[Smileyguy]

Ignore the above!


Hello everyone,

I’m a freelance journalist who is starting to get into amateur photojournalism and landscape photography. I’m hoping to possibly make photography a second source of income in the next few years. I also use my computer for storing my music collection, for doing a little layout work in Quark, and for surfing the net, doing the accounts and using iLife extensively.

I’ve currently got a 1.8 GhZ single processor PowerMac G5, from the first line-up of G5’s released in 2003. I originally forked out money I didn’t really have for the machine because I wanted longevity. As a consequence of the expenditure, I couldn’t afford a great monitor. I bought a 15’ LCD, and now I’ve got the money for a new monitor I want to upgrade to 19’ or 20’.

So I started shooping online for displays, but then I got a great offer from my local apple centre. They said If I traded in my G5, they’d give me a brand new 20’ iMac G5 for €550. I don’t particularly want or need a new computer, but look what I’m getting for this deal…

- A brand new 20’ display.
- A brand new computer
- Both of these under warrantee
- A chance to get AppleCare, Apple’s Bluetooth module…
- A gorgeous all-in-one machine which will save space and has the potential to be wall mounted (the aesthetics are REALLY temping me…)

All of this for €550.

Or, I can keep my Powermac and buy a secondhand 20’ Apple Cinema display (one of the last generation) for at least €620, but probably more. Of course I could buy a third party monitor (The Formac Platinum 1900 could be picked up for about €550). Like I said, I’m moving into a new home soon so aesthetics are important, and the Apple Cinema display and Formac are the only monitors that really appeal to me.

So would a move to the iMac G5 be a ‘downgrade’?

Both machines are 1.8Ghz G5, the most important hardware factor. The iMac can go to 2GB of RAM, the PowerMAc to 8Gb. But the most I’ll ever do is some light photo retouching, iMovie/iDVD editing, internet, word processing and using Quark.

Will 2BG be enough to do this for the next 3/4 years or will I want more?

The graphics on the Powermac are upgradeable, but not on the iMac. Does upgrading graphics only make a difference in games or will I notice a real effect in movies and photography? If it’s only for games, I’ve no interest, but if it makes my pictures better and DVD’s clearer I’m interested.

What’s my best option for colour accuracy? The Formac Platinum, the OLD 20’ Apple Cinema Display or the 20’ iMac? This is obviously of particular application to folks here. I’d be really interested in hearing from people here about colour accuracy on the iMac G5.

The mac HD on the iMac is 250GB, and on the Powermac it’s twice that. But even for someone into photography and who keeps a music collection on his machine, isn’t 250 enough?

Also, is it likely there will be processor upgrades for for my 1st generation PowerMac, and if so, how high could I expect them to take it?

I guess what this comes down do is whether by plumping for the gorgeous good looks of the iMAC G5 (at a great price for a 20’ screen) am sacrificing anything I might need to carry out me computing needs successfully for the next 3/4 years.

[awcopus]

Keep thinking long-term. You'll want to be able to add RAM and hard drives at some point. If you invest in a current generation 20" Apple display, and divide the total cost by 44 months (3.5 years). About $23 a month, and not too much more than that for the 23" display which can double as an HD monitor.

Keep in mind, you may be disinclined to install the iMac monitor on a wall because it's also the CPU, so you're making it a hassle to interact with its optical drive, etc.

Your current G5 has a 900MHz bus, and yes that will make a performance difference, especially over the time frame that you are considering. You'll be especially grateful to hang onto your machine because it gives you the option of significantly boosting performance with a GPU upgrade (the Radeon 9800 or X800, which will be cheaper in a year). Yes, the GPU upgrade will affect your overall OS experience, especially once Tiger is released.

Don't do it.

[Smileyguy]

Originally posted by awcopus:
Keep thinking long-term. You'll want to be able to add RAM and hard drives at some point. If you invest in a current generation 20" Apple display, and divide the total cost by 44 months (3.5 years). About $23 a month, and not too much more than that for the 23" display which can double as an HD monitor.

Keep in mind, you may be disinclined to install the iMac monitor on a wall because it's also the CPU, so you're making it a hassle to interact with its optical drive, etc.

Your current G5 has a 900MHz bus, and yes that will make a performance difference, especially over the time frame that you are considering. You'll be especially grateful to hang onto your machine because it gives you the option of significantly boosting performance with a GPU upgrade (the Radeon 9800 or X800, which will be cheaper in a year). Yes, the GPU upgrade will affect your overall OS experience, especially once Tiger is released.

Don't do it.

Thanks for the sensible advice.

I think you might just be right. The iMac is beautiful, but I might regret it as an impulse buy.

[Waragainstsleep]

LCDs look nice, but I was under the impression that Pros still use CRTs given the choice. If you want to be a serious photographer, you might want to look into that.

[CatOne]

Originally posted by Waragainstsleep:
LCDs look nice, but I was under the impression that Pros still use CRTs given the choice. If you want to be a serious photographer, you might want to look into that.

Wrong.

[Smileyguy]

Catone, why do you say that? Alot of amateurs I've spoken too have told me to stick to CRT's. What is your experiemce of LCD's? Can you recommend any in particular?

[yikes600]

Originally posted by Smileyguy:
Can you recommend any in particular?

http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10503

[MORT A POTTY]

I'd say an Apple 20" Cinema Display and maybe upgrade toa Radeon X800 XT (or some more RAM) instead of the iMac.

[loh]

Keep the G5 for sure, order a 20" Cinema Display from the US (probably cheaper if you can avoid taxes).

Why would you wanna downgrade to a slower machine?

[deboerjo]

Originally posted by Waragainstsleep:
LCDs look nice, but I was under the impression that Pros still use CRTs given the choice. If you want to be a serious photographer, you might want to look into that.

LCDs are getting much better, but color matching and contrast is still better on CRTs, and the most finicky publishing pros use CRTs. LCDs have gotten to the point that for most people they're good enough.

I'd advise keeping the G5, not because of upgradable memory but because of upgradable storage. In a few years we'll have a new DVD-HD format and you'll want to add a DVD-HD drive. Or in a few years you'll want a second hard drive for more space. The Powermac G5 tower isn't as upgradable in this respect as the G4s, but still much more upgradable than an iMac G5.

[SUPER_DEFORMED]

- A brand new 20’ display.
- A brand new computer
- Both of these under warrantee
- A chance to get AppleCare, Apple’s Bluetooth module…
- A gorgeous all-in-one machine which will save space and has the potential to be wall mounted (the aesthetics are REALLY temping me…)

These are all actually the same thing, as the 20" display *is* the computer, Warrantee is free for a year anyway, Applecare is worthless (put it on your house insurance for less, and it will cover accidental damage / theft as well), Bluetooth is pretty standard...

Forget it. Your G5 will grow with you... (easy and cheaper to upgrade) where as you'll probably tire of an imac after a few years...

As for CRT Vs. TFT- TFT displays are great for space-saving, don't hurt your eyes so much and look great, but CRT's are still pretty standard within illustration / graphic design... only the HD displays are super-accurate- and stupidly expensive ATM. wait a year if you can and see what happens to the price of HD displays....

[AssassyN]

Well clearly the iMac is tempting mostly because you opted for a slower PowerMac model. But since you already own it, I'd say hold onto it. Snag a 20" Display and you can upgrade the inside to RAID disks and newer graphics cards if you wish.

The only reason I'd say you should downgrade is if you need the savings, need the small size, and simply have too much power you're not using. But to answer what you asked, 1.8Ghz + 2GB of RAM is *plenty* for Photoshop work & iMovie projects. Heck, that power is good enough for Final Cut Pro work really.

[Cadaver]

Yeah, I'd say that in terms of longevity, your single processor PowerMac is much better than the iMac.

With the PowerMac, you've got an upgradable graphics card & CD/DVD drive, room for additional hard drive(s), much higher RAM capacity (very important for pro-level apps), 3 PCI/PCI-X slots, and the ability to drive two independent displays (suggestion - buy a new, large display for your main work space, and keep your 15" display for application palettes, info windows, etc).

The performance and OS X support of the Apple OEM bluetooth module is no better than the D-Link module sold at the Apple stores. Apple so far as even released firmware updates for it (making me think that either D-Link manufactures the Apple modules or that they both use the identical chipsets). I've got a D-Link on my G5, and it works just as well as the internal module. So what, it takes up an extra USB port. Easy to fix - I added a 4-port USB 2.0 PCI card for $25. Now my machine has 7 USB 2.0 ports and no USB hub cable spaghetti. Show me an iMac that can do that.

I think you'd be better off keeping the PowerMac.