How much faster would a G5 be for me?

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barant

Well-known member
Hey all I have a 2.2AMD athlon XP processor w/512 ram and was wondering how much faster a Dual 2ghz processor with 2 gigs of ram would be. Would it be night and day, or just a little better? How fast would this render video, ect with color correction/magic bullet(if i use it) ect....please give your thoughts. Thanks!
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Re: How much faster would a G5 be for me?

To some degree you have to specify what programs you would be using. You can't directly compare the platforms unless you're using the same program on each. For After Effects or PhotoShop, that's easy, they run on both. But if you're talking about Premiere Pro, Vegas, or FCP, then there's no direct comparison because those programs only run on one platform and not the other.
 
Re: How much faster would a G5 be for me?

Well on PC i run vegas, and if I go MAC i will get Final Cut Pro. Basically I would just be using this mostly for my film/video stuff. I have used photoshop/illustrator/quark on both platforms and they all run fast enough...
 
Re: How much faster would a G5 be for me?

Then, I'd say the only reason you'd really want to change is to use FCP, right? Makes the decision pretty easy, because it only runs on Macs.
 
Re: How much faster would a G5 be for me?

wow this is the same question i have, hehe, i just have a xp 2500+ with 1 gig ram instead. Ive been debating whether to get a dual g5 2ghz for a while now. I love mac, FCP is so neat to use. I've played with the macs at the apple store and im amazed at how fast the 2ghz and 2.5ghz systems run the programs. FCP opens up in less than 10 seconds, and i see not jittery in the video when editing. However I havent gotten the chance to render on it (i used FCP3 on a dual G4 and it rendered pretty fast, i was impressed). The dual g5 with FCP4HD seemed faster to me than my pc setup with premiere pro 1.5.
not to mention I love mac os x.
 
Re: How much faster would a G5 be for me?

Hey Barant,

If you're happy with Vegas, why not just spend a little to upgrade your PC, vs. about $3,000 (or whatever it is) to get a new platform and new FCP software?

You could get a fast main computer, and then get two network render systems, for about half what a G5/FCP system would set you back, and you already own and know Vegas...
 
Re: How much faster would a G5 be for me?

[quote author=Carlos Crespo link=board=Events;num=1101580629;start=0#4 date=11/27/04 at 12:03:03]
not to mention I love mac os x.[/quote]

dude, you've already fallen for it. :)
 
Re: How much faster would a G5 be for me?

Not to start a big (MacxPC) discussion but it would be night and day. Of course upgrading your PC would also carry a significantly difference in speed, but you'd miss the most fundamental change of all: FCP.

My opinion.
 
Re: How much faster would a G5 be for me?

[quote author=Pooh link=board=Events;num=1101580629;start=0#6 date=11/27/04 at 12:21:41]

dude, you've already fallen for it. :)[/quote]

hehe what can I say, I use my powerbook more than I use my pc, its my little dream machine

now if only they had DV rack for mac, poo
 
Re: How much faster would a G5 be for me?

[quote author=Barry_Green link=board=Events;num=1101580629;start=0#5 date=11/27/04 at 12:17:33]Hey Barant,

If you're happy with Vegas, why not just spend a little to upgrade your PC, vs. about $3,000 (or whatever it is) to get a new platform and new FCP software?

You could get a fast main computer, and then get two network render systems, for about half what a G5/FCP system would set you back, and you already own and know Vegas...[/quote]


true...true. BUT...Macs sure are purty :)
 
Re: How much faster would a G5 be for me?

Sounds like what you really want is a Mac, then.

I'm going to disagree with Taubkin, though -- FCP render speeds are not "night and day" compared to Vegas on machines with comparable specs. He may be referring to other features of FCP, but that's a matter of preference, not mechanics.
 
Re: How much faster would a G5 be for me?

That's it, I just think it's a better software, both in stability and in interface. But the night and day difference I mentioned would be due to the superior hardware. A G5 is a long way from an Athlon XP.

But as I said, it's all personal prefference. I'm greateful for FCP because if it wasnt for it, I'd never learn how to operate a NLE...
 
Re: How much faster would a G5 be for me?

i had always wondered.

what pc system would be equivalent in rendering/processing power to a g5 dual 2.5ghz with 1gig ram?

i was interested in one time to build a system equivalent to it (its be cheaper, but by how much?)

i just hope windows 64 is a lot better than windows xp
 
Re: How much faster would a G5 be for me?

Hey, make sure you try out FCP before going through all these lengths to get an uber mac, seriously, I tried out FCP after trying vegas.

I hate it... you have to render everything multiple times to see the effect you're putting on. People say to me, "Monte, it only takes 10-20 seconds for little effects." yes that's true, however, those add up when I cant get the color correction the way I want it, or when I'm doing larger effects it takes shiteloads of time. Time that could be used bettering my final product, time wasted, watching the screen, doing nothing.

GG Macintosh
 
Re: How much faster would a G5 be for me?

[quote author=monte link=board=Events;num=1101580629;start=0#13 date=11/27/04 at 15:51:03]Hey, make sure you try out FCP before going through all these lengths to get an uber mac, seriously, I tried out FCP after trying vegas.

I hate it... you have to render everything multiple times to see the effect you're putting on. People say to me, "Monte, it only takes 10-20 seconds for little effects." yes that's true, however, those add up when I cant get the color correction the way I want it, or when I'm doing larger effects it takes shiteloads of time. Time that could be used bettering my final product, time wasted, watching the screen, doing nothing.

GG Macintosh[/quote]

very good advice. Thanks-I will definately look into this!
 
Re: How much faster would a G5 be for me?

I'm mainly a PC user, but never really video edit on my PC. I always heard that a Mac was a better computer to use when it comes to video & graphic editing and I'm believe its true after owning a Dual 2hz G5 for about a year now. Not to mention learning OSX is a nice perk as well. It's cool being cross platform knowledgeable ;) . I guess something you need to take into consideration is, do you have time to fumble around and learn OSX/FCP etc?

Btw, I use the FCP4HD suite and DVDSP3.

The thing with Macs, obviously, is that their $$$$$$$$. And one thing that pisses a lot of people off in the Mac world is how Apple releases new/better hardware systems in such short periods of time. Apple's release of the dual 2.5ghz shortly after the 2ghz was just released, comes to mind. But then again, Apple's G5's + LCD display designs look soo cool!! The GUI interface in Panther/FCP/DVDSP3 are all soo awesome as well. Yeah, I was a sucker for all that..

Anyways, I can't suggest 'who's better' in the performance field between a 2ghz G5 and a high end PC, as I'm more biased towards a Mac for video editing. But just to give you an idea, compressing a 1hr video clip into MPEG2 format, usually takes as long as the video itself to render (1 hour) on my G5. And that's at a good bit rate setting (min. 3.5mbps / max of 7.5) too. oh yeah, you might want to invest in some RAM if you get a 2g G5, at least 2gb of ram for a smokin system.

PS: Monte's comment about multiple re-rendering of clips is true, but then again, you'd have to get your feet wet and try/decide for yourself.

good luck =)
 
Re: How much faster would a G5 be for me?

[quote author=Carlos Crespo link=board=Events;num=1101580629;start=0#12 date=11/27/04 at 15:19:54]what pc system would be equivalent in rendering/processing power to a g5 dual 2.5ghz with 1gig ram?[/quote]

The equivalent would be a dual Intel Xeon system. Check out the dedicated video systems at alienware.com.

Keep in mind that to get the most out of dual processors, the software must be optimized for dual processors. FCP and Premier Pro are, not sure about Vegas but Vegas is fast on single systems (so I hear; never used it). I used to hate Mac until I used OSX but even though I'm in the market I'll probably go with XP/Vegas cause I already own a pile of various Windows apps. Software is vastly more costly that hardware.
 
Re: How much faster would a G5 be for me?

[quote author=moe_snodgrass link=board=Events;num=1101580629;start=15#16 date=11/27/04 at 19:15:42]Software is way more costly that hardware.[/quote]
Exactly! It's getting to the point where the hardware's getting downright cheap, in comparison to the software. DV Rack is $495, but you can buy a desktop from Dell for $314 that'll run it.

The more applications diverge between platforms, the easier it gets to make the choice.

If you want to run Premiere Pro, Vegas, DV Rack, etc... get a PC.

If you want to run ProTools, FCP, Motion, Shake, etc... get a Mac.
 
Re: How much faster would a G5 be for me?

[quote author=Barry_Green link=board=Events;num=1101580629;start=15#17 date=11/27/04 at 19:26:03] get a Mac.
[/quote]
I'm just being a fart. :P
 
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