wanna buy a mac

hello!

I am a PC user for years. I decided I want to buy a mac. I am a multimedia developer, work as a graphic artist professionally as my day job. But I would like to work with video at home. I used to be able to on the pc I have now but I am having a lot of probs and I hear mac is the best for media.

I have NO IDEA what to get. I dont know anything about macs. Also is it possible to transfer my PC work/music/videos to the mac?

My budget is 2000-2500$ canadian.
Can anyone suggest anything?

Thanks!!

subfl0wer said:

hello!

I am a PC user for years. I decided I want to buy a mac. I am a multimedia developer, work as a graphic artist professionally as my day job. But I would like to work with video at home. I used to be able to on the pc I have now but I am having a lot of probs and I hear mac is the best for media.

I have NO IDEA what to get. I dont know anything about macs. Also is it possible to transfer my PC work/music/videos to the mac?

My budget is 2000-2500$ canadian.
Can anyone suggest anything?

Thanks!!

Click to expand...

As you said you you are a graphic artist professional so i would recommend the PowerMac G5 because as i have heard really fast and it would just fine for you.

Yes i think you can transfer your work/music/videos to the mac, just search the forum.

hope that helps

the powermac g5 would work, but a new intel imac would maybe be fast enough for you.....
But congrats on deciding to switch! You won't go back, that's for sure!

ShillAT said:

the powermac g5 would work, but a new intel imac would maybe be fast enough for you.....
But congrats on deciding to switch! You won't go back, that's for sure!

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My wife uses a 2ghz Core Duo iMac. We were playing with the PowerMac G5 at the local Apple store; she said it felt MUCH slower. My vote goes to the Intel machines

kaidomac said:

My wife uses a 2ghz Core Duo iMac. We were playing with the PowerMac G5 at the local Apple store; she said it felt MUCH slower. My vote goes to the Intel machines

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yea the intel with 2 GB of ram is fine and fast enough for you

good luck

I'd suggest the 20" iMac with 2 gigs of ram. If you have a retail copy of Win XP SP2 you could load that onto the iMac, as well using Apple's free BootCamp.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?family=iMac

yeah get an imac. for graphics work the 20" would definetly be the best. i have 2b ram in mine and it flies. good luck.

UncSki1218 said:

yeah get an imac......... i have 2b ram in mine and it flies. good luck.

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Please do me now.

I'm considering ordering my maxed-out iMac 20" tomorrow -- 2gbRam, etc. If you have words of wisdom for such as I, would love to hear them. I accept learning curve. Otherwise looking for max-speed short of G5 big-box and, hopefully, no problems not learning-related. Tell me of your experience,....please.

Word to the wise. In case you have money to just throw around, do not order your upgraded ram from Apple. The new intel imacs are quite possibly the easiest computer to do a ram upgrade in, and aftermarket prices will save you hundreds over getting it from Apple. The ram is deemed user servicable on the imacs so warranty violation isn't a problem.

As far as the original poster goes, a 20" imac with 2GB of ram will be more than enough to do professional grade video work. The new intel machines run like a speed demon, plus you have the option to run XP whenever you want. Good luck with your decision but a 20" imac looks like the answer to your question.

Just to echo what some of the others have already suggested, a 20" iMac Core Duo should do quite nicely. Even with some upgrades, you should still be comfortably within your budget.

i know that you are going to love your new iMac because it is going to fly as UncSki1218 said his does

good luck with yours

techster82 said:

.....do not order your upgraded ram from Apple. The new intel imacs are quite possibly the easiest computer to do a ram upgrade in, and aftermarket prices will save you hundreds over getting it from Apple.

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Thanks. Understand this. However, I'm the guy that has already had two Mac blowouts (both re-sellers). At this point very interested in leaving 100% of responsibility with Apple store. I'm buying the promise of their machine done their way by them. I fulfill my end by paying and being willing to learn and transition. They fulfill their end by providing a machine that does what it's supposed to. I'm willing to pay their price for what they represent. I expect them to stand behind it. If that costs a couple hundred more than rolling my own, I'm game.

One reason for my attitude is G5 big-box from two years ago. Bought additional ram from re-seller to install myself. Did that. Later, dealer tech verified proper installation at my location. Problem was, none of it worked. And tech couldn't make it work. Not going there again. Most people haven't had this experience so likely don't understand my caution.

This time, dealer will not only configure machine. They will test it thoroughly and present to me as such before I accept delivery. Maybe not important for most people. Important for me.

I'd say, wait for the intel version of the Powermac. It would suit your needs.

Geowge said:

I'd say, wait for the intel version of the Powermac. It would suit your needs.

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yeah or the INTEL CONROE version of the iMac if they ship it in the iMac soon enough.

techster82 said:

Word to the wise. In case you have money to just throw around, do not order your upgraded ram from Apple. The new intel imacs are quite possibly the easiest computer to do a ram upgrade in, and aftermarket prices will save you hundreds over getting it from Apple. The ram is deemed user servicable on the imacs so warranty violation isn't a problem.

As far as the original poster goes, a 20" imac with 2GB of ram will be more than enough to do professional grade video work. The new intel machines run like a speed demon, plus you have the option to run XP whenever you want. Good luck with your decision but a 20" imac looks like the answer to your question.

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Moreover, according to my research, Apple's RAM prices are literally DOUBLE that of other suppliers on average.

caveatipss said:

Moreover, according to my research, Apple's RAM prices are literally DOUBLE that of other suppliers on average.

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yeah that is right, like from crucial 1 GB of ram is around 200 dollars and from apple it is 300 dollars.

And 2 GB from Crucialis around $300, but from Apple, SIX HUNDRED dollars!!

caveatipss said:

And 2 GB from Crucialis around $300, but from Apple, SIX HUNDRED dollars!!

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OMG, thats double

subfl0wer said:

hello!

I decided I want to buy a mac.
[...]
I have NO IDEA what to get. I dont know anything about macs.

Click to expand...

That is a contradiction, if not paradox. How did you decide to buy something you have no idea about. That's like saying I want to buy a Tibet. I don't know what a Tibet is, but I want one, coz I heard they're so cool.

Well Tibet's a country and it's cool coz it's 20'000 feet high

It's important to find out what you want to do, So far you've been told that since you do Graphic design as your day job, you should get a mac with good specs. Trouble is, the software you are going to use is probably not universal, so it won't run as fast as it could on any machine that has an Intel processor on it If you want full speed right away, and for a long tim to come, get a Dual Core or Quad G5 tower - if you can afford it. But that's my recommendation for you