Switching to Mac...Have question

[Amnesiac]

Longtime PC user, switching from XP to a new Mac with Jaguar. Quick question. How much RAM is needed to sufficiently perform tasks in the Mac OS vs. the PC? I have 512 MB of RAM in XP, but XP is a memory hogging minotaur.

I will be primarilly be using the Mac for Adobe Photoshop, and DV. Thanks for any help in advance..............


The Amnesiac

 

[MacAddikt]

what kind of mac will you be using?

 

[Amnesiac]

I'm looking at an iMac.

 

[MacAddikt]

im guessing youre talking about the new iMacs, so youll be on a G4. 512MB will be plenty of memory for what you need. and youll definitely notice how much faster tasks are done in OS X.

 

[Amen-Moses]

I have just purchased a new 17" iMac G4 and upgraded to 512Mb of Ram.

With 256 it worked fine although I got a few warning signs when creating large DVD projects (whilst also having other apps running).

With 512 I have yet to see any warnings at all no matter how hard I push the system (the heaviest so far being creating a DVD from a 4Gb DV file whilst also importing from audio CD's to Mp3 and browsing the web).

Possibly, when I start editing video in anger, I will find the need for more Ram but it hasn't happened yet.

I installed a bog-standard 256Mb SO-DIMM card (266Mhz DDR, cost 34 UKP) and it went without a hitch, fo another 120 UKP I could have gone to a 512Mb SO-DIMM card but I reason that the price will drop considerably in the next 12 months as laptop users start to buy these cards in earnest so it is better to wait a while until the price drops.

After the 1 year warranty is up I may divest this dome-bot of it's casing and attempt an internal upgrade (512 DDR Dimm is really cheap!) and if I do I'll report the outcome here.

btw, as far as processor speed goes a 1Ghz G4 sems to be equivelent to a 2.4 Ghz P4 although you also have to factor in the graphics engine which in the iMac case is far more integrated with the OS hence giving seamless operation. A 3Ghz P4 PC will do certain jobs faster(like converting DV to Mp4) but overall the PPC G4/4MX video system performs better on the desktop.

Amen-Moses

 

[Amen-Moses]

Originally posted by MacAddikt and youll definitely notice how much faster tasks are done in OS X.

My XP2000 PC's will outperform the iMac on certain tasks if they are single tasking (i.e I have to leave them alone whilst they are doing them) but for balls out processing (especially for Mpeg style tasks) whilst also being used for more mundane tasks like email or web browsing the iMac wins hands down.

(mind you that is due more to the unix low level stuff which is far more efficient than Windross than the upper level MacOS stuff)

The task management of OSX is unparalleled, unless of course you happen to be running a high-end SG system in which case it looks pedestrian.

Amen-Moses