Migrating to OSX--what Macs are good enough?

[rageman]

I am looking at migrating our design dept at work to OSX and would like to know your opinions on some hardware/software concerns I have:
1. Our current machines are:
Dual G4 533 DA, 512MB Ram, 32MB video
2x Dual G4 450, 512MB Ram, 32MB video
B&W G4 450, 512MB Ram, 16MB video
Would all of these cut it? If not, should I just upgrade them or move to new machines? Any of your experiences would be appreciated. We mostly use Pshop and Illustrator, along with Office and some other apps that would not be a problem to run in Classic.
2. Our email server is a MS Exchange server, so we all have to run MS Outlook as our email client. I don't see a version for OSX, and running classic all the time to check email seems like a waste. Anyone know a way around that one?
3. We currently use ATM to handle all our type; is Suitcase the best choice for OSX, or do you have an app you like better?
TIA,
Sean

 

[rageman]

Sorry, was just looking at Entourage X and it seems that would solve the email problem. Ignore my ignorance

 

[pepeleuepe]

I can't help you with the software stuff, but hardware wise you should be fine. I used to run OS X on a 366mhz iBook SE, which is a G3 with 640mb or RAM. It ran respectably well and I used it everyday for about a year. I never ran the OS X version of Photoshop/Illustrator on that machine, but I'm guessing it will run fine on your machines.

The best thing you could do to speed them up a bit would be to upgrade all the machines to 1GB of RAM. OS X loves all the RAM it can get, and the upgrade for all three should be around $300 total (about $90 per machine).

Happy upgrading

 

[Freg3000]

Yes they should all work fine. Additionally, you should upgrade to Panther, as it has the greatest speed boasts on the more older Macs.