iMac Question

Can I run CS4 for windows on a new iMac. I guess you can run Vista on it and I heard it runs smoother than on a PC? Anybody do this?

You can if you install a VM software such as Parallels or VMWare Fusion and run it inside a Windows VM, but not natively on Mac OSX though.

Why would you buy a MAC for doing post processing and then run it inside a Windows VM?

The guy at apple said I wouldnt need to buy a Mac version of CS4, just run it inside. I'm new to MAC so just checking.

scpictaker wrote in post #9983052
The guy at apple said I wouldnt need to buy a Mac version of CS4, just run it inside. I'm new to MAC so just checking.

You will need to install bootcamp with windows for that to work best. Virtualization works, but you lose at least 10% performance. Doesn't seem like much, but if you edit 200 photos at 3 min/photo, that could possibly add up to an extra hour.

scpictaker wrote in post #9976202
Can I run CS4 for windows on a new iMac. I guess you can run Vista on it and I heard it runs smoother than on a PC? Anybody do this?

You can run vista (suggest windows 7 instead) in bootcamp. But it won't be as fast. Apple drivers for windows are notoriously bad, sometimes buggy enough to cause crashes, though usually it's just a performance hit. It's almost as if Apple wanted people to think Windows is worse.

But don't expect any third party programs, including CS4, to be faster on OSX. In fact, windows can be up to 20% faster than osx for photoshop filters, on the same hardware (i.e. two systems, 27" i7 and a desktop i7 860, same amount of ram, 4850 graphics card, 7200rpm disk, etc). Macs are just plain slower, unless you run apple software.

An alternative is to contact Adobe with your existing serial (Windows), and request an swap for the Mac version.

I think I like the framed window UI of the Windows version of all Adobe suits. Similarly, I still can't get my head around how Office for Mac looks like either.

For best performance, you'll need to bootcamp. That way, you can use 100% of your hardware, instead of sharing it between OS X and Windows via a VM.

basroil wrote in post #9983159
But don't expect any third party programs, including CS4, to be faster on OSX. In fact, windows can be up to 20% faster than osx for photoshop filters, on the same hardware (i.e. two systems, 27" i7 and a desktop i7 860, same amount of ram, 4850 graphics card, 7200rpm disk, etc). Macs are just plain slower, unless you run apple software.

it has nothing to do with Apple vs PC as far as the hardware goes. The Mac version of CS4 is still only 32bit. The PC version is 64. That's where your difference is. To say Macs are just slower unless you run Apple software is just ignorant. CS5 for Mac is 64bit.

basroil wrote in post #9983159
But don't expect any third party programs, including CS4, to be faster on OSX. In fact, windows can be up to 20% faster than osx for photoshop filters, on the same hardware (i.e. two systems, 27" i7 and a desktop i7 860, same amount of ram, 4850 graphics card, 7200rpm disk, etc). Macs are just plain slower, unless you run apple software.

it has nothing to do with Apple vs PC as far as the hardware goes. The Mac version of CS4 is still only 32bit. The PC version is 64. That's where your difference is. To say Macs are just slower unless you run Apple software is just ignorant. CS5 for Mac is 64bit.