Very likely to switch

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RobDreugan

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Well, first off I'd like to say I'm glad I found this forum. I figured there was something like this out there, I just had to look for about 4 seconds.

I'm a video production student, and have been basically self taught on PC's and editing software in general. I used to do PC IT work, which is just wretched ;) .

The realization I have come to is that I need to be using industry standards for editing, which in this case is Final Cut 4. And sadly, I can't just put it on my pc. **** ain't gunna happen. So, having said that I've been looking into G5's and G4's trying to decide on which behemoth of a system to get.

I guess my main questions are, besides the 64 bit architecture on a G5, why is it so much faster than a G4? The other end of it is, you have to understand I grew up on AMD chips, so I've always supported the AMD vs. Intel war. Because AMD no longer uses the same measureing system that Intel does, its a little more diffuicult, but certainly easier to understand how an AMD 3200+ would compare to say, a P4 2.8, or 3.02 roughly.

I don't understand how Mac's gighz ratings are. I'd feel better if I just understood that a G4 1.25 = to a p4 3.0, or a p4 2.0. That would help my understanding of Macs tremendously, and I wouldn't feel so nausious when I'm looking at a dual 1.25 costing as much as a dual p4 2.8

The other question, is if you were trying to get someone to switch, what features might you tell them are obviously great advantages to going mac. I'm fully prepared to purchase one, I just need to know better what I'm getting into.

Thanks, in advance

Rob
 
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well for the speed rating things i dont know if anyone has come up with an exact conversion but i will go to look for a chart that can help put things into perspective.

some of the great features are
no viruses
no crashes
no need to defrag
better user interface
quieter
programs that you use on pc are better on mac
 
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another major plus is forums like these. mac users are much friendlier and likely to help you with your problems as they occur.
 
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RobDreugan

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Really? There's no need to defrag? I was thinking about that too, trying to figure out if I needed like a norton system works or something for it.


How about Firewalls, or is Mac OS. X safe enough not to need one?


btw, thanks for replying so quickly, I'll be reading over those links

Rob
 
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yea nobody here that i know of uses or reccomends system works.

firewalls i am not sure of because i am on a home network with a built in firewall so i have not had any problems but i am assumings its safe.

you will find with this board you will have a response within the hour because all of the regular posters here have a pretty good knowledge of different topics
 
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trpnmonkey41 explained alot, hopefully I can do the same and try to clean up a missing question.

Well, first off I'd like to say I'm glad I found this forum. I figured there was something like this out there, I just had to look for about 4 seconds.

Graphite: Welcome to the forum! Were glad you found it and glad your switching to the mac world

I'm a video production student, and have been basically self taught on PC's and editing software in general. I used to do PC IT work, which is just wretched ;) .

Graphite: I have experienced a little bit of video work on PCs as well, and I don't like it either :)

The realization I have come to is that I need to be using industry standards for editing, which in this case is Final Cut 4. And sadly, I can't just put it on my pc. **** ain't gunna happen. So, having said that I've been looking into G5's and G4's trying to decide on which behemoth of a system to get.

Graphite: I would go with G5 2-2Ghz just because.. its a G5 :D but...

I guess my main questions are, besides the 64 bit architecture on a G5, why is it so much faster than a G4? The other end of it is, you have to understand I grew up on AMD chips, so I've always supported the AMD vs. Intel war. Because AMD no longer uses the same measureing system that Intel does, its a little more diffuicult, but certainly easier to understand how an AMD 3200+ would compare to say, a P4 2.8, or 3.02 roughly.

Graphite: The G5 is faster because of even wider data routes than the G4, the Pentiums have narrow data streams which calls for larger Ghz to make up for the loss in speed. P4 = |D| G4 = |DD| G5= |DDD| As a simple graphical example (D being data :) ).

I don't understand how Mac's gighz ratings are. I'd feel better if I just understood that a G4 1.25 = to a p4 3.0, or a p4 2.0. That would help my understanding of Macs tremendously, and I wouldn't feel so nausious when I'm looking at a dual 1.25 costing as much as a dual p4 2.8

Graphite: Macs Ghz ratings are the same as anyone elses, only their chips can boost speed. Think of it like a car. You have 2 cars, both are the same but one has a turbo on it (the mac wider data streams)

The other question, is if you were trying to get someone to switch, what features might you tell them are obviously great advantages to going mac. I'm fully prepared to purchase one, I just need to know better what I'm getting into.

Graphite: trpnmonkey4 covered most of those really well :).. Macs are better for graphics as you know. Its pretty. If you can do it on your PC you can do it on your Mac twice as fast. Disk Burning is easy (no extra software) example: pop disk in, click and drag your files to disk, drag disk to trash where it will burn. (my mind is blank and I can't think of anything right now)

Thanks, in advance

Rob

Graphite: np

and

Really? There's no need to defrag? I was thinking about that too, trying to figure out if I needed like a norton system works or something for it.

Graphite: Nope no need at all. There are nice utilities though :) I use System Optimizer, and cocktail, then theres DiskWarrior and thats cool... every mac users has their own preference as to what they like more.

How about Firewalls, or is Mac OS. X safe enough not to need one?

Graphite: everyone should have a firewall, there is one built in on MacOSX :) I use Norton and a hardware firewall. They will save from Pings and people getting personal info. Though Mac OSX is probly the safest OS ever. My guess is its due to Apple looking for holes in its software then patching them as soon as they are found (they patch things before anyone else finds out about them, unlike M$ :) )

btw, thanks for replying so quickly, I'll be reading over those links

Rob
 
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i should have posted in the first place that i am a switcher myself from just before july 4th so i know where you are coming from. the switch is actually a very easy switch to make. it takes about a week of regular use until you are fully used to OS X and i started off with my regular windows mouse with scroll and back and forward buttons before i switched the to the apple pro mouse.
 
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RobDreugan

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At school they have g4's so I'm pretty familiar with the interface. There's quite a bit I'm not as experienced as I'd like to be with,..at least as the OS goes. I like knowing the ins and outs with my system.

Graphite, that's a great explaination of how the processors work. It makes alot more sense to me.

And, ya I'm leaning towards the G5 2, 2ghz one as well.

trpnmonkey41
i started off with my regular windows mouse with scroll and back and forward buttons before i switched the to the apple pro mouse.

I currently use a logitech 3 button mouse with mouse wheel, which I love. What's the difference with an Applo Pro Mouse?


Couple more questions off the top of my head. Most likely I'm going to want to have 2 hard drives in my system, one for the system drive, the other for capture. I'm lookin on the apple website, and it doesn't really say who manufactures the HDD's that they come with, nor does it seem like a good price with how much they are selling the two 2 x 250 drives. I was just wondering if you could shed some more light on that.

(I'm a huge western digital hdd fan, always always use them) So, I would assume I could use those hdd's in the G5. The other question which I saw in another post on the forum is, about Ram. It seems rather expensive, even if you have to purchase ram in pairs. It appears as though I should buy the minimum amount of ram and drive space, and then separately upgrade each once I recieve the system to save cash. :confused:

Rob
 
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the apple pro mouse just has one button on it and no scroll wheel....it takes a bit too get used to but there are so many keyboard commands you can learn its not a nuisance in my opinion. im not sure about the harddrive questions since my only experiences with desktops are messing around in the apple store since i have a powerbook.

With the ram it is cheaper to upgrade it yourself which is what i did on my powerbook (and ill probably up it to 1gb by xmas). if you look around the forum here there are plenty of links floating around for good prices on ram.
 
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RobDreugan

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Oh, I totally have to have my wheel mouse lol. Ever since I got a wheel, i love it. Plus I'm known to play a few first person shooters, gotta have a fast way to scroll thru to my rail gun ;)
 
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RobDreugan said:
oh ya, ... what about directX? How does that work on a Mac?

it doesnt
 
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Xer0

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Welcome!

All i have to say is this... if you going to be working with video and other creative packages, then go for the latest hardware.

The G5 puts Apple, ahead of PC's in that department. Furthermore it's more affordable compared to a PC workstation.

In my opinion, you'll certainly be happy with a G5 with dual 1.8Ghz cpu's ;) And a minimum of 512MB ram. The G5 boasts incredible bandwidth - which is essential for your needs.

As for the AMD vs Intel cpu wars... i've always gone with AMD as they make good us of their Mhz - unlike Intel. And i've said it before, and i'll say again... i'll carryon using a PC because there's lots of things to look forward too - like Athlon FX ;) which uses hyper-transport like the G5.

I don't regret buying my Apple... i look forward to spending lot's of quality time and being productive on my MAC! :D
 
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trpnmonkey41 said:
it doesnt

That's hillariious! Just the way you said it..


Anyways, Rob, if you have a big spending limit, go with the Dual G5, you won't be dissapointed in it, speed wise and OS wise. It's upgradable also. So don't worry about buying everything all at once.

I was told to just buy a G4 PowerMac or an iMac until I finish school and such then spend the money on a G5, apparently I didn't take that route. But it could be something you can think about.

sKaD
 
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RobDreugan

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Xer0 said:
Welcome!

All i have to say is this... if you going to be working with video and other creative packages, then go for the latest hardware.
Oh, I agree ;)

In my opinion, you'll certainly be happy with a G5 with dual 1.8Ghz cpu's ;) And a minimum of 512MB ram. The G5 boasts incredible bandwidth - which is essential for your needs.

Again this may just be my ignorance, but I was under the impression that only the 2ghz chip was built with a dual processor setup.

And as far as my spending limit. Ideally, I don't want to spend a fortune on this, but it is something I'll definitely get my money out of. I don't have a problem spending the cash on features that I'll be using. With a bit of luck the free lance editing jobs I do on the side will end up paying for it.
 
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Xer0

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RobDreugan said:
Oh, I agree ;)



Again this may just be my ignorance, but I was under the impression that only the 2ghz chip was built with a dual processor setup.

And as far as my spending limit. Ideally, I don't want to spend a fortune on this, but it is something I'll definitely get my money out of. I don't have a problem spending the cash on features that I'll be using. With a bit of luck the free lance editing jobs I do on the side will end up paying for it.

Excuse my lapse of memory ;) You are right - the Dual comes only in 2Ghz... but even so - that's money well spent if you'll be using it often.

But with that said, the 1.8Ghz machine is also great for your needs :D ! But the key thing to remember is, the more RAM you have - the faster the system will run!
[ ofcourse, i know you know this ;) ]

With that said, there really is no excuse for Apple not releasing Dual configs with the other cpu's [ 1.6/1.8Ghz ]
 
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RobDreugan

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Xer0 said:
Excuse my lapse of memory ;) You are right - the Dual comes only in 2Ghz... but even so - that's money well spent if you'll be using it often.

Can't argue with that


But with that said, the 1.8Ghz machine is also great for your needs :D ! But the key thing to remember is, the more RAM you have - the faster the system will run!
[ ofcourse, i know you know this ;) ]

Well, I figure If I'm going to be 50 grand in debt when I get out of school, how's another 4k gunna hurt me lol. And realistically, a dual processor is what I should get.



With that said, there really is no excuse for Apple not releasing Dual configs with the other cpu's [ 1.6/1.8Ghz ]

Yep, I have no idea why they'd only offer it in the highest end model.

Back to the DirectX question, are games for mac then just made w/o the need for direct X? Or is there a mac version of something that serves the same purpose?
 
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im not a serious gamer but im pretty sure that even if they need directx for windows they are made so they will work with mac also
 

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