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Dual 1ghz MDD as main work computer

Sutekidane

Sutekidane

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 26, 2005
936
2
Im about to acquire a dual 1ghz MDD powermac g4 and was thinking of turning it into my main work computer. I do graphic design and own licenses to both cs2 and cs3. I also have retail versions of tiger and leopard. My question is what combination would be reasonable with this machine and if its reasonable using hardware this old for print design. Im not pro or a demanding user, but I do a fair amount illustrator, photoshop, and indesign work. File sizes almost always well under 100mb.

Right now im using a macbook pro and im aware that its much faster than this powermac, but I really would appreciate something I can have multiple hds in. It has 1gb of ram, and a radeon 9600 video card. Its also the non firewire 800 version. (2002)
 
Sutekidane said:
$399
Click to expand...

thats not a bad deal.

i have the dual 1ghz powermac. wasnt bad but it was aging. im on a mac pro now, and being on it i dont know how i could manage on the MDD. of course, i sure did all through college and for nearly 6 years after i bought it. itll do its just but it wont be blistering fast with 100mb PSD files. ive done it, my PSD files were and still are usually that big.

if i were you, id slap a big monitor to the macbook pro and a good logitech mouse and work with photoshop on that.

if u do end up buying the mac pro, make sure to give it as much ram as possible (ram is cheap these days especially for that mac, seeing how its old). also, beware, its VERY noisy.
 
A mac pro would be my first choice, but they are way too expensive. I wish apple would carry a $1999 configuration at their retail stores. Its a bit absurd that if you went to an apple store you would have to spend $2800 to get something decently expandable. Also, the fact that my pc has the same processor as the mac pro and only cost $800 brand new is a bit dissapointing as well.
 
Sutekidane said:
Also, the fact that my pc has the same processor as the mac pro and only cost $800 brand new is a bit dissapointing as well.
Click to expand...

So you are saying that your PC has a Penryn or Woodcrest Xeon processor in it and that the whole computer was only $800?
 
You must have, as that's what one of the processors costs.

I think it's more likely that you have a 6600 in there. Very few in the PC community use single Xeon CPUs in their PCs.
 
Sutekidane said:
A mac pro would be my first choice, but they are way too expensive. I wish apple would carry a $1999 configuration at their retail stores. Its a bit absurd that if you went to an apple store you would have to spend $2800 to get something decently expandable. Also, the fact that my pc has the same processor as the mac pro and only cost $800 brand new is a bit dissapointing as well.
Click to expand...

Sure...

$ 800 gets you about one CPU or 4 cores of the Penryn 1600 MHz FSB, 12 MB L2 cache..

Now, get a decent computer. Good cooling, nice enclosure etc.. and get the Dual Config, i.e. 8 Cores, 12 MB L2 cache per CPU, and 1600 MHz FSB per CPU. Try to get it really quiet, and get EFI support, and not the old BIOS *****.
You got a DirextX 10 compatible grfx card in that $ 800 PC too..?
Nice, steady HD, and trusted RAM?

Gimme that PC NOW!!
 
I would give a big no to CS3

I have a similar setup with 2 gigs of ram running leopard and cs2(Its PPC native). I have 2 Tbs it it and run 3 monitors. It boots in less than 30 seconds!!! These are still great useful machines!
 
I do leopard for the sole reason of front row and use a keyspan remote. Nothing else seems different to me. I don't even think it is noticeably slower. Especially if you max out the ram.
 
I use a dual 1.25ghz at home for my art/photo studio and I maxed the RAM at 2 gb and it kicks totalazz seriously. Photoshop CS works on the fly and uploads very quickly...

Awesome sweetness...:apple:
 
Well no one could compare this to a 6 year old windows box. Mine is the fastest 9 bootable machine I have or that ever will be. I will keep this one longer than it is useful for current purposes. But I feel I have at least another 2 years in its current capacity.

I am throwing in an N card pretty soon since I just bought a macbook I need to serve. I want a Pro, but don't really need it, with this girl all my needs are met.
 
at work i use a dual 1.25 mdd g4 w/2gb of ram.

leopard, quark 6.5, cs2 and lots of misc apps.

it isn't that bad of a machine. but compared to my mac pro at home, it is really slow.
 
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