Best Powermac for arts student?

[not_batman]

Hi
I'll preface this with an apology incase there have recently been any threads about this exact topic. Also for any newbie mistakes that I might make (OMGLOL FIRST POST!)
I am looking into getting a G5, but I have no idea whether or not I should try to stretch my budget to get a dual 2 instead of dual 1.8. I am in my first year of art school and I will be doing a lot of video editing and sound work over the next 4 or 5 years. I have also just learned that I will be working for a family friend over the next few months making a documentary sort of thing. As well as doing fairly intensive video work I will dabble in Maya (hooray for the learning edition!), do a LOT of photoshop/illustrator work, and some web design on the side.
My questions are; will I really miss the pci-x and the ability to expand to 8GB of ram? and if I decide to get it without the superdrive, can I buy a cheap-o dvd-r drive elsewhere and install it some time in the future?

i am either looking at:
• Dual 1.8GHz PowerPC G5
• 256MB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x128
• 80GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
• ATI Radeon 9600 XT w/128MB DDR SDRAM
• AirPort Extreme Card
• Combo (CD-RW/DVD-ROM)
• Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
• Mac OS X - U.S. English
at $2295 (Canadian, with student descount)

or

• Dual 2GHz PowerPC G5
• 512MB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x256
• 160GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra w/64MB DDR SDRAM
• Combo (CD-RW/DVD-ROM)
• Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
• Mac OS X - U.S. English
at $2745 (also Canadian, also student discount)

Keep in mind I would be upgrading RAM and storage elsewhere and in the case of the dual 2 I would be getting a better vid. card when I could afford it.

I am trying to get the most bang for my very limited buck, so I need some advice as to what would best suit my needs as well as my bank account.

Oh! Also, if I buy the production suite will I be able to install it on my powerbook without violating any TOS or EULA agreements? or can I pay a (hopefully small) fee to allow this?

Thanks for your help! It is much appreciated!

 

[vtprinz]

I don't think there's a huge performance difference between the two, so I'd probably save the money you would have spent for the 2.0 and load the 1.8 with as much memory as you can.


EDIT: is the airport extreme card really necessary? The powermacs are pretty huge and I can't imagine you'll be moving it around a lot. Can't you just leave it hardwired?

 

[vtprinz]

Oh! Also, if I buy the production suite will I be able to install it on my powerbook without violating any TOS or EULA agreements? or can I pay a (hopefully small) fee to allow this?

We just had a huge debate about this very topic. Unless you have multiple licenses, you will be violating the EULA. Whether that really matters or not is up to you. Most people seem to ignore the EULA as it's practically impossible to enforce.

 

[not_batman]

I don't think there's a huge performance difference between the two, so I'd probably save the money you would have spent for the 2.0 and load the 1.8 with as much memory as you can.


EDIT: is the airport extreme card really necessary? The powermacs are pretty huge and I can't imagine you'll be moving it around a lot. Can't you just leave it hardwired?

Thanks, I'll probably end up with the 1.8, cheaper is better when you're in university.

The airport isn't really necessary, but I can foresee myself eventually regretting not having it. Plus, I figure if I am spending 2000 odd dollars $91 is a rather small amount for something that I may regret not having.

I just wish I could afford the 30 inch display

Thanks again!

 

[vtprinz]

Thanks, I'll probably end up with the 1.8, cheaper is better when you're in university.

The airport isn't really necessary, but I can foresee myself eventually regretting not having it. Plus, I figure if I am spending 2000 odd dollars $91 is a rather small amount for something that I may regret not having.

I just wish I could afford the 30 inch display

Thanks again!

I'm pretty sure you can add an airport card any time you want, you don't need to buy it preinstalled.

 

[auxplage]

If I was buying a PowerMac (if I had the money), I would definitely go with the Dual 2.0 ghz. 1 gb RAM sticks are still pretty expensive and you have to add those in pairs into the PowerMac. It would be much cheaper to get the Dual 2.0 because there are more empty slots. You can go with 512 mb sticks which are much cheaper. Just what I would do. Have fun!!!

 

[mrgreen4242]

Sounds like you've decided to go with the 1.8... Just wanted to say that it's probably the right choice. Take the extra money and load up the 1.8 with RAM, better GPU and harddrive space.

Also, you mentioned wishing you could afford the 30", so I thought I would point out that getting two 20" is "only" $1800US with EDU discount, and offers about 90% of the overall screen real estate that the 20" has. Further saving some money would be two Dell 20" Widescreen displays, which would cost less than $1500US.

Good luck with the new Mac, wish I had to decide between a DP 1.8ghz and a 2ghz!

Rob

 

[mrgreen4242]

If I was buying a PowerMac (if I had the money), I would definitely go with the Dual 2.0 ghz. 1 gb RAM sticks are still pretty expensive and you have to add those in pairs into the PowerMac. It would be much cheaper to get the Dual 2.0 because there are more empty slots. You can go with 512 mb sticks which are much cheaper. Just what I would do. Have fun!!!

That's a good point, but you're not going to save $500 that way... Also, you can get up to 2gbs with 512mb DIMMs in the 1.8ghz model, which is pretty good for just about anything.

4gbs in the 1.8ghz would cost you $720US, in the 2.0 you're looking at $560US. The 2.0 is already $500 more, so the 'savings' for 4gbs would be -$340. And that's only if you wanted to go up to 4gbs of RAM.

Of course the extra harddrive, ram, and PCI-X slots may factor in enough to be worth it if 4gbz of ram is your goal. Tough to say then.

Rob

 

[auxplage]

That's a good point, but you're not going to save $500 that way... Also, you can get up to 2gbs with 512mb DIMMs in the 1.8ghz model, which is pretty good for just about anything.

4gbs in the 1.8ghz would cost you $720US, in the 2.0 you're looking at $560US. The 2.0 is already $500 more, so the 'savings' for 4gbs would be -$340. And that's only if you wanted to go up to 4gbs of RAM.

Of course the extra harddrive, ram, and PCI-X slots may factor in enough to be worth it if 4gbz of ram is your goal. Tough to say then.

Rob

Yeah, it is a tough decision. I have also read somewhere on here about the 2.0's being "higher quality (something to do with the logic board)". Is this at all true?

 

[vtprinz]

Why is it that you can't buy the dual 2.0 with the same accessorries as the dual 1.8? I wanted to drop the 2.0 down to 256MB RAM and 80GB HD, to try and lower the gap between the two, but the apple store won't let me...pity

 

[not_batman]

Thanks for all the replies!
I'm going to see if I can't scrounge up a bit more money so I can either go for the dual 2.0, but otherwise I will just max the RAM on the dual 1.8 as I can afford it.

I saw some pretty good deals on S-ATA hard drives at a store downtown, and I'll just get a $500 LCD and use that in conjunction with my old 17" MultiScan till I can afford 1 (or 2!) of the Apple 20" displays.

I do plan on calling Apple or one of the local Apple dealers and asking about getting the 2.0 with less RAM and HD space, though. Just to find out more than anything else.