For Graphic Design: IMac vs. PowerMac

[Vaughnahue]

Hello,

I'm in the middle of the PC/Mac conversion process, and I'm somewhat clueless when it comes to Mac specifics. I am a graphic design student, and I also do a lot of video editing. I want a computer that would be most efficient in that, and also cost efficient, being a student. I was wondering if anyone could help me figure out the pro's and con's to IMacs vs. PowerMacs...I know the PowerMac can be beefed up a whole lot more, but do I need that? Will the IMac suffice? Or will I be kicking myself in the butt as I wait for clips in final cut pro to render into the wee hours of the night? Any feedback would be much appreciated.

[SpecMode]

Well, I'm not too much of an expert on the higher-end Macs, but the general philosophy still holds true: the more you're going to want the machine to do, the more money you're going to have to spend on it. That being said, if you're planning on doing a lot of HD video editing, you may want to spend the extra cash and pick up a mid-range PowerMac; however, if you're only looking to render smaller clips or are working with lower resolutions, I'd hazard a high-end iMac G5 may be better suited to your budget.

Of course, it would be a good idea to see how the rumored 'speed-bumps' pan out before making your purchase; others will likely tell you the same.

[psmith2.0]

Well, if today's ThinkSecret iMac, eMac and G5 tower report (http://www.thinksecret.com) proves to be true (and I'm betting it will), we're going to have an iMac G5 in a couple of weeks that'll be a pretty damn honkin' piece of machinery (they currently are as well, of course).

I do print design, so I've never had to worry about sound, video, 3D, motion or hardcore graphics performance like many these days are into, so I'd totally go for the slick AIO of the iMac G5 (but that's just how I've always been).

I don't think you're going to find yourself too disappointed.

It's lacking one processor, compared to it's dual-processor big brother, so I suppose it just depends on what exactly you're doing, what you consider "speedy" (that's so subjective, I've learned), etc.

For what it's worth: I just spent the past 22 months or so laying out 4-color glossy magazines (32-64 pages, depending), newsprint ads, HEAVY Photoshop scanning, retouching, compositing and lots of logo and informational graphic design/illustration in Illustrator on a 400MHz Sawtooth G4 (about a five-and-a-half year old machine). Lots of downloading, Word, typing, e-mailing, etc. as well.

I do even more complex Photoshop and Illustrator stuff at home with a 1.25GHz PowerBook G4 with 512MB RAM and really have no complaints. Granted, it's all print-based work, using the core Adobe CS stuff. But still...

I would imagine ANY G5-based Mac (iMac or dual tower) is going to run rings around the above and make quick work of anything you'd throw at it, wouldn't you?

:)

I realize video is a bit more demanding, but I would imagine a G5-based machine, in any configuration, is going to get you there. I don't think anyone would say the iMac G5 wouldn't cut it in that department.

You'll definitely want to wait and see what pans out over the next couple of weeks, no doubt!

[Wrao]

My brother just got a used dual processor g4 system for use with video editing, it's loaded with 2 10,000 RPM scsi Hard drives, 1.5 GB ram, a fast radeon video card(forget the model) and a good sound card.

It only cost about $1100 and it's a very nice machine, especially for video editing, due to the dual processors and fast HDs.

In the future, he can upgrade the processors from dual 800 mhz to dual 1.6, if he needs to, but for now this computer is pretty much everything he's looking for.

That said, after the powermacs are updated, you might be wise to seek out an older model dual processor powermac g5, you should be able to get one for fairly cheap, it won't be loaded, but it will be a good value nonetheless.

Video editing tends to like having two processors, so that would probably be a good thing to have.

That said, the iMac is a tremendous value already, and it is surely a very powerful and capable computer. But I think you might appreciate having 2 processors for video editing purposes.

[flail]

Greetings,

The dual G5's pack an impressive punch, even more so with the recent (3-day old) bump. With Tiger (Mac OS X 10.4) being released tomorrow, buying new definately seems apealling.

Besides the obvious advantage of dual processors and 64-bit capabilities, many more aspects come into play.
The frontside bus is nearly twice as fast on the PowerMacs, a significant improvements. Also, there is the expandability issue. The PowerMac is going be more accomidating for adding hard drives, PCI cards and optical drives. The RAM ceiling on the iMacs is an unshabby 2GB, but these are Macs we're talking about. The PM give you the most expandability and future options with 8GB. The oft-complained about video card in the iMac may hinder video editting, and having Dual-G5 will make a big difference in rendering. All in all, it's what you're willing to pay for. Getting a souped-up iMac isn't a bad idea, but perhaps wait a week to see if they're updated before making your decision.

Apple also just dropped the price of their Cinema displays, 799 for the 20 incher. Check them out, but you may find it more practical to go with a cheaper, third party, Dell, Samsung and Sony are a few that come to mind--all having good track records generally speaking.

[designerguy]

pscates:

Are you using a 17" or 15" PB for all your print work? Guy here just picked up the 17" PB and it's sweet but kinda large to carry around...not to mention $$.

What ever your specs are will work great for me as I do the same type of work and use the same programs.

Also why didn't ya max out the ram?

Thanks!

[designerguy]

imac vs powermac?

I would also go w/the tower. The imac seems too limiting for what you do.

[Vaughnahue]

So let me ask this, if I rule out the video editing, and if i'm using an iMac for every day computing/graphic design, primarily 2-D in photoshop, illustrator, indesign, dreamweaver and flash...then will a 2.0 processor, with 2g of memory be suffice? Any advice?

[Mac+]

I'd think it would. 2GB of RAM is a nice amount to have in an iMac. Check out what barefeats has to say on the 1.8G5 PM (single and dual machines) compared to the 1.8 G5iMac. It's not *exactly* your case study, but it might prove illuminating for you. link (http://barefeats.com/g518.html)

[Stevuh]

i still use my PB 1.25 with 512 Ram for all the above. As well as Movie Editing and DVD authoring. And yes i do use FCP4 and DSP3. The iMac will be able to render all your video for at least a couple years with out it seeming too slow. after that well. . . But like everyone here has said get the Powermac. The reason for this is A) the expandability. B) the power. Those dual Procceser can turn out some very quick encoding and renderings. My school has some of the dual 2.0 (these are old) with 512 RAM and i've seen them render 30+ min of video in 10min or less. the G5 PM are extremly quick when it come to this type of thing. but like i said earlier the iMac will probably suit all of your need until you get out of college.

[Luca]

Just whatever you do, don't get the single processor 1.8 GHz one. That one is such a bad deal it's not even funny. It's worse than the iMac in every way, but it costs the same and doesn't include a display.

I agree that a dual G5 would rock. Dual processors are always really helpful. They're expensive, but well worth it.