[nextlevel]

I use this computer for work so I've been reluctant to switch. I have a imac 800 at home but the work computer is a dual 500 G4. If all I usually run is Photoshop, Outlook Express, Explorer and Toast, will this switch be OK. It would be cool to have the features of OSX at work with all the pc based printing machines. Just a question. Thanks for the help. ot sure if the dp 500 will not be fast enough, Oh I also have 1Gig of ram on the machine.

Thanks

I thought this machine could only take up to 4 - 256 ram chips for a total of 1G. I was not aware I could put the bigger chip in? Can I do that or is that just on later machines?

Thanks

[Grey Cell]

I also have a dual 500 G4, but with 512Mb RAM and a Radeon 9000 instead of the standard Rage 128, and it works fine - at least with Photoshop and Toast; I don't use the other two apps you mentioned but I see no reason why they would give you trouble on this particular hardware.

[CheesePuff]

Everything will run a small amount slower, but for the benefit of added features and no more freezes, I'd do it. Plus you can always grab another 512 MB stick of RAM and throw it in for an added speed boost, especially with Photoshop running.

[dtriska]

You can grab another two 512 sticks and bring the gigabit machines up to 2 GB.

And, yes, the dual 500 will be fine. I'm using a dual 450 right now.

[chrisford]

Hi nextlevel -

I wouldn't worry at all. I run a couple of machines on OS X 10.3 - a dual 450 mHz G4 (with 1.2 gig and a Radeon 9600/9700(? can't remember!)) and a 1gHz 12" Powerbook (with 768meg of memory). I'd have to be honest - I don't notice a huge difference in performance between the two. I use similar apps to you (a lot of Photoshop for design work) and the performance is good.

I'd make the shift if I were you. Coming from os9 (which I loved), the stability alone is worth the upgrade.

[mr. burns]

the stability and increased multitasking ability is very worth it. i have a gigabit dual 500 G4. i've been using OS X since the public beta and have never been tempted to go back to OS 9. i do graphics work with illustrator and photoshop open, always have music playing skip free and usually have safari open with 5-7 browser tabs. can't complain.

DO IT

[Don Pickett]

X loves dual processors, so the dual G4 should be great. The dual G5s I've worked on feel faster than the single processor G5 I'm on now.

[Grey Cell]

Well, I *have* experienced music skipping during heavy Photoshop work (but only with big, big files and serious filter/layering work)...

But I just got me a second internal HD, so this too should be a thing of the past now

[Cipher13]

I run OS X on my G4/400 (single processor), 704MB RAM, etc.

Do it.

[nextlevel]

All right that is settled I will switch probably this weekend after all backups are done. (correctly)

My next question is I have a 30G HD master which is partitioned into 4 drives and a second 40 G HD . Should I set these up differently now. I have noticed I'm running out of room saving to the desktop( intermediate step in some processes). Does it matter as much in OSX - Should I reformat and just keep a 30 and 40?

Thanks for the help

[SSharon]

OS X doesn't just love loads of RAM it also loves HD space. My MDD can easily use up 5gb of virtual memory (768mb physical) and I'm not using photoshop and that memory has got to come from somewhere. On the same note if an OS X drive gets below 1gb of free space it goes nuts. I would consider another cheap hard drive and possibly putting it or the 30 gb or 40gb you have in a firewire case. Lots of space is very nice.

Let me also say that Panther is great, as I'm sure you know, and everyone here is pushing you towards it, but be careful. As great as it is, you don't want to find out that it doesn't like your printers at work or some other little problem that can make a huge difference.

Good Luck.

[d4nth3m4n]

Originally posted by Don Pickett:
The dual G5s I've worked on feel faster than the single processor G5 I'm on now.

um, duh.