PowerMac Buying Advice

[deadfrog]

rang tnt today, they said it should be with me tomorrow... so not long to go now... seriously considering the dell 2005fpw... admitedly its cos it looks like i could get it for under £150 now.. but everyone seems to be recomending the 20" ACD...

Am i correct in thinking i can do picture in picture, have more inputs and is HD compatible? I know its an ugly beast compared to the ACD, but for me i think it have to go with function over form, if all of that is true, as im still in student digs and space is a little precious, along with the fact it would make transfering stuff from one mac to another easier having it all connected to one display...

otherwise think i would stick with my 19' crt as i doubt i can stretch to any more moeny at this stage...

any thoughts would be welcome...

cheers

 

[DrRock]

Took the plunge!

Well, it's finally done. I just placed my order. It will ship today, and I should have it within a week. I went with the dual 2.3 setup and the 20" Cinema Display. I also took advantage of the iPod rebate, so I'll be getting a free iPod mini after rebate. Thanks to all for the advice on this purchase, it's been very helpful. I'll be sure to let everyone know how I like my new system.

 

[deadfrog]

its here and is easily the sexiest computer i have ever seen, let alone owned....

well ok, so ive seen them before, but only briefly and its all very different now its mine...

will play about with it more in a bit, but at the moment am currently doing all the software updates!

if anyone wants to ask any questions, fire away...

 

[afsammie]

2.0 Rev B - Ordered

I finally switched.

After much debate, I finally bought a DP 2.0 Rev B.

I was going to get the 2.3, but I backed out at the last minute.

What graphics card should I get for After Effects work, and what else do you guys think I need, besides more ram, for fairly intense video editing (I used Avid Xpress on my PC)? I bought a second 300GB SATA hard drive, but what else?

This is my first mac, and the switch has been pretty stressful with all the intel paranoia, but I'm glad I did it.

Lastly, and this is just last second jitters, should I call and bump the order up to a 2.3? I know it's not a good question, but the whole thing is quite an investment and I"m a little nervous, as I've never been able to test them for video editing side by side.

Thanks for all of your help along the way.

 

[wiseguy27]

I finally switched.

After much debate, I finally bought a DP 2.0 Rev B.

I was going to get the 2.3, but I backed out at the last minute.

What graphics card should I get for After Effects work, and what else do you guys think I need, besides more ram, for fairly intense video editing (I used Avid Xpress on my PC)? I bought a second 300GB SATA hard drive, but what else?

Good choice, considering that you've saved some money and still have a great machine (with 8 RAM slots and PCI-X). I have no clue about the video card you should get for your use - so I'll leave it to more knowledgeable people here to answer that.

This is my first mac, and the switch has been pretty stressful with all the intel paranoia, but I'm glad I did it.

If you need a machine now, it's still a good time to get it. You should be able to put this to good use for at least 5 years (and it will be supported during that time and probably longer).

Lastly, and this is just last second jitters, should I call and bump the order up to a 2.3? I know it's not a good question, but the whole thing is quite an investment and I"m a little nervous, as I've never been able to test them for video editing side by side.

I think you should just stick with the dual 2GHz Rev B - it will serve you well. Just make sure you upgrade the RAM and add an additional 2GB or so. With the money you saved, you could look at a better video card (if required) and probably get a bigger display too (I don't know which one you have) - maybe 23" or 30". These will enhance the performance far more than getting a dual 2.3GHz with lesser upgrades on the RAM, video card and display.

 

[eAspenwood]

I'm yet another sucker (j/k) putting in an order for a 2.3ghz powermac. I need a desktop system, and even though i know in less than a year the G5 will be, like, so out of style, it will more than handle my computing needs for several years.

I'm upgrading from a fully loaded PB 1.67ghz which performs well in all areas except for handling 8 megapixel RAW images from my canon in photoshop cs. 8mp JPEGS smooth sailing, but the waters get a little choppy w/ RAWS. Maybe it has something to do with the fact its pushing a 30" cinema.

Anyways, this is a great thread for those currently thinking about getting a G5.

 

[gabriel_uk]

I'm yet another sucker (j/k) putting in an order for a 2.3ghz powermac. I need a desktop system, and even though i know in less than a year the G5 will be, like, so out of style, it will more than handle my computing needs for several years.

I'm upgrading from a fully loaded PB 1.67ghz which performs well in all areas except for handling 8 megapixel RAW images from my canon in photoshop cs. 8mp JPEGS smooth sailing, but the waters get a little choppy w/ RAWS. Maybe it has something to do with the fact its pushing a 30" cinema.

Anyways, this is a great thread for those currently thinking about getting a G5.

How much RAM etc are you getting? - and are you getting it BTO or installing it yourself?

How do you like using your 30" ACD for purposes beyond Photoshop? I was thinking of buying one but reckon this Dell 24" I just bought is quite big enough. My 2.3 GHz should hopefully arrive on Monday.

 

[deadfrog]

ok, after a bit more testing this thing is very very nice... everything is uber smooth... decided to add the extra gig last night... scary as hell as you really do have to push the memory in quite hard (did it on my old g4 and wasnt anything like that)

3d rendering was quick, with radiosity up to 200% things were rendering in under a minute.... (not very helpful unless i show you a picture of what it was but it aint worth it)

even when i accidently opened 290 folders all at once it didnt complain or slow down....

No one will be unhappy with their choice, im pretty sure of that....

just a quick question, and am gussing i may get shouted at, but whats the score with making my dvd player totally region free (or ways round playing them) ive read so much conflicting information about firmwarte updates and other people just saying use vlc...

its a sony DVD RW DW-Q28A...

oh, also found a bonus cd in my mac, some Apple certified test cd 2 ("apple confidential - not for sale" on it) but it just seems to be for checking the speed of importing i think...

 

[eAspenwood]

How much RAM etc are you getting? - and are you getting it BTO or installing it yourself?

I've ordered 2gb (4 x 12) kingston RAM from newegg, so that will bring me up to 2.5gb. I have 2gb on my current powerbook and that is really more than enough for me.

How do you like using your 30" ACD for purposes beyond Photoshop?

I give it a big thumbs up. The main benefit for me is in photoshop, but there are other benefits as well. I watch a lot of dvd's on it now. Also, its nice to have all your different windows viewable at once. I put the main app i'm working on in the middle of screen, and other things like itunes, IMs, activity monitor, finder windows on the sides. I call it full-time expose. There are other pro's I'm probly forgetting to mention.

It does take a period of adjustment to get used to the sheer size of the beast; when i first got it, I thought it was actually too big. It's weird to have to conciously move your eyes that far across the screen. Also you have to increase your mouse speed and dexterity ninja style, so that it doesn't take for ever to get that pointer across the screen. And you'll need a bigger mousepad.

 

[gabriel_uk]

I've ordered 2gb (4 x 12) kingston RAM from newegg, so that will bring me up to 2.5gb. I have 2gb on my current powerbook and that is really more than enough for me.

I give it a big thumbs up. The main benefit for me is in photoshop, but there are other benefits as well. I watch a lot of dvd's on it now. Also, its nice to have all your different windows viewable at once. I put the main app i'm working on in the middle of screen, and other things like itunes, IMs, activity monitor, finder windows on the sides. I call it full-time expose. There are other pro's I'm probly forgetting to mention.

It does take a period of adjustment to get used to the sheer size of the beast; when i first got it, I thought it was actually too big. It's weird to have to conciously move your eyes that far across the screen. Also you have to increase your mouse speed and dexterity ninja style, so that it doesn't take for ever to get that pointer across the screen. And you'll need a bigger mousepad.

Interesting... I wanted to try one at the Apple Store London but you never get the chance -- as someone with no interest in actually buying anything is always using it to do their hotmail!

 

[FFTT]

I'm waiting till the prices for 256 MB GPU's are a bit more affordable, then I'm probably going for an ATI X850 because it only uses one PCI-X slot.

I got my system May 31st and I am so totally spoiled.

 

[DrRock]

Finally!

After years of planning, months of researching, and days of waiting, my mac has finally arrived. My display came on Friday, and my tower came today. (Damn three day weekend). Anyway, it's all here, and I'm getting it set up. I can't do too much with it yet, because I just have the basic software package, but I'll eventually get the FCP and Photoshop so I can get creative. I do have iMovie of course, but no means of dumping any footage into it. My iPod should be here in a couple days, and that will keep me busy. In the meantime, what kind of speakers do you guys recommend? I've seen the sound sticks in action, but does anyone have anything they like that's more cost effective? I want them to be decent, but they don't have to be top pf the line or anything. Let me know.

 

[gabriel_uk]

After years of planning, months of researching, and days of waiting, my mac has finally arrived. My display came on Friday, and my tower came today. (Damn three day weekend). Anyway, it's all here, and I'm getting it set up. I can't do too much with it yet, because I just have the basic software package, but I'll eventually get the FCP and Photoshop so I can get creative. I do have iMovie of course, but no means of dumping any footage into it. My iPod should be here in a couple days, and that will keep me busy. In the meantime, what kind of speakers do you guys recommend? I've seen the sound sticks in action, but does anyone have anything they like that's more cost effective? I want them to be decent, but they don't have to be top pf the line or anything. Let me know.

Congrats on the arrival of your new PowerMac... I'm expecting TNT to show up with mine today!

I've been using the SoundSticks for some years now and couldn't imagine using anything else. They may not be the cheapest speakers out there, but they're good value for money.

 

[FFTT]

It's very difficult to recommend speakers to anyone.

It all depends on how picky you are about the accuracy of what you're hearing.

Simple powered stereo speakers or studio reference monitors or surround sound?

M-Audio, Mackie, Tannoy, Klipsch, B & O all make good products.

For true surround sound you'll need a PCI card.

You can Google reviews, but hearing them in use is the only way to
really make a wise decision.

 

[DrRock]

^

I was looking into the soundsticks, and amazon has them for $119. That seems pretty good, as I remember them being a lot more when they were new. I also found some soundsticks II, so I was wondering what the difference was. I'll probably go with those, and definitely not go over $100. Like I said, I want them to be decent, but really just enough to hear what I'm working on in the editing programs. The soundsticks got a lot of good reviews on amazon, so for $119, I think they're the deal I'm looking for. Got my iPod mini today, too. I wasn't expecting it until tomorrow, so it was a nice surprise. I didn't realize it was SO mini, but what the heck, it'll be free after rebate.

 

[mak]

powermac refurbished / new / amd x2

anyhelp towards this would be greatly appreciated:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/136292/

thanks,

 

[salmacis]

salmacis, do you mind telling me how you like you Shure E3c earphones, and whether they're good for walking/ jogging - in terms of whether the cord can create interference for example, as some people mention.

Although I didnt went jogging with them, I think they are well suited regarding possible interferences, since the cables are behind the ear and are located at your back. This is nice I think. But: the isolation is so good, that you don´t hear very much of your surrounding. This could be dangerous when doing sports I think. However if you don´t mind...

Regarding sound I think this is the best portable system I´ve met. You can hear details you´ve never heard before, even in noisy surroundings (subway etc.). However, some people complain about a bad fit, but they´re doing well for me.

Also, what the heck is an iCurve?

See http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/icurve/index.php - a really nice thing for laptop users. I have one at home and one at work.

 

[salmacis]

PowerMac arrived!

Hi guys,

PowerMac arrived last Friday.

I was really shocked when I saw the guy from TNT throwing the box with my Mac out of his car (I saw it through the window) - I mean they obviuosly haven´t heard anything about 'handle with care'...

But everything was fine inside the box Had some time to play with it, and it is really a wonderful computer. Superfast and sexy. Everything runs as (or much faster...) than expected.

The only thing I´m concerned about is the often discussed chirping and queaking noises coming from the power supply. Yes, they are very silent, but still audible. It´s not a big problem for me, but one thing I wouldnt expect from a 2500$ computer though.

I would be interested if you´re experiencing those noises too? You can hear them well when resizing windows or adding a new dashboard widget for example. In addition there are silent chirps in regular distances (every 1 sec or so...). As a final test you can test it with SystemLoad (http://www.bresink.de/osx/SystemLoad.html) and play a scale on your power supply - this works for me...

I´m asking myself if an exchange of the power supply would help anyway, since I´ve heard that every supply makes this noises, some are louder, some are more silent, and some people don´t hear it since they run it in noisy surroundings/offices. Me, I´m having my computer on my desk though.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

salmacis

 

[gabriel_uk]

Although I didnt went jogging with them, I think they are well suited regarding possible interferences, since the cables are behind the ear and are located at your back. This is nice I think. But: the isolation is so good, that you don´t hear very much of your surrounding. This could be dangerous when doing sports I think. However if you don´t mind...

Regarding sound I think this is the best portable system I´ve met. You can hear details you´ve never heard before, even in noisy surroundings (subway etc.). However, some people complain about a bad fit, but they´re doing well for me.

I'm sure the sound of the E3c's is fantastic, but I went for Bang & Olufsen A8's instead because of frequently listening to my iPod while walking along a busy cycle path - I don't want to annoy the cyclists or get mowed down! The B&O's are pretty good - I'd give them a very solid 4 out of 5.

 

[gabriel_uk]

Hi guys,

PowerMac arrived last Friday.

I was really shocked when I saw the guy from TNT throwing the box with my Mac out of his car (I saw it through the window) - I mean they obviuosly haven´t heard anything about 'handle with care'...

But everything was fine inside the box Had some time to play with it, and it is really a wonderful computer. Superfast and sexy. Everything runs as (or much faster...) than expected.

The only thing I´m concerned about is the often discussed chirping and queaking noises coming from the power supply. Yes, they are very silent, but still audible. It´s not a big problem for me, but one thing I wouldnt expect from a 2500$ computer though.

I would be interested if you´re experiencing those noises too? You can hear them well when resizing windows or adding a new dashboard widget for example. In addition there are silent chirps in regular distances (every 1 sec or so...). As a final test you can test it with SystemLoad (http://www.bresink.de/osx/SystemLoad.html) and play a scale on your power supply - this works for me...

I´m asking myself if an exchange of the power supply would help anyway, since I´ve heard that every supply makes this noises, some are louder, some are more silent, and some people don´t hear it since they run it in noisy surroundings/offices. Me, I´m having my computer on my desk though.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

salmacis

Got my 2.3 Ghz G5 this afternoon. Yes, TNT finally showed up with it 9 days after it left Apple in Ireland! I did the inadvisable and immediately installed an extra 2 gig of RAM and a Seagate 400 gig HD... before even turning it on! But everything loaded sweet as candy.

I really wish I knew what your chirping and queaking noises were. The only noises I've detected are the usual slight HD sounds. The machine as a whole is incredibly quiet - much more so than my 4-year-old G4.

If I were you, I would definitely start a new thread about your noise issue, and see what some of the more knowledgeable guys say about it. Get some input and phone AppleCare.

 

[salmacis]

I really wish I knew what your chirping and queaking noises were. The only noises I've detected are the usual slight HD sounds.

Have you tried playing a scale with SystemLoad? This should show if your power supply would be also affected to noise issues.

If I were you, I would definitely start a new thread about your noise issue, and see what some of the more knowledgeable guys say about it. Get some input and phone AppleCare.

Thanks. Will do.

salmacis

 

[salmacis]

If I were you, I would definitely start a new thread about your noise issue, and see what some of the more knowledgeable guys say about it. Get some input and phone AppleCare.

Did some research at forums, and there are obviously many people with similar problems. Some of them just live with that, some got it exchanged and it was resolved, some got it exchanged with no change or even a louder chirping afterwards...

So I called Apple some minutes ago. The guy was very helpful, we resetted the PRAM and the PMU with no help, and he tried to listen to the noises through the phone. Although it was silent, he confirmed that he can hear something unusual. And to my surprise, he confirmed, that the problem was known to Apple. And it is most certainly the power supply.

He gave me a case# and advised me to go to a local dealer. They would exchange the power supply for me, it will take some days, but he cannot guarantee that those noises would go away.

So, I´m unsure whether I should go this way... Have to think about this. Any comments/advises? I would be especially interested in your experiences? If many of you don´t hear those sounds, its promising that there are good chances to get a silent power supply....

And BTW the noises get louder, when you set the CPU setting to maximum (in energy saver prefs) - then do some slowmo-dashboard (shift+F12) - it chirps for me every time. or play a scale on your supply...

salmacis

 

[gabriel_uk]

He gave me a case# and advised me to go to a local dealer. They would exchange the power supply for me, it will take some days, but he cannot guarantee that those noises would go away.

So, I´m unsure whether I should go this way... Have to think about this. Any comments/advises? I would be especially interested in your experiences? If many of you don´t hear those sounds, its promising that there are good chances to get a silent power supply....

I think you should definitely take his advice and exchange the power supply. Even if the new supply also makes noises, you have followed Apple's instructions which means they will have to find you one that's okay.

 

[wiseguy27]

disable processor nap

The only thing I´m concerned about is the often discussed chirping and queaking noises coming from the power supply. Yes, they are very silent, but still audible. It´s not a big problem for me, but one thing I wouldnt expect from a 2500$ computer though.

I would be interested if you´re experiencing those noises too? You can hear them well when resizing windows or adding a new dashboard widget for example. In addition there are silent chirps in regular distances (every 1 sec or so...). As a final test you can test it with SystemLoad (http://www.bresink.de/osx/SystemLoad.html) and play a scale on your power supply - this works for me...

I did have the chirping noise while resizing or moving windows (actually, anything fancy with the graphics) - the solution to that is to go to 'System Preferences->Processor' and then disable the processor nap feature. The chirping stopped immediately for me. Try this and see if it helps - it's a common issue with many G5 dual Power Macs.

BTW, I never had any "periodic chirps" on my system.

 

[ArtChunks]

ArtChunks

I have recently purchased a 12" in. Powerbook G4. I have two question concerning my mac.

1. When I turn on the computer the operating light above the keypad on the right does not turn on. Is it supposed to stay off or is this a defect?

2. Can I use a webcam with msn messenger to communicate with a pc? My girlfriend has a dell computer and her msn messenger menu bar has an option for video cam. After downloading the mac version I have found that the video cam option does not exhist.

Am I only able to use ichat video through AIM with her and will she have to purchase ichat for her pc?

We will be in different cities for two years and want to communicate via web cam. I did not realize having a mac would create this apparent obstacle.

Any help would be great.