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iREZ · Jun 16, 2004, 03:58 PM

I got my uncle to start considering Mac's late last year when the G5 came out and now he's looking to purchase one. All he want's to do is illustrator, photoshop, and movie editing (ie. iApps and FCP). Should he go with the new dual 1.8 seeing how he'll probably never go above 2GB or RAM, or should he even consider the 1.6 or 1.8 single's. I just don't want the poor guy to spend upwards of $2000 for something he could do with a $1300 machine. I guess if I had to say how much power he needed, slightly below prosumer is what I'd go with.

Randman · Jun 16, 2004, 04:02 PM

I'd suggest a G4 iBook or iMac instead. Spend the extra cash on ram and some other goodies.

lkearl · Jun 16, 2004, 06:06 PM

Originally posted by iREZ:
I got my uncle to start considering Mac's late last year when the G5 came out and now he's looking to purchase one. All he want's to do is illustrator, photoshop, and movie editing (ie. iApps and FCP). Should he go with the new dual 1.8 seeing how he'll probably never go above 2GB or RAM, or should he even consider the 1.6 or 1.8 single's. I just don't want the poor guy to spend upwards of $2000 for something he could do with a $1300 machine. I guess if I had to say how much power he needed, slightly below prosumer is what I'd go with.

I'd recommend the eMac with Superdrive, increase the HD to 160 GB and the RAM to 512 MB for $1,174.

I just bought an eMac with combo drive, 80 GB HD and 512 MB RAM and really like it. I didn't get the Superdrive because I have one in the G5/1.6 I bought last September. I love the G5, but for what you're describing the eMac would be great. Heck, I don't need a G5, but I could afford one so I got one.

Now if he wants to expand later (e.g., change video card, add more storage, etc.), then I'd say a refurb G5/1.6 for $1299 at the Apple Store (if they have any left). Dual processors are great, but would it be worth $600-$800 to your uncle? You could get other things with that much money (more storage, more RAM, Final Cut Express, etc.).

Larry

iREZ · Jun 17, 2004, 11:44 AM

But aren't there any advantages to having dual proc. when video editing and photoshopping? I want to him to get a comp that'll last him the next couple of years (3-5), a 1.6 G5 sounds pretty good but I think a duallie would suit someone better later on, no? I guess the best way to ask this is what benefits does duallie have vs single, when it comes to photoshop and FCP?

stuffedmonkey · Jun 17, 2004, 12:06 PM

There are definate advantages to the dual processor, it just starts at $2000. The emacs aren't bad. If he gets a G5 - definately go dual unless you get a insanely low price on someone selling a used single.

Also check out the educational prices - know *anyone* in your family currently a student?

iREZ · Jun 17, 2004, 01:02 PM

Yeah I'm planning on purchasing it for him, seeing how he said I could use it when I need to finish projects for my classes, although I don't think I'll need to use it that often. So the new 1.8 look mighty good considering the dual proc. and a $1799 price tag.

TheDigitalMan · Jun 17, 2004, 01:43 PM

I would definately get the Dual Processors for him. And I personally wouldn't consider a G4. I'm sorry but I don't understand why some of the people on this thread even recommended them.

Why buy something that is already on its way to becoming obsolete? Especially if he is going to be doing PhotoShop and Video Editing!

Photoshop takes full advantage of the Dual Processors. And so does OS X.

Your uncle is going to remember you in a whole lot better light if you put a machine in front of him that really does the work! If you plop a G4 in front of him and it struggles to do the work for him he's going to be "Not Happy"! And of course he'll blame you. Then when you tell him it was because you were trying to save him $700 he'll be really mad! Especially if he had the extra dollars to spend at the time.

If it were me I'd configure the ABSOLUTE DREAM SYSTEM and present him with a price tag. If it's too much he can tell you so and then you start cutting it back to fit his budget. My mantra is - always buy the absolute maximum your budget can afford. You'll thank yourself later for it!

O.K. thats my 2-cents worth!

bens1901 · Jun 18, 2004, 04:02 AM

Originally posted by iREZ:
...I could use it when I need to finish projects for my classes...

Simple question: Is the new computer for your Uncle or for you?

You may want to collect information on the various systems (options, costs, features, etc.), and then present it ALL to him just as if he were a Client asking for your expertise and consulting services. This would not only help him make a decision on what features are most important to him, but it would also impress him by your professionalism.

As a side note....for years Windows people have complained about how expensive Mac systems have been. Imagine this scenario: You get your Uncle to buy the $2000 system. Then he learns that his friend bought a PC for $800 and is able to do everything desired. This might turn your Uncle against Macs forever. The point of the story: You should want to satisfy your Uncle's needs, and also try to make him happy with Macs in general so as to make him proud to be a Mac user. Afterall, don't all happy Mac users simply want to share their pleasure with others and help them all see why Macs are good systems.

Oh, and just a quick word about the Dual processor versus a Single processor. Sure, the dual would improve any really complex work that you might do in Photoshop, but you may not notice a big difference if you're simply doing a gradient fill or applying a Blur filter to a 1-layer image.

Good luck with your decision, and have fun window shopping and picking out the best system that both impresses and satisfies your Uncle's wants and needs.

-Ben

iREZ · Jun 20, 2004, 04:28 PM

Thanks for all the help guys, we ended up going with the new 1.8 Duallie yesterday, and the computer isn't for me...Bens1909, I have a Powerbook and don't need a Dual for my design classes yet, but it's good to know that if I need to I could use his. He's happy with his purchase and I gave him my copies of Final Cut and Adobe CS so he's pretty happy.

Xterratop · Jun 26, 2004, 10:09 AM

Congrats on your decision. Going with the dual 1.8 or just dual anything is even better than a single processor. Because he uses Illustrator, Photoshop, etc. he'll want the best of both worlds running at once. Also, 1gb or ram will just do for now. A simpel imovie project would get him by with that much memory and speed. If you get into something more complex that requires rendering (intense video editing, then bump up the ram. I'm waiting for my new dual 2.0 to arrive at my doorstep any minute now. Can't wait to finish up my projects with it. Cheers!