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Would you buy a non Intel Mac anymore?

skunk said:
I have to keep a PPC Mac on hand to drive my Epson SC3000, as Epson have not deigned to release an Intel driver, and a new A2 printer will cost me over £1,000.
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Have you tried something like Vuescan? We use that at work when upgrading to someone's PPC to Intel. Epson says they'll release drivers for most of ours too, some they say they already have (even though they really aren't fully Universal), but we all know how that goes. It's been how many years now, if they haven't yet, they probably won't. Guessing they want you to buy a new scanner as I was instructed to do when talking to another scanner maker. I said I will. Another brands. They're all like that though really.

Anyway, I still had a G5 up until last year. It worked fine. Still does as far as I know. Sold it to someone cheap. It was worth it for them. Better than a mini, and not that much of a difference in speed at the time.
 
Rumor has it that OS 10.6 won't even support PPC. Of course, it's VERY early for that kind of speculation, but at the current rate of OS X updates, which have been lengthening with the later versions, 10.6 is probably at least 24 months away. At which point it will be well into 2010, and PPC Macs will not have been sold for nearly 4 yrs. So it is possible that 10.6 won't be supported on PPCs.
 
Maybe if it was less than $100, but otherwise no. They are going to be long obsolete in a few months.
 
seattle said:
I have been checking craigslist for G5s and wonder if it is even worth it to get a non Intel Mac anymore. I have no old programs that I need or want to run so software is not an issue for me.
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It's all about software....IF you intend to run PPC software and are happy with the performance, than you don't really need a new Mac.

BUT if you would like to run current versions of most software you'll find that the PPC machines will be increasingly missing out on a lot of new stuff, as the Intel Macs reach new levels of performance.

I'm still using a PowerBook G4 and a PowerMac G4 as my main machines, and they do pretty well with Office 2004, Adobe CS2 and iLife '06. I think they'll be good for me for a couple more years if need be, though I'd like to replace my desktop (approaching 7 years old) before too long...

Short answer for you: I'd get an Intel Mac, unless you get a really good deal on a G5 and don't put any further money into upgrades....
 
i got my g4 machines in the last 3 months. i have a very capable mbp, but i prefer my 12" powerbook 'cause i can take it anywhere. i got my imac g4 because i always wanted one since they came out. my work just gave me a new macbook, but i still prefer my powerbook. for what i use computers for, they're just fine. it seems like the only time i use my mbp is to burn dvd's.
 
I'd say that there isn't much reason to get a PPC Mac.

I'd like to get a Macbook. I'm currently using a 1.42 GHz Power PC Mac Mini running Leopard. It's okay but could be better.
 
solvs said:
Have you tried something like Vuescan?
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If the Epson SC3000 was a scanner, that would be an excellent idea, but since it's an A2 printer, it's less useful... 😉

Actually, I've just downloaded the Gutenprint 5.2 drivers, and it now seems to work fine with my Intel Mac running 10.5.2, so it's all good. 🙂
 
I've been trying to make the same decision regarding purchasing a G5.

I currently have an upgraded 1.2 G4 and have maxed out the ram and have set up an external SATA scratch disk. All in all, the performance is adequate for my website and personal art related promo materials for my business.
However when I do larger files - especially 300mg poster images in phototshop it's painful. I see the need for a more powerful machine soon.

The eternal question. I am using CS2, with aspirations of doing stuff with Painter X. Would a G5 be an adequate step up, and service my needs for years to come if I am happy with my current software set up?

An important question would be - for how long would the printing industry be
able to read a CS2 file I produce for jobs?

I ask these questions because a decision to get an Intel Mac Pro also means getting CS3 and other software. Would the expense of an Intel machine justify the cost?

Any advice would most welcome

Thank you.
 
Go intel

I bought a Power Mac g4 graphite just so I could upgrade it a little, and run old Mac OS X versions on it. I have Tiger set as its main, then Panther & Jaguar.
My three intel mac minis and macbook are the machines for editing on these days. My PowerMac G4 is 8 years old.

After using the Power Mac G5 back last year for a few hours, there is a difference in boot-up time by about 15-20 seconds, apps like FCS2 seem to run fine on the G5, but intel is the way to go as now every OS X version they will be dropping a Power PC generation from its requirements, Like Mac OS X Leopard will not run on a G3. G4, G5 or intel only without editing the .dmg image
 
Mac OS X will be supported until 10.6

DTphonehome said:
Rumor has it that OS 10.6 won't even support PPC. Of course, it's VERY early for that kind of speculation, but at the current rate of OS X updates, which have been lengthening with the later versions, 10.6 is probably at least 24 months away. At which point it will be well into 2010, and PPC Macs will not have been sold for nearly 4 yrs. So it is possible that 10.6 won't be supported on PPCs.
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The G5 is a capable processor. I'm guessing they will drop support for the G4 on the next OS X Version called either Cougar or lynx. Then the G5 & intel will just be supported. At Mac OS X 10.7 they will be just support for intel,
 
Macminiintel said:
The G5 is a capable processor. I'm guessing they will drop support for the G4 on the next OS X Version called either Cougar or lynx. Then the G5 & intel will just be supported. At Mac OS X 10.7 they will be just support for intel,
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I wouldn't count on G5 support in 10.6. In fact, I doubt it will happen.
 
I dont really see a point for buying a PPC system now, unless you need a cheap used iBook or PowerBook for basic "mobile" needs.

Even single G5 is very slow now, but duals and quad are still hanging around for a bit longer.

10.6 will most likely drop G4 support.
 
I've only jumped on when apple adapted the intel chip.
but all these discussions make me want to read up and familiarise myself with what G4 and G5 are...
 
eXan said:
I dont really see a point for buying a PPC system now, unless you need a cheap used iBook or PowerBook for basic "mobile" needs.

Even single G5 is very slow now, but duals and quad are still hanging around for a bit longer.

10.6 will most likely drop G4 support.
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I think if they drop G4 support, they might as well drop PPC all together since they were still selling G4 machines along side the G5s during the intel transition. I don't see them wasting resources on writing PPC code for one generation of PPC processors. What I think that they'll do instead is keep Leopard around for a while after 10.6 is released so that PPC computers can still be useful, rather than making 10.6 a universal binary. (sort of how Microsoft is keeping XP around for computers that can't run vista all that great)
 
Toronto Mike said:
An important question would be - for how long would the printing industry be
able to read a CS2 file I produce for jobs?
Click to expand...

Though I am no Photoshop professional I can still open file file in CS3 that I created in Photoshop 3.0.3. The apt question is how long will you be able to open newer files in CS2😉?

I also realized in my earlier post I never addressed the thread title. Would I buy a PowerPC Mac still? Of course I would depending on my needs. Say I want a low cost file server with lots of space and insisted on Mac OS X. I could get a used G4 toss in an SATA card and pack it full of hard drives.

Or if I wanted old games and software I could get an 8500 and throw in a 200Mhz 604e daughtercard and run Mac OS 7.6 to 9. And get stupendous frame rates on Doom II and Rescue! 2.0.5😎. But still be able to play relatively newer games like Age of Empires I and II.

Heck depending on the model I would be up for an Apple II or 68K Mac.
 
Thanks for the reply VelocityG4

You have given me hope. If future versions of Creative Suite can open CS2, then if a G5 gives you the power you need today - it will continue to do so if you don't need to upgrade the software. For me this is the crux of the issue. As users we are caught up in this never ending upgrading cycle. Frankly, I am still struggling to learn the software I have (CS2/Painter).

How well does your G5 run CS3 compared to CS2?

I am considering getting a dual 2.0 G5 and try to squeeze out as much performance as I can for as long as possible. Prices are coming down, yet they are still high enough to make me reconsider this strategy.

Any more thoughts on this issue would be most welcome.
 
I just bought an ibook g3. I currently have the newest macbook and an ibook g4. The g4, I'm going to give to my parents. The g3 i'm going to use as my beater laptop to lug around to places I wouldn't want to take my macbook too. And I'm going to be using it to play classic mac games I never got to play like taskmaker and some other stuff.
 
Toronto Mike said:
Thanks for the reply VelocityG4

You have given me hope. If future versions of Creative Suite can open CS2, then if a G5 gives you the power you need today - it will continue to do so if you don't need to upgrade the software. For me this is the crux of the issue. As users we are caught up in this never ending upgrading cycle. Frankly, I am still struggling to learn the software I have (CS2/Painter).

How well does your G5 run CS3 compared to CS2?

I am considering getting a dual 2.0 G5 and try to squeeze out as much performance as I can for as long as possible. Prices are coming down, yet they are still high enough to make me reconsider this strategy.

Any more thoughts on this issue would be most welcome.
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Your welcome, I have not really noticed much of a performance difference between CS2 and CS3. Mainly what takes longer is the initial launch time for Photoshop after that it has not seemed slower. I would compare to moving to CS2 from CS1. Even now if stitching a lot of photos together I run out of RAM before I max out my CPU. Unless you specifically need features of CS3 or are moving to an Intel Mac I would not bother with it.

If you are really curious you can go to Adobes website and download the 30day trial. www.adobe.com
 
Once again I am indebted to your comments Velocity4

Earlier you brought up a good point that your CS3 could read a Photoshop 3.0 file, but will my CS2 be able to read a CS5 file in the future? Such decisions.
Anyways, I am at least confident that a G5 should be able to handle 300-500 mg files in Photoshop with enough Ram at a decent level of speed. My G4 struggles with this task, but I can see with a little more power it could work. This would be the outside limits of what I think I would demand of it. Hopefully if I decided to try digital painting in Painter - a G5 would also be enough.

It's not so much the new programs that concern me, it is the future compatibility of professional print output with printing houses over the next five years. Is the fact that if I stay on a G5 - they might not be able to read my files with their Intel machines? I am a recent computer initiate and have no long term experience with these great transitions in chips, or operating systems. A G5 is still a major investment to add the Ram, hard drives, video card...
Is it unreasonable to expect 5 more years with such a system outputting my own literature and website?

Thanks for your consideration regarding these matters.
 
I'd love a G4 iMac purely because it was when I saw teh light.

But for serious work? Nope. These Intel chips are just as fast as hell. If hell was fast.
 
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