How much better would a MB Core Duo be than a PowerMac G4?

[flanfan]

The reason I ask is that I am recently engaged, and planning to get married in a short while. I had been previously planning to buy a MBP when Merom came out, but with the added cost of that performance plus the fact that in may in fact be better to wait until Santa Rosa, I am now considering buying a MB now and then later after the wedding (Aug 07+) getting the MBP. My fiancée prefers this idea, because then she says she'll want my MB when I upgrade.

Here's the nuts and bolts of it:

I have a G4 MDD 1ghz, with 1gb RAM, 80gb HDD, and the Radeon 9000 Pro with 64mb RAM. If I switch up to a 2ghz Core Duo MB (White or Black) and up the memory to 1gb or more, am I going to experience a complete increase in performance? More importantly, am I going to be able to run Photoshop or Final Cut Studio adequately, or at least better than my G4? If so, there is no question about it. I'll get the MB.

Just as a side question, If I receive overwhelming support for the MB, should I get it as soon as possible and take advantage of the ipod/printer deal, or wait in case the Steve blesses us with C2D?

I apppreciate all your advice. I love this site.

 

[FFTT]

The MacBook with 2 GB RAM would be O.K. for your Adobe apps, but Rosetta emulation is quite RAM hungry.
Once Adobe releases their Universal Binary upgrade in CS3, Adobe apps should fly.

I would check the Final Cut Pro system requirement to see if the shared memory video card in the MacBook can handle it.

 

[flanfan]

Thank you, I just noticed Apple's Pro site and, as it makes sense, Final Cut Studio and Aperture would not run on a MacBook.

So how much now is it really worth it to go with a MB, rather than wait extra long for a MBP when I can afford it? Or get the MB and keep the G4 around in order to do my video stuff?

I could use Final Cut Express HD instead... but what about for DVD authoring?

It was easier to plan the honeymoon than to get a freaking computer.

 

[Demon Hunter]

Don't worry about the printer deal; it never ends. The iPod deal is a different story...

 

[Yoursh]

I would say don't worry about waiting for the C2D Macbook since I'm guessing we won't see one until right before the release of Leapord. I say get one now especially since you plan on upgrading to a Macbook Pro in a year anyways. Keep the G4 to run non-universal apps. until they release universal versions, that's what I use my G4 for. If you qualify for the ipod offer, it's another good reason to do it now. Get one this year then get another one during next year's offer when you get your Pro model. As for the apps. like Photoshop, try them on the Macbook and see if runs well enough for you. If not keep them on the G4.