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Xaaron Swiftblade · Jun 28, 2003, 12:17 PM

Hi all, I've been holding out the past year or two for a new mac, and it seems the time has finally come for one. I'm going into my second year of film school and the first year was hard enough not having my own editing suite. So, considering discounts on systems (whoop dee doo.) and on FCP4 (non-sarcastic whoop dee doo!) I'm trying to figure out what system to get, and I need it by the beginning of the school year; mid-late september at the LATEST.

I'm leaning toward the 1.6 G5 ($1999) With FCP ($1000), corsair 2x 512mb ddr ($140), and a monitor (~ $150), and discounts ( - $600) it comes to about 2700, eep.

Most message board folk seem to dislike the 1.6 - hell, most seem to dislike the 1.8, but I really think the dual 2.0 is out of my price range, and going down to a G4 kinda defeats the point of having waited so long for a good system.

So whatcha think?

tanhauser · Jun 28, 2003, 12:30 PM

The 1.6 GHz G5 seems like a sweet deal to me, if you're starting out in Film School, I think it's a great machine to help you get started.

Unless you really need the PCI-X slots of the 1.8 GHz, I don't really see the point of putting up the extra cash for it. I don't think you'd see THAT much of an improvement in processor speed between the 1.6 and the 1.8.

Also, if you have waited this long I would most definitely NOT get a G4. They're great machines, don't get me wrong but if you now have a chance to get a machine with a processor (G5) that will hold you up for a good 2-3 years, including possible future versions of FCP, then the G5 is the best option.

F

scottiB · Jun 28, 2003, 12:40 PM

Figure in a second SATA drive. Here's a 160GB Seagate Barracuda for $157.

Have fun!

zen · Jun 29, 2003, 01:49 AM

Hi Swiftblade,

I'm in the "what to get" situation as well - upgrading from a 333 MHz iMac.

I'm getting the 1.6 Ghz model. It's a whole heap more than I have now, and I am never going to use the PCI slots anyway, so PCI-X is pretty meaningless. Same with 333 Mhz vs 400 Mhz RAM - will that make Safari any faster?

Anyway, go for the 1.6, and use the money you save for a monitor or something. Bear in you are basically asking a bunch of Mac geeks (no offense - that includes me!!) for advice, and of course they will say that nothing less than the dual 2 Ghz will suffice. Which is fine if you have limitless funds, but otherwise 1.6 Ghz will rock! I'm certainly looking forward to my machine!

Good luck!

Zen

Superchicken · Jun 29, 2003, 02:19 AM

go for the 1.6 it's a fine decition, don't worry about it.

zigzag · Jun 29, 2003, 01:18 PM

Don't worry, be happy, ignore the geeks, get the 1.6, use the extra $$ for RAM and a hard drive. On its own merits it looks like a great machine.

DeathMan · Jun 29, 2003, 06:12 PM

You're doing mostly DV? Or will you be involved with HD, or anything more taxing than that?

I'm just asking because if you were, you might want some kind of video accelerator. However, I have no idea if there are any PCI-X hardware accelerators [that will work with FCP4]. The point being, you might want to look into that, and see if the 1.8 were a better option for hardware acceleration.

I read someone was disappointed with only 4 ram slots in the 1.6. Good heavens, you can get 4 gigs of ram in there, probably 8 if you can come up with the cash.

I'm sure the 1.6 is going to be your baby for a long time. this 500mhz dually has been mine (and will be for another year probably).

Xaaron Swiftblade · Jun 29, 2003, 09:01 PM

Yeah I don't have the funds (nor the desire really) to update frequently. I've been using the same pentium II 350mhz for 5 years, and borrowed a g3 powerbook for school only because i couldn't lug the pII around. So yes, whatever I buy will be my baby for awhile, it's just a matter of coming up with enough to buy my baby

Another concern of mine was the fact that its revision A. I've never followed computers (especially macs) this closely until recently, but I've heard lots of horror stories 'bout rev A products - do you think we'll run into concerns with the new g5s and how does the standard warranty cover major problems?

DeathMan · Jun 29, 2003, 10:44 PM

I think Apple has a hit/miss track record on Rev A stuff, BUT with that said, it seems most rev A problems happen on laptops more than towers. Theres TONS of new stuff going on though.

You're sort of in a predicament, though, because you're wanting/needing your box right around when those suckers are going to be shipping, so, I guess, hold out as long as you can, and see if there are any problems right off the bat.