Powermac G5 or new imac 2.66GHz intel core 2 duo?

Hi everyone,

I know this is quite similar to other posts, but it would be great to get your feedback on this particular decision if you have the time.

I want to start video editing with HDV so need a new desktop. Im just going to be editing a few short films - its not my profession so don't think I need high spec, and as Im a beginner I dont yet know if its something I will do more of in the future (I hope to but we will see how these projects go first) therefore longevity is not necessarily an important issue.

My choice is between the new imac 2.66GHz intel core 2 duo, 2GB RAM (I'd buy an extra 2GB) 320HD (I'd get 650HD), which i can get with an educational discount for £1000 (with the extra RAM and HD space) and the Powermac G5 dual 2GHz, which I can buy from someone i know along with 23inch monitor, keyboard, mouse, 2GB RAM, 2x 250GB hard drives and Final Cut Pro for £500.

The problems with the imac, as far as I can see, are that it doesn't have a graphics card, just a chip and I dont think it has any VRAM, which Final Cut Studio requires. The higher end imacs do have a graphics card, but i think these, like the Mac Pros, are out of my budget and are maybe overkill. It also doesn't seem, I gather from past posts, very update-able.

The main problem with the Powermac G5 seems to be that its not intel, and that although i can add hard drives and update the RAM, I might not be able to support future generations of software with it - Final Cut Pro Studio already says it needs a Mac with an intel processor to run it, so again, I guess it is not very future proof.

My main questions are:
1) Which is my best option of the two? (From older posts, I was gathering the consensus was the Powermac, but in the newer posts, now that the intel machines are out, more people appear to recommend the imac, but I'm not sure if they are talking about the higher end imacs with the graphic cards or the cheapest one, which is what I'm looking at)

2) Am I crazy to spend money on something that can not keep up with technology, or if I want to edit on HDV (and possibly in the future HD) will I be able to do this on these machines with an old version of Final Cut Pro very happily for many years anyway?

Part of me thinks I should invest lots now in a Mac Pro (which I could do) and re-sell it (at a good price) later on and part of me thinks if an imac or Powermac can do me for now, i should just see how i go with editing first and if and when i need to upgrade, I don't worry about loosing the £500/£800 and just buy what I need in 3/6 years time, when the technology will have evolved further anyway.

Any opinions welcomed. Thanks in advance,

Genevieve

i was going to buy a mac i'd make sure it was a intel. cuz mac already stop supporting the powerpcs cuz snow leopard only supports intel macs.
i would go for the mac pro if i was u. it may cost a lot but you'd get 5 years out of it. and remember once you go mac you never go back.

G'day and welcome to the forums.

You are spot on with the iMac assessment. They are flash, glossy toys IMHO but that is just me and no doubt will attract huge criticism. If you cannot afford to splurge on a Mac Pro, suggest looking for a Dual Core G5 with the faster DDR2 memory and PCIE graphic card.

The Mac Pro is really the answer to your question however.

thanks for the advice!

Thinking about the Mac Pro, but not sure i can justify the expense for what I need.

What will it mean to have a Power Mac that is not intel? I presume I will just have to function on old versions of software (I mostly use Final Cut Pro, itunes, word, photoshop and browse internet) and operating systems. If this serves my needs will this be ok or are there future problems I have not predicted? For example the BBC iplayer is no longer compatible with OSX10.3.9. (It was but then they started using a version of Flash that was not compatible). Do you predict any other compatibility issues such as this?

Actually someone pointed out that an base Mac mini (Waaay less powerful than that imac)will fry a G5 in performance,don't forget,the G5 was 04,pre Pentium Duo,let alone an core 2 duo.
Also an modern igp,(The 9400m,the second most powerful igp ever made{Behind my well loved ATI HD3300,sorry fellow mac fans...}) is way more powerful than an 6 year old card,and supports running windows in addition to OSX.

Akk double post....

At this stage all it will mean is you cannot install Snow Leopard, which judging by the number of pleas for help on these forums may well be a good thing. Office 2008, Photoshop etc all run nicely on a Dual Processor or Dual Core machine and let's bne honest, most of us buy what we can afford.

And Minis are bigger toys that iMacs.

thanks,

to update: the PowerMac G5 I was considering turns out to have some problems with it (had not been used for 18months so they had not been know about til it was turned on again) and so the owner doesn't think its a good idea for me to buy it.

My choice is now between the 2.4GHz intel core 2 duo imac, the 2.66 GHZ version, the 2.93 GHz version or the Mac Pro quad core, (unless I can find a good deal on a second hand Power Mac or 1st generation Mac Pro) The lack of a dedicated graphics card for the lower end imacs concerns me, but they are so much cheaper than anything else. If they will cope with Final cut (Express or Pro) for editing HDV and possibly HD for festival submissions on DVD, even though they might be slow, then I will be happy, but my question is - can they? I have posted a longer version of this question in the movies and video forum:
http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/mo...dv-hd-imacs-4-hdv-hd-should-i-buy-macpro.html
as thought it more appropriate there.

Thanks again,
Genevieve

In my opinion, any PPC Mac is a dead-end if you intend to keep the machine for awhile. With the release of Snow Leopard, Apple has very clearly drawn a line in the sand.

The 9400 "integrated" part is a fairly stout GPU, more than enough for 2D video work. If you were doing 3D modeling, CAD/CAM or gaming, I would steer you toward a machine that didn't share memory. But I think for light to medium FCP use, just about any of the current iMac models should suit your needs. If you were doing it as a Pro, my answer would be different.

harryb2448 said:

And Minis are bigger toys that iMacs.

Click to expand...

Just a note, my 2.16 Ghz Mini is far from a toy. In any Video conversion, compression, whatever it blows down every system in my house including my G5.

I would also go Intel as they are faster per clock and for FCP that would be nice and more future proof.

I am far from a hater of the Power PC for those who do not know me, but if you are starting off new I would go with an Intel Mac.