Hey all. I have been a PC user for pretty much all of eternity and am finally ready to jump ship to a better system. I am currently on a PC P-III 900Mhz with 512M of ram and a 13 gig HD. I was looking at maybe getting an ibook or waiting for a possible new 970 desktop to use with my current flat panel monitor. I do a lot of web work (photoshop, golive etc) and the rest of my time is spent using the internet and typing papers for school (my major is legal studies). What would everyone suggest? I appreciate everyone's time.
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Help..looking to switch
- Thread starter jdstoddard
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I'd wait - you've got a few weeks and we'll be hearing something new at WWDC on the 23rd of June. No sense to shell out money, especially if you can afford to wait.
Good luck!
D
Good luck!
D
are you a gamer? is money a major factor? If you are not a gamer,and dont have a lot cash go for a powermac now and get all that free stuff they are handing out with powermacs. But on the otherhand photoshop should scream on a new powermac 970/G5 or whatever they will call the mac to come. wait till WWDC then make a decision would be my advice.
I don't do any gaming whatsoever. Maybe some online flash stuff, but thats cross platform anyways. I would be looking at the low end model (around 1,400) or so. I can buy it through my school for a couple hundred dollars off the price of 1,499 (current G4). Regardless, I want to wait till after WWDC to see whats coming. I just hope something new comes out before August!!
DONT
As others have said. Don't buy *anything* right now. The mac is on the verge of a platform-shaking transformation. Don't listen to the "what are you going to do with it anyway, you don't need that much power" nay-sayers. (I have a feeling most of them are trying to sucker newb's into buying out apples stock so the transition takes place sooner... <smile/>)
Right now mac laptops are *barely* acceptable. The desktops are all a joke. (And please, fanboys, I say that as a mac lover.) In two and a half weeks that situation may change dramatically.
Sit tight. I sure as hell am.
Cheers,
prat
As others have said. Don't buy *anything* right now. The mac is on the verge of a platform-shaking transformation. Don't listen to the "what are you going to do with it anyway, you don't need that much power" nay-sayers. (I have a feeling most of them are trying to sucker newb's into buying out apples stock so the transition takes place sooner... <smile/>)
Right now mac laptops are *barely* acceptable. The desktops are all a joke. (And please, fanboys, I say that as a mac lover.) In two and a half weeks that situation may change dramatically.
Sit tight. I sure as hell am.
Cheers,
prat
Just like everyone else, I agree that you should wait until after WWDC. One more thing that you should know is that Apple will drop the prices of any current line of computers if/when new models are announced. So, if you decide that you don't want or need one of the brand new models that Apple may announce at WWDC, you'll find that the current offerings for that particular line of computers will be cheaper in order to be cleared out.
Re: DONT
over general and unfair... I have an ibook 900 and my family has a 1 Ghz emac and both are far more than "barely acceptable" for our needs. But that said, yes, wait for WWDC and see what pops up.
over general and unfair... I have an ibook 900 and my family has a 1 Ghz emac and both are far more than "barely acceptable" for our needs. But that said, yes, wait for WWDC and see what pops up.
Re: Re: DONT
I agree. I've got an iBook 800 - my first Mac - and I'm perfectly happy with it (except it could do with some more memory). I also agree with waiting for WWDC.
I agree. I've got an iBook 800 - my first Mac - and I'm perfectly happy with it (except it could do with some more memory). I also agree with waiting for WWDC.
Re: Help..looking to switch
Looks like you your needs are for two different computers here
.
For the internet and typing papers, any current Mac would do. An entry-level iBook or eMac (depending on whether you want portable or not) would be more than enough. Even a used Mac would do (my 5-year-old G3 350MHz would suffice). Just to give you an example, I'm using the G3 350 as an animation/modeling workstation. It's close to fast enough (waiting for a Powerlogix G3 800 upgrade, which will make it fast enough), and in all other repects, has everything needed to get the job done. And I'm running the lastest Mac OS on it (10.2.6). If I were rendering with it, that would be a whole different ball game. You can never have enough speed for rendering. That's why I'm looking forward to the PowerMac 970s.
For PhotoShop and GoLive, more horsepower than the consumer Macs would come in handy of course. Unless you're not in a hurry. If you need the maximum possible speed, and have at least 2,000$ to spend, I'd suggest waitng 'til after the WWDC. Otherwise, the 1GHz-single and 1.25GHz-dual (better for PhotoShop) are pretty good all-around buys. But then, you're probably better off waiting anyways, as the price on those is likely to drop in July.
Looks like you your needs are for two different computers here
.For the internet and typing papers, any current Mac would do. An entry-level iBook or eMac (depending on whether you want portable or not) would be more than enough. Even a used Mac would do (my 5-year-old G3 350MHz would suffice). Just to give you an example, I'm using the G3 350 as an animation/modeling workstation. It's close to fast enough (waiting for a Powerlogix G3 800 upgrade, which will make it fast enough), and in all other repects, has everything needed to get the job done. And I'm running the lastest Mac OS on it (10.2.6). If I were rendering with it, that would be a whole different ball game. You can never have enough speed for rendering. That's why I'm looking forward to the PowerMac 970s.
For PhotoShop and GoLive, more horsepower than the consumer Macs would come in handy of course. Unless you're not in a hurry. If you need the maximum possible speed, and have at least 2,000$ to spend, I'd suggest waitng 'til after the WWDC. Otherwise, the 1GHz-single and 1.25GHz-dual (better for PhotoShop) are pretty good all-around buys. But then, you're probably better off waiting anyways, as the price on those is likely to drop in July.
Re: DONT
Funnneeeee
Only true if you're into high-end video editing or 3D rendering. Don't go overboard on the speed thing. Only a minority of users actually need blazing fast speed. And I happen to be one of them. Or will be, once I get all my modelling done, and actually start rendering. Until then, my newly upgraded G3 800 will be plenty fast. A 1.42GHz dual G4 would be a waste of money. I doubt I'd see much differerence, productivity-wise. Why are some people making such a big deal about speed?! So few actually need it. How the software and OS is designed and works impacts productivity so much more...
End of rant.
Funnneeeee
Only true if you're into high-end video editing or 3D rendering. Don't go overboard on the speed thing. Only a minority of users actually need blazing fast speed. And I happen to be one of them. Or will be, once I get all my modelling done, and actually start rendering. Until then, my newly upgraded G3 800 will be plenty fast. A 1.42GHz dual G4 would be a waste of money. I doubt I'd see much differerence, productivity-wise. Why are some people making such a big deal about speed?! So few actually need it. How the software and OS is designed and works impacts productivity so much more...
End of rant.
Re: Re: Re: DONT
I will add my vote to this one. I am waiting for WWDC to decide what kind of Mac desktop to get. The iBook is a perfect portable machine the way it is, but more power is always welcome
I will add my vote to this one. I am waiting for WWDC to decide what kind of Mac desktop to get. The iBook is a perfect portable machine the way it is, but more power is always welcome
Re: Re: DONT
<smile/>
Start of rant:
Until I see mac hardware that opens Terminal.App from a *COLD* start instantaneously and can resize a 1000 picture iPhoto window smoothly without jumping, I don't view thier hardware as up to snuff. Their OS and windowing system do a lot more than other systems, therefore, for an ideal experience, they need better hardware. (Bandwidth man! Bandwidth!) I regularly go into the apple store in Palo Alto and try resizing an iPhoto window on the dual-1.4s. Yup, still jumps. Not acceptable.
I *hate* the cognitive dissonance these sorts of things add to my otherwise superb OSX experience.
Win32 is relatively lightweight, and really doesn't feel different on a 600 Mhz machine compared to a 3 ghz slammer (although certain activities will certainly feel faster: compiling, etc.). With linux this is even more the case. OSX is not like these however. It sacrafices effeciency for cool effects and a flexible architecture.
Some people disparagingly call this "eye candy." I call it fantastic, and feel it is a major enhancement to my computer experience, if it is done well and executed properly. Apple has gotten the aesthetics right, but, IMO, they don't have the hardware to support it yet.
Faster, IBM, faster. (And, as always, just my opinion. YMMV)
Cheers,
prat
Originally posted by ZeeOwl
Funnneeeee
Only true if you're into high-end video editing or 3D rendering. Don't go overboard on the speed thing. Only a minority of users actually need blazing fast speed.
...
End of rant.
<smile/>
Start of rant:
Until I see mac hardware that opens Terminal.App from a *COLD* start instantaneously and can resize a 1000 picture iPhoto window smoothly without jumping, I don't view thier hardware as up to snuff. Their OS and windowing system do a lot more than other systems, therefore, for an ideal experience, they need better hardware. (Bandwidth man! Bandwidth!) I regularly go into the apple store in Palo Alto and try resizing an iPhoto window on the dual-1.4s. Yup, still jumps. Not acceptable.
I *hate* the cognitive dissonance these sorts of things add to my otherwise superb OSX experience.
Win32 is relatively lightweight, and really doesn't feel different on a 600 Mhz machine compared to a 3 ghz slammer (although certain activities will certainly feel faster: compiling, etc.). With linux this is even more the case. OSX is not like these however. It sacrafices effeciency for cool effects and a flexible architecture.
Some people disparagingly call this "eye candy." I call it fantastic, and feel it is a major enhancement to my computer experience, if it is done well and executed properly. Apple has gotten the aesthetics right, but, IMO, they don't have the hardware to support it yet.
Faster, IBM, faster. (And, as always, just my opinion. YMMV)
Cheers,
prat