Mac Mini and PC into ONE workstation ?

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Here it is. I have recently aquired a Mac Mini (the older version with G4 processor...) 1 GB ram and 80 GB Hard drive. Very nice ! However, since I work on very large and detailled graphics + illustrations it is simply too slow with Photoshop CS2 (often 2 GB image with all layers...). Now I have in my posession a very powerful PC wih 3 GB RAM and 3,5 Ghz motherboard making it ideal for working on. (ugly it is windows XP, but very fast with my configuration...) I have a switch, belkin, allowing me to use same keyboard, Intuos graphic tablet and monitor for both computers. What I would like to know is how I can connect these two into one "workstation". (I'd like to be able to work on a huge image, then flatten it, and easily transfer it to my mac mini for working fonts and other design to add to the illustration....)

Also, is there a to use more USB hardware with my mac mini ? Can I add USB ports or do I have no way of adding more hardware than 2 to my mac mini ? (say printer; scanner and Mac keyboard for example)

Bit too much text, sorry but couldn't be more ... concise...

Thanks for any ideas/suggestions !!!!

Daniel O:) ;D
 
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Your Mac's Specs
20" iMac Core 2 Duo 2.16Ghz, 500GB HDD, 1GB RAM, 128MB ATI Radeon X1600
The simple truth is that a G4 Mac mini just isn't built for what you're doing. I don't understand what you mean by one workstation...but the old G4s just aren't up to Photoshop CS2.

To get more hardware, I'm surprised you didn't think of a USB hub. You can get them pretty cheap, or buy an Apple keyboard, which has a built in two-port USB hub, though I believe it's only USB1.1 and therefore not as fast.

If you're ever going to switch entirely to Mac, I'd recommend the Mac Pro, it costs alot, but it'll do whatever you want with ease.

What do you mean by one workstation...?
 

Gav


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You mean use the PC & Mac side by side (but with the same screen using a KVM switch) and share files?

Just plug them both into a router and enable file sharing (concise, not precise :p)
 
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Your Mac's Specs
G4 Cube
Here it is. I have recently aquired a Mac Mini (the older version with G4 processor...) 1 GB ram and 80 GB Hard drive. Very nice ! However, since I work on very large and detailled graphics + illustrations it is simply too slow with Photoshop CS2 (often 2 GB image with all layers...). Now I have in my posession a very powerful PC wih 3 GB RAM and 3,5 Ghz motherboard making it ideal for working on. (ugly it is windows XP, but very fast with my configuration...) I have a switch, belkin, allowing me to use same keyboard, Intuos graphic tablet and monitor for both computers. What I would like to know is how I can connect these two into one "workstation". (I'd like to be able to work on a huge image, then flatten it, and easily transfer it to my mac mini for working fonts and other design to add to the illustration....)

Also, is there a to use more USB hardware with my mac mini ? Can I add USB ports or do I have no way of adding more hardware than 2 to my mac mini ? (say printer; scanner and Mac keyboard for example)

Bit too much text, sorry but couldn't be more ... concise...

Thanks for any ideas/suggestions !!!!

Daniel O:) ;D

Absolutely! You simply need to network the two computers together. The easiest way is to create a Shared Folder on your Windows computer and then connect your Mac to that Shared folder. Follow this guide to setup a Shared Folder on Windows:

http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp/filesharing.htm

Then follow this guide to connect your Mac to that Shared Folder:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106471

Your computers must be on the same network, so you need to have a hardware network before you can do the software part. Make sure they are both hooked up to some sort of networking device such as a router or switch.

As far as adding more USB ports, all you need is a USB hub. Here is a link to a good one that splits 1 USB port into 7 USB ports:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008VFAF/?tag=macforums0e4-20
 
OP
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Thank you guys for this PRECISE :) and clear bundle of solutions. I'll give it a try this weekend. The HUB yes I figured that was the USB solution, as for the keyboard USB extra port the thing is I did try that but it seemed "dead", so I suspected that the power in the Mac did not suffice (I wanted to connect my EPSON R1800 printer...)

As for the sharing I'm very glad to hear that it is possible to do (tired of using a external hard drive, unplug it, plug it , unplug it .. etc..)

PS By One Workstation what I meant was working with both my PC and my Mac simultaneously, say for example having In design running on my Mac mini and transfering a big image made with Photoshop CS3 on my PC to the Mac and put in in my Indesign document. (Working typography on PC is a drag..)

Thanks again ! :D
 

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