I'm looking to invest in a G4, but I'm not sure what exactly to look for as far as features, memory, processor, etc. The main purpose would obviously be to edit. can anyone help me?
Well, it all depends on your budget, obviously. I, myself, recently purchased an eMac G4 with Superdrive. It only came with 256mb of ram, which isn't really enoguh for editing(it'll do, but it might get annoying in the long run). I upgraded to 768mb of ram and I'm pretty happy with it. It has a 60gb HD and runs at 800mhz. I've been putting 1 hour videos together with the memory full and I haven't had any problems. Works like a charm. The whole thing set me back about 2000$ US(I'm quickly converting it from canadian, so its not an exact figure).
This would, I think, do, depending on what you wanna edit. The only problem is the memory. 60GB for video editing isn't much, and since the eMac is one piece, if you wanna add memory, you gotta get an external HD, which is a bit more pricy then internals.
So it really depends how much editing you'd be doing with it.
Is it for personal shorts, school projects?
this might intrest you
http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/detail.asp?dpno=130651
mac is so fuckin expensive. why do none of you use pc's? i mean at least you can afford them. just pick up the parts seperatly and youll have three times as much power(or three times as much cash].
does FCP work poorly on the pc's or what?
It doesn't work at all on PCs.
Go Apple!
Quote from: Phil Marlowewhy do none of you use pc's?
Cause we are all little Mac bitches....:lol:
At home I have Vaio...I love it....but at work I have a G4...love that too...I think it's all a matter of preference, and what you can afford. Mac's are just kinda the professional standard, so that's why everyone wants one. They are well worth the cash though....
I think this is good enough:
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fa772.g.akamai.net%2F7%2F772%2F51%2F383cf817bcdaa2%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fpowermac%2Fimages%2Fprocessorpowermac08132002.jpg&hash=5b10990ed68bb95a76a6fe1505384ee3d5235374) (http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/detail.asp?dpno=130649)
And then get this:
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimage1.cc-inc.com%2Fprod%2F674000%2F674067_lg.jpg&hash=e2992a9870ddfb484c2193475371364367824a15) (http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/detail.asp?dpno=674067).
or would it have room for another internal drive?
Quote from: Jeremy Blackman
or would it have room for another internal drive?
i think it has room for 2
film student, what is your budget?
Quote from: Phil Marlowewhy do none of you use pc's?
the problem with pcs is that they can be very unpredictable. they can work just great, but they can also be a pain in the ass and there seems to be no way to tell when it will decide to piss you off.
so when youre working on a project and something fucks up, making you lose hours of work, it aint fun. macs just work well. and theyre not as expensive as they seem
Well, seeing as how some HP models are now selling for like 300 bucks or less, I think it's safe to say that Macs are still more expensive. But you get what you pay for. Plus, Macs are designed with creative endeavors in mind, so they naturally work better for that kind of thing.
I've got a g4 and an iMac and I couldn't be happier with them. I'm PC free in 2003.
Quote from: cecil b. dementedthe problem with pcs is that they can be very unpredictable. they can work just great, but they can also be a pain in the ass and there seems to be no way to tell when it will decide to piss you off.
i think the pc's require alot of research and understanding in relation to the buying process. you want parts of a certain quality and you want them to work good with each other and that can be quite a job. but the reward can be really powerfull and youll have every option available when considering upgrading/expanding.
i personally like to check out the most modest prices of each individually piece of hardware that i want on the internet, and then order it and put it together myself.
mac is for luxury and luxury is for peasants.
phil, im not talking about the quality of parts as much as im talking about windows.
yeah, i know it can be really bitchy, especially ME, but i also heard that the newer XP editions should be quite stabil. i just think you have to keep your computer tidy and make shure you have a very limited amount of programs assisting it.
my pc is old, slow, messy and uses ME and works like hell. but i like its price and its possibilities.
Macs rule... you should definately get one FS.
Shit, if you can afford it.. get a dual processor G4 tower... that shit rules, but I have the G4 Imac and it's pretty unbelievably good... and while it was the best G4 Imac you could buy when i got it (17" w/superdrive), it's processor speed is only 800mhz, now for the same price,you get the 1Ghz , not that I'm really complaining... I haven't had trouble with this baby at all.
Phil... Luxury Schmuxury, you want professional quality editing, you get a Mac, they run fuckin' circles.
Either way, if you want to do a substantial amount of editing, you'll need an external drive.
I was looking at the latest Emac in store recently and I still don't really get the difference between that and the Imac besides the look of the unit.
There's no real difference, except the eMac is less expensive. That's why i got it. I know the whole design of the G4 attracts a lot, but the eMac is pretty too. I'm very, very happy with it. Plus I got a superdrive. :-D
Quote from: cecil b. demented
film student, what is your budget?
Honestly, if I invest in this, I'm going all out. That means at this point I'd be saving for a few months, but by the end of the summer I'll be able to afford between $2500 and $3000.
thats great, there are rumoured new mac towers comming out at the end of the summer with the new ppc 970 chip (i guess itll be a g5). so if you can afford to wait a bit till august or sept. you will get a kick ass setup. now there are only rumours but theyre very likely. you can check out this site www.appleinsider.com for some details
EDIT: btw, what recce said about ram is right. video is hard on the processor, you need to get the highest processor and all the ram you can basically afford. 512 is good. 1 gb will rock. but dont buy it from the apple store cause they charge an arm and a leg. same goes for extra hard drives
But seriously, a 400-something mhZ G4 Mac, with 300+ ram can handle anything Final Cut can give it.
I would concentrate more on hard drive space, and maybe get a nice monitor (http://www.apple.com/displays/).
But be careful if you buy your ram seperately. It'll be way cheaper then buying it from apple, but compatible ram is a bit tricky to find. Just make sure it'll work.
Quote from: RecceBut be careful if you buy your ram seperately. It'll be way cheaper then buying it from mac, but compatible ram is a bit tricky to find. Just make sure it'll work.
And with RAM, you actually usually get what you pay for... for example, there are different qualities of 256 chips. Viking is good, and a few others on macmall.com ....
Quote from: Film Student$2500 and $3000.
That is how much the link I posted is about....Definately make sure to get a dual Processor....MacMall is a pretty good source....they will finance it for you too, although I am not quite sure what the interest rates are.
Film Student, go here (http://store.apple.com/AppleStore/WebObjects/EducationIndividualCustom?qprm=36799&type=higherEd). EDUCATION DISCOUNT!
Well, actually, compare prices (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/71801/wo/mI3ZJ1924qdI2wSod981vX9GJPi/0.3.0.3.27.25.0.0.1.0.3.1.1.0?123,82) and it might be the same price as some retailers.
Quote from: Phil Marlowebut i also heard that the newer XP editions should be quite stabil.
I've heard horror stories about XP not liking peripherals...