Help on buying a new mac

T

tommyboy

Registered
Hi, I used to be a PC freak but now I want to move to Mac. The problem is that I'm on a low budget and I want a mac to satisfy my needs. I 'm a graphic designer so I will be using apps as: Photoshop, Illustrator and Quark. The cheapest mac that I can get is:
emac
• 256MB SDRAM - 1 DIMM
• 80GB Ultra ATA drive
• Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
• 1GHz PowerPC G4
• SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)


Subtotal $1,099.00

Is this good for me, just to start????? What do you recommend for this apps, remenber that I'm broke!!!!!
 
If you want to use Photoshop, you may need to get way more memory. However I recommend getting the RAM from a 3rd party, not Apple as they charge a lot.
However they are having a sale on memory. Also, have you checked the Refurbs on the Apple site. You may be able to save a little money there. It looks like an eMac spec.
 
Personally, I would wait until the new G5s are released, allowing for price reductions on the first-gen G5s. Not that the G4 is a bad machine (I have a dually G4 at my office), but with the new machines coming soon, you might find some good deals on some G5s. My father has a G5 1.6 GHz and he's happy with the speed. For the record, he's a commercial artist and works with Illustrator, Photoshop, and PageMaker (through Classic Mode).
 
If you are on a REALLY right budget, you can check out the following sites for some refurbished or used machines:

MacResQ
PowerMax
Operator Headgap Systems

Low End Mac has some good information regarding older PowerPC Macs such as the G4 and many others. They also have a list of vendors for older Macs, a few of which are listed above.
 
Thanks guys, I think I'll put that computer on hold. One more thing, what is the best configuration you suggest for graphic design???
 
Best design config:

Step 1: Dump Quark
Step 2: Switch to Indesign
Step 3: As much RAM as you can afford
Step 4: Please don't ever launch Classic. Just let it die. :)

The eMacs are quite decent, but I agree with holding out until you hear about the next lineup.
 
mindbend said:
Best design config:

Step 1: Dump Quark
Click to expand...

...if you don't like Quark.

I am proficient in Quark, and pretty good with InDesign, and still prefer Quark over InDesign. It's just a matter of personal preference. Quark's tech help seems to have gone downhill a little from what I've read, but I haven't had a problem with Quark that's caused me to have to call their tech support, so I don't know.

InDesign is a good piece of software, and so is Quark. Use whichever one you feel you'll be more productive in.

Also, the kind of computer you want is going to depend on what kind of graphic design you'd like to do. For web design, the eMac will suit you well with more RAM in it. I would suggest at least 512MB, more if you can afford it. If you plan on going the pre-press/print graphic design route, you're going to need a larger hard drive (100GB or more) and possibly more than 512MB of RAM, depending on how intricate and complicated your designs are.

The 1.6GHz G5 would suit both of these tasks just fine.
 
If the budget is a primary concern, then look at the G4 Powermac. You can get a dual 1.25 with 1gb ram and 80gb HD for $1824 right now. That's more than enough machine for most graphic design work. If you could wait until the new G5 ones are introduced, then you should be able to pick-up a dual 1.8 g5 for a good price.

Definitely have at least 1gb of ram regardless, and a switch to InDesign would be advisable too.
 
I'd have to agree. Go with a G4 dual. It's a nice machine. Especially for graphics editing.
The reason why I wouldn't advise an eMac is because once you upgrade the RAM then it's pretty much done. Your stuck with it and you'll end up selling it sooner. If you put in a slightly larger chunk of money it'll be well worth it.
 
Thank you guys, I'll wait for a couple of months until I decide between the dual 1.25 G4 and a low price dual 1.8 G5 because I can only invest $1,000-$1,500 for the right system. I also met a guy who does graphic design on an Imac and he told me it runs ok
 
I'm even doing graphics design on my iBook professionally. And there's lots of graphics designers still using those blue & white G3s with Mac OS 9. It's not as if you always really _need_ the latest and greatest, and if you want your machine to last a while, it's going to be old some day, anyway.

If you've already got a decent monitor, I'd go for a PowerMac (any) and keep the monitor. The dual G4s you can find now are quite good, but yes I'd also wait for the new G5s to arrive, because not only would you get better deals on the then-old G5s, you can also be sure to find even lower-priced dual G4s by then.

Always remember that a good display lasts much longer than a computer. It's an investment that's truly worth it. My 17" TFT (1280*1024) lets me work very well with the iBook and has previously served me well with the TiBook 500 I've had. And it'll still serve me well when I upgrade to a new iBook or PowerBook sometime this year. (Isn't it sad that my veeeeeeery old iBook 800 still feels okay compared to a 'new' iBook 800?)

I've also got to second the advice on RAM. An eMac 700 with 640 MB RAM will serve you better than a dual processor G5 with 256 MB RAM, because the system makes VERY good use of RAM and almost grinds to a halt when low on RAM.
 
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