things have changed
Written: Dec 11 '00
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Pros: fast, runs very clean, no headaches from crashes despite the amount of multitasking going on
Cons: most apps dont use dual-processor functionality yet
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| cnielsen's Full Review: Apple Power Macintosh G4 Multimedia |
I hate computers. Unfortunately, I depend on them. I design websites during the day, and produce dance music at night. I do love the software, I just hate the computer.
For hating computers, the Macintosh has been my least-hated one. I have used them since 1993. This G4 has been the most radical one yet.
Ignore any PC vs. Mac debates, they both are great at some things, and the both suck at other things. It's all about what YOU want to do on the thing that determines what you need. As a moonlighting dance music producer for the last 10 years, I need a computer that will run CPU-destroying multi-track digital audio programs as well as the real paycheck-producing work, which is web design.
I just recently picked up a dual-500MHz processor G4 tower. I upgraded from a beige G3 from a few years ago. I loved the G3, but it was starting to show it's age. The latest version of ProTools by Digidesign was giving me a lot of problems-- 1st time I ever got the error "You are running low on CPU usage". Plus, it had no USB, and EVERYTHING is USB these days.
As a reaction to that error message, i picked up the biggest baddest computer apple makes at the moment. Luckily, a few of the major apps I use can utilize the dual-processor. (note: not much software uses dual-processors at the moment, i'll get to that later)
The computer has been running smoothly. Photoshop flies. Emagic Logic Audio runs so smoothly it feels like hardware. It accepted all the usb devices i purchased without problems (one required an updated driver, thats it). Games look like television shows with the 32mb ATI RADEON card.
I look forward to having this computer for some time. I cant wait until OSX comes out, as it will make it even faster. Apple is having some tough times right now, but it's not over. Reason why it will never be over for Apple, despite what newspapers say, is because I can't use a PC to run all this at once, and I am not the only one in this situation. I use 2 PCs at work to do the same job as it takes with one Mac.
Unfortunately, most software doesnt utilize dual-processors, so not many people picked up this new tower this season. They are waiting for OSX, which will allow programs to use them both. OSX is supposed to be released in february, so stay tuned.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 3000
Operating System: Macintosh
Processor: PowerPC G4
RAM: More than 256
Hard Drive (GB): 31-40
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Epinions.com ID:
cnielsen
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Member: Courtney Nielsen
Location: San Jose, CA
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
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