buying macs (G4)

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buying macs (G4)

Ok, my computer knowledge is shite so please let me know if I'm covering all the necessary specs before buying a G4 for professional feature editing.

1. a dual processor
2. at least 1 GB ram
3. Will a 450 Mhz do it?
4. min. hard drive space?

I'm looking on Promax.com and there are so many different types of G4s and I am just completely confused/frustrated reading tech specs. Please advise me! I just figured out the difference between a MB and GB for bloody sake- still not sure about the difference between all the different hard drives. My budget for my mac (hopefully with a keyboard/mouse/display) is 1K. Thanks for your help!
 
Re:  buying macs (G4)

Re:  buying macs (G4)

It is not fair (and difficult) to compare Macs and PCs in 1-to-1 comparisons but buying a Mac G4 450MHz is like buying a PC with Pentium4 1GHz. I currently own a G4 dual 500MHz, it still does the job (editing) beautifully but again I bought it new when it was top of the line technology so I got back already what I paid for it. Macs as opposed to PCs retaing their value and in my honest opinion it would be better to get something current, unless of course you just got a great deal! ;D
 
Re:  buying macs (G4)

Re:  buying macs (G4)

hell. for 1k I'll sell ya my 12 inch g4 powerbook 867mhz.

incredible laptop, very nice for ediitng, Im just buying a dual 2.5ghz and strapped on cash, hehe.

I used g4 450 mhz powerpc's at work with 192mb SDRAM, they're a lot faster than the old g3's we had, but they're not that incredible. But yeah, I think it's good to always buy a top-of-the-line mac, althought they're very expensive, you get waht you pay for over time
 
Re:  buying macs (G4)

Re:  buying macs (G4)

Olivia,

Glad to see you are interested in a Mac  ;)

What you are asking for is a bit tough though.  How professional does your setup need to be?  Are you planning to make money doing this or is it just for fun?  

There is A LOT more to it than just a computer.  There are peripherals, software, video monitors to buy etc.

Also, remember that yesterdays "pro equipment" is today's "paperweight" when it comes to technology- especially computers.  

Even though I think Macs are hands down the way to go when it comes to video editing- the difference in power between the Mac's you list and the new Mac's available today (only about 3 years newer) is astounding.

The specs you listed will certainly run Final Cut Pro 3 but will barely run Final Cut 4.  By barely- I mean it will work- but you will be missing out on a LOT of the features (multiple real-time track playback etc.) that make editing using Final Cut such a joy.  If it has no superdrive (DVD burner) you will not be able to run DVD Studio Pro.  And you won't be able to run Apple's new compositing application Motion.

What I am saying is that you get what you pay for.  I would seriously consider upping your budget to accommodate a new G5 capable of running all the newest versions of software competently.  You will get much more work done, much faster, and with a lot less headache- trust me.  A current Apple "pro system" with software and all the goodies will range from $4,000 to $40,000 depending on what you decide to do.

If you DO decide to use an older G4 for "DV" video work- I would recommend as a MINIMUM at this point in time ($2000 to $3000 total):

Used G4 Dual 1.0 GHZ (Dual 1.25 is even better)
(This should all come with mouse an keyboard at no extra charge)
1 Gig Ram
2 Hard drives minimum- ( A 40+ gig as system drive and 100 to 250 gig drive for media but more would be even better)
DVD-R drive (Superdrive)
OSX 10.3.5 and Final Cut Pro 4 (or OSX 10.2.8 and Final Cut 3)
Cheapest 19" VGA monitor you can find.
Some sort of video monitor (cheap TV minimum to view video on)
A way to monitor video (using DVX100 to just view video is a pain)- look for $150+ firewire/analog converters.

This is a very basic setup- yes you "could" go a bit "lighter" and get work done but not too much in my opinion.  Watch out for used Mac vendors- they a generally quite a bit more expensive than they should be.  Try to find someone trustworthy on eBay you will get a MUCH better deal.

Good luck,
Jon
 
Re:  buying macs (G4)

Re:  buying macs (G4)

Jon is 100 percent correct.

If you are looking to advance your talents in this field the newer software being released will no longer run on the G4 system. Be very careful what you spend your budget on because you may be out shopping in 6 month all over again.
 
Re:  buying macs (G4)

Re:  buying macs (G4)

Thanks for all the great advice!

However, I am still confused with all the concerns about keeping up with technology and such. Do I really need all the bells and whistles of these new versions of programs? I am so exhausted by all these constant upgrades of programs that worked just fine as they were. I mean a dissolve is still a dissolve, is it not? What else can I possibly be missing out on?
 
Re:  buying macs (G4)

Re:  buying macs (G4)

Speed is the main reson for newer machines.

There are is some software that on't run on slow machines and newer versions of software (such as FCP) won't run on older machiens and Operating Systems at some point. Any new features introduced would not be available to you. You can continue to use what you currently have, it's a question of how much you need/want the extra features.

The new graphics program Motion requires high end machiens and video cards as well as OS.

Video conferencing with iChat only works with certain level of machines.

Real time effects within FCP vary depending on how fast your machine is.

Part of the issue is how much you value your own time since it will take longer to do things with older systems.
 
Re:  buying macs (G4)

Re:  buying macs (G4)

Olivia, do you cook?

Well, I don't. Once I tried to practice cutting some vegetables, and I got this old knife I had in the kitchen (was afraid of damaging a new good expensive sharp knife we have). I almost cut my finger off. I talked to someone who knew what they were talking about and it is safer to use a sharp knife. No matter if you are a beginner or not. I realized what a dumass I had been, it's common sense. A sharp knife is much easier for a beginner, because you have to fight your inability, but don't have to fight the knife as well.

If you can't discern a MB from a GB and get a too out-of-date computer, you will have to workaroud it's limitations, and it will be a much harder, difficult situation. I know an expert that edit film on his iMac G3 300 at home. Surely he works with full size FCP stations at work, but he can do that because he knows how to edit offline, keep his sync, and print reliable cut lists. I wouldn't be able to do it (Edit film on FCP2 with Cinema Tools is much trickier than FCP4).

So even though nobody should learn to drive on a ferrarri, if you get a 1956 orange beatle as your first car without some machanics knowledge, you will be walking a lot of your time...

Jon W just basically nailed it.
 
Re:  buying macs (G4)

Re:  buying macs (G4)

Taubkin, I really appreciate the analogies. I do. But is the G4 really as dodgy as a '56 Beetle. That is frightening if technology is moving this quickly.
What are the specific functions that make the G4 so much slower than the G5? Is it all in rendering effects or what? Would the time wasted really make up for the extra hours I would have to work in order to pay for the upgrade? Thanks again.

P.S. I am still chuffed with my '87 Volvo if that explains anything. I guess I just think that most consumers are victims of big business and vanity when it comes to most upgrades. But maybe computers are the exception.
 
Re:  buying macs (G4)

Re:  buying macs (G4)

The newer G4's are fine with FCP4. Like Jon said You would like to stick with a dual 1G or better. Planty of ram 1.5 or more, and all the hard drive space you can afford(two seperate drives a must). If you go any slower than this you will be getting buy, but you will not be happy in the not too distant future. The 450 will be clanky. I cut alot on my trusty dual 1Gh, and am fine with it. I miss out on some real time features, but the render times are decent. My system will keep me going for a while, but alas the G5 calls out my name, or is that the Tv...
 
Re:  buying macs (G4)

Re:  buying macs (G4)

Yup, that's it. I have a dual 1.42GHz G4 and think it flies, even being a one and half years old, it rerally still feels top of the line to me. But it was THE FASTEST Powermac G4 ever produced. It's years away from earlier powermac G4's like the 400 or dual 500. A quicksilver and up G4 still can have a strong performance, but those blue ones just don't cut it anymore. When I bought mine, a year and a half ago, I remember putting the old one I used in my old job, a 450 completely in a different category. There's a Huge difference in the G4 chips of those days and the last ones, sold on the 1GHZ machines and higher. It's like comparing the first PowerPC Chips on the Beige G3's with the modern 800MHZ G3 the last G3 iBooks had. Totally different categories. That's what we are saying. I personally think there are wonderful deals when buying sligly outdated technology especially where you live. (Check www.smalldog.com) But let's not assume we can work marvelously with 5 years old equipment. Five years ago, poeple didn't expect you to deliver DVD's. Today it's already a reality. And rendering DVD's can be a pain with outdated computers. I like your caution and sobriety towards this, but the advice given here is not about hype. It's realy useful thougthful advice. My advice for you if you still want to spend as little as you can on equipment is to join up/hire someone with the technical expertise to be able to judge what can you compromise with, and to be able to handle those compromises. Those kinds of cases should all be treated separetedly...
 
Re:  buying macs (G4)

Re:  buying macs (G4)

Lots of good advice here, but just so you have all the facts:

I do mostly cuts-only editing, and I'm doing quite nicely on a G4 (AGP slot) 1 gig cpu, 1 gig of ram, 200 gigs of disk space.  

Running OS X 10.3; FCP HD; latest versions of Peak, Photoshop, DVD Studio Pro etc.

If you're planning on doing serious effects work, CG, animation and such, then you would certainly have to move into G5 territory -- as we all will eventually! ;D
 
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