Advice for new G5 System

Is the 23" Apple Cinema Display worth the money or are there less expensive but equal alternatives (I think I know the answer to this!)?

Any problems that you are aware of with the Hitachi 400GB SATA drives?

Thoughts on buying from Apple versus local CompUSA (although I'm not sure how much they can configure the machines). Looks like the prices are the same.
 
Ya know, some people are monitor freaks; I'm not too picky. The NTSC monitor is the important one; and computer monitors are are reasonably standard. Go down to the store and stare at a few, and see what you like. i personally find the firewire hubs on the apple monitors useful, but certainly not worth a huge chunk o change. Luckily I get nice academic discounts which, for me, make Macs the cheapest platform to work on.

Hitachis are supposed to be very nice... again, www.barefeats.com is a great place for comparisons and such.

CompUSA rubs me the wrong way, but hey, the stuff is the same... but you're right about configuration. Why not mail order and get a better price and save tax? Lots of places will ship free. There are lots of dedicated Mac shops that will help you out with RAM, drives, and configurations, and who stock custom-configured Macs...

Don't you know anyone in school?
 
Yes, there are several ways I can get it. The educational discount from Apple, however, isn't my best option (for the hardware) for several reasons.

I'm aslo wondering about the Dell 2405FPW 24" display. Barefeet seemed to like it. Any experience with it?
 
FYI, I thought I would give some feedback as to what I have purchased so far; I don't know if anyone cares! But I greatly appereciate everyones input.

From Dell the 2405FPW 24" display. This may not be the best choice but it had a good price-point and many anecdotal reviews were positive. I figure I can always shift it to one of my PC's.

From Apple, the the G5 DP 2.7Ghz with 512MB RAM, 400GB SATA, NVIDIA GeForce 6800, Applecare, and the std mouse and keyboard. I "splurged" on Bluetooth which I'm not sure was such a great idea - the USB dongle is cheaper than the factory installed option. Oh well, impulse buying. Also bought a Contour ShuttlePro from them - the business discount was close to other internet site costs.

Mouse and keyboard upgrade when we have a chance to go to CompUSA or BestBuy to try some out. And also get used to the Mac OS.

FCP studio from Apple.

4GB (4x1GB) SAmsung memory and Hitatchi SATA drive from OtherWorld Computing. I decided on the Samsung - pricier but I just don't want to take a chance on some flaky system problem that could be memory related. Some of my worst PC problems have been with memory incompatibilities. The Hitatchi drive (7K500) wasn't the greatest in the Barefeats.com review but it wasn't bad either and I decided that the extra 100GB would be worth the extra $100 at some point. Let me put it this way, if I could spend $100 today to add 100GB to our current drive array (and aleviate the critical space shortage) I would do it. I assume in a few years I will be in the same position (although that argument has no logical end).

I checked out ZipZoomFly.com but it appears they dont have memory for the G5. When I called them, they take no responsibility for your memory choice by referring you to the memory manufacturer. OK, so I go to the Kingston site, etc and get part numbers - then I can't find them on the ZipZoomFly site. Very frustrating and chewed up and hour of my time before I gave up.

Found a couple of used monitors. An Ikegami 5" monitor that can run on AC or DC and the specs look good. Will see how it looks in real life. Probably use it in the field. Also a 13" Panasonic from a local shop that has good specs. Again will see how it looks. Both are used. I called several local video editing places and they recommended I just used a standard TV - I believe that is what they do but I thought I would take a chance on a used, more professional monitor with more lines, blue gun, etc (boy have I got a lot of learning to do!!).

Anyway, everything is on it's way. This is my one shot for awhile to buy into a high end machine - hopefully this computer will last a while!

Thanks for everyones help!
 
congrats! I woulnd't mind having a g5, but I just can't justify the expense as my g4 does everything I need and then some (I don't work with AE or Motion). Personally I don't like apple keyboards and mice. I have a logitech duo something. Its a lot more ergonomic and feels sturdier (about $100 when I bought it).

I'd like to hear on what monitor you decide on as I'm looking into that too. For now I'm using my tv (thnx scott for how to connect it) but something smaller would be nice.

I'd like to use portable dvd player as a field monitor, but that one I have doesn't have video input (the mfg says that the one I have is an "updated" version, the non-updated version did have it). Can't complain as it was a xmas gift, but it would have been really nice to have that feature.

As for memory I buy from Crucial. No probs so far. Were speakers on your list? don't remember seeing them. Oh iPods are required with every mac :). I love mine!

Have fun!
 
I have a 5.1 surround system that I will probably use from Altec Lansing, although I'm not sure whether the Apple connections are diffierent than the PC. I've expended my budget so from here on I will try to do with what I have - the iPod will have to wait.
 
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