My brother is an artist. He's very good but you'll never hear me admitting it to him. He's looking into getting a Mac as his next computer. Here's what he wrote me in an email just a few minutes ago: I told him that I would post it here since I know many of you are Mac users would would be able to provide some insight. He's buying this for himself so money is important. He is not a techie nor does he want to plunk down a ton of money just for the pleasure of having the "Latest and Greatest." Please provide your thoughts.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Jun 12 2006, 05:00 PM) [snapback]270136[/snapback]</div> If he is not looking for the "latest and greatest", nor does he feel rich, he can always opt for the refurb G5s. They cost significantly less. Although I am a happy Mac user, I don't do graphics related stuff so can't say a whole lot about Mac it that particular area. However, few of the people that I know that does graphics related stuff uses Mac. Hope this helps.
Graphic artists (in general, Hollywood, commercial, academic) work on desktop and MacBook Pro macs. Macs have moved to faster "Dual core" Intel chips (like having two CPUs in one). "God is in the details" on a Mac. There is a wealth of graphics software. Buy the best you can afford and maximize the RAM. OS X (now up to OS 10.4.6) is UNIX-based and does not crash in the Wintel sense. Apple sends out operating system updates almost weekly so things stay current. It helps to have a large hard drive (120 GB or greater) and a fast online connection (DSL or greater). Adobe Photoshop (and the whole Adobe suite) is a minimum platform. The "best" software depends on what meets your needs, runs well on your system, and helps you accomplish what you are tryng to do.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Jun 12 2006, 02:00 PM) [snapback]270136[/snapback]</div> That's better than plunking down a ton of money for something that's soon to be or is already obsolete. No one has mentioned yet that all of the new Macs are based on x86 family processors, while the older G5 towers are based on the PowerPC. The new Macs, being based on a completely different ISA (instruction set architecture), must run PowerPC executables using Apple's "Rosetta Stone" emulation (yeah, I know they licensed it from another company). It's very fast for emulation, but not the same as executing a native application. It's a similar situation as when Macs moved from 68k to PowerPC, except there's no such thing as a mixed-mode program (at least that's my understanding). Not every application is available native on MacTel yet, Adobe's Creative Suite being the most notable. If your brother can wait until Adobe's Creative Suite is available native on x86 Macs, he should wait (unless he wants a Mac Mini or iMac). A G5 tower will be obsolete the day Creative Suite ships native, IMHO. He may also find the performance of CS2 emulated on a Core Duo Mac to be acceptable in the interim, in which case he can buy an x86 Mac as soon as the one he wants is available (the industry is anxiously awaiting new tower MacTel systems).
I would also suggest an intel mac over the dual G5. I have both a G4 tower with a flat screen monitor and a 15" titanium Powerbook. I don't use the desktop at all anymore....I do everything on the laptop. If he needs a larger screen he can add a flat screen monitor to a MacBook Pro. I'd suggest the MacBook Pro I.E. new version of the Titanium, not the MacBook, I.E. new version of an iBook. I'd also suggest he invest in an Wacom graphics tablet if he doesn't already have one. I am not a graphics artist but I do webpages for school and use Photoshop and the Macromedia Studio Suite, esp. Dreamweaver and Fireworks. I find the tablet a must for Fireworks and Photoshop. I think mine is an Intuos3 4x5. I'd suggest he get the biggest he can afford. I'd also suggest having the most memory and biggest harddrive installed in a 15" MacBook Pro. 15" is big enough to work and small enough to easily carry around. He can always add an external firewire for more storage.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Jun 12 2006, 05:58 PM) [snapback]270186[/snapback]</div> Yep. There's a major shift underway from PowerPC (G4, G5) to Intel. If he wants to be set for awhile, he'd want an Intel Mac. [I have a wide-screen iMac which works well for video-editing (need to go home and work on a DVD for a friend today, in fact), but it's not the latest.]
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Jun 12 2006, 05:00 PM) [snapback]270136[/snapback]</div> Actually, I believe that the Intel-based iMacs have been outperforming the PowerPC-based G5s. I have one of those iMacs and it's been great for Photoshop and Illustrator. It runs cooler and boots faster than a G5. Get a 20" iMac and make sure to get at least a GB of RAM. The 20" iMac is great, too, because you don't have to get a separate widescreen monitor which costs a lot. My iMac cost just under $2000 and it's been worth it. I'm glad that I waited and didn't get a G5. If he has the time, he may want to wait for Apple to replace the G5 with an Intel-based tower <shrug> As one of my Mac gurus says "The Mac is not a perfect computer. It just looks that way next to a Windows PC" B)
He will not go wrong with an Apple iMac computer. I use a Mac at home and a PC at work. For a creative professional, the Mac should be great, but he should purchase the most computer he can afford. And do not forget about software costs. I like to think of my Prius as the iPod of cars.
At this point the G5 towers are the only Macs that have not yet made the transistion to Intel. There is speculation that they are holding for a more powerful, perhaps quad core, CPU. The high end graphics programs have not been move to the Intel side yet. Rosetta is good and performance will comare well with a G4 Mac but not a high end G5 Mac. When they are availabe and a Universal binary the Intel Mac will blow the G5 away.
