Whats the best?

[Nahte]

Im going to be going into college this year, majoring in graphic design. And i need a new computer. I've been thinking about getting the new Dual 2 GHz G5. But looking at the shipping dates it looks like it will be shipping the 28th of August and I start school the 25th. And I need a computer to start school with.

Should I get the G4, wait for the G5, or just get pc?

 

[hugemullens]

Its like a week you'd go without. First week is nothing too important anyways. and i'm sure they have labs to do your work in. My advice is: do you really need a dual 2ghz??? Maybe you could get the dual g4 not cause of ship dates but to keep the price down. That extra 10 seconds on your photoshop filter isnt gonna deterime if you get an A or not. I'd say go dual g4 or maybe 1.6 g5 just for the price.

 

[cr2sh]

As a recent college graduate.. I must assure you, the first week means nothing (or depending on your major the entire first year) ... but I have two pieces of advice for your college preperation:

1. Buy the dual 2GHz g5
2. Dump your girlfriend

Good luck
What school are you attending and what is your planned major?

 

[rainman::|:|]

i'd say wait for a few days, i agree nothing will happen requiring a computer anyway... A G5 might be your best bet if you can afford it, it will retain it's retail value longer and take a lot longer to become obsolete, since it's not just a speed jump but an architecture jump.

Tho i agree a dual processor might be overkill... but i don't know your specific needs...

pnw

 

[NavyIntel007]

Originally posted by cr2sh
As a recent college graduate.. I must assure you, the first week means nothing (or depending on your major the entire first year) ... but I have two pieces of advice for your college preperation:

1. Buy the dual 2GHz g5
2. Dump your girlfriend

Good luck
What school are you attending and what is your planned major?

I must agree... For the first month you won't have much work.

And definitely dump your girlfriend... if not it'll be over by christmas.

 

[bastardx]

I would say if you could afford the G5, go for it, because the majority of the software you will use throughout your years will thank you for it.
Single vs Dual processors is more of your taste, I personally have a dual processor system, and love it, it multitasks very well without choking, but its a pc, and none of the OSes handle multitasking quite as well as OS X to begin with, if you get heavily into photoshop, which being in graphic design, I will assume you will, it is optimized for dual processors, and even if the programs you don't use are, OS X is, so if you can justify the costs by improved multitasking, being able to handle SMP apps better, etc, go for the dual 2.0, otherwise, going with the 1.6 and a gig of ram may prove to be a good value.

 

[zim]

If you will be living in the dorm, check to see if they have requirements. Some, few but some, colleges are starting to enforce laptops only when living in dorms. Reason is simply to save space and cram more bodies in the room.

Also be sure to get some security for your purchase, whatever it maybe. I would recommend getting a pad lock to protect the internals.

I also agree with the above, you will most likely not need the computer for the first few weeks, in fact, if you are going into design, most schools do not start students on the computers until their 2nd year.

 

[zarathustra]

As a graphic designer, I must tell you that you can easily go through the first few SEMESTERS without a computer. All you need is paper a nice set of pencils and a sharpie. That's pretty much it. You will also purchase a buttload of art supplies: paints, specialty papers, materials, canvases - thousands of dollars worth.

Granted, later in your portfolio classes having a good computer is a blessing, but again not a necessity. Generations of graphic designers graduated without a computer, and you could too.

If you have the money, buy the computer, you'll enjoy it, but remember it is not to be your crutch in design. It is only a tool, very much like a nice pencil. A dual processor, kick-ass pencil.

 

[KentuckyApple]

I too agree that you should get the dual G5 ( I just did). As a recent graduate that had to cope with the same 400 mhz imac for 3 years, I can tell you that the initial high investment in the G5 will prove to be priceless in 3 or 4 years when you are working on large projects with deadlines. You will thank yourself come senior year.

 

[jbomber]

Originally posted by zarathustra
As a graphic designer, I must tell you that you can easily go through the first few SEMESTERS without a computer. All you need is paper a nice set of pencils and a sharpie. That's pretty much it. You will also purchase a buttload of art supplies: paints, specialty papers, materials, canvases - thousands of dollars worth.

Granted, later in your portfolio classes having a good computer is a blessing, but again not a necessity. Generations of graphic designers graduated without a computer, and you could too.

If you have the money, buy the computer, you'll enjoy it, but remember it is not to be your crutch in design. It is only a tool, very much like a nice pencil. A dual processor, kick-ass pencil.

word.

seriously, i got to school all ready and raring to jump on the computer and start kicking some ass, but it wasn't until second semester that we even looked at computers for design work.

i'd say hold out for the G5 to ship, or if you can hold out even longer, wait til the Dual 3Ghz ships this time next year...

Mmmm... 3 Ghz...

 

[Abstract]

I don't want to repeat what has been said, but I will. Wait wait wait. All you have to do is wait an extra 2 weeks. No biggie, especially not during the first few weeks of your 1st year of university/college. Do you know what I did? Nothing.

Video games (eg: Halflife) over the school computer network only came after a month of school when people started to know each other better.

 

[maradong]

i d wait that extra week if i were you. ,-)