What would you buy?
YML Universe!!! I call upon you for help. I'm not sure what system to buy and I need some feedback.
First off, I'm a Graphic Artist and the applications I use are Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign, Illustrator and Flash on a daily basis. I don't edit video in anything but iMovie and that's only once in a blue moon. My G5 is done. It's just time to move on. Sure I know I could purchase a Mac Pro for three grand. But my question is, do I have too? After looking at the 24" iMac I realize it's much more powerful than my G5. In fact the only problem I've come across is that the iMac has a Glossy screen which might be a problem with color representation on my prints. However, according to my friends in the same business, as long as my monitor is calibrated I shouldn't have any problems when printing. I like the all in one idea of the iMac. After I price out the iMac its about $1000 less than buying a Mac Pro. The Graphics card in the iMac is fine, four gigs of ram is fine and if I needed a new hard drive I could upgrade. I was thinking about going mobile and buying a Mac Book Pro, however, there are still too many "extras" I have to deal with like external hard drives / Monitors etc... So I don't think a Mac Book Pro is the way to go for me.
So what do you think YML Universe? Should I go with the 24" iMac? Or, am I missing some important information that would stop me from buying the iMac? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Take care,
Jarrod
If you are trying to make
If you are trying to make money on your computer, buy the most computer you can afford. And don't buy a computer that is "good enough for today" - buy the computer you'll need in 6 months time - that way, you can grow into it.
Go with the Mac Pro.
--
Shawn King
Host/Executive Producer
Your Mac Life
http://www.yourmaclifeshow.com
I agree with Shawn. The Mac
I agree with Shawn. The Mac Pro is the way to go, giving you already have a monitor. If not, that would add to the expense and then you'll have to reevaluate. All these machines will be more than adequate for all your design needs. I use a Mac Pro at work but for freelance work I have CS3 running on a old G4 and it still produces for me. Granted not as efficiently as a brand spankin' new Intel Mac but fast enough to get the job done and produce an income. I myself am purchasing a new Mac by the summer and was contemplating going completely mobile. The idea of having a laptop I can take around with me was appealing but after much though, not that necessary as my main machine(unless your a road warrior). For the same or less money you can have more machine with an iMac or Mac Pro. These are just my thoughts and hope it helps. Best of luck!
~Erick
Thanks
Thanks guys. I appreciate your thoughts. I still have to think about it. I've been asking artists who use different types of Macs. I have a MacBook and it's very good and VERY powerful. I use it for mobile work only. However, I'm going to conduct an experiment and see if it can be used as my production machine, with the help of my external monitor, keyboard, and tablet. Just so I can give myself more information before I buy. I will be buying something in April, it's just a matter of what machine I'll go for.
Thanks again.
~Jarrod
Hi Jarod, I faced the same
Hi Jarod,
I faced the same choice as yourself a few months ago, moving from a PowerMac G5. I would agree with Shawn if you were doing any kind of heavy work that would thrash the resources of your Mac, like 3D rendering or video encoding, but if the most taxing work you intend to do is 2D print and web artwork (like myself) then I would recommend a 24" iMac.
I wouldn't worry about the glossy screen but I would worry about the light in the room. You really want to be using your work machine in a light controlled environment (and that can mean something as primitive as covering up the windows with foam board and getting a lamp with a full spectrum bulb). If you're doing print work, where accurate colour is almost always essential, you should be creating colour profiles for your devices anyway.
Definitely load the iMac with 4GB of RAM. It's the biggest cause of slowdown in my experience. With 4GB my 24" iMac runs smooth with iTunes, Photoshop, Illustrator, iPhoto and a number of other apps open at the same time. If you're comfortable with changing the RAM yourself, I wouldn't buy the 4GB from Apple because they really screw you on the price.* I bought mine from Crucial for about a forth of the price.
Now, on the matter of RAM, if you're going to buy and install third party modules I highly recommend downloading a copy of Memtest OS X. ** It's a command line tool which you run in single user mode that thoroughly tests the RAM for errors. If you're shipped dodgy RAM, as I was, you want to get it replaced as soon as possible.
Anyway, I hope something I said was useful to you. If you have any more specific questions about the iMac and how it runs post them below. :-)
* You can minimize the RAM Apple ship with the iMac by choosing the lower 24" model which comes with only 1GB RAM then upgrading all the other specs to match the higher model 24". It saved me £90 (~$180).
** The author of the Mac port makes you jump through a number of bizarre hoops to acquire the software: paying just over a dolar (almost all of which must get absorbed by PayPal) then you download a password protected disk image file, presumably to stop piracy of... wait... GPLed software. If you want a free copy give me a shout (it's legal).