Trying to decide what to buy

i posted before in the Macbook forum thinking that i might get one of those. however, i've talked to some more people, and i've been directed toward the Power Macs.

i'm currently a senior in college doing design work (advertising and graphics), and not only do i need a computer do work on now, but i need something that will be useful when i get out into the "real world". i generally use programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, sometimes more than one at a time, and i use a lot of large photos and file sizes.

also, my budget is pretty low. i was hoping not to need to spend more than $1000, but i suppose my more realistic budget is $1500 (i'll probably be getting a used or refurbished machine). and whatever i get, i need it to last as long as possible because it will be a while (probably 5 years) before i can afford to buy something else.

i have a friend telling me that the best way to go is a G5. however, do i go for the Dual G5 or a new intel based machine? i was going to get an iMac, and i was told by a few other people that it would be the way to go because of affordability, but my friend is really confident that i should get the G5.

(ps: my friend has found a Power Mac Dual G5 for $1300...i can get that IF it's the best choice.)

I would go with the dual g5 for now, because CS2 is designed for the powerpc macs, the mac pro, macbook, macbook pro, imac, and mac mini are all intel macs. therefore cs2 will run alot slower.

At the moment, the dual G5 will certainly perform better than the Mac Pro. But as soon as Universal binaries are released of adobe's apps, the mac pro will perform a lot better.

So either have great perforance now or have mediocre performance now and great performance in a few months.

A dual G5 PowerMac at $1300 is certainly a very respectable deal if you ask me...

oh, it's a great deal...i just want to be sure i'm getting the computer i need. i have people telling me an iMac is the way to go, and i have people telling me to go for the G5's. so here i am asking you guys because y'all seem to know what you're talking about, hehe.

If you're near an Apple store, I recommend going down there and playing with all of the computers. If your friends mentioned an iMac, go down and try em out, especially the 24" model. I'm heading down there today to do the very same thing.

No doubt a G5 at $1300 is a great deal, but you are buying old technology. Unlike PC computers and laptops, Apple computers seem to hold their resalve value a bit better.
Do you want to future-proof yourself? Get a Mac Pro. Want the convenience of an all-in one? Get an iMac. That is, of course, if you can deal with the sloe CS2 performance temporarily.

I strongly recommend playing with the computers at the Apple store before you decide. Apple also has some pretty decent refurbs on their site, and those refurbs are restored to new conditon. I've heard alot of good things about the refurbs.

Scroatdog said:

you are buying old technology.

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ANY technology you buy is "old" technology because once you get it home, something new is already in the works and on its way. Technology is funny that way.

:black:

here at my university, we have iMacs, G5's, and G4's...i've used them all. i honestly can't see much of a difference in performance between the iMacs and the G5's.

i am worried about purchasing a computer without the intel because they're supposed to update the programs, and i don't want to be "stuck" with the older programs.

and i'll totally be checking out the refurbished stuff...that's how i was able to afford my lovely 20 GB photo iPod!

tayterbug said:

i am worried about purchasing a computer without the intel because they're supposed to update the programs, and i don't want to be "stuck" with the older programs.

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Well, the very definition of "Universal" means that an application will run natively on a PPC and/or an Intel processor. So you wouldn't be 'stuck' with any programs.

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