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Bocheememon

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 1, 2006
127
0
Fertile, MN
Hello everyone, this is my first time here, asides from lurking!

Well, here is my situation.

I purchased the silent upgraded 1.5 mini to do Photoshop CS2 work for photo-editing. It actually works great! I purchased it because I wanted to wait until CS3 was released and get the future MacBook pro's or Mac Towers. I assume CS3 will be out in 06 fall or 07 spring.

Well, I bought the mini 1 month ago and I called Apple for a refund. They offered me a full refund for my product. My G4 mini is maxed out, and when I max out the other Intel mini, the total comes out to an extra 300 bucks w/tax.

Also, I bought the mini to save money. I want to buy products when I have actual money for the product I really want. I'm a student, so that means I'm poor. I do freelance web design and I am contracted from 2 photographers to assist in weddings. I'm also doing a few weddings and starting a portrait business, but I've scheduled them for late summer/fall. Education is important since that will help me out in the real world! So the money I get now isn't set in stone from month to month; it's pretty random :(

Well, Would the intel mini be better for CS2 than the G4? I noticed it had integrated graphics, but I heard from a user on the forum that Photoshop relies on the processor instead of the GPU. The only benefit I see for it is that I could use it as a backup computer for my future desktop/purchase when CS3 is out.

Is it worth an extra 300 dollars?
 

SmurfBoxMasta

macrumors 65816
Nov 24, 2005
1,351
0
I'm only really here at night.
Bocheememon said:
Hello everyone, this is my first time here, asides from lurking!

Well, here is my situation.

I purchased the silent upgraded 1.5 mini to do Photoshop CS2 work for photo-editing. It actually works great! I purchased it because I wanted to wait until CS3 was released and get the future MacBook pro's or Mac Towers. I assume CS3 will be out in 06 fall or 07 spring.

Well, I bought the mini 1 month ago and I called Apple for a refund. They offered me a full refund for my product. My G4 mini is maxed out, and when I max out the other Intel mini, the total comes out to an extra 300 bucks w/tax.

Also, I bought the mini to save money. I want to buy products when I have actual money for the product I really want. I'm a student, so that means I'm poor. I do freelance web design and I am contracted from 2 photographers to assist in weddings. I'm also doing a few weddings and starting a portrait business, but I've scheduled them for late summer/fall. Education is important since that will help me out in the real world! So the money I get now isn't set in stone from month to month; it's pretty random :(

Well, Would the intel mini be better for CS2 than the G4? I noticed it had integrated graphics, but I heard from a user on the forum that Photoshop relies on the processor instead of the GPU. The only benefit I see for it is that I could use it as a backup computer for my future desktop/purchase when CS3 is out.

Is it worth an extra 300 dollars?

IMHO, NO, the new minis are NOT worth an extra $300 at all. Especially considering the integrated graphics, which suck, even though thats a non-issue where you're concerned......

Also, Adobe has already said it will a good long while before they update CS to universal libs, at which time it may be prudent to move up to a macintel model, not only for native CS operation, but for the dual core chips & more ram that can be installed, both of which CS utilize more fully once it is no longer running under RoSieTTa :)

So for the immediate & intermediate future, a G4 mac w/ a dedicated graphics is the way to go, mini or otherwise, when your primary apps are in CS2........
 

Eidorian

macrumors Penryn
Mar 23, 2005
29,190
386
Indianapolis
Bocheememon said:
Well, Would the intel mini be better for CS2 than the G4? I noticed it had integrated graphics, but I heard from a user on the forum that Photoshop relies on the processor instead of the GPU. The only benefit I see for it is that I could use it as a backup computer for my future desktop/purchase when CS3 is out.

Is it worth an extra 300 dollars?
I was that user too. Wait for Adobe to be universal before you look at the Intel Mac Mini. It'll good then. The GMA 950 does support Quartz Extreme and Core Image. Core Image based transformations in Photoshop (if any :rolleyes: ) will be fast. Just don't expect 3D gaming performance.
 

generik

macrumors 601
Aug 5, 2005
4,116
1
Minitrue
Is there a price reduction on the existing mini too?

I'm also in the market for a little Mac but I have to say the Intel Mini looks underwhelming :(

Edit: For its price that is, it's a decent deal if they kept it at the same price!
 

Eidorian

macrumors Penryn
Mar 23, 2005
29,190
386
Indianapolis
generik said:
Is there a price reduction on the existing mini too?

I'm also in the market for a little Mac but I have to say the Intel Mini looks underwhelming :(

Edit: For its price that is, it's a decent deal if they kept it at the same price!
Look for the Mini in the Apple Refurb store (once it gets there) or on Amazon.com. It's going to be hard to find a better price reduction unless you get a used machine.
 

dmw007

macrumors G4
May 26, 2005
10,635
0
Working for MI-6
As others have stated, I would wait until Photoshop is an Universal Binary before switching to an Intel based Mac. So my advice is to hang onto your Mac Mini G4 for a little bit longer.
 

asherman13

macrumors 6502a
Jul 31, 2005
914
0
SF Bay Area, CA
Eidorian said:
I was that user too. Wait for Adobe to be universal before you look at the Intel Mac Mini. It'll good then. The GMA 950 does support Quartz Extreme and Core Image. Core Image based transformations in Photoshop (if any :rolleyes: ) will be fast. Just don't expect 3D gaming performance.

Plus you can earn some money while you're waiting.
 

Eidorian

macrumors Penryn
Mar 23, 2005
29,190
386
Indianapolis
asherman13 said:
Plus you can earn some money while you're waiting.
Yeah, my suggestion for the Intel Mac Mini GPU naysayers is just wait a revision or two. The iMac G5 had similar pricing/performance issues until Rev. C. Sadly, it jumped to Intel just after that.
 

Bocheememon

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 1, 2006
127
0
Fertile, MN
Thank you!

Thanks for the replies SmurfBoxMasta and Eldorian! Edit: You too dmw007!

I'll save that extra 300 bucks for something like food or rent then.

I did look up benchmarks for Photoshop on the IMacs with intel and I did test out a friends 20'inch Intel IMac which was maxed out as well. My mini could do the tasks just as well if not faster in Photoshop CS2.

2gbs of ram may be nice vs the 1gb in my mini, but what good is it if I have to emulate a program? I have an external harddrive I use for caching, so the extra ram wouldn't be needed I suppose.

I'll keep my G4 Mini.
 

dmw007

macrumors G4
May 26, 2005
10,635
0
Working for MI-6
Bocheememon said:
I'll keep my G4 Mini.

Good choice Bocheememon. Who knows, with the extra money that you saved by not spending $300 and what you can save up over the coming months, perhaps you can afford a nice, new iMac?! :)
 

Eidorian

macrumors Penryn
Mar 23, 2005
29,190
386
Indianapolis
Bocheememon said:
Thanks for the replies SmurfBoxMasta and Eldorian! Edit: You too dmw007!

I'll keep my G4 Mini.
Good pick. If you're using Photoshop on PowerPC just hold out a bit longer for a better Mini in 6 months. I'd wait for a Universal copy of your Adobe products first though. Then get the Intel machine of your choice.
 

generik

macrumors 601
Aug 5, 2005
4,116
1
Minitrue
Urgh.. i just jumped the gun :)

Wanted a mac back after I got rid of my Powerbook, but everything looks so underwhelming in general :(

Later this year I can probably pass it to my parents, they'd appreciate a duo 1.66ghz machine very much over that old AMD Windows XP box
 

Bocheememon

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 1, 2006
127
0
Fertile, MN
Whee

dmw700, asherman13 and Eidorian:

Yeah, I'll wait! It is so tempting to purchase something new when the option is there! Saving money is better as well as earning it. I'll definitely use the 300 dollars for my next computer in the future.

An Imac would be nice, but a new Intel Power Mac with 2 dual core processors would rock...and a 30 inch display.

*drool*

I'd like to see how tge 1.6 mini performs in the photoshop tests!
 

Eidorian

macrumors Penryn
Mar 23, 2005
29,190
386
Indianapolis
Bocheememon said:
dmw700, asherman13 and Eidorian:

Yeah, I'll wait! It is so tempting to purchase something new when the option is there! Saving money is better as well as earning it. I'll definitely use the 300 dollars for my next computer in the future.

An Imac would be nice, but a new Intel Power Mac with 2 dual core processors would rock...and a 30 inch display.

*drool*

I'd like to see how tge 1.6 mini performs in the photoshop tests!
I just got to try an Intel iMac. I was surprised how snappy Rosetta was even on 512 MB of RAM. I fired up Google Earth and once it was translated it was lightning fast. It's just that first startup that takes the most time. (30-50 seconds) After that it's as fast as it is running natively. At least in my eyes. Still, the new iMac overall didn't seem fast ENOUGH to justify the purchase of it. I guess I'll be holding on to my iMac G5 longer now.
 

mrgreen4242

macrumors 601
Feb 10, 2004
4,377
9
Meh. I'm no fan of integrated graphics, but the GMA950 isn't all that bad (for non-gaming stuff) and it's probably better overall than the 9200 in the G4 mini.

Here's some XBench results comparing the two:
http://db.xbench.com/merge.xhtml?doc1=158732&doc2=146457

Honestly, the mini is an obsolete machine. Every component is obsolete. The G4 CPU is a dead end, with it's 133mhz FSB and limited clock speeds. The 4200 rpm HDD is a dog compared to a 5400 rpm drive that is quickly becoming standard in almost all laptops. The 9200 GPU is based on 5+ year old designs. The single RAM slot limits you to 1gb of RAM. The single layer SD is very slow, and will eventually become obsolete, once DL discs get cheap.

This is coming from a current mini owner, who loves his Mac. It's a great computer, and has been the last year, and will be for my wife once I upgrade. I wouldn't buy one now, though. The Core Duo mini is a definite upgrade, across the board.
 

AJBMatrix

macrumors 6502
Feb 6, 2006
252
0
Athens, Georgia
Here is what I have to say...Mac Mini for Photoshop? Are you serious. If this is the computer that you are using to do photoshop with then you might as well go with the newer one. Just get everything else faster because you are not doing a real heavy amount of photo work. Why don't you stick with iPhoto.

But if you are going to get an new Mac Pro or MBP then you should hold off till then. Save your money. A mini is not really for heavey photo editing and Tuesday did not change that. I am currently using Photoshop wiht a MBP and it is really fast. I do not know why people tend to think it is the slowest thing ever. It really is not as fast as all the other Apps but it is still as fast...most likely faster than a G4. It opens faster than the old G4 PB but editing is close to the same speed. Really do not notice any slow down. It is not as advantageous for users as all the other apps are and I highly doubt it is faster than a PPC PowerMac Duel or Quad. But I do professional work and the MBP is great for the portable choice.
 

Bocheememon

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 1, 2006
127
0
Fertile, MN
AJBMatrix said:
Here is what I have to say...Mac Mini for Photoshop? Are you serious. If this is the computer that you are using to do photoshop with then you might as well go with the newer one. Just get everything else faster because you are not doing a real heavy amount of photo work. Why don't you stick with iPhoto.

But if you are going to get an new Mac Pro or MBP then you should hold off till then. Save your money. A mini is not really for heavey photo editing and Tuesday did not change that. I am currently using Photoshop wiht a MBP and it is really fast. I do not know why people tend to think it is the slowest thing ever. It really is not as fast as all the other Apps but it is still as fast...most likely faster than a G4. It opens faster than the old G4 PB but editing is close to the same speed. Really do not notice any slow down. It is not as advantageous for users as all the other apps are and I highly doubt it is faster than a PPC PowerMac Duel or Quad. But I do professional work and the MBP is great for the portable choice.

Yeah, I definitely intend on getting a pro machine. I've been using Photoshop since highschool and am using it intensively in my art education in college. If I do any heavy work, we have nice g5 towers to use. I'll be fine with what I have.

I hate waiting to get what I really intended to purchase! It's like getting a Geo Metro(Mini) because you can't have that nice Eclipse(Mac Pro)

Oh! Does your MacBook get very hot? My TiBook was painfully hot.
 

Eidorian

macrumors Penryn
Mar 23, 2005
29,190
386
Indianapolis
Bocheememon said:
Yeah, I definitely intend on getting a pro machine. I've been using Photoshop since highschool and am using it intensively in my art education in college. If I do any heavy work, we have nice g5 towers to use. I'll be fine with what I have.

I hate waiting to get what I really intended to purchase! It's like getting a Geo Metro(Mini) because you can't have that nice Eclipse(Mac Pro)

Oh! Does your MacBook get very hot? My TiBook was painfully hot.
Yeah, if you're going to make a living off of an application then get a professional machine. Hopefully you can hold out until Photoshop, etc. are universal binaries.
 
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