[dwd3885]

I'm a college student working in Communication and Digital Media. I do digital photo editing with Photoshop, very light if any video editing, lots of audio mixing/editing. I love surfing the internet, that's probably what I do the most! But I multitask like crazy and love having many windows open at the same time (who doesn't?!) And I'd like to play Madden and NBA Live as well.

Ok, so I bought the smoking PowerMac Dual 2ghz G5 with 1GB RAM, 9600XT a few weeks ago. I got Photoshop, Audio Hijack Pro, Logic Express, Toast 7 Titanium, all the goodies. So what's wrong? What's wrong is that I need a TV-Tuner I can record shows on, Adobe Audition for mixing (I know I have Logic Express, but Audition is THE format in radio right now). And I spent $1,750 for it.

The thing is, I'm having withdrawals from the PC!!! What's that about? I know I can buy an external TV-tuner card for the Mac and people say the Mac will last longer, I just don't know anymore. I was configuring a computer at newegg with these specs:

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: CAC-T05-UW
$44.99

LITE-ON Black IDE DVD Burner Model SOHW-1693S Black OEM - OEM
Model #: SOHW-1693S Black OEM
$37.99

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600JS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: WD1600JS
$79.99

Microsoft Windows XP Media Center 2005 - OEM
Model #: M93-00091
$124.95

SeaSonic S12-430 ATX12V 430W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: S12-430
$99.00

GIGABYTE GV-RX80256D Radeon X800 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: GV-RX80256D
$189.00

Hauppauge 1042 PCI Interface Win TV150 PVR-MCE Tuner Card for MCE - Retail
Model #: 1042
$67.00

GeIL Value Series 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model GE1GB3200BSC - Retail
Model #:GE1GB3200BSC
$97.44

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA3800BVBOX - Retail
Model #:ADA3800BVBOX

GIGABYTE GA-K8VT890-9 Socket 939 VIA K8T890 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #:GA-K8VT890-9
$416.01 COMBINED FOR BOTH

TOTAL $1,156.37

So I'd be saving $600 with that system if I put this Mac up on ebay, which in many opinions, is better than the PM Dual G5.

So I guess I'm looking at your all's opinions. I know you love Macs (most of you) so try to be objective. Should I stay or should I go??

Thanks for reading this incredibly long post.

[tooki]

The hardware will have great specs, be only moderately compatible with itself, and lack fit and finish. It will run Windows, so you'll have the whole malware thing to worry about. And it won't do anything any better than the Mac it'll replace.

tooki

P.S. You know that eyeTV-based PVRs on the Mac, be it internal or external, are great, right? And there's a program called xtelevision under development to support unsupported TV tuners on Mac OS X.

[DKeithA]

Well said, tooki Amen.

[Lateralus]

If you think an X2 3800 is going to be faster than a Dual 2GHz G5, you're out of your mind. Especially under Windows, which couldn't care less about multiple processors or multiple cores.

But, eh, what Tooki said.

[Salty]

How can Audition be THE Format in radio right now... if the vast majority of people in the audio industry as I understand it use Macs? As well as far as TV Tuners go, try Elgato.

[dwd3885]

Originally Posted by Salty

How can Audition be THE Format in radio right now... if the vast majority of people in the audio industry as I understand it use Macs? As well as far as TV Tuners go, try Elgato.

Well I know at our radio station, they use Adobe Audition. This Entertainment Media class I'll be taking next year uses Sound Forge, Acid Pro, After Effects and Final Cut Pro. Don't those all fit but FCP? Kind of my point is that spending more money for a tv tuner is not an option yet, i'm kind of broke! But in the future, if I keep the Mac, I'll be looking for it

[dwd3885]

i do have a gateway PC laptop that I could put Audition on. Then maybe get a tuner for the Mac later. I know it would be more expensive to keep the G5. OSX is sweet, as far as gaming, i don't know. maybe get the next gen xbox, but that's more money that i could do on a pc for way less

[Lateralus]

Let me put it this way: Why did you buy the Power Mac? You bought it for school. You essentially made a business purchase.

For what you're studying, a Power Mac isn't a toy, it's a tool. Don't let childish things like video games determine what tool you use to train yourself for a profession. Because the fact of the matter is that once you're through with school, you will most likely end up working with Macs in the field. And the more acquainted you are with the Mac and the software it runs, the better off you're going to be.

[MichiganRich]

Or get a farking PC so you'll have something to wrench on and fiddle with already. Do whatever you want. Do it quiet.

[OreoCookie]

Look up some PC workstations, e. g. by IBM, I mean, Leonovo (or whatever their new name is), HP or even Dell. They are in the same ballpark as a PowerMac. So if you want professional-grade hardware, the price difference between a Mac and a PC is non-existant.

It all boils down to software and what makes you more productive. The Mac still seems to have a big market share in the music business (the few musicians I have met use a Mac), so it seems to me that knowing how to use a Mac looks good on your resumé. I'm not sure why you pinpoint everything on a TV tuner nor do I know what exactly your symptoms of withdrawal are (are you actually missing windows or tinkering with hardware?), but if you just miss playing games, then you might look into a gaming machine.