mcgarry said:
To expand on this, you do not need to buy a video editing application since iLife 2005 already has iMovie HD. cheers.
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Need Help Choosing A computer
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To expand on this, you do not need to buy a video editing application since iLife 2005 already has iMovie HD. cheers.
would a brand new emac be just as good as a imac g4...I'm just trying to see what my options are because g5's are very easy to find..
FF_productions said:
If you plan on buying an eMac, I would hold off on that purchase until later this month.
And to your question, YES.
what im saying is I'm trying to see all the macs that are out there, so I have MORE options to choose from, instead of just buying a new mac..
FF_productions said:
If you live in the states you can buy a "refurb" mac from the Apple Online Store. Or you can fine an Apple reseller who might have some older models in store.
FF_productions said:
Well, in looking at entry-level Macs, the G5 iMacs are the best performers. There's not much point to looking for G4 iMacs as alternatives.
As for the mini, you might buy it instead:
- to save money (pay less to get less)
- you already have a really nice monitor to use and/or want the smallest form factor possible, and don't mind taking the performance hit
As for the eMac, you might buy it instead:
- to save money
the bottom line for me is, I want a mac that can handle final cut pro and that kind of stuff that i throw at it with out spending a lot of money..
Of course everyone wants that, but which mac will final cut pro work best on that doesn't cost a lot of money..
Emac?(hmm..)
G5 imac (duh, but the price, yikes!)?
mac mini (seems out of the question...)
power mac g5(expensive)
Of course everyone wants that, but which mac will final cut pro work best on that doesn't cost a lot of money..
Emac?(hmm..)
G5 imac (duh, but the price, yikes!)?
mac mini (seems out of the question...)
power mac g5(expensive)
FF_productions said:
All of those machines meet the minimum listed system requirements to run FCP. The more expensive ones should run it better, no surprise there.
You can look to the used market, but with iMacs starting at $1299, minis at $499, and eMacs at $799 (with updates soon) ... there are capable machines to be had for cheap, new. If you are eligible, educational prices are still lower. You could also look at refurbished products from Apple, as Maya suggested. There the G5 iMacs starts at $1099.
EDIT: also, if the eMac is worthy of consideration, there's no reason the mini should be "out of the question." They are comparable performers, and the mini can make more sense if you want to use a pre-existing monitor.
FF_productions said:
Here. Or, go to www.apple.com, click on the Store link, then look towards the bottom right for a red tag and "Special Deals."
By the way, back to your very first post today, the $500-ish PCs you see are not comparable stock to the G5 iMacs stock. Configure them similarly, to have similar capabilities, and you will be spending about the same, or even more in some cases. But this has been discussed better elsewhere ..
FF_productions said:
Hi;
I hope I am not too late since I recently "switched" to mac from using a PC.
First to address the question you had about what makes a mac different from a PC.
Processor:
Right now the Macintosh line of computers advertises that their G3/G4/G5 Power Architecture chips are RISC while Intel and AMD are stuck with the slower CISC variety.
RISC means "reduced instruction set computing" while CISC means "complex instruction set computing." Before we compare, I'd just like to say that RISC does not really mean "reduced instruction set" any more than CISC means that the instructions are more complex.
CISC is a philosophy for designing CPUs that are easy to program. Each variable width instruction might perform a series of operations within the processor. The CISC philosophy might include the use of microcode, as well as rich and high level instruction sets, which might map directly to high level languages. Engineers often added a plethora of obscure instructions to a CISC processor, not knowing what might or might not be of use to the coder. In fact, many of the most used CISC instructions are often shorter and simpler than their RISC counterparts, but RISC can run 2 instructions sets per cycle, so even they being more complex to write for their structure makes it to read instruction cycles faster.
In the mid seventies, as memory and processor speed grew, a need was seen for the idea a simpler instructions. The philosophy of RISC came about which uses fixed bandwidth instructions and pipelining, so that an instruction can be fetched in a single operation. RISC processors are very compiler intensive in that the compiler must arrange instructions for the pipeline in the proper order so that the processor does not stall.
____
Also theOS is different... but you already know that.
Now... You have stated an interest in aquiring a G4 system for doing video editing. Many here have already said that at this time and age, getting a G4 system would not be a good idea.
For example, from what I have read, you want to do some video editing and are on a budget for something below $2000. I would suggest flat out an iMac G5. The one with 17" and a superdrive which is around $1599 approximately and if you want you can invest 1gb of ram on it (whcih should go around $200 bucks).
This system is below the $2000 mark, it has a Beautiful Wide screen monitor perfect for running final cut express, or even imovie hd which comes with the machine... and with the 1.2gb ram it has it will run everything awesomely, without you risking investing in a system with a G4 which will not run as good as you could think.
Processor differences in the PowerPC Structure are confucing at the beginning. I would dare say a 1.8 PorwerPC G5 architecture runs along the equivalent line of a P4 3.0Ghz system easily...
I made a good investigation for the Powermac I want to buy. I am in the prowl for a PowerMac Dual 2.0ghz system which should be around $2300 and its perfect for the power user in me. I dont have a need to buy a wide monitor because my flat panel monitor is DVI enabled. And i can drop in 1gb of ram aditionally to the 512 it already has. I plan to work on video, animation, post production and *ahem* gaming.
But in your case the suggestion I gave you should put you in a track for investing on a machine that you can squeeze the juice out for the next 5 years.
I hope my explanation didnt confuse you and enlighted you...
Let me know if you need more help
Kil