Real Time? Mac Pro or G5

[Scott Brady]

Comp USA has several smokin deals on the last of the G5's. At least $500 off, resulting in getting a nicely equipped machine for around 1,600.

What am I risking by going with the G5? It seems that the last of a model run for a Mac should be near bulletproof, no? These are nicely outfitted machines too, with big drives and 2gb of memory.

I am very tempted by the G5, as I have lusted over those for a few years, and the new Intel switch has me somewhat concerned.

Thanks for helping out a PC guy :)

Oh, and this machine will take all of the graphics design and image processing duties for Steph and I, freeing me up to buy the most rugged laptop possible for expedition work (i.e., I can sacrifice speed for durability).

[ZooJunkie]

Being a Mac guy and supporting these machines for our customers *we also use them in our product as well*, you can't go wrong w/ the G5. However, because of the new Intel cpu based Macs are more versatile with respect to an OS, I prefer the Intel based models over the IBM/Moto CISC based G5s.

We have a few that were overheating and randomly crashing. Me thinks the crashing was more of an OS issue than hardware.

Because more software is Windows based, for the money, I would recommend the Intel based Macs.

I'd wait till the Intel Macs are falling of the back of trucks. :jumping:

Oh, this is the company I work for: www.efi.com

[bigreen505]

This is a touchy and personal subject and the only people who can give you real answers are under NDA, and even some of them that I have spoken with don't know what they would do in the same situation. Feel some measure of comfort that there are many Mac users, like me, that held on to G4's knowing that the Intels were coming, and now that we know how far off software is for them are stuck in exactly the same situation as you. Either buy obsolete equipment to run current software now knowing that an upgrade will be forced in the next 12-18 months, or buy Intel knowing that we are paying a premium for the latest technology even though there is no software for it yet.



What am I risking by going with the G5?


You are buying a computer that will be comparatively slow and obsolete on all design software starting a year from now. IMO there are no real disadvantages in the next 12 months. All software coming out is Universal Code, which means it runs natively on both PPC and Intel chips. In the future I would expect software to be Intel only, so you run the risk of buying a computer that is pretty worthless in five years.

I'm not sure what your PC situation is, but if you go with the Intel mac and run Windows versions of the design programs through Boot Camp, you get the maximum speed currently available and you can run the software on your laptop.

On the other hand, by going with the G5, you save $1000 and you are buying a computer that is the best tool for the job now. If you are planning to buy current software now and don't plan to upgrade for a couple years it is a good way to go. You need to fully understand, and be comfortable with the fact you are buying obsolete technology. The accountant in me says this is a business purchase, not a personal purchase, so buy the G5 now and fully depreciate it this fiscal year, then buy the Intel mac when you are ready to upgrade software.



It seems that the last of a model run for a Mac should be near bulletproof, no?


I don't know, I would buy Apple Care anyway. The G5, despite it's huge power consumption and heat output, is a pretty solid platform, but they have definitely learned how to improve on it with the Mac Pro. Still, there is always a risk of bad RAM or a defective hard drive.




I am very tempted by the G5, as I have lusted over those for a few years, and the new Intel switch has me somewhat concerned.


Concerned about reliability because it is new or concerns about the G5 because it is obsolete, and soon to be abandoned, technology?



Oh, and this machine will take all of the graphics design and image processing duties for Steph and I, freeing me up to buy the most rugged laptop possible for expedition work (i.e., I can sacrifice speed for durability).

Okay, we need to have a real, honest conversation for a minute here. Not me and you, but you and Steph. How much volume do you really expect to have, what size files and what quantity of them do you expect to be working with, and what percentage of your work will be against tight deadlines? If you are working with lots of big files in a high volume environment, particularly requiring 3D rendering and video production, you will recoup your investment in the Intel computer with increased throughput in less than a year. I know it sounds cliche, but every second saved throughout the day adds up. If that is not the case, keep a PC for e-mail and billing software (QuickBooks for the Mac bites and lots of great business management software is PC only) and print server, and use the Mac as a graphics workstation only, I don't think you will lose much of anything going with the G5 over the Mac Pro.

Hope I didn't confuse you further.

[Scott Brady]

The MacPro has me concerned because of it being brand new and unproven. Will the old mac applications run on the intel chips?

We will use this machine only for high volume image processing, graphics design, layout design, web development and video processing.

All other work, emails, word processing, financial, etc. will be done on our PC's. The laptop I purchase will be a fully rugged model that will be for navigation, web posting from the road, word processing for articles and light image processing.

I really like the idea of a G5 as it is proven, runs all their current software and ensures (nearly) all of the good things about switching to a Mac IMO (reliability, robust software, uptime).


For me, if I buy a MacPro and cant get software for it for over a year (as indicated above), that would be a huge dissadvantage. I already view computers as appliances anyways, and would likely replace it in three years regardless.

Your help is so appreciated on this :)

[bigreen505]

First, let me apologize for being so long winded. I'm sick and my head is a little foggy.

The Intel Macs have a program called Rosetta that translates old programs to the new chip. From what I understand it works very reliably, but is slow. If you plan to be doing a lot of Final Cut Pro work it may be worth getting the Intel, either Pro or iMac.

If I am running Photoshop actions on high res digital files (70MB or bigger) the computer is the slow part. If I am doing any creative work that requires thinking, I am the slow part and a faster computer is only somewhat beneficial. Check the tests at barefeats.com. If I recall, the Intels, even the iMac, was faster for video rendering.

The more I think about it, I would probably get the G5 or the iMac and skip the Mac Pro for now.

[Life_in_4Lo]

The Intel Mac is too slow for graphics. This is the fault of the software not up to date, running native. It runs emulation - rosetta- and is much slower.

all I do is photoshop/illustrator/a.e. and I will not get a Intel mac until next year.

[Desertdude]

Be careful about buying from a reseller - you will still need other things which you can get from the Apple store online

-----------------
G5 quad + 30" monitor + at least 8 gigs of apple ram + the fastest video card you can get + (2) 500 gig internals + 3 yrs. of Applecare (in case)

Adobe CS suite - Final Cut Studio - powered speaker monitors
-----------------

with this you will be good to go for at least three years - by then the intels and new OS will be well sorted out -

I would still decide exactly how much time you will be spending behind this machine - if you are mostly thinking graphics/design work - I would save the money and get the latest 20" iMac and the Adobe suite and call it done
All Mac's come included with iMovie HD and iDVD which you can do quite a lot of editing on and create right out of the box

If you can wait a few more months you might find that Apple usually does sometimes add new products to the line...

you can find refurbished G5 ( with warranty at Apple) for 19% less than retail - HERE (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wo/0.RSLID?mco=D8593B5A&nclm=CertifiedMac)

and also from the Apple store - HERE (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wo/0.RSLID?mco=5AE5F520&nclm=PowerMac)

since your other endeavor has to do with education you are eligible for the Apple educational store discount in the Apple store look for the link to the ED store and fill in you info for a nice discount

[bigreen505]

-----------------
G5 quad + 30" monitor + at least 8 gigs of apple ram + the fastest video card you can get + (2) 500 gig internals + 3 yrs. of Applecare (in case)

Adobe CS suite - Final Cut Studio - powered speaker monitors
-----------------

since your other endeavor has to do with education you are eligible for the Apple educational store discount in the Apple store look for the link to the ED store and fill in you info for a nice discount

:drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool:

[Scott Brady]

As DesertDude is the video master, I will only be doing light video editing.

Do you guys think that the G5 Dual 2ghz with 2gig of ram will be enough? 23" monitor. Again, I am not too worried about internal HD space, as I have nearly 2TB already at the house (just added 1TB this week).

I think it will be fine, and wont cost as much as a new BMW F650, which is what I would much rather be buying than a new computer :elkgrin:

[Desertdude]

For light editing and PS work - you might want to consider 4 gigs a minimum 2 gigs will work and you would be OK but when you start having a few different apps open and needing power you will run short - the OS will chew up between 512 and 1 gig to run that leaves 1 gig left for Apps

still opt for the fastest video card - this will keep your monitor happy and help with those apps that require a nice fast card

I am not sure how your storage is formated - you should at least get 250 gigs internally dedicated to the Mac - the idea of a second drive internally is one for back up and video scratch disc

23" monitor = very sweet


as far as the dual - this is approaching legacy status - ( not that it is a slow machine) the quad is not too much more $ and it is the fastest of the non intel's

you will mostly notice speed during PS rendering + video editing/rendering effects

by the time you assemble the G5 - ram - video card - and monitor you are approaching $ 4K - ( resale later [2yrs] will be 25% or quite a bit less)

--------------------------

I would still highly recommend the 20" Imac w/2gigs ram/fast vid card/applecare - 2250.00

this iMac will do all the things you would like to do and will keep you in the current status of intel core duo ( resale later [2yrs] will be about 50% or higher)

especially if you are not glued to the computer 24/7 - a higher investment ( G5/23") might not be the best thing to do for the first entrance into Mac world

[DaktariEd]

Random thoughts...

BigGreen505 raised some good points.

There will definitely be some lag time before software catches up with the new Intel chips and they work out the bugs.

Grabbing the last of the G5's is a good deal in my opinion. Superb machine, lightning fast, liquid cooled...very nice! But I am prejudiced you know!

That's why I snagged a 17" PowerBook...the price dropped just before the MacBook came out.

Rosetta definitely slows things down. I've seen that with friends' Intel Mac.

I run a dual 2.7 Ghz, 2 GB RAM; got it 8 months ago. Is your deal a 2 GHz, or 2.7 GHz?

I would go for it, depreciate the G5, and in 3-4 years get the latest Core Duo monster!

Just my 2 centavos....

:sombrero:
Ed

[Desertdude]

Ed and others - it is nice to see so many fellow mac users on this site :D

[jeffryscott]

Let me be the devil's advocate here - and no, I'm not saying stick with Windows - but as I mentioned in your aperture thread, rumors are strong that Apple will be updating some machines in the next week or so - highly likely the iMac will be updated and possibly even add 23-inch screen. The update will loikely be intel's Merom chip, reported to be 40-percent faster than the current core duo chip.

Since internal storage is not important, I would seriously look at the iMac. Even the 20-inch machine is 1699, plus you can add a 20-inch monitor to it for 699 and have dual monitors. Maxed out Ram is $200 and frankly, I think that is all the machine you would need for the near future - even if video became a bigger part of your work load.

The G5 would certainly serve you well, but it is a dead end. Any new software is going to take advantage of the intel chips. And once the software is native, the G5 will be a relative dog.

Also, with the iMac the chip is user replaceable if you have some technical skills, which I suspect you have. :ylsmoke: So for a few hundred dollars, you could upgrade it to faster chips as they come out.

Good luck (and I am not bashing the G5 by any means, it is awesome machine - I just think the newer machines take it to another level).

Have fun,

Jeff

[Desertdude]

:iagree: the iMac might look cute - but they really can do the work :littlefriend:


Let me be the devil's advocate here - and no, I'm not saying stick with Windows - but as I mentioned in your aperture thread, rumors are strong that Apple will be updating some machines in the next week or so - highly likely the iMac will be updated and possibly even add 23-inch screen. The update will loikely be intel's Merom chip, reported to be 40-percent faster than the current core duo chip.

Since internal storage is not important, I would seriously look at the iMac. Even the 20-inch machine is 1699, plus you can add a 20-inch monitor to it for 699 and have dual monitors. Maxed out Ram is $200 and frankly, I think that is all the machine you would need for the near future - even if video became a bigger part of your work load.

The G5 would certainly serve you well, but it is a dead end. Any new software is going to take advantage of the intel chips. And once the software is native, the G5 will be a relative dog.

Also, with the iMac the chip is user replaceable if you have some technical skills, which I suspect you have. :ylsmoke: So for a few hundred dollars, you could upgrade it to faster chips as they come out.

Good luck (and I am not bashing the G5 by any means, it is awesome machine - I just think the newer machines take it to another level).

Have fun,

Jeff

[Scott Brady]

--------------------------

I would still highly recommend the 20" Imac w/2gigs ram/fast vid card/applecare - 2250.00

this iMac will do all the things you would like to do and will keep you in the current status of intel core duo ( resale later [2yrs] will be about 50% or higher)

especially if you are not glued to the computer 24/7 - a higher investment ( G5/23") might not be the best thing to do for the first entrance into Mac world

Steph and I are going to run to the Apple store this afternoon and give everything a test run :)

I just did more research on the iMAC and it is looking pretty dang good. You can even hook up a second monitor too. I am digging them.

I will report back

A PC guy treads into unknown waters, stay tuned :088:

[Desertdude]

go get 'em Scott - enjoy the experiance... :088:

I would not be surprised if you did not come home with two boxes :victory:

[bigreen505]

Scott,

I would really recommend 4 GB of RAM with 90% available to Photoshop. Also on the hard drive front, a 500 GB primary drive and a 250 GB scratch drive for Photoshop to dump instructions to (no files at all on the drive, Photoshop will completely fill 250 GB running actions). The primary drive has system, applications, and any currently working files, particularly photos. This will make a huge difference in speed if Photoshop can pull the file from the primary drive and deposit derivative files there. After all processing is finished, move them off the computer to your storage array.

You asked what you need to know coming to the Mac world from the PC world, so there it is: Macs, and particularly the entire Adobe Creative Suite run on a Mac, uses memory, both RAM and HD, very differently than a PC running PS 6. For that matter, CS2 works very different from CS and we have had to change our hardware setups and workflows to accommodate these differences.

If you have an external drive, even a firewire 800 drive, that you can dedicate as a scratch disk, use it. If you don't believe me, try it yourself, I'll even send an action.

As for monitors, I have run a dual setup since 1995, but I find a single 24" monitor more than sufficient. If you are planning to have a workflow that centers around Aperture dual monitors can be beneficial, but I am more than happy just having one.

I'll stop ranting now.

[Scott Brady]

Well, the more I research, the more I am leaning towards the G5. I really like the IMac but performance tests (PS 10 filter test) give a clear advantage to the G5 still.

But if I get the G5, I am going to need to do something quick, as there are just a few left at the Compusa in Chandler (I am spending the weekend with family in Phoenix).

We went to the Apple store today and played with all of the machines. The iMac 20" is nice, and quite reasonable on pricing too (also supporting a second monitor with DVM). Steph felt right at home with the Mac's and really loved the design, ease of navigation and the focus towards creative applications. It will be a good fit for us.

My only workflow and real world experience was with DesertDude, working on Final Cut with his top of the line G5 and 30" monitor. It is a thing of beauty, with great performance.

So, our biggest concern is the iMac's performance with the current software (Adobe suite), and it will be at least 6 months until new versions of the software is available, which is too long.

More research on the G5...

[rgsiii]

The 23" screen is awfully nice--it is more than enough for me and my Photoshop needs. The 23" models look awfully small compared to the 30" ones in the store--at home with more space requirements they seem to grow. Make sure you have enough room for them.

[Desertdude]

More dialog :)

Most of Apples products are priced leveled around the world - certain resellers can lower prices or offer deals combining other products in a package - the Apple store is the one place you can build the computer the way you like ( some value added retailers can do this too but it all comes form the Apple store)

if you purchase from a reseller you will need to track down much more operating ram - 8 gigs is what you should really have - you can do it with 4gigs but you will notice slowing with several apps open - also with ram it is a good idea that it is matched ( not a place you should cut corners) = add more $$

Hard drives are cheap and you can even slide more in with this little device (http://www.sonnettech.com/product/g5_jive.html) maybe not now but eventually to work easily = add more $$

The G5 dual will work fine for Graphics - if you get into vid editing and Motion graphics the quad is the way to go - again do not overlook the fastest video card this will help with the larger monitor as well as some of Apples Apps (motion for one) = add more $$

Again: consider how much work you will actually be doing (computer face time) per hour/per year - then divide those hours into the total cost

you know my motto; buy the best and cry once - I have never looked back
(looking back at my order in March - just the G5 was 6K with my build type)

and still - since this is an amazing transition time for Apple and things are up in the air for hardware and SW - I would not let a filter test keep you from making a better long term Hardware decision - I would still reccomend the iMac 20" to get you in the intel game - budgeting down the road one year ( July mac world) for the third version of the hardware and the first wave of Intel matched SW - with this plan you will have had the time to get real familar with the product ( using the iMac) and have enough time to plan and research just how you will be using the mew Apple line -

[Scott Brady]

and still - since this is an amazing transition time for Apple and things are up in the air for hardware and SW - I would not let a filter test keep you from making a better long term Hardware decision - I would still reccomend the iMac 20" to get you in the intel game - budgeting down the road one year ( July mac world) for the third version of the hardware and the first wave of Intel matched SW - with this plan you will have had the time to get real familar with the product ( using the iMac) and have enough time to plan and research just how you will be using the mew Apple line -

Thanks amigo.

I like the iMac 20" idea, but what do I do about Adobe CS? I will have a machine and no appropriate software to run on it for at least 6 months (and we will need to be doing advanced layout work in about 5-6 weeks). Many of the plug-ins to CS do not work with Rosetta.

Does anyone have a copy of the Adobe CS they are willing to sell? The thought of spending $1,200 twice within a year is crazy.

[Desertdude]

yes that is a pickle - and it will run slow if at all in rosetta -

[I am having odd issues with CS2 on my Macbookpro Ai and imgready will run but PS decided it won't anymore the SW suggests to re install ... I will when I get back to AZ]

----------------------------------------------------------

G5 quad - 8 gigs of Ram - 20" Apple store - :iagree:

[edit} should be a CS2-CS3 crossgrade offer though Adobe

[DaktariEd]

Scott, if you have an older version of Photoshop (Windows) you may be able to get CS2 for significantly less. Don't know if they will do a cross platform upgrade, but it's worth a call or two.

I sense a new Mac convert brewing...
:jumping:

[Life_in_4Lo]

The Dude summed it up nicely. The iMac 20 (w/superdrive) is great (I own one in fact) I run Final Cut, After Effects, CS2 ps & illustrator on it. Just for perspective, the iMac blows away the top-of-the line tower from just a couple years ago
Final cut is slow when you get big files but for the price you really cant beat it. Also, you will get the iLife 06 bundled w/ it and that is a great bundle w/ idvd, and video editing that is really quite good- also, it is a natural progression to Final cut since the interface is similar.

G5's are smokin' great but as the dude mentions, the price/use/value quotient may not be favorable.

don't forget the "necessary" upgrades like maxing out the RAM, seperate hard drive (safe storage/backup)

also in the future, to transfer all info from your old Mac to your new, all you do is plug a firewire and let 'er rip. few hours later all files, preferences, settings are in your new computer:jumping:

iMac now and you can get a nice MacBook Pro 17" in 6 mo or yr. It is powerful enuff to be a workstation, as well as portable. Also can run a second monitor as well.

[jeffryscott]

one thing to consider with the iMac - run Photoshop in Windows with bootcamp or parrallels. This solves the dilemma of running under Rosetta - you get native performance and Photoshop (and photoshop is pretty even cross platform as far as everything goes.)

Then, when the time comes, buy the universal photoshop for Mac (and you don't need to spend 1200 twice, the upgrades are reasonable, and if you have access to the education market, that makes it even a sweeter deal (software is super cheap through universit).

[jeffryscott]

Scott, this goes with running photoshop in windows until a native photoshop arrives:

Mac Pro (2.66GHz) Photoshop CS2 tests in Rosetta vs. Win XP (BootCamp) -
" Hi Mike, I ran PSBench (the OWC version) again on my Mac Pro, this time with a stop watch, once immediately after cold boot in OS X, and then once (after all my antivirus and spyware software finished loading) in Win XP Professional (Bootcamp), both in fully updated CS2 installations. The results really show what to expect on the Mac Pros once CS3 is out and Universal next year:

(Time to complete 21 filter tests)
OS X in Rosetta: 227 sec
Win XP native: 110 sec
Yes, that's more than twice as fast. In fact, it'll likely be even faster. My OS X Photoshop install is running its scratch disk off a SATA RAID, but the Win XP install is running scratch on a single SATA/2 drive. Not sure how much PSBench 7 hits the scratch disk, but I did hear disk activity during the tests. (the std PSbench test uses a 10MB image, although the official site has downloads that use up to 50MB image)

My Mac Pro is a Quad 2.66 with 2GB RAM (4x512MB installed by Apple).
Vader "

The Aug. 24th news page had his previous notes on Mac Pro 2.66GHz vs Dual 1.8GHz G5 Photoshop CS2 Filter tests

This comes from http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/ ... but it gives you an idea of how fast the new machines can be.

[jeffryscott]

Scott,

Apple announced new iMacs - including a 24-inch for 1999. New chips, new size screen - killer machine.

[Scott Brady]

Now look at that! Glad I waited a few more days. That 24" will be perfect, and can even take 3gig of RAM now too.

I just wish I was not in this software black hole. I will feel kind of silly buying a $3,000 Mac only to install windows and CS2 for windows just to get processing speed.

[jeffryscott]

Now look at that! Glad I waited a few more days. That 24" will be perfect, and can even take 3gig of RAM now too.

I just wish I was not in this software black hole. I will feel kind of silly buying a $3,000 Mac only to install windows and CS2 for windows just to get processing speed.


It will be worth it - when photoshop comes native, this thing will scream. The new iMac has a 64-bit processor, just like the MacPro (albeit not as powerful or fast). This is going to be a screamer.

Enjoy!

[Scott Brady]

The decision has been made, and thanks so much to Pasquale, Jeff and Bill for your thoughts and recommendation. Ultimately, my brother from another mother (Pasquale) helped me come to a final conclusion. Buy the best you can afford (or even a bit over) and cry once.

So what did I just do? :yikes:

iMac, 24-inch, Intel Core 2 Duo
Part Number: Z0DD
Apple Wireless Keyboard & wireless Mighty Mouse + Mac OS X (US English)
None
NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB SDRAM
Accessory kit
500GB Serial ATA Drive
3GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 1x2GB, 1x1GB
2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
SuperDrive 8X (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

Estimated ship: 5-7 business days
Delivered within 5 business days after shipping
AppleCare Protection Plan for iMac - Auto-enroll
Part Number: S2302Z/A
Estimated ship: 1-2 business days
Delivered within 5 business days after shipping 1

I sure hope we like this mac, as it just cost me a 1996 Discovery 5-speed (http://phoenix.craigslist.org/car/194842107.html)with cloth interior and factory steel wheels.

[DaktariEd]

As my daughter would say,
SCORE!!!
Way to go, Scott!
You are going to be soooo happy with this system.
Congrats!
Keep us informed...

Ed

[jeffryscott]

Excellent Scott - too bad about the Rover though (although the Rover would have cost a lot more in the long run).

I got so sucked into my advice to you, that as we speak I'm setting up a new 20-inch iMac (got it on close out) and am preparing to install Aperture, which I have been lusting over for so long.

That 24 is going to be sweet - hopefully all the advice offered and given will not have lead you astray.

Jeff

[bigreen505]

Excellent Scott - too bad about the Rover though

:iagree:

Just remember to profile that monitor, and do it soon so if for what ever reason you can't profile it you can exchange it.

As hard as it was to let the Rover go, the iMac will probably make you more money.

[Scott Brady]

I got so sucked into my advice to you, that as we speak I'm setting up a new 20-inch iMac (got it on close out) and am preparing to install Aperture, which I have been lusting over for so long.


Jeff,

Please keep me informed of Aperture and your impressions. I have heard mixed reviews, but also fell in love at this springs Educause conference.

[jeffryscott]

First impressions: it is slow, but absolutely fabulous.

I've tried many different cataloging programs for my pictures and this is by far the smartest and easiest to use. I am in the midst of organizing years of scans and digital images and I've made more headway in 12-hours than I have in years of burning things to CD, storing them on hard drives ...

Definitely add it to your list ... by the same token, play with Adobe Lightroom as well (I've not fallen for it like I have Aperture, but it is a very nice program. And to be fair, I've not tried organizing things with it as it is only Beta and I didn't want to get sucked into it until it is final - don't want to risk work getting lost or not transferring to the release or expiring when the beta expires).

I'll post more impressions later,

Jeff

[Desertdude]

well done :wings: - once you go Mac its hard to go back :clapsmile

[Scott Brady]

Thanks for the feedback Jeff.

How does it interface with PS CS2? (or does it).

To me, the functionalities of Aperture are even more appealing than a new version of PS, as I do very little work flow image adjustment. I am an "old school" photographer that uses filters and does bracketing, etc.

My biggest issue is 700 gig of images to organize and rank. I know I have thousands of images that are junk, and just need to be tossed.

Any new thoughts after having used it for a few more days?

I am about ready to pull the trigger on it.

The iMac arrives on the 26th :)

[jeffryscott]

still playing with it, but my impression is if you don't need to do much to your images, Aperture alone would be fine. It gives you the basics of image manipulation without the need for Photoshop.

I'd say just from the organizational aspects, it is worth every penny. I've used a variety of programs - iView Multimedia, etc ... and none compare to Aperture from that aspect.

If you need Photoshop, you can always spring for it - or for that matter, Photoshop Elements. Even in my line of work, Elements would do 90 percent or more of what I need it to do.

Go for it, it will go nicely with the new iMac.

[Desertdude]

I have used iView and though it was pretty good for cataloging - and for the past years have used iPhoto for simple photo access - but as of late iPhoto on my intel Mac's have been having issues - what do you like about Apertures cataloging?

[jeffryscott]

What do I like about it: well, first thing to pop in my head is the flexibility - having all my photos available to me in one place, yet in separate folders.

Kind of hard to describe - go through the tutorial online if you haven't done so: http://www.apple.com/aperture/resources/tutorial/

This program can do so many things. I'm still working on importing and organizing projects, so I haven't really looked beyond the organizational aspect.

[Scott Brady]

I have a BIG BOX in my office right now. It will be a few weeks before I can report.

[jeffryscott]

I have a BIG BOX in my office right now. It will be a few weeks before I can report.

SWEET. Congrats.

[Scott Brady]

first post from the Mac. I have to set about 10 feet back from this screen though :)

Quality, ease of set-up and one beautiful monitor. Just need some software now to really check it out.

[blupaddler]

Congrats on the Mac Scott!!!

I really dig the 24"
Just trying to figure out if I NEED or WANT one



BTW...Sorry about the LR. Nice color too! A bit high on the mileage though.

[Desertdude]

I'll be right over :) BIG congratulations on the sweet machine!

You have iMovie -iDVD - iPhoto - and a few other cool apps to have fun with when you are ready ;)

[jeffryscott]

Scott,

Aperture 1.5 is released today. Sounds like some of the shortcomings have been fixed.

buy any version 1 and it is a downloadable update.

Jeff