Any reason not to get iMac G5 for pro use?

[FFTT]

The iMac will cover your needs reasonably well while you're learning how to use these pro applications, but eventually you'll need to upgrade to a full pro tower for HD content.

You'll need to max the RAM and get an external HD
so consider those costs as well.

 

[disconap]

i think you meant kb and MB instead of MB and GB in the L2 cache

When it boils down to it, DONT buy an iMac for "pro-apps". By the nature of the beast, the iMac is the consumer machine.

Youll need a desktop if you want to stay ahead of the curve and continue to work on video in the years to come. You cant upgrade the RAM of an iMac or the graphics card to anything decent. Nor does it have room for another HD.

Digital Video = the best and most upgraded computer u can afford.

The stuff you listed isnt everything. A desktop powermac will render faster, be able to run more apps at the same time and Id go on and on but in the end at the bare minimum the extra cost associated from iMac -> Tower is offest by the length of time you can "get away" with using the tower to do digital video. As HD comes into play over the next couple of years (or months) the iMac will be laggy far behind.

Gotta agree here. The hard drive would be my biggest beef, as if you're editing film, you'll want to expand storage. External storage is expensive and not as reliable.

We do audio recording in a G3 tower (upgraded to a G4 550). It works perfectly, but we have a 200g deep storage drive. And we use a lot of it. Keep in mind that video editing results in significantly larger files than audio editing; an entire album only takes up 3-4 gigs unmixed, but I've come across video editors who have single files that large.

Otherwise, the imac is a good economical call, especially if you are working on one project at a time and can afford either a deep storage drive (like a firewire 205g) or want to be burning dvd backups all the time. But yeah, if you're not working on a bunch of simultaneous projects, the imac isn't that bad, because you can use it for now, buy the tower when it's more affordable for you/your company, and still get a decent resale on the imac (imacs seem to devalue slower than their equivalent towers, but don't quote me on that, it's just based on ebay sales and start prices/release dates).

 

[jacg]

BTW, jacg, try this link to see if that answers your question about gaming: https://forums.macrumors.com/search/?searchid=2233398

I didn't get anywhere with this link but I will head over to that part of the forum and look around or maybe post a specific question. Thanks anyway and enjoy your iMac. Very tempted now!

 

[carpe diem]

iMac's are not that upgradable

 

[rugonnaeatthat]

an iMac is a students friend.

I have an iMac 20 inch and have done limited editing in iMovie but do a lot of Graphic Design work. I have found only pleasure with a system that feels stable and works through work at a reasonable pace - of course nothing computes immediately but it wouldn't be instant on a dual core either.

I like getting a computer that has limitations, like a laptop or an imac because there were design limitations in making it; all aspects of the computer were considered, and in you know it was the best solution given the circumstances. It also puts your mind at ease when you think 'I wish it was faster', you can say to yourself 'but then it would have to be thicker', or 'you'd loose another function to have it the same price' etc etc.

Back to your dilema: Save your money, buy the imac and use the savings to buy a camera or something that will help you in your creative endeavors.

++ I find my imac mobile enough to cart to band practices to record - which might be useful for yourself and film editing if you rent a cabin or something to film a story.

 

[Chaszmyr]

iMac's are not that upgradable

This is such a common misconception it makes me sick. Think about what makes PowerMacs more upgradeable than iMacs.. Okay so they have PCI-X, which means you can use a fibre channel card (which most people never will) and additional video cards for additional displays (which no one ever will), pretty much everything else you would use those slots for is available externally via Firewire or USB2. The iMacs can support 2.5gb of RAM, which is plenty for most people. The PowerMacs have 2 hard drive bays, but hard drives are available externally. PowerMac G5s don't have upgradeable processors.

So for the vast majority of users, the PowerMac has no worthwhile upgrades available that aren't available for the iMac.

 

[rugonnaeatthat]

I forgot to mention that I suggest not going for the blutooth mouse and keyboard. I have regretted it for two reasons a) the blutooth mouse is heavy and tracks in a strange manner. b) whilst the keyboard is great it doesn't act as a USB hub like the wired one - it's nice having a USB port just in front of you for flash drives and the like.

BTW I think the idea of upgradability is redundant nowadays as everything is available as suggested by another poster via firewire and usb. I think it was a popular thought when PC's first gained popularity but not very relevant in todays market.

 

[Monyx]

I think this whole techno-bigger-better obsession seems to hinge on the fact that many want to hide behind power-systems for lack of resourcefulness and creativity.

Well my creativty is still lacking but at least I now feel vindicated having persevered with a G4500DP editing suite to this day

 

[Eidorian]

I'm just waiting on the money for a refurb 20" ACD to try it out! a 20" imac + 20" ACD should be pretty cool.

I can't be an Apple Cinema Display. The iMac only has VGA output. The ACD is DVI only. I'm looking at a Dell 17" LCD.

 

[RatVega]

I respect that opinion, but also tire of it. Unless you're cutting Peter Jackson's next epic, an iMac can easily rough cut picture for all purposes, albeit taking a little longer.

I think this whole techno-bigger-better obsession seems to hinge on the fact that many want to hide behind power-systems for lack of resourcefulness and creativity. You can have a dual-quad-quad for FCP 10, but it won't make you a better editor; you can run Motion on a Mactel, but that won't make your effects enhance your story.

All this to say, you need a system within your budget that'll serve your purposes enough to TEACH you something about technique, mechanics, aesthetics. You can hire tech-geeks (i.e. technicians) later to clean up audio, video, effects, titling. But they'll work for you, pay for your system, while you go on your way to making better art.

I respect your opinion too, but tire of it...

No, I'm not cutting anything for Peter Jackson, but I'm cutting about 12 hours a day, and I get tired of explaining to guys that "bought short" why it takes them 5-10 times as long as it does me to transcode a couple of hours of MPEG-2, or that some of the "nice" effects they see take forever or won't run on the smaller machines. The question asked was "Any reason not to get an iMac G5 for pro use?" There are reasons, I tried to point them out.

I know a pro who cuts on an iMac G5, but he backs it with a 2GHz G5 PM and has a Quad on order... He's already a good editor/producer, soon he'll be an efficient one too... It's the workflow that pays for the larger systems.

 

[disconap]

That in mind, I'd say if you can afford it, go for it. Bulk up on RAM and hard disc space and you should be in tip top shape.

 

[RobHague]

I've looked into it a little more and have found some specs that are greek to me between the machines:

L2 cache: 512MB instead of 1GB
Frontside Bus: 633MHz instead of 1GHz

Graphics-- the iMac has:ATI Radeon X600 Pro with 128MB DDR SDRAM; PCI-Express

Graphics-- the powermac has: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 LE with 128MB of GDDR SDRAM, one single-link DVI port, and one dual-link DVI port

what does all this mean? will I need these extra features?

Did no one mention that the 2.0Ghz PM G5 (i assume thats what jmufellow was comparing to the iMac?) is effectivly 2 CPU's instead of one. I'd imagine thats a pretty big benifit for pro-apps.

 

[Platform]

May not be so relevant but since you are a student, you now also have a TV too