Buying A Second Hand Power Mac..

[Mister Pink]

Hey,

 

I can buy a second hand Power Mac G5 OSX 10.4.11 4Gb RAM for 300 Euros without a monitor. I'm thinking I might pick up a cheap PC monitor for it. What should I look out for? I'm using it now in work and it seems fine. I'll be getting it with a legit working version of Photoshop CS3. I'm buying mainly to familiarize myself a bit more with Macs etc and to do some media work.

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

Thanks

[Germaniac_84]

I not really a fan of Mac. They're overpriced and slow as hell, but that's just my opinion.

[dog_day_sunrise]

I not really a fan of Mac. They're overpriced and slow as hell, but that's just my opinion.

Depends what you use them for. I hated them until I started using one for work, and now I love 'em. Have an old-style Macbook Pro and it's great for just about everything I use it for. For daily web/word/email usage they're vastly superior to your average laptop.

[Wolf68k]

A few things to think about.

Nice that it'll come with Photoshop CS3, however there is CS5 out now which adds a ton more features, but besides if it's already installed then you're screwed when you have to reinstall the OS.

 

Also it's possible that your current system Windows PC is enough to run the Mac OS. In which case you could dual boot or run something like VMware to run it in a virtual environment in which case you can save a lot of money that way, you'll still have to get a hold of a copy of Photoshop but you can run that in Windows instead.

 

Lastly, in the past most people would say that running things like Photoshop on a Mac is better because you get better image quality than with a PC. Whether this is true or not isn't the point. The point is; that I do believe this had more to do with the displays/monitors being used and not with the OS itself. So just because you're using the a G5 tower, you stick a PC monitor on it then you might as well being using a PC.

Also these days you get monitors that will just as good as Apple monitors.

[The-King]

 

Lastly, in the past most people would say that running things like Photoshop on a Mac is better because you get better image quality than with a PC. Whether this is true or not isn't the point. The point is; that I do believe this had more to do with the displays/monitors being used and not with the OS itself. So just because you're using the a G5 tower, you stick a PC monitor on it then you might as well being using a PC.

Also these days you get monitors that will just as good as Apple monitors.

From what I've heard most Macs come out of the box with higher quality monitors with deeper black levels and overall more vibrant color than your average monitor, it's completely absurd to say that an OS provides better image quality, especially when for the most part the GPUs that accompany most Macs are less than impressive compared to a PC of equal pricing. It all essentially falls down to fanboys validating their position because they don't really have too much ammo for comparing their machines to a real, hand-built PC, it's sensationalism in a sense.

 

All in all though for 300 that's a decent enough computer, it won't come close to outperforming anything considering how aged the G5 is, but for $300 with a fully functioning copy of CS3 I'd say it's a good buy.

[Tommy-Vercetti19]

I wish i had the money for a mac. There crazy priced compared to a same spec PC.

 

I wouldn't buy one for gaming or anything, i'd only ever use it for work + multimedia. €300 sounds like a bargain though, i'd say go for it.

[Wolf68k]

Lastly, in the past most people would say that running things like Photoshop on a Mac is better because you get better image quality than with a PC. Whether this is true or not isn't the point. The point is; that I do believe this had more to do with the displays/monitors being used and not with the OS itself. So just because you're using the a G5 tower, you stick a PC monitor on it then you might as well being using a PC.

Also these days you get monitors that will just as good as Apple monitors.

From what I've heard most Macs come out of the box with higher quality monitors with deeper black levels and overall more vibrant color than your average monitor, it's completely absurd to say that an OS provides better image quality, especially when for the most part the GPUs that accompany most Macs are less than impressive compared to a PC of equal pricing. It all essentially falls down to fanboys validating their position because they don't really have too much ammo for comparing their machines to a real, hand-built PC, it's sensationalism in a sense.

 

All in all though for 300 that's a decent enough computer, it won't come close to outperforming anything considering how aged the G5 is, but for $300 with a fully functioning copy of CS3 I'd say it's a good buy.

Macs don't come with a monitor, not including the iMac.

That was my point. He wants to get buy a second hand G5 tower and use a PC monitor.

[The-King]

 

Macs don't come with a monitor, not including the iMac.

That was my point. He wants to get buy a second hand G5 tower and use a PC monitor.

Yeah, I know, I was referring to iMacs/Macbooks/etc, which I've heard come out of the box with higher quality monitors than your average PC. Which is essentially the place where most people tend to draw the argument that OSX provides better image quality than Windows OSes, it also uses a slightly different color profile than PCs by default, which can of course be utilized on a PC by adjusting a few display settings via the control panel.

[Wolf68k]

Well he's not getting an iMac or a laptop now is he?

No. So why even bring it up?

 

[Finn 7 five 11]

Hmm, i would still stick to building a pc or buying a new mac.

even though that is a decent deal.

Buying second hand computers is a bit of a wobbly wagon, plus if you do build a pc you can install games on it if you decided you wanted to sometime in the future, rather than being stuck with a mac that runs few games, and is a bit dated.

Edited December 10, 2010 by finn4life

[Garfield 2]

PowerPC Macs ain't worth it anymore. Nothing is optimized for them now, they can't run Snow Leopard and they're not compatible with Intel stuff. You'd be better off with a Mac Mini.

[dog_day_sunrise]

PowerPC Macs ain't worth it anymore. Nothing is optimized for them now, they can't run Snow Leopard and they're not compatible with Intel stuff. You'd be better off with a Mac Mini.

No, he really wouldn't.

 

My old work used them and my god they were unreliable. Even when used as print servers for large-scale mapping print-offs from plotters they crashed at least 3 times a day, and wouldn't even work properly on restart unless you had a screen, mouse and keyboard plugged into them. Worst systems I've ever had the misfortune of using.

[The-King]

Well he's not getting an iMac or a laptop now is he?

No. So why even bring it up?

Because that's the source of the rumor that OSX provides better image quality and I was pointing out that rumor as being bullsh*t.

 

I figured you of all people would've caught onto that.

[Wolf68k]

No actually people were saying that long long long before the first iMac every came out.

Before LCD monitors were the thing to have. When it was still all CRT. When the only thing that had a LCD were laptops.

 

[Otter]

As far as graphic design and photo-retouching, I'd love to know more about it, myself. I was under the impression long ago that Macs had better color profiles for print work; traditionally calibrated to produce a closer-to-print on screen.

 

However, even if it was true at one point, we left that era when Windows 3.11 flew away.

 

The main thing right now, is that the entire industry runs on Mac. Sure, there are renegades. But it's actually cheaper to buy more expensive hardware when the rest of the industry - a revolving door of clients, employees, and providers - uses and is familiar with the same technology.

 

I learned Avid (ugh) to make enough money to feed myself, and Final Cut as Apple revolutionized editing. It only makes sense to roll with the punches.

 

So back to the question at hand - are we talking $600 here? Is that the conversion? I'd say no. Looking briefly on craigslist, I found this: http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/sys/2105751432.html for 700. And that was just the first listing. Get a mac with an intel processor at the very least. G5s are just a little too old to keep you going these days.

 

You could also take Wolf's suggestion and install a Mac OsX HD on your PC - but it's not super easy if you don't know what you're doing. And it's not foolproof - I've suffered through a couple catastrophic system failures on my hackintosh. If you're so inclined, I really recommend looking into it - just be sure to backup regularly with time machine.

 

Finally, I'll add that I bought a macbook pro a couple months ago and it's an amazing little machine. Apple really takes care when it comes to technology and, while it's nowhere near as customizable as a PC, it just works. The only thing that gave me a (minor) headache was installing Windows on it via bootcamp.

 

 

Edit - OK, so my math on the Euros was waaaaay off. You could probably find a 1st gen iMac, however...like this:

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rds/sys/2102201389.html

 

Obviously lacking a little in the RAM department. but now that I realise that we're only talking about 350 bucks, then I don't think the G5 is that bad a deal. You just have to realize that it's not going to work with some new software and will be left out in the cold after another year or so.

Edited December 10, 2010 by Otter

[Mister Pink]

Hey guys, thank you for all your imput. I very much appreciate it and have been checking back to see what you guys said while making a decision.

 

We got a replacement in work for the Mac I'm discussing here. It's a Mac Mini

 

@: dog_day_sunrise I'm very curious to see what happens there seeing as you said they can be unreliable. What exactly were you using them for? I'm a photographers assitant and will be mainly using the Mac Mini in work for editing photos - Photoshop/Bridge etc so nothing too heavy.

 

@:Otter: Thanks for your imput man. Lots of things to be considered there and will be valuable to me in the future. .. Yeah, it's pretty good except the RAM as you mentioned. I'd like to pick up a good monitor somewhere so I might start looking now. Part of the good part of the deal is that I have the instalation discs and I've been working on the G5 so I know it works great except for some reason it just stopped reading Canon RAW .cr2 files and the file converter plugin for CS3 is not compatible anymore. We couldn't waste any more time as we're behind on orders so my boss just got the Mac Mini.

 

I decided to buy it. Part of the reason I posted a topic was that at the time it seemed like I had to make a quick decision as my boss wanted to put something down for the Mac Mini. It turns out now that I can pay it off bit by bit and can take it home shortly. I'm mainly gonna be using it for PS but I suppose it wont run Final Cut will it? I wonder what the lastest version if so?

 

I'm pretty happy although I just got to pick up a monitor and keyboard. I got a laptop so buying the Mac will just help me get aquinted with using the Mac OS a little better such as the commands etc. I really find in work that using Macs encourages you to learn the commands and can speed up your workflow as a result. I've got a laptop too so when I do eventually starting earning some decent cash I'll look to get a MacBook and I'll be familiar with the OS.

 

 

[Wolf68k]

If you got the latest Mac Mini, and enough RAM, then there's no reason it wouldn't run Final Cut.

 

Learn what commands? You don't have to learn anything dealing with the command line.

It's like Windows in that regard. You don't have to learn what chkdsk or netstat or ipconfig does. Most of this can be doing in Windows itself.

Does it help the more geeky hard core user? Yes, but for the average Joe there's no point and more or less easier ways to do roughly the same thing.

[dog_day_sunrise]

@: dog_day_sunrise I'm very curious to see what happens there seeing as you said they can be unreliable. What exactly were you using them for? I'm a photographers assitant and will be mainly using the Mac Mini in work for editing photos - Photoshop/Bridge etc so nothing too heavy.

Ours were originally used for Photoshop/InDesign/3DS Studio Max work, but they suffered with a large number of technical issues- intermittent freezes, program crashes (particularly photoshop) and were terribly slow for rendering in 3DS. They were then replaces with new iMacs which were much better for all the above, and relegated to working as print servers for our plotters. Which they were terrible at too- partially because the software was poor, partially because they still suffered with intermittent freezing and partially because they seemed incapable of remembering print settings so the postscript settings on them (paper spacing/headings, cutting order, the ability to deal with paper sizes larger than A1 ect) had to be essentially reconstructed every time they crashed.

[Otter]

DDS - are you talking about the first generation? I've worked on new-ish Mac minis with no problem. No exactly intense work, however.

 

PFS - by 'commands' do you mean shortcuts? As for Final Cut, I'm pretty sure you need an intel-based processor. Perhaps an older version will run for you.

[dog_day_sunrise]

DDS - are you talking about the first generation? I've worked on new-ish Mac minis with no problem. No exactly intense work, however.

 

PFS - by 'commands' do you mean shortcuts? As for Final Cut, I'm pretty sure you need an intel-based processor. Perhaps an older version will run for you.

This was a couple of years ago, so I presume so, yes.

[Floro Solo]

I wish i had the money for a mac. There crazy priced compared to a same spec PC.

 

I wouldn't buy one for gaming or anything, i'd only ever use it for work + multimedia. €300 sounds like a bargain though, i'd say go for it.

Who would buy a Mac for gaming?

 

Second hand is never a good idea if you want to have a good and reliable computer, wait until you have the money to buy a new one or just don't buy a Mac.

[Kaj.]

I wish i had the money for a mac. There crazy priced compared to a same spec PC.

 

I wouldn't buy one for gaming or anything, i'd only ever use it for work + multimedia. €300 sounds like a bargain though, i'd say go for it.

Who would buy a Mac for gaming?

 

Second hand is never a good idea if you want to have a good and reliable computer, wait until you have the money to buy a new one or just don't buy a Mac.

Well considering he's already been working on the computer for a while now at work, and he's buying it off his boss I'm sure PFS knows the ins and outs of how the computer runs in terms of reliability.