Day (X-1): G5 Goodness
Comments
Oh, and all of your sessions have timed out, so we can’t see your configs. Bummer.
The G5 was the only link that actually went to the real configuration… I wasn’t sure if it was going to be session-based or not. Guess it was. Oh well. Let’s see if I remember what was customized on it:
1GB RAM
250GB SATA Hard Drive
Radeon 9800 Pro video
Airport card
Klipsch ProMedia GMX D-5.1 Speakers
That all comes out to $6734.95, BTW. If I ever did get that system then I’d probably actually lower that RAM to 512MB and just pick up another 1GB and add that myself for about $600 cheaper than Apple would charge…
I also got curious about a comparable Dell PC since they now have a high-performance “gaming” line. A customized Dimension XPS runs around $3000 after rebate and without the dual monitors. It’s the cheapest of the bunch so far, but it’s also running a Pentium 4, so the performance wouldn’t be as good as either the G5 or the others running Athlon FX-51’s.
Well, my ultimate decision to shell for the Apple is primarily based on the software, Final Cut Pro, and DVD Studio Pro, to be specific. The PC market for non-linear movie editing and dvd authoring just hasn’t caught up with the Mac yet, in neither form, function, reliability, or speed. My $6900 setup is for the 2gig dual G5, 1GB RAM, a couple SATA hard drives, and one cinema display, etc., which is only about $4200. I get stung on buying all the full versions of the above two, plus Adobe CS full, a Wacom tablet, and a Lacie external firewire HD.
The PC comparible software (Premier, Avid, etc.) is almost as expensive (sometimes more than) and just plain old doesn’t work like a professional studio would. I definitely don’t want to be in the middle of a job and wishing that it was working smoother/faster/without certain options, etc. If it’s a business expense, I figure that you might as well not settle.
Can you get PC3200 RAM for much cheaper than that? I’ve heard tale that the G4s are picky with their RAM too, which probably also applies to the G5s.
For someone doing large amounts of image-, much less video-editing, I don’t think there’s any question that Apple is the way to go. In your case it’s even more of a no-brainer since you’re already familiar with the system/OS (as opposed to someone like me).
As for memory compatible with G5s… Both Crucial and Kingston list specific modules as compatible with the G5. Mushkin is also good-quality RAM, though I don’t see any sort of “system selector” at their site to see things specific to the G5.
Cool. I wanted to get the 8GB of RAM, but I can’t justify an extra $4500! 
I want a Dual G5 Powerbook with 40” holographic display and 8GB of RAM. Now that is a system I would be willing to spend $6000 on.
It is easier to multitask using osx as well. Though not so hard to learn. I had a usuable knowledge of OSX with a couple of weeks of working with Derek. Truely though, id like to have a 17” g5 power book and the new voodoo m:855 notebook. It sports the new amd fx-51 mobile which anandtech.com reviews it extremely highly.. in some catagories even beating desktop fx-51s.
TO have an Apple G5 powerbook and a VoodooPC M:855 side by side… now thats a dream for me.
(hope the html works, my first try in the forums)
Oddly, I just might get my wish of that $6900ish G5. I’m about two weeks away from determining if I get the small business loan or not...sshhhhhhh!
By Derek Jones on December 15, 2003 at 03:34pm link