[Coffee1970]

Hello and thanks for reading.
Currently going to college for Website Design and Multimedia Production.
Currently have a PC....yeah , I know......but, it works pretty well as I built it myself.
Questions....hopefully you Mac lovers can help out a little.......

1.) I am considering getting a used Mac. Something around the $200 - $375 range I think.
Looking at different models of course.....Powermac G5, iMac G4, Dual Powermac G4, etc, etc.
G5's look enticing, but I keep reading about the logic boards failing, and what an expensive fix!
iMac G5..maybe G4...always wanted one, such a cool design..limited upgrading I know.
Powermac Dual G4..had a 1Ghz G4 before, pretty cool MDD design...was quiet too..I added a Geforce Ti4600...Damn, I wish I still had that! Oh well..live and learn....ran Leopard great!

2.) I will be using the Adobe suite obviously...most likely CS4 as I get a great discount. I know an older Mac may be a little slower on most applications, but that ok...I am still learning. I might even just use CS3 if I can get...but the school teaches CS4 Premier, etc, etc.

3.) How about for designing websites? I think that most computers would work for this, just a preference, yes? Memory and display probably most important here I would think?

The reason behind all this is that I have read several job openings that state that knowing a Mac would be very useful.....so that's a great hint to get another one...soon.

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Brian.

[rozwado1]

CS4 will be dog slow on a G5 if you're doing anything substantial in CS4 (32-bit depth, too many layers in PS)

I'd say to use a cheap PC with decent specs while you're in school. If you come into some spare cash, get a used Macbook or a mac mini to get familiar with OS X. I wouldn't recommend dropping money on an old G4/G5 if you're planning on running CS4.

I got lucky and bought a brand new 'used' ibook in 2001 for $500 off some sorority girl that had no idea how to use it (it was a gift). Check your school postings/craigslist.

[Coffee1970]

Yeah, I figured as much. If I have to use CS4, maybe just use my PC and get a cheaper Mac to mess around on for OSX and misc apps.
The G4 I had before ran Garageband and rest of iLife really good.
Thanks for the advice.
-Brian.

[carterx]

For the mean time I would have to say that with a budget of $200 - $375 you will have trouble getting something that will run CS4. If your going with a PowerPC "G4 or G5" it would have to be loaded up with ram and not be using much else other than CS4.

I have an iMac G5 1.8GHz with 1gb ram here as a test/demo machine for an instructor and it's ok but if any heavy editing is done it will be hard.

[EndlessMac]

This is just my opinion but what you might want to do is buy the fastest Mac within your budget so that you can play around with and get used to using a Mac. Basically use this Mac for every daily tasks you need a computer for except for the powerhouse stuff like CS4 and other CPU intense software. For those more intense software then use your PC for now until you have the money to get a new powerful Mac.

Trust me you will be disappointed with CS4 on any of the Macs you have mentioned. My PowerMac G5 runs CS3 only adequately and I would prefer a faster computer, but on the other hand my old PowerBook G4 does most daily tasks like surfing the internet, checking email, etc well enough.

The industry you are trying to get into does like to use Macs so it can help you get a job when the company you want to work for only uses Macs. I've actually went through a similar situation and my career was the reason why I chose or was forced to switch to Macs. I'm glad I did and really the only way to truly learn how to use a Mac is to use it almost everyday as your main computer because before owning one I used Macs occasionally at school and that just wasn't the same. Although be sure to buy the fastest used Mac you can afford because it can be frustrating to use a slow computer no matter if it's a Mac or PC. It might be a good idea to save up a little longer if you can't since you will probably be going to school for awhile.

[CharlesS]

If you want to use Adobe apps, you are going to have to raise your budget a bit. Whether it's a Mac or a PC, anything in that price range is going to give you trouble with those apps.

[OreoCookie]

I would go for a used Intel-based iMac. They'll be much faster than any of the other machines you've mentioned.

[olePigeon]

Used Intel iMac would be my suggestion as well.