Used iMac G5 for photography

I have been considering a new computer to use for photo editing and for design work(graphic design major). I currently use a Dell Inspiron 1520 laptop. I run G.I.M.P currently but want to upgrade to Photoshop CS2 or 3(the programs I have learned all of my photoshop techniques on). I am going to be using this computer for 90% editing. The other 10% being surfing online, email,...

I do not run a full time business, but do support a fairly stable workflow. The speed of my laptop is fine(3GB ram) so keep that in mind.

My laptop does fine for normal school work such as using Office and basic internet functions, but I really like the Mac OS and "hassle free-ness" if you will. My machine will run Photoshop and Lightroom most of the time. And illustrator and dreamweaver the rest of the time.

Will an older i Mac G5 work for my purposes? I see they are going for under $750 on eBay and they seem to posses a lot of similarities with the current i Mac that is well out of my price range. Let me know what you guys think.

I use a 3 year old Imac.. SOrry not sure about the G5 or not.. Not all that Mac literate..

But its got the max 2gig ram and a 1.8ghz processor the 17 inch monitor with the superdrive and 160 gig harddrive.. And i have no issues using it for my photo and video editing.. Running CS4 currently on it with no issues with memory. Came with two times 500 meg ram chips ( total of 1 gig ) but i swapped them out for 2x 1 gig chips the max it would take.

I am sure its not the fastest thing in the world but does the trick for me.

zelseman wrote in post #8456842
I have been considering a new computer to use for photo editing and for design work(graphic design major). I currently use a Dell Inspiron 1520 laptop. I run G.I.M.P currently but want to upgrade to Photoshop CS2 or 3(the programs I have learned all of my photoshop techniques on). I am going to be using this computer for 90% editing. The other 10% being surfing online, email,...

I do not run a full time business, but do support a fairly stable workflow. The speed of my laptop is fine(3GB ram) so keep that in mind.

My laptop does fine for normal school work such as using Office and basic internet functions, but I really like the Mac OS and "hassle free-ness" if you will. My machine will run Photoshop and Lightroom most of the time. And illustrator and dreamweaver the rest of the time.

Will an older i Mac G5 work for my purposes? I see they are going for under $750 on eBay and they seem to posses a lot of similarities with the current i Mac that is well out of my price range. Let me know what you guys think.

You do realize you'll take a big hit on performance (your laptop is probably significantly better than a g5 even if you don't know how to take care of it) by switching to a G5 right? And the fact that 10.6 and any new programs that may come out with it DO NOT SUPPORT the G5? If you want to go with a refurb mac, it better be iMac 24" 2007 or better (and newer).

Just yesterday though, Gateway had a core 2 quad core desktop sale, quad core processor, 4gb ram, ok graphics card, 1tb hdd, and bluray drive (dvd/cd+-R/RW with BD read). Price? $650, and it would run laps around the g5.

If you only install photo editing software+firefox+offic​e on the computer, any well spec'ed computer should run fine regardless of if it's OSX or Windows. No OS is hassle free (or close to it) though, and both main OSes have excellent up-times.

Michael_Lambert wrote in post #8456858
I use a 3 year old Imac.. SOrry not sure about the G5 or not.. Not all that Mac literate..

But its got the max 2gig ram and a 1.8ghz processor the 17 inch monitor with the superdrive and 160 gig harddrive.. And i have no issues using it for my photo and video editing.. Running CS4 currently on it with no issues with memory. Came with two times 500 meg ram chips ( total of 1 gig ) but i swapped them out for 2x 1 gig chips the max it would take.

I am sure its not the fastest thing in the world but does the trick for me.

Wow, that was a quick response.
Thanks for the comments. I think I am going to see similar results with the g5.
I do not need a super fast machine. I am a college student so i can live with a slightly slower computer for a lower price.

basroil wrote in post #8456884
You do realize you'll take a big hit on performance (your laptop is probably significantly better than a g5 even if you don't know how to take care of it) by switching to a G5 right? And the fact that 10.6 and any new programs that may come out with it DO NOT SUPPORT the G5? If you want to go with a refurb mac, it better be iMac 24" 2007 or better (and newer).

Just yesterday though, Gateway had a core 2 quad core desktop sale, quad core processor, 4gb ram, ok graphics card, 1tb hdd, and bluray drive (dvd/cd+-R/RW with BD read). Price? $650, and it would run laps around the g5.

If you only install photo editing software+firefox+offic​e on the computer, any well spec'ed computer should run fine regardless of if it's OSX or Windows. No OS is hassle free (or close to it) though, and both main OSes have excellent up-times.

The reason i suggested the g5 is because I do prefer the Mac OS better than using windows and the prices are extremely low right now.
I did not know the performance difference between the g5 and my laptop, which is one the reasons I opened this thread.

Another downside to a PC like the Gateway you mentioned is that $650 price tag is before buying Vista/XP, office, and AntiVirus software.

The problem with the 2007+ iMac's is the price tag.

zelseman wrote in post #8456924
The reason i suggested the g5 is because I do prefer the Mac OS better than using windows and the prices are extremely low right now.
I did not know the performance difference between the g5 and my laptop, which is one the reasons I opened this thread.

Another downside to a PC like the Gateway you mentioned is that $650 price tag is before buying Vista/XP, office, and AntiVirus software.

The problem with the 2007+ iMac's is the price tag.

No, ALL brand name pcs come with operating systems (apple comes with OSX, dell, hp, etc come with windows vista with 7 upgrade), and ALL computers require you buy office, macs are no exception. And you should get antivirus for your mac anyway (if it's intel mac, g5 it's not as important). The deal there also included free shipping, not something you would get with the ebay mac. So in the end, your "price tag" misconception is way off the mark.

http://dealnews.com …free-shipping/313376.html
Well look at that... has vista 64bit with windows 7 upgrade for free, 15 months of antivirus, screwed up on specs, it's 500gb drive but 6gb ram, so evens out. Looks like you are too late for that deal, but have no fear, you can still find the $600 dell. Thing to note is that these machines, even if they are underpowered by pc standards, are better spec for spec (other than size) than new iMacs, let alone the old G5

EDIT: Before people start saying I'm an a$$, there is a very sound reason for doing this, just waiting for OP to ask the right question.

So you are saying with my price range it would be irresponsible to get a less capable Mac when a PC can do the job much better for the price?

zelseman wrote in post #8457011
So you are saying with my price range it would be irresponsible to get a less capable Mac when a PC can do the job much better for the price?

First strike Not exactly that. It's true, but that's not the point that will be most important to you.

Second try: I shouldn't worry so much about mac v.s. PC, as finding the right computer to fit my needs?

zelseman wrote in post #8457091
Second try: I shouldn't worry so much about mac v.s. PC, as finding the right computer to fit my needs?

Second strike, though again, a good answer but not the most important

EDIT: I'm going to wait until Maxuum chimes in or day breaks in the US east coast. No fun when someone gives up

Mr. Miyagi, please enlighten me so that i don't embarrass myself with strike #3.
EDIT: Awaiting the morning...

OK, I'm sitting at a meeting right now waiting for it to start so I have to be brief. Basroil, you are being an a$$. What's this strike thing you're doing with zelsenman here?

Zelsenman, Apple is doing an update of their iMac line very soon. Things in the rumor mill are blu-ray support (iMac & iTunes), CPU upgrade, OS upgrade and a price drop. Once prices drop for Apple prices tend to drop for the market as well. I would wait for September (maybe the end of this month) to see what happens. I would also look into the referb store. Apple's cost more because they are built better and one company develops them - where Windows has a mammoth infrastructure supporting it. If you like OS X then get an Apple. Speed is important, but it isn't the only factor.


Meeting is starting.....

MaxxuM wrote in post #8458362
OK, I'm sitting at a meeting right now waiting for it to start so I have to be brief. Basroil, you are being an a$$. What's this strike thing you're doing with zelsenman here?

Zelsenman, Apple is doing an update of their iMac line very soon. Things in the rumor mill are blu-ray support (iMac & iTunes), CPU upgrade, OS upgrade and a price drop. Once prices drop for Apple prices tend to drop for the market as well. I would wait for September (maybe the end of this month) to see what happens. I would also look into the referb store. Apple's cost more because they are built better and one company develops them - where Windows has a mammoth infrastructure supporting it. If you like OS X then get an Apple. Speed is important, but it isn't the only factor.


Meeting is starting.....

Thank you very much! You have been extremely helpful. I'll wait for the update and make a decision from there.

Point is he shouldn't get a computer that's already at end-life. 10.6 drops support for the G5, which means whatever he gets now, he's stuck with an OS that can't be updated and third party programs that will probably not be updated after 6mo. Adobe already requires 10.4.11 or higher for it's products, so cs5 will be the last thing that possibly could work with his comp (but at best it'll run slower than if it was on 10.6, at worst, cs5 will be 10.6 only or intel mac only). And should anything break? You're looking at a repair bill that is a quarter or more of the purchase price. I know Maxxum loves his old comps (g4 i think), but they are doing specialized things, not meeting the requirements of an evolving field of photography. If you want a mac, go for something that won't be 3 years older than what you have, and definitely not something that will not be supported within 3 mo (more like 1mo now). Good build or not, computers age, and if it's on ebay, it mean's it's original owner found that it wasn't even worth keeping as a secondary comp (don't read too much into that, could be a dozen reasons, many of which in the computer works perfectly fine)

But yes, speed is not the only factor, but if he says that his laptop runs fine for some things, and photo apps are not included, then there is a minimum speed requirement, and the G5 will NOT meet those expectations.

OP, if you really like OSX, it is very possible to install in on core 2 duo and core 2 quad core systems. Gives you the speed you want, and OS you want. There are several people on this forum running such machines, and they are perfectly happy with them. Well within your price range too.

At this moment in time, I wouldn't buy a G5 (unless it's *very* cheap, and you accept the limitations). (And I am typing this on a G5)

Also, keep in mind that if you buy Photoshop, the license will be OS Specific: Either Windows or OSX.
This is the case for more software. Lightroom will install on both OSX and Windows on the same license I think.