Withdrawal

D

dwd3885

Guest
I'm a college student working in Communication and Digital Media. I do digital photo editing with Photoshop, very light if any video editing, lots of audio mixing/editing. I love surfing the internet, that's probably what I do the most! But I multitask like crazy and love having many windows open at the same time (who doesn't?!) And I'd like to play Madden and NBA Live as well.

Ok, so I bought the smoking PowerMac Dual 2ghz G5 with 1GB RAM, 9600XT a few weeks ago. I got Photoshop, Audio Hijack Pro, Logic Express, Toast 7 Titanium, all the goodies. So what's wrong? What's wrong is that I need a TV-Tuner I can record shows on, Adobe Audition for mixing (I know I have Logic Express, but Audition is THE format in radio right now). And I spent $1,750 for it.

The thing is, I'm having withdrawals from the PC!!! What's that about? I know I can buy an external TV-tuner card for the Mac and people say the Mac will last longer, I just don't know anymore. I was configuring a computer at newegg with these specs:

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: CAC-T05-UW
$44.99

LITE-ON Black IDE DVD Burner Model SOHW-1693S Black OEM - OEM
Model #: SOHW-1693S Black OEM
$37.99

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600JS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: WD1600JS
$79.99

Microsoft Windows XP Media Center 2005 - OEM
Model #: M93-00091
$124.95

SeaSonic S12-430 ATX12V 430W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: S12-430
$99.00

GIGABYTE GV-RX80256D Radeon X800 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: GV-RX80256D
$189.00

Hauppauge 1042 PCI Interface Win TV150 PVR-MCE Tuner Card for MCE - Retail
Model #: 1042
$67.00

GeIL Value Series 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model GE1GB3200BSC - Retail
Model #:GE1GB3200BSC
$97.44

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA3800BVBOX - Retail
Model #:ADA3800BVBOX

GIGABYTE GA-K8VT890-9 Socket 939 VIA K8T890 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #:GA-K8VT890-9
$416.01 COMBINED FOR BOTH

TOTAL $1,156.37

So I'd be saving $600 with that system if I put this Mac up on ebay, which in many opinions, is better than the PM Dual G5.

So I guess I'm looking at your all's opinions. I know you love Macs (most of you) so try to be objective. Should I stay or should I go??

Thanks for reading this incredibly long post.
 
iNAP

iNAP


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"Should I stay or should I go??"

have the best of both worlds Just consider yourself a Macdow specialist ;)
 
M

mikey12784


Joined
Sep 26, 2005
Messages
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Location
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Your Mac's Specs
MBP core 2 duo 15.4"
for your needs the PC you built would be better, and i dont mean to knock macs, i just dropped a big load of cash on an ibook, but i got it for its incredible mobility purposes (long battery life) when it comes to PC's, they are far faster than macs now for editing stuff, its just that many times more editing software is written for macs. that 3800x2 is a dual core CPU that can and will be utilized by windows XP pro, and server 2003, so make sure you would get one of those OS's, and why not make it 2 gigs of ram, more ram never hurt anybody :). but im kind of surprised you can't find more software for the mac, they are usually king of audio/visio software suites, but hey, i dont know all bout these yet, i dont even have it in my hands yet!!! /IMPATIENCE!!!. but anyways, hope something i said was of use to you.
 
OP
F

falltime

Guest
dwd3885 said:
I'm a college student working in Communication and Digital Media. I do digital photo editing with Photoshop, very light if any video editing, lots of audio mixing/editing. I love surfing the internet, that's probably what I do the most! But I multitask like crazy and love having many windows open at the same time (who doesn't?!) And I'd like to play Madden and NBA Live as well.

Ok, so I bought the smoking PowerMac Dual 2ghz G5 with 1GB RAM, 9600XT a few weeks ago. I got Photoshop, Audio Hijack Pro, Logic Express, Toast 7 Titanium, all the goodies. So what's wrong? What's wrong is that I need a TV-Tuner I can record shows on, Adobe Audition for mixing (I know I have Logic Express, but Audition is THE format in radio right now). And I spent $1,750 for it.

The thing is, I'm having withdrawals from the PC!!! What's that about? I know I can buy an external TV-tuner card for the Mac and people say the Mac will last longer, I just don't know anymore. I was configuring a computer at newegg with these specs:

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: CAC-T05-UW
$44.99

LITE-ON Black IDE DVD Burner Model SOHW-1693S Black OEM - OEM
Model #: SOHW-1693S Black OEM
$37.99

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600JS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: WD1600JS
$79.99

Microsoft Windows XP Media Center 2005 - OEM
Model #: M93-00091
$124.95

SeaSonic S12-430 ATX12V 430W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: S12-430
$99.00

GIGABYTE GV-RX80256D Radeon X800 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: GV-RX80256D
$189.00

Hauppauge 1042 PCI Interface Win TV150 PVR-MCE Tuner Card for MCE - Retail
Model #: 1042
$67.00

GeIL Value Series 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model GE1GB3200BSC - Retail
Model #:GE1GB3200BSC
$97.44

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA3800BVBOX - Retail
Model #:ADA3800BVBOX

GIGABYTE GA-K8VT890-9 Socket 939 VIA K8T890 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #:GA-K8VT890-9
$416.01 COMBINED FOR BOTH

TOTAL $1,156.37

So I'd be saving $600 with that system if I put this Mac up on ebay, which in many opinions, is better than the PM Dual G5.

So I guess I'm looking at your all's opinions. I know you love Macs (most of you) so try to be objective. Should I stay or should I go??

Thanks for reading this incredibly long post.
Click to expand...

In addition to working at Apple, I make quite a bit of pocket change selling custom machines on eBay - I've sold over 400 to date, and I really work to find, research, and test the highest quality components for the best price.. So I have a few recommendations for you:

Get the NEC 3540a (16x) burner - 16x media is still a little overpriced and very unreliable. The general consensus is that high-quality 8x media is still the best (I use 8x Taiyo Yuden) and you can easily, and quickly flash the firmware of the NEC burner to burn 8x Taiyo Yuden media @ 12x perfectly. Most people would tell you NEC makes better burners than Lite-On, and NEC also has a considerably larger enthusiast support base than Lite-On.

IF were talking about high-end PSUs get a Fortron/Sparkle PSU over the Seasonic... The Seasonics are overrated especially for how much they cost, and I consistently get better rails with Fortrons than with Seasoniscs. I even think Antec makes better PSU's than Seasonic, but Fortron is easily still the best.

Man don't get GEIL... You would seriously be better off with A-DATA, ;). Honestly, I'd get OCZ - it's much better than geil, and for around the same price. Most overlockers even prefer OCZ over C-XMS, because even at extremely high bus speeds OCZ seems to be more stable.

Obviously the proc is fine, and I do like the ga-k8vt890 - I think it's a terrific board for the price, and I've never had any issues with them.

And clearly, for audio recording/editing/mixing/programmring, digi 002 protools (or m-box for users with less money) rewired into Reason is still the way to go... and for whatever reason, P-M's still seem to be outperforming everything else in Protools DaveC.... but your X2 should be fine. I mean, unless your recording a 30x chopped up Jenifer Lopez song, who the heck needs 32+64 tracks???
 
Meyvn

Meyvn


Joined
Nov 24, 2004
Messages
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Reaction score
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Points
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Your Mac's Specs
Black Colorware PowerBook 1.67 GHz G4, 2 GB DDR2, 100GB 7200 RPM
There's a couple things to consider. Yes, Macs do typically have a lower depreciation value, and they tend to last a bit longer (from my experience and that of those I know) compared to the average (and I do mean average, not high-end, well-kept) custom PC. A well constructed, well taken care of custom PC, though, could absolutely last as long or longer than a Mac. Anyway, onto your actual problem.

If you're only using it for the purposes you describe, then go ahead and sell the G5 for a PC. I know that if I were personally in your position, I would stick with the Mac simply because I happen to enjoy its user interface enough to justify the added expense. However, from a strictly utilitarian, broke-college-student perspective, even if you prefer the OS X interface and such, being able to perform in your designated area takes precedence over anything else. Heck, if you make any money doing production work (paid internships are out there), you can just buy a Mac mini for your own enjoyment if it means that much to you. Definitely don't use a Mac just for the sake of using a Mac if you need to do jobs on it that it can't perform as well. Oh, and I can definitely vouch for falltime's statement about OCZ being a great RAM provider, particularly for the price.
 
OP
D

dwd3885

Guest
i do have a gateway PC laptop that I could put Audition on. Then maybe get a tuner for the Mac later. I know it would be more expensive to keep the G5. OSX is sweet, as far as gaming, i don't know. maybe get the next gen xbox, but that's more money that i could do on a pc for way less
 
A

aeiou


Joined
Aug 15, 2005
Messages
154
Reaction score
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Points
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Your Mac's Specs
20" iMac core2Duo 2.4Ghz 4GB ram
Personally, I would keep the g5, but for your purposes it might be better for you to build that. It just depends on how much you like mac os. Thats what most of us bought these computers for in the first place, anyways.
 
OP
N

NewbcaM

Guest
I'm a Windows power user but love the mac as well, the interface just rocks. I'm also a student.

I use a good high end xp box for my image editing and design work (my hard drive just froze and I lost everything so I'm on my mac mini now) but I use the mac mini for final cut and some other apps so the mini's price was well worth the investment.

Perhaps having your windows box along with a mini would work well for you? just my first post and my two bits binary worth.
 

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