02-17-2009, 06:35 PM

Hello Mac Pro needed:
I am looking at purchasing Adobe Creative Suite 4: Design Premium (student edition) for my daughter, she already has CS2.
I was reading on Adobe's website, and went though some forums, but have yet to see any for sure answers that tell me if it will run on her PB G4.
I see that her PB doesn't meet the requirements according to Adobe's website but didn't know if these are just suggested or absolute.
CS3 isn't available any more unless you buy on eBay & yikes hate that thought. She will have her masters this semester (last chance to get students edition) & I hate to have to buy a new updated MAC just to run CS4 for her field. That is the nice thing about MAC's they are like us old people, they get older but still perform like youngsters.

Here is her PB specs:
OS 10.5.6
1.67GHz PowerPC G4
2 gig PC2700 (333MHz) DDR SDRAM
17-inch (diagonal), 1440 x 900 resolution, TFT widescreen
ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 128MB of DDR SDRAM and dual-link DVI
160GB Ultra ATA/100; 5400 rpm
8x SuperDrive DVD±RW/CD-RW

Here is Adobe's requirements:

PowerPC® G5 or multicore Intel® processor
Mac OS X v10.4.11–10.5.4
Java™ Runtime Environment 1.5 required for Adobe Version Cue Server
1GB of RAM or more recommended
10.3GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional hard-disk space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on flash-based storage devices)
1,024x768 display (1,280x800 recommended) with 16-bit video card
Some GPU-accelerated features require graphics support for Shader Model 3.0 and OpenGL 2.0
DVD-ROM drive
QuickTime 7.4.5 software required for multimedia features

02-18-2009, 07:33 PM

WOW!
Nobody has tried to run CS4 on a PB G4.
Don't make me be the ginniepig.

02-20-2009, 05:21 PM

I haven't personally tried it, but friends of mine did try to uprgrade from CS2 to CS4 on the their G4 and it was way to slow and choppy. They ended getting a new macbook pro with 4g of RAM. They don't really do anything with the 3-D effects either, just basic workflow.

Sorry I can't be of more help but I am still using a PC.

02-20-2009, 08:52 PM

It is pretty much always a bad idea to attempt to run any software on a machine at the low end of it's specified requirements. It's an even worse idea to try and run it on something lower than the minimum specs.

I wouldn't recommend attempting to run any software on a machine that only meets the minimum requirements unless you're prepared to be dissatisfied with the results.

On the other hand, buying CS4 while eligible for the amount of education discount Adobe offers is not a bad idea. You certainly won't get that type of discount now or ever on a new computer.

I know you're probably wanting to surprise your daughter. But, in this case, I think she'd be tickled with what you're planning and discussing it with her to see which route she'd like to go might be a good idea.

02-20-2009, 09:00 PM

Originally Posted by bobtomay

On the other hand, buying CS4 while eligible for the amount of education discount Adobe offers is not a bad idea. You certainly won't get that type of discount now or ever on a new computer.

My thoughts exactly. Buy it now while you get the discount if you know she will benefit from it in the future (and assuming she is still using a Mac - no point getting the Mac version otherwise).

If you still want to give it a try, you can order a trial DVD here. I do agree that running under the sys reqs probably isn't a good idea but if you still want to test it, this will provide you the chance to do it. You could also just download the trial for the individual components she uses and test those.

02-23-2009, 11:53 AM

Originally Posted by Phototini

Sorry I can't be of more help but I am still using a PC.

That is alright Phototini I kind'a figured as much.

Originally Posted by bobtomay

On the other hand, buying CS4 while eligible for the amount of education discount Adobe offers is not a bad idea. You certainly won't get that type of discount now or ever on a new computer.

I know you're probably wanting to surprise your daughter. But, in this case, I think she'd be tickled with what you're planning and discussing it with her to see which route she'd like to go might be a good idea.

Yep bobtomay that was my thoughts exactly, go ahead & purchase it with the $1300 savings.
I buy her stuff like gift cards to clothing stores & the Apple store for gifts. When it comes to software & business stuff we are on the same page. Everyone she works with in her higher ed classes still use CS3, waiting on CS5, but we can not get CS3 with the discount.

Originally Posted by vansmith

My thoughts exactly. Buy it now while you get the discount if you know she will benefit from it in the future (and assuming she is still using a Mac - no point getting the Mac version otherwise).

We have switched to MAC back in the Windows ME (YUCK) days & have realized there is really no other system, and never looked back. So buying PC software would be a waste of $$$$.

Thanks all for your time.