Long time PC user ready to Switch

[jweinraub]

Hey all,

I been a long long time PC user. I used to bash Mac users. Even though my first real computer was an Apple IIgs :-). I am ready to throw Billy Gates out the window (no pun intended) and move in on Steve Jobs.

I use windows right now for Photoshop, Dreamweaver, video editng in Premiere and Encore DVD. Listening to music, and of course development (open source).

I dont plan on playing that many games, though but if i were to get a PC i would want P4 3+ GHz, hyper threading, 1 GB ram, slot load dvd rom, tray dvd+rw/-rw cdrom+r/rw, all in wonder ati radeon for video capture, 300 GB HDD minimum. I like the idea of serial ata, 20" lcd widescreen, and i think that should cover it. i also would like to do my own customising, such that i can go and buy crucial ballistix ram if i so desire, or a seagate hard drive (since i built all my current and past PCs)....

lemme know what you guys recommend...thanks so much!!!

[Stevuh]

i recomend a trip to an apple store to try out some of the higher end G5's on display there. i also recommend a trip to the bank to take out a loan unless your a student, in which case the apple developer connection (students that is) may be for you.

a 2.5 G5 with 3rd party RAM sounds about right, alot of people will probably recommend the dell monitors but seeing as how i use my laptop's screen i can really help you there.

HTH

[jweinraub]

Yes a trip to the Apple store is a great idea. I am not too far from one so I'd love to check things out.

I imagine all my accessories are fine (HP Photosmart1315, scanner, usb hub, etc.)...They all work fine in Linux at least (my only real need for PC hardware at least right now).

[Luca]

Let's see...

I dont plan on playing that many games
Good, because that is NOT a strong point for Macs.

but if i were to get a PC i would want P4 3+ GHz, hyper threading
Any dual G5 should suit you well if you want monster processing power. Even the dual 2.0 should kick a single 3.0 GHz CPU's ass, especially if it's a P4.

1 GB ram, slot load dvd rom, tray dvd+rw/-rw cdrom+r/rw, all in wonder ati radeon for video capture, 300 GB HDD minimum.
There are solutions for most of these things. The RAM is easy of course, and the G5s already come with a 16x DVD burner. Unfortunately they only have one 5.25" bay, so you can't put a second optical drive in them, but I think that's a pretty minor concern. If you really need a second optical drive you can get a Firewire external one, but it's just not worth it IMHO. Actually, when I had a PC several months ago I originally built it with a DVD-ROM and a DVD-RW, and I sold the DVD-ROM pretty soon because I never used it. The hard drive is obviously not a problem... Apple charges a somewhat reasonable price to upgrade to a 400 GB hard drive, but you might just want to stick with the included one and add a second drive on your own.

As for video capture... for that you may have to use a dedicated video capture PCI card or external Firewire device. There are no ATI All-In-Wonder cards for Mac, but you can get either a Miglia AlchemyTV PCI card or an Elgato EyeTV external TV tuner and video capture box. This (http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/video/tv-tuners/) is a good site to buy those.

I like the idea of serial ata, 20" lcd widescreen, and i think that should cover it. i also would like to do my own customising, such that i can go and buy crucial ballistix ram if i so desire, or a seagate hard drive (since i built all my current and past PCs)....
The G5s certainly are nice but they only have two SATA ports (and only room for two internal hard drives without modification). There are internal modifications you can make to the case to hold more hard drives, as well as Mac-compatible SATA cards. But I think you might just be better off getting a FW800 enclosure (even a multi-drive FW800 enclosure if you really lust after extra storage). It's cheaper and more convenient than modifying the case. Oh, and I'll tell you right now that using Crucial Ballistix isn't going to help. Macs adhere to stricter standards for memory so using faster stuff doesn't help. It all clocks to the same speed.

Anyway it sounds like you're really love a G5 tower. Just keep those things in mind that I mentioned.

[jweinraub]

Anyway it sounds like you're really love a G5 tower. Just keep those things in mind that I mentioned.

Yes I think I am going to really love one and I am really excited about owning one. This may sound corny but in a way its like being freed from the Matrix...where i was trapped in windows. I work professionally with Windows, for fun i use mainly linux (i majored in computer science), and for home i want something differerent. mainly something that works. somehting as powerful as my pc, with the heart of unix with the stability MacOS and its wonderful hardware can provide me.