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fotomaker
2006-01-28, 11:40
I really need to get a new computer . . . originally back in October I ordered the 23" Apple Display and was getting ready to order a Mac Mini (just to hold me until I made the next move) and found this forum. . . thank you! The talk was about how the Mac Mini was being secretly upgraded, etc. So I went to the Apple store to check things out and the guy told me of the new improved IMac G5 w/ iSight. So the next day I cancelled the 23" ADC and ordered the new iMac. Well, ship date kept getting pushed further into November and that is my busy season and I would not have been able to even open the box and deal with a new computer, so I cancelled the order Nov. 7.

So now that things are extremely slow for me . . . I can deal with this again. I was excited when they introduced the 20" iMac Intel Core Duo. I went to the Apple store the other night and the guy told me I couldn't run my current programs (Photoshop CS, Painter X, etc.) on the new machine. (I only had a few minutes to talk with him) Is this true?

I really try to keep up with these posts to see if my problem(s) are being addressed, yet I couldn't find anything that would pertain to me. I did see that Quick Books Pro 2006 was installed on the new machine. . . I really need to upgrade to QB Pro 2006 for Mac so that was good to see . . . I can't put if off any longer. I would love to get this figured out this weekend at to what I need to do.

Thanks!

ghoti
2006-01-28, 11:47
Photoshop, etc. do run, but in an emulation, which means they take a performance hit. The native versions will come out in March, I believe.

If you have a lot of existing software, and need to get productive soon, getting an iMac G5 is perhaps a better bet. The performance difference isn't that huge (even with native apps), and all your existing software will work well (faster than on an iMac Core Duo in emulation).

If you can live with a bit less performance for a few months (mostly impacts filters in Photoshop), then the Intel iMac is the better choice for the long term.

fotomaker
2006-01-28, 12:04
ghoti ~

I guess I need to understand exactly what that means for me.

I just upgraded to Painter IX but haven't installed it yet because I was waiting for a new computer. I haven't upgraded to Photoshop CS2 yet for the same reason, I have CS. Are we talking about having to buy the whole program and not an update?

When you say "native version" exactly what does that mean and how would it apply to this? Sorry . . . I'm trying to understand how this all works.

Thanks.

spikeh
2006-01-28, 12:31
The architecture of the Mac has changed from PPC (made by IBM) to Core Duo (Intel). The performance on the Intel chips is better but the downside is that all software written on PPC needs to run through a transparent piece of software (ie. you don't see it) called Rosetta, that effectively "translates" the PPC code into Intel-readable code. Though this means applications work, they work very slowly because they are translated on-the-fly, rather than being dedicated software. Future software is being sold under the "Universal Binaries" tag - ie. it will run on both PPC and Intel.

It is more than likely that Adobe will offer you an upgrade from your PPC Photoshop to the Intel one. If you're running these applications you're going to have to upgrade to Intel Mac's sooner or later - it might be worth waiting to see exactly when the release dates of the universal binaries are. Apple might have released rev B of some of their existing lines by then (unlikely, but possible) and it is likely there will be additions to the product line by April anyway.

ghoti
2006-01-28, 12:39
fotomaker, I realize that my reply was a bit bare bones. But I'm happy to flesh it out with more detail (heh, gotta love metaphors).

The Intel Macs use a different type of processor than the PowerPC Macs (G4s, G5s), which means that programs compiled for PowerPC will not run on them (Intel chips don't understand the PowerPC machine code, and vice versa). Rosetta is an emulation system that makes it possible to do this, by translating from PowerPC to Intel on the fly. This has an impact on peformance, though, because the translation needs some time, and the code isn't nearly as well adapted to the CPU as it would be if compiled directly for it.

Programs that do a lot of number crunching are hit most by this, like Photoshop. Applying a filter has Photoshop perform many operations for each pixel of the picture, and doing those in a suboptimal way makes them much slower. Other programs won't be effected nearly as much, e.g., accounting software.

So what you need to do to get better performance on an Intel Mac is get a Universal Binary, which contains the machine code for both PowerPC and Intel. In the case of CS2, that is a small upgrade that will cost $30 or $50 (EDIT: apparently, I mixed that up with Apple - we don't know yet about Adobe). Other programs may get updated later, and some may even give you a free Intel version, if you already have the PowerPC one (though not many, I'd assume ;). You should check the websites for all the programs you need, and perhaps contact them to see when to expect a Universal version and what it will cost.

fotomaker
2006-01-28, 12:47
spikeh ~

Thanks for explaining that! I really appreciate it!

My original thinking was to get a 23" ADC and a Mac mini - therefore, when all this gets worked out, getting the 20" Intel iMac (the next version) and then being able to connect the 23" ADC (when needed) to it for image viewing to clients and for Photoshop. Does that make sense?

fotomaker
2006-01-28, 13:19
OK ~ I think I decided to just get the new 20" iMac Intel Core Duo for now. I will deal with what I need in the future when that time comes. I just need to make a decision and make it now and quit agonizing over it!

I just called the Apple store near me and they have them in stock. So I think I am going to do this!

Thanks ghoti and spikeh for your replies. I appreciate it!

Brad
2006-01-28, 16:49
In the case of CS2, that is a small upgrade that will cost $30 or $50 (this has been discussed here, can't find it right now, though - perhaps the Adobe website knows more).
Wrong.

Apple's Pro suite has a $50 upgrade available, but Adobe's software does not. There have been zero announcements of a low-cost upgrade option for existing CS2 users.

spikeh
2006-01-29, 09:23
I think this is the best way. Jobs demo'd Photoshop running at Macworld and to be honest, although it was slow, it should be quick enough for you to soldier on with until the Universal binaries are released. It's better to spend a few dollars more now and save in the long-run, IMO.