is. Its my way of PROVING to pc owners that macs are better (i have never met a 10y/oPC) But its time.. I need to sell it or put it to rest.

So i am taking suggestions on which computer we should get.

I know the bigger the better, but the money isnt there.. whats the lowest i can get but will still do the job of editing large files quickly
editing large files quickly is a matter of lots and lots of RAM. otherwise, CPU-wise a mid-range-clocked core2 duo would suffice; i'm into amature photography myself and i'm doing all my photo-related (albeit, limited) work on a G4 mini (1.25GHz, 512MB RAM), where the big bottleneck is RAM. for your purposes, and keeping in mind the money factor, i'd say you can get a RAM-maxed-up (2GB) C2D mini, and keep your original monitor (if it's CRT chances are it's better than most of the current LCDs), or put the saved money toward a new professional monitor (the iMac's monitor is nothing special, the 24" is clearly better than the 20" one but, still, not exactly spotless).

a 2GB RAM, 2GHz C2D mini shoud cost you ~900usd. should handle reasonably editing of multi-MPixel images, and would never pause at any web-related work.

but don't just take some forum advice on that - try it hands-on first. find somebody with a 2GB, ~2GHz C2D mac and ask them to testdrive it for 5 minutes - open a large image in an editor, see how it feels to you.
 

lindsayanng

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 4, 2008
1,515
1
East Haven, CT
SkippyThorson, not sure what youre talking about, but i will send you pics of what i have. I was never a mac person until i met my husband.. now i LOVE my macs and its all we have.. but as for the TYPE of G4, i will have to figure that out. We still have the original CD it came with!

Anyways, I will come back with the info about the G4 and you all can help me get an idea of what to ask for it.. AND with pictures.

darkblu thanks for the info. I really appreciate it. The whole Ghz vs. RAM thing always had me a tad confused, you clarified it.

For now, we bought some RAM for the G$ to see if it would speed it up, but i dont know. You can only do so much with it..
 

lindsayanng

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 4, 2008
1,515
1
East Haven, CT
editing large files quickly is a matter of lots and lots of RAM. otherwise, CPU-wise a mid-range-clocked core2 duo would suffice; i'm into amature photography myself and i'm doing all my photo-related (albeit, limited) work on a G4 mini (1.25GHz, 512MB RAM), where the big bottleneck is RAM. for your purposes, and keeping in mind the money factor, i'd say you can get a RAM-maxed-up (2GB) C2D mini, and keep your original monitor (if it's CRT chances are it's better than most of the current LCDs), or put the saved money toward a new professional monitor (the iMac's monitor is nothing special, the 24" is clearly better than the 20" one but, still, not exactly spotless).

a 2GB RAM, 2GHz C2D mini shoud cost you ~900usd. should handle reasonably editing of multi-MPixel images, and would never pause at any web-related work.

but don't just take some forum advice on that - try it hands-on first. find somebody with a 2GB, ~2GHz C2D mac and ask them to testdrive it for 5 minutes - open a large image in an editor, see how it feels to you.

I guess that is a good thought because i would be able to use the nice, large monitor that we have.. but the 2.0 vs. the 2.4 ghz is better for performance, correct??

Does anyone here know if you can run two monitors with the iMac?
 

Matsta

macrumors newbie
Sep 9, 2008
14
0
I guess that is a good thought because i would be able to use the nice, large monitor that we have.. but the 2.0 vs. the 2.4 ghz is better for performance, correct??

Does anyone here know if you can run two monitors with the iMac?

Yes, the 2.4ghz iMac would be faster, but its not going to be very noticeable. The only downside to the Mini, is you can only have 2gb of RAM. I noticed a quite big difference when I upgraded from 2gb to 4gb of RAM with Photoshop.

If you count, the iMac screen as the first screen, yes you can. You need to buy a Mini-dvi to dvi/vga cable in order to plug another monitor in. There are boxes which split your monitor connection into 2, so you can have 2 virtual monitors but you would have to look into that, most of them rely on software, meaning they will most likely be PC only. Anyways thats just my 2¢ :)
 

lindsayanng

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 4, 2008
1,515
1
East Haven, CT
thanks,. I did do a search and it seems that it is more than doable. He has a really nice vega (i think) monitor and wants to use that if he can.

I did look at the iMac refurbs and they have some for about $1000 and then i can get the apple care, things SHOULD be good..
 

jodelli

macrumors 65816
Jan 6, 2008
1,219
4
Windsor, ON, Canada

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TheG3Guy

macrumors member
Aug 18, 2008
66
0
New Milford,CT
hi, dont yell at me for telling you to get another powerpc, but id look for a used powermac G5 Dual 1.8, or 2GHz, they can be as cheap as 550$, and they are highly upgradeable. Its not intel, but Im not going to buy intel anytime soon as powerpc is still serving me fine
 

iShater

macrumors 604
Aug 13, 2002
7,025
464
Chicagoland
hi, dont yell at me for telling you to get another powerpc, but id look for a used powermac G5 Dual 1.8, or 2GHz, they can be as cheap as 550$, and they are highly upgradeable. Its not intel, but Im not going to buy intel anytime soon as powerpc is still serving me fine

I agree with this post if:

1) You can get a Dual G5 for a really good price.
2) Do have the need for extra space inside it.
3) Have PPC software and upgrading to Intel native ones is too expensive for you (PhotoShop and others)

If the reasons above do not apply to you, then by all means get a refurb iMac and reuse your monitor.
 

lindsayanng

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 4, 2008
1,515
1
East Haven, CT
I never even THOUGH up upgrading the software.. so you are saying that the new macs (with intel processor - including imac) can not run the same Photoshop, Lightroom, and illustrator as my G4!!

I guess it doesnt matter. I have them on my laptop, which means at some point we got the right programs, i just have to see where the s/n and registrations went..

as for room, i dont really need extra room because all images are archived when we are finished with them.. SO theres only ever going to be a few images on the cpu at a time. The rest are either burned and put in a data fire safe box, or put on the external hard drive
 

iShater

macrumors 604
Aug 13, 2002
7,025
464
Chicagoland
I never even THOUGH up upgrading the software.. so you are saying that the new macs (with intel processor - including imac) can not run the same Photoshop, Lightroom, and illustrator as my G4!!

I guess it doesnt matter. I have them on my laptop, which means at some point we got the right programs, i just have to see where the s/n and registrations went..

as for room, i dont really need extra room because all images are archived when we are finished with them.. SO theres only ever going to be a few images on the cpu at a time. The rest are either burned and put in a data fire safe box, or put on the external hard drive

They work under Rosetta, so performance might not be taking advantage of your machine's true power, but will be pretty fast still I think.

And by room I meant physical space for any internal drives/burners/etc. that you guys might still need to buy/use. External for drives is always available on all the systems.
 

lindsayanng

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 4, 2008
1,515
1
East Haven, CT
ohh gotcha. Well, the only thing this new computer would be used for is editing image files and some web design stuff. I read that i MIGHT need a special graphics card for the dual monitors, or a splitter, i read BOTH ways of doing it a guess.. but as for other ports (is that the right word?) i am not entirely sure i need more than that. Oh yea, a CD/DVD burner..

I looked online just for the heck of it for a G5 and could not find anything from a site that looked reputable anyways.. I guess i also want a new one just so i can have the apple care and all that
 

iShater

macrumors 604
Aug 13, 2002
7,025
464
Chicagoland
ohh gotcha. Well, the only thing this new computer would be used for is editing image files and some web design stuff. I read that i MIGHT need a special graphics card for the dual monitors, or a splitter, i read BOTH ways of doing it a guess.. but as for other ports (is that the right word?) i am not entirely sure i need more than that. Oh yea, a CD/DVD burner..

I looked online just for the heck of it for a G5 and could not find anything from a site that looked reputable anyways.. I guess i also want a new one just so i can have the apple care and all that

Since this is for work, get something with the Apple Care warranty. All you need to hook the external monitor is a cable that matches the port on it, which is mini-DVI i believe. ($20 or so)
 

lindsayanng

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 4, 2008
1,515
1
East Haven, CT
We got the apple care on every cpu we have gotten from them, so we will definitely get one from them again this time. Its also a write off, so its not TOO bad.

Seems like there is a lot of interested in my G4. I guess people like those things!!
 

jodelli

macrumors 65816
Jan 6, 2008
1,219
4
Windsor, ON, Canada
We got the apple care on every cpu we have gotten from them, so we will definitely get one from them again this time. Its also a write off, so its not TOO bad.

Seems like there is a lot of interested in my G4. I guess people like those things!!

I love the one I have. It's just so easy to play with the innards without seriously modding it that I'm not ready to let go yet.
(Sorry about the Apple Menu post; of course you knew.)
 

lindsayanng

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 4, 2008
1,515
1
East Haven, CT
its all good.. you never know who you are talking to on these forums. I could be some housewife who is trying to get back at her husband for looking at porn on his computer..

But i'm not..

Anyways.. What do you think a FAIR asking price is for my G4..

They DEFINITELY are awesome computers, and we just put more RAM into it and it opens the big programs super quick now.. WAY better than the "top consumer reports rated" PC that i have at work!!!

I just have NO IDEA where to price it at. places all over the net are ALL OVER THE PLACE
 

SkippyThorson

macrumors 68000
Jul 22, 2007
1,662
917
Utica, NY
Ahhhh. The tower. By G4, I thought you were referring to a different computer. The iMac in 2003 was a little dome base with a chrome arm holding up a flat panel display. That was a beautiful machine. Wish they kept making those towers too, they were nice. :)
 

lindsayanng

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 4, 2008
1,515
1
East Haven, CT
ohh.. sorry to disappoint.. Yea, its the power mac TOWER, but the imac.. i guess i should have clarified.. either way, i still have people interested, and am not sure what to ask for.. And i asked for an offer, and no one wants to give one.. i think they think i'm a dolt who will just give it away.. i dunno though.. maybe i am a dolt in thinking I can get more than $80
 
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