Upgreading my Mac

[Andrew Brooks]

Hi,
Just about to get round to buying a new Mac, I have a 5 year old desktop G5 with the (Dual 2.5Ghz, Power PC, 4 GB DDR SRAM)

Basically I want to upgrade to a much much quicker computer where I will be using mostly Photoshop and Aftereffects(Here's what I do Andrew Brooks Photography )

I have been planning on picking up the latest G5 Desktop, but I have seen that the speeds on the newest iMacs seem very quick, so I was wondering if there is any way of getting an idea how much quicker the very newest Macs would be compared to an old model such as mine, so I can make an informed choice when parting with my money.

Also does anyone know if you can use a 2nd monitor with any of the iMac's as this is important for my video work.


Thanks for your time.

Andrew Brooks

 

[Chef_eam]

The iMac's have a mini display port on them. On the 21.5" iMac it is MDP out, and the 27" iMac is both MDP out and MDP in. So, they can both use a second monitor, and the 27.5 can also be used as a secondary display for a Macbook or Macbook Pro.

 

[pigoo3]

Hi,
Just about to get round to buying a new Mac, I have a 5 year old desktop G5 with the (Dual 2.5Ghz, Power PC, 4 GB DDR SRAM)

I have been planning on picking up the latest G5 Desktop,

Kind of a confusing post. You say that you currently have a dual 2.5ghz G5 desktop...and you were planning on getting the latest G5 desktop.

Firstly...the dual 2.5ghz G5 you currently have is just about the fastest G5 that was ever available. There were some other models that might be marginally faster, but probably not worth upgrading to at this point.

Secondly...the last G5 desktop was discontinued August, 2006...so you do realize that if you upgraded to a "faster" G5 that it would be a used computer...since new G5 computers are no longer available.

Your best choice for a computer upgrade would be a newer (used) or brand new Mac -Mini, iMac, or laptop. How much faster these computers are than your old G5 really isn't super important. The PowerPC design is outdated...and it would be best to get a newer Intel Based Macintosh.

Safe to say the new Macintosh computers are MUCH faster...but also be careful to be sure that any important software you currently use will be compatible with the newer computers & the operating system version that comes with them.

HTH,

- Nick

 

[EndlessMac]

It is a confusing post. I think Andrew doesn't realize that all new Macs are now Intel computers so there is no G anything PowerPC name. Unless Andrew really wants another G5 PowerPC desktop he's probably confusing the terminology because the current Mac tower desktops are Intel also.

Here is a review from MacWorld about the new iMacs and how they compare in performance to the current Mac desktop tower which are called Mac Pros. For your money the iMacs seem to be the better deal until the new Mac Pros are updated.

 

[Andrew Brooks]

rates lindgren

Thanks for that info and sorry for the confusion, I only really look into the world of Macs when I need a new one. Looks like a top end iMac will be the way I go, which means I will be spend much less than I planned.

Has anyone got any thoughts on the quality of the screens? I need to do quite subtle colour correction work in my photography, so I usually use Lacie monitors with colour calabration, are the built in iMac screens comparable, or I would aim at using a Lacie as my second screen.

Thanks again

 

[harryb2448]

If you are happy with your current screen, suggest you also consider a Mac Pro, which whilst a little dearer, is more expandable than any iMac with the options of upgrading optical and hard drives easier, easy install of additional memory, faster graphic cards etc.