Mac Mini Q's / help (Rich??)

[RichRSi]

I'm thinking it's time to upgrade my G4, it's been superb but I fancy running CS3 now.

Can anyone advise me on these machines and if they are practicle for use in a commercial capacity.
I'll be using it for painting and it'll be handling big files with lots of layers so it needs to be up to the job (even my G4 occasionally overheats) anyone who uses one for a business etc let me know how you find them to cope.

I've seen a few on ebay and they seem well priced.

Or would you recommend a G5 tower, not an imac because I want to be able to choose my monitor.

Will I be still be able to use my apple studio monitor (the older perspex not the metal G5 one)

 

[Daz]

Mac Mini's wouldn't be great for large image files with lots of layers. They have a basic graphics card which is the problem.

You need to get a Mac Pro if you want a beast of a graphics machine.

 

[Rich]

Need to go down the Intel route to get the most out of CS3, one of the new intel imacs would be better suited than the mini, but as Daz says a Mac Pro is the best option, well worth the outlay, mine at work is better than the G4's we had there and mine at home.

 

[Daz]

iMac would be better, for the graphics card.

I don't think the Mini will be around much longer.. they're phasing it out apparently.

 

[RichRSi]

Cheers for the advice,

I think I will just have to bite the bullet and look at the Mac Pro, seeing as the G4 has done me proud this past 4 or 5 years if the Pro can last as long it'll be worth the extra outlay.

 

[Rich]

Long term it is the right choice.

 

[Tom]

indeed, going by how people are only just switching from 3-4 year old macs.

(partly because they have to now because of intel/os x changes)

A pro would be a great investment, as it would last for years and years.

My old g3 imac (1998??) still runs faster than my 2 year old windows pc!

Nearly 10 years old!!

 

[TeZ]

G5 pro tower are bet i have 2 , but imacs are also good lil things

 

[Daz]

Mac Pro's are best.
G5's are old.

8-core Mac Pro is where it's at.

You could also get an MBP and then just get it plugged into your monitor?
MBP's have a decent spec, decent graphics etc.. so awesome!

That's what I'm going to do with mine once I get my hands on an ACD.

 

[furry_cup]

cant fault my G5 imac

 

[sn00p]

indeed, going by how people are only just switching from 3-4 year old macs.

(partly because they have to now because of intel/os x changes)

A pro would be a great investment, as it would last for years and years.

My old g3 imac (1998??) still runs faster than my 2 year old windows pc!

Nearly 10 years old!!

Exactly. This is what most PC owners don't get. My old G4 tower (733) still runs super fast even today on the latest version of OS X. I'd like to see a PC of the same age do the same with the latest version of Windows!

Gave it a nice big speed bump as well by chucking in another 512 meg of ram that I found at work that was compatible! With every release of OS X so far the machine has also got a speed bump too, bloody marvellous!

I also love the fact that they hold their value incredibly well!

 

[Tom]

And then theres the looks!

The only real issue i have is certain software forces me to use xp.
but thats life.

 

[cava83]

Mac Pro's are really expensive though lovely, I would love one.

My MBP has the 256 ATI card and it's a beast, just got the 1GB stick delivered today and should be even better.

Mac Pro's are best.
G5's are old.

8-core Mac Pro is where it's at.

You could also get an MBP and then just get it plugged into your monitor?
MBP's have a decent spec, decent graphics etc.. so awesome!

That's what I'm going to do with mine once I get my hands on an ACD.

 

[RichRSi]

I've been doing a bit of looking around and I think I'm going to buy a Mac Pro next year (when i can afford to do it properly), I can put it down as a business expense anyway.

As a quick boost in performance is it worth maxing the memory to 2gig?

Thats my spec and I've had this machine since 2003, no upgrades other than 1gig of memory and it copes well.

I heartedly agree with the comments about the lastability of a mac. My Powerbook has been dropped on it's ass more times than I care to remember, once on the way to an interveiw the shoulder strap gave out omn it's bag as I was quickly crossing a road and it nearly got run over by a bus!! Popped the thing open at the interview and it worked without fail.

I was big into Amigas and St's back in the day, then made the crossover to PC (started with a 286 IBM PS/2) and worked on those for years before getting a mac, no turning back now.
Even if I get a new mac I'm keeping my old one for back up, as sad as it sounds you get to love these machines.

 

[sn00p]

Wow. Still running jaguar!!

Edit:

I'd forgotton how stripey it was! They toned it down in Jaguar too, Puma has even more.

 

[furry_cup]

doubt you'd notice that much of difference sticking it upto 2gig..

 

[TeZ]

hey furry wats the red bull about??

 

[Tom]

I've been doing a bit of looking around and I think I'm going to buy a Mac Pro next year (when i can afford to do it properly), I can put it down as a business expense anyway.

As a quick boost in performance is it worth maxing the memory to 2gig?

Thats my spec and I've had this machine since 2003, no upgrades other than 1gig of memory and it copes well.

I heartedly agree with the comments about the lastability of a mac. My Powerbook has been dropped on it's ass more times than I care to remember, once on the way to an interveiw the shoulder strap gave out omn it's bag as I was quickly crossing a road and it nearly got run over by a bus!! Popped the thing open at the interview and it worked without fail.

I was big into Amigas and St's back in the day, then made the crossover to PC (started with a 286 IBM PS/2) and worked on those for years before getting a mac, no turning back now.
Even if I get a new mac I'm keeping my old one for back up, as sad as it sounds you get to love these machines.

Move to panther!!

 

[furry_cup]

hey furry wats the red bull about??

i addicted to it

 

[Rich]

My G4 here is older than yours Rich (Dual 450) and runs 10.4.9 fine - get that upgraded. Will be keepig it alongside the my Mac Pro still when when I upgarde to a MAc Pro here at home.

 

[Tom]

You dont think 10.3.x would be a better bet?

i found that tiger was a bit to much for my slot iMac, but i suppose you do have a shitload more power.

 

[RichRSi]

I have considered upgrading the os but when I did the last update Photoshop CS1 crashed everytime a dialogue box popped up (which is frequently!!!!, I traced this to the speech program (that speaks the message in the pop up) and disabled it and it worked fine from that point.

I was part way through a big project when this happened so having cs1 down was a pain in the ass, so you see I'm reluctant to go 'upgrading' the os again untill I get a new machine + os, unless you think it's really worth it.

What benefits will 10.3/4 have over 10.2??? The benefits I'll actually see, apart from certain programs being able to run. Will it speed up processing time for example.