With all the problems I've been having with my PC and XP Pro I'm thinking about picking up a PowerMAC G5. I've been having some problems with my PC and I think it maybe time for another one. I've posted on a few other boards and got the same thing, MAC is no better then PC, PC can run PSCS2 faster, blah blah. Just for simple mind, I went and built a dell to the same somewhat specs and it ran well over $4K and I still hadn't got PS CS2

Here are the spec's I'm looking at;

• Power Mac G5 Dual-core 2GHz
• 2GB 533 DDR2 Non ECC SDRAM - 2x1GB
• Mac OS X - U.S. English
• Accessory kit
• Apple Keyboard & Mighty Mouse - U.S. English
• NVIDIA GeForce 6600 256MB SDRAM
• 2GHz Dual-core PowerPC G5
• 160GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
• 16x SuperDrive double-layer (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
  
  
  
  Monitor;
• Apple Cinema HD Display (23" flat panel)
  
  
  
  Software;
• Adobe Photoshop CS2

I believe that anyone who tells you that Mac is no better than PC has never used a Mac for an long enough to get it. PC definitely has advantages over Mac in certain areas, but overall and across the board I firmly believe that anyone who has had enough time on the Mac would vote Mac over PC. Just ask Andy.

And Aperture will change everything.

Also, the mighty mouse is getting mixed reviews. While some love it, others hate it, and it's really a personal preference kind of purchase, so unless you're getting it for free, definitely try one out first. Anyway, the Wacom Graphire is a better choice for photography. Comes with a mouse and a stylus. Cool.

I switched in Jan 2005 after 22+ years on peecee. Been using a 2.5dual G5, I now use a G5 (quad) ...coming in 2weeks... and a 15" powerbook. Apple simply rocks. Easy as pie mmmm pie mmm seriously, no sysadmin, the stuff just works.

Buy your ram from Crucial.com and save a mint. Easy to install, a cinch in fact. I do not like the mighty mouse, I use the same logitech laser form-fitting two button mouse I used with my peecees.

Good luck mate

Yeah, good catch on the RAM, Andy. Crucial'll save you a bundle.

over 4k???

I priced a gateway with the following for well under 4k

Intel® Pentium® D Processor 840 dual processing cores (3.20GHz, 800MHz FSB, 2x1MB L2 cache) with 400-watt power supply (upgraded from 830 3.0GHz)
2GB (2048MB) 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM Dual Channel
500GB (2-250GB) Serial ATA II/300 7200rpm hard drive w/ 8MB cache
16x Double-Layer Multi-Format DVD±/R±RW/CD-R/RW recorder and 16x DVD-ROM drive
NVIDIA® GeForce 6800 Ultra with 256MB DDR3 Dual DVI & TV-Out
21" Black Widescreen High-Definition LCD Performance Flat Panel Display
WinXP (home or media edition..)

I could upgrade to 4GB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM Dual Channel mem, the NVIDIA GeForce 7800 Ultra card and add CS2 and still be under 4k I think or drop to the original 830 dual processer and save $250.00. Oh and that does include keyboard, mouse, speakers and stuff like ms office etc.

I agree about getting ram someplace else: Crucial, Ramjet, etc.

You won't regret getting a powermac! I switched back in 2000 and haven't looked back.

And Gateway? If I was to get a PC I would get a Dull..I mean Dell any day over Gateway. I'm really surprised Gateway is still in business.

Oh..and the mighty mouse comes standard with new macs. I bought one and love it!

Originally Posted by JohnR I agree about getting ram someplace else: Crucial, Ramjet, etc. You won't regret getting a powermac! I switched back in 2000 and haven't looked back. And Gateway? If I was to get a PC I would get a Dull..I mean Dell any day over Gateway. I'm really surprised Gateway is still in business. Oh..and the mighty mouse comes standard with new macs. I bought one and love it!

whats wrong with gateway???

I've always had gateways and so has my dad... other than my cd drive pooping out after 2 years... I've never had an issue with any of them *knock on wood*

lol

I'll take a look at the RAM, I had heard you can get it cheaper through somewhere like cruical.

Also, whats the big deal with the mighty mouse? I keep hearing try it before you buy it. However the closest MAC store is 2 1/2 hours away.

Originally Posted by jdsphotography I'll take a look at the RAM, I had heard you can get it cheaper through somewhere like cruical. Also, whats the big deal with the mighty mouse? I keep hearing try it before you buy it. However the closest MAC store is 2 1/2 hours away.

If the MM is included, don't worry about it. But it is a personal thing, you just have to try it.

Well just took a look at cruical.com and they want $270 for 2gigs (1gig x 2) and apple wants $300 for 2gigs of ram, $30 offset isn't to big of a deal for me. Am I missing something here?

Originally Posted by jdsphotography Well just took a look at cruical.com and they want $270 for 2gigs (1gig x 2) and apple wants $300 for 2gigs of ram, $30 offset isn't to big of a deal for me. Am I missing something here?

Yes, check again and make sure you are comparing like for like.

[font=helvetica, geneva, arial] Power Mac G5 systems use 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-4200) from their website. 2gig ram upgrade $300 2 x 1gig

crucial.com - [/font] DDR2 PC2-5300 • CL=5 • UNBUFFERED • NON-ECC • DDR2-667 • 1.8V • 128Meg x 64 - $287

Originally Posted by Dani whats wrong with gateway??? I've always had gateways and so has my dad... other than my cd drive pooping out after 2 years... I've never had an issue with any of them *knock on wood* lol

What's wrong? Well, they just about went belly-up a year or two ago. Something to do with their stocks or something. Trying to find out via Google.

seen any of those "Country Stores" around lately? Probably not since they closed them all.

Originally Posted by jdsphotography [font=helvetica, geneva, arial] Power Mac G5 systems use 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-4200) from their website. 2gig ram upgrade $300 2 x 1gig crucial.com - [/font] DDR2 PC2-5300 • CL=5 • UNBUFFERED • NON-ECC • DDR2-667 • 1.8V • 128Meg x 64 - $287

I do think that apple recently dropped the prices on their ram, so that could be right.

Ramjet is slightly cheaper and just as good.

Hmm - on 6gigs it was a huuuuge difference - like $500 cheaper from crucial.com

Andy, was that for your G5 that you just sold?

Originally Posted by JohnR Andy, was that for your G5 that you just sold?

it was for the G5 Quad I just bought
It should be here in a couple weeks.

...I just moved this thread into the Digital Darkroom - Gear forum.

Hope y'all don't mind.

I run a dual G5 2.5 Ghz Mac with 4 Gb of RAM. I think with PSCS2, you will prefer 4 Gb to 2Gb. Running Smart Sharpen on 16Mbit files is not instantaneous. But keeping the Mac running has been easy. Like Andy, I abandoned Windows after almost 20 years of using it and have no regrets.

Too much work keeping WIN XP running. Now I just use the Mac. I bought one for my wife also - I NO LONGER have to perform IT duty