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Need Directions w/Purchase

H

herpasymplex10

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 12, 2004
4
0
Need some help our direction.

I'm going to be purchasing a Mac.
My main reason is I'm an amateur filmmaker and will be using it to edit
my digital films.
That is pretty much the sole reason for the purchase.
I have a monitor so that is not a concern.

I will use it to surf the web a bit - nothing fancy.
I will use it to burn CD's.

I've got about 2500.00 to play with.

I'd like some tips, advice, etc.
Please.
Thanks
 
how about a dual 1.8 G5, extra ram from crucial and Final Cut Express if you don't have an editing program yet. That seems to fit your budget. FCE is 99 after rebate right now. You could also use a 2nd internal SATA drive, and you could buy that from another vendor so it would be less expensive.
 
Manzana said:
how about a dual 1.8 G5, extra ram from crucial and Final Cut Express if you don't have an editing program yet. That seems to fit your budget. FCE is 99 after rebate right now. You could also use a 2nd internal SATA drive, and you could buy that from another vendor so it would be less expensive.
Click to expand...
Agreed, but I'd get a refurb dual 2.0 ($2K on Apple's site now - go to store.apple.com and click on the SAVE tag). Or, better yet because it's cheaper, get a refurb dual 1.8 - the older ones are better in that the supplied hard drive is larger and there's more room for RAM. Note that the 'new' dual-1.8 is not a replacement for the 'old' one - it's a replacement for the 'old' 1.6. The 'old' 1.8 is a really nice machine, very close in performance to the dual-2.0,
 
jsw said:
Agreed, but I'd get a refurb dual 2.0 ($2K on Apple's site now - go to store.apple.com and click on the SAVE tag). Or, better yet because it's cheaper, get a refurb dual 1.8 - the older ones are better in that the supplied hard drive is larger and there's more room for RAM. Note that the 'new' dual-1.8 is not a replacement for the 'old' one - it's a replacement for the 'old' 1.6. The 'old' 1.8 is a really nice machine, very close in performance to the dual-2.0,
Click to expand...


i'm checking this out.
thanks for the advice
please keep it coming
 
For example, right now, you can get a dual-1.8, 512MB, 160GB hard drive, and Superdrive, for $1800. Good price. Leaves $700 of a bit more RAM and for software.

The 'new' refurb dual 1.8 is $100 cheaper, but has half the RAM, half the RAM slots (for upgrading), and half the disk space. And a crappier video card, I think.

The refurb dual-2.0 is $200 more, and not really worth it to you. Performance gains are minor, and, with your budget, $200 spent on RAM will help more than $200 spent on the minor speed bump. The only reason I bought a dual-2.0 instead of a dual-1.8 is that, when I bought, there was no dual-1.8, just single 1.8's.

Refurb availability varies enormously over short periods of time. If you see something you like, jump on it!
 
Yeah, go with JSW advice. I just got my Dual 2.0 refurb on thursday. And is wicked awesome. I do some filmmaking but probably not as you do, I do it for fun and to share it with families and friends. But I'm a programmer so soon I'll be starting to do more development. Go with the refurb, goo d price and you get the same quality as a new machine from apple. I'm saving some $$$$ to do some upgrades, like hard disk, ram and video card. Does any one knows if HD with 10,000 rpms will work on the G5? I also was between getting the 1.8GHz and 2.0Ghz and last time I checked the 1.8 seems to be a refurb of the new 1.8 so call and make sure that if you're getting the 1.8 you get the old model.
 
hey those refurbs are good enough. even the single g5 they have there will be good enough for your work and you could use the extra dough for software and storage space - which you'll defenitely need for video editing.
 
iBert said:
I also was between getting the 1.8GHz and 2.0Ghz and last time I checked the 1.8 seems to be a refurb of the new 1.8 so call and make sure that if you're getting the 1.8 you get the old model.
Click to expand...
Good advice! Usually, the 160GB drive indicates an 'older' one. But, absolutely, the best advice is to call. But, if you get 512MB RAM and a 160GB drive, then it's not so bad if it's a new 1.8, although the extra RAM slots are very nice. In fact, since you'll likely add RAM over time as you find your need for it increasing, if you can get either an older G5 (except the 1.6) or any of the newer ones (except the new 1.8), you'll be in better shape.

Note though - as Manzana says above - that, really, any G5 made yet will work for you. None are underpowered. We're just trying to help you find the best deals.
 
jsw said:
Good advice! Usually, the 160GB drive indicates an 'older' one. But, absolutely, the best advice is to call. But, if you get 512MB RAM and a 160GB drive, then it's not so bad if it's a new 1.8, although the extra RAM slots are very nice. In fact, since you'll likely add RAM over time as you find your need for it increasing, if you can get either an older G5 (except the 1.6) or any of the newer ones (except the new 1.8), you'll be in better shape.

Note though - as Manzana says above - that, really, any G5 made yet will work for you. None are underpowered. We're just trying to help you find the best deals.
Click to expand...


again
thanks sooo much for your help
i'm at work now and can't do too much
tonight i will

and let you know the progress and any more questions
 
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