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Originally posted by johngibbons
I'm a long time PC user, hate windows (although 2k and XP are big improvements) and I'm also a major Unix fan. I do Unix at work, and run several Linux servers for side work and at home. So obviously, like many, Mac OS X is the big reason why I'm considering a Mac.
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Cool, it's always nice to have more unix guys around.
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Because you can't compare MHz it's really difficult for me to figure out how fast a 400mhz g4 is, for example. So my first question is, (and be honest) are slower g4's (400mhz or so) fast enough to run OS X?
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You really want all the CPU you can afford. The thing is that OSX doesn't offload as much to the GPU (your graphics card) as other OSs do. Because of that, when you're resizing windows or when you're opening finder (apple's version of explorer) in a directory with 500 files in it the response can be a bit pokey. I have a 500 mhz G3 iBook. I've found that the overall feel of the app can be slow when using MS Office and MS Internet Explorer. IE was so slow at rendering large pages I switched to mozilla. If you get a 500+ mhz G4 you probably won't have these issues.
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I've searched for benchmarks, but I haven't found anything really solid. I'd love to see a comparision of all the G4's and how they rate.
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The benchmarks are only useful if you're writing scientific apps (ok, they have other uses too) because the amount of work performed under OSx is greater than the amount under windows. OSX's aqua layer (the gui) does so much work with fonts, anti-aliasing, etc. that it takes a lot of CPU to get your tasks done. Get all the CPU you can.
A little off topic: I kind of think of this period in Apple's history as comparable to when NT came out in MSFT's history. They have a new OS that's better in every way but it takes the current state of the art hardware to run it well. You could never load NT on your existing Pentium 90mhz and you can't drop OSX on your G3 266mhz. You will be able to use a G4 400 but it's nicer to have more CPU.
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On that same note, how much faster are the dual processor powermacs now that OS X has arrived? Those are the boxes that appeal to me the most. But I don't want to shell out the extra $$$ if it isn't going to be worth it.
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Dual processors are nice. I'm a comp sci guy and I believe that SMP machince represent the accumulation of mankind's logic up to this point. If you get into the internals of an SMP operating system you'll really appreciate the work that has been done.
Back on topic: SMP can only help you if you have instructions that can be performed out of order. It can't make iTunes faster, it can't render a page faster in IE, and it can't spellcheck faster.
However, it can make all sorts of graphic operations faster (break the picture into sections and divide up the work) it can make lots of video work faster, etc. Also, if you're running multiple apps (and who isn't) it can and will divide the workload amoung the CPUs. So, if I'm running iTunes on my laptop then Mozilla has to compete with it for CPU time. If you're running it on your SMP machine it can simply use the other CPU.
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Let's see, I have a couple superdrive questions.
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Sorry, I haven't done much video work.
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I have a lot more questions, but this is a great start. Any help would be appreciated.
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I moved from the Linux camp to the mac camp about 8 or 9 months ago. OSX is the finest consumer OS ever made. It has the unix underpinnings that I crave along with the ease of use and lickable UI that I love.
When I first started using OSX I didn't care about a lot of the finer points on the UI. Any font easy enough to read was cool. Anything that worked was good enough.
Now when I learn about some of the thought that went into the UI I really appreciate it. Windows puts the window close button next to maximize. That's horrible. Putting the file/edit/view on the app makes it's harder to find because it's always in a different place. There are a hundred examples of little things that make OSX better.
As for the hardware, the only sticking point is the CPU. I never knew LCD displays could be so bright and that the viewing angles could be so wide until I bought this iBook. The thing is well built and solid. The hinge isn't flimsy. It's finish just blows away my thinkpad (IBM).
In short, the OS is awesome, the hardware is awesome, the attention to detail is awesome, get all the CPU you can.
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