Advise on best option... 2

[MarcusStringer]

Hi Guys,
I have a dilemma.

I will need to upgrade my PPC G5 x 17 soon because of Intel and Adobe CS5 blah blah blah...

Anyway, what I'm wondering is if I buy 17 G5 towers...It's going to cost me a bucket load...

But iMacs are significantly cheaper, and are more powerful then the G5 towers I have at the moment...

Sure the iMacs don't have the 4Core/8Core but...

I'm wondering if the iMacs will be rebust enough to handle the production /image intensive world of typesetting/Graphic design etc etc...

Marcus

http://www.midlandtypesetters.com.au

 

[twiSSt]

I would recommend against it - I have seen to many try to do this and be dissatisfied. Hate to say it but your going to need the Pro line computer to keep up with the demands of CS.



Twist

===========================================
Everything will be OK in the end.
If it's not OK, then it's not the end

 

[jmgalvin]

We've been using G5 imacs for graphics for quite some time and have found no problem at all. When we get up to 100 or so pages in Indesign, we still don't run into any problems. The only time i've seen a slow down has been on some fancy, seldom used, Illustrator filters - but still no big problem.

My gripe about the new imacs is the glossy screen. We have some Macbooks with them and I hate them. If you have access to a store, I'd spend some time looking at that screen. Another weakness seems to be that it's very hard to change the hard drive. I did have to change a drive in one of our G5s and it was pretty easy.

If we needed new machines right now I actually think that I would buy one Mac Mini with 4 gigs of ram for 900 bucks (US) and give it a tryout and use it with a non glossy monitor. You have to remember that these new machines are a heck of a lot more potent that the fancy Powermacs we were using just a few years ago. Our cheapy macbooks work just fine for this stuff. My guess is that, as long as you're doing print and still stuff - as opposed to video - it would be okay.

Using OSX 10.3.9 & 10.4.11 on a G4, G5 & Intel Macbook

 

[GabrielBL]

I guess it really depends on what the budget is. I know many graphic designers and photographers who are more then happy with 24” iMacs in full production of the cs4 suite for 8+ hours a day 5 days a week. Apple has also made great strides in improving the quality of the LCD screens used so they can be calibrated much closer to a stand alone monitor. I am in no way saying they are comparable to an Eizo, but that’s apples and oranges as a decent Eizo will run you $2500+ alone.

My only concern / complaint with the iMacs is that hard disk space can become an issue and there is no second “internal” drive to use as a scratch partition. Guessing they will be connected to one or many NAS devices, storing files should be hard since all 24’s come with at least 640GB internal memory.

Regarding speed, I think most would be surprised at how fast they really are. Dollar for dollar, I think it’s hard to beat the 24” iMac, but it’s no where near as expandable when compared to a tower.

Gabriel Blanc-Laine
VP Sales & Marketing

http://www.Qtask.com

 

[626F62]

i know this is the Mac area but why not try PC's
cheaper if you get a simalar spec as a mac and since macs are running pretty much PC innards now they wont be better with the rendering etc... (but that said vista is crap and will surely hold you back)

macbooks are awesome but i wouldnt recomend one over a tower for graphic design. like said above tho, if you can only afford one of the options then the other options are Moo point (a cows opinion... it doesnt count)

 

[kjv1611]

vista is crap and will surely hold you back

When's the last time you used Vista? It's a great OS, currently. Windows 7 is of course better, but I would DEFINITELY not say that Vista is just plain horrible. I use XP still on my main personal PC, still, and the more I use Vista on other machines, the more I almost wish I had changed to Vista already. Then again, at this point, I'd just go strait to 7 for sure.

Oh yeah, this is a Mac forum, not MS Windows.

Back on topic, sorta... or at least closer:
Snow Leopard 'Guest Account' bug deleting user files, terrorizing children?




--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[MarcusStringer]

i know this is the Mac area but why not try PC's

Ummm, maybe because I am already running 17 G5's and so the change over to PC's, so not an option as I would need have to buy all PC Software and PC compatible fonts. (opentype, where the bulk of my fonts are type 1).

BUT...The biggest issue I would face would be to Virus protect the whole system, where as Mac's I don't have to worry so much/at all...

Plus with the Mac's...they just work... there is little no maintenance which requires a university degree to manage.

Marcus

http://www.midlandtypesetters.com.au

 

[kjv1611]

A company switch from all Mac to all PC or vice versa is likely not often going to be a good idea, I would think. Just considering 2 things:
1. Costs of software - commercial software and oftentimes, if it were a large corporation, at least, you'd have even lots of custom built software.
2. Costs associated with retraining everyone. "We know you did this for 5 years this way, but we decided we'd trash all of that, and start anew!"

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[fisheromacse]

As a long time mac user and a windows support staff, i would encourage you to make a trial purchase of one of the high end iMacs. Since it is approx $300 less than the basic tower (and with a commiserate lack of expandability and raw power).
If that 1 doesn't do the work you need rapidly enough, relegate it to the receptionist/light duty image work and then get the towers.
I have used both regularly and the towers are seriously faster than the iMacs, but even then, i think the iMac spent slightly more time waiting on me than me waiting on it.
anyway, my two cents.