mac configurations opinions?

[rande]

I've been at this company for over 5 years. In that time I've waited for thinks to move and happen.
Re-draws, openings. I like 3 or 4 apps open at once. I would think over a period of time if you saved 10-15" here and there it would save on overtime and make the profit margin larger; same price less time.
I don't know what the bosses want but I don't want to wait on anything now or in the future. (If there is one here.) I don't want the bare minimum; is that what a quad 16GB would be? These apps are RAM suckers from what I hear.
I'm leaning toward the 8-core 3.26 with 6GB and the ATI.
Q;Big difference? Overkill?

[mattbeals]

Get at least 8GB of RAM. We did some testing at one clients office where we had a local reseller come in and help us determine actual needs. Turns out that 12GB was the sweet spot for 10.5 and 8-core Mac Pro's. What we found was that the graphic designers, with all the standard apps open, working through out the day on were "paging" up to about 10GB. So adding the extra 2GB in there was no paging going on and they were working only in RAM.

[CHM]

I have been doing some serious testing on the highend Imac:
iMac - Buy iMac desktop computers - Apple Store (U.S.)
It came with 8 gigs of Ram and i must say considering what you do this is more than enouf.
The only down side of the Imac is the glossy screen, but if you dont mind that I think this is the best machine for your sort of work.

[jaci]

Hello everyone, I guess I'm in the same boat as Rande.
Here's a bit of background info:
We have 3 designers on staff (myself and 2 others). 2 G5's with CS3 and 1 with CS2.
We need to update from CS3. We have been putting it off because we would need to update at lease 2 stations.
I have talked the owner in to updating to CS5. Now for the problem. I completely screwed up by not realizing the whole Intel thing. Now I have to give the owner the cost for 2 new macs. One will be the main design station and the other will be a preflight and overflow design station. My question is:

Should I go with 2 IMacs, or 1 Mac Pro and 1 IMac, or both Mac Pros? I'm concerned about the screen on the IMacs. I want to make the best decision for the company (now and the future), but I don't want to break the bank either. Business has been pretty slow lately. I can't screw this up.

Any suggestions?
Jaci

[eskopdl]

Personally I am seeing more and more shops go with an iMac 27" for everyday graphics needs. Certainly enough processor, ram, and great screen real estate. AppleCare is a good investment in a business environment. IMHO.

[tnelson@bexx.com]

To agree with several commenters already - AppleCare is always worth it.

Regarding RAM, you want a minimum of 1GB per core. Dual Quad - 8GB.

To add to the discussion of upgrading and having a limited budget, you might want to check out places that sell rebuilt or previously owned kit. We recently found a place that seems to offer some really good deals. I haven’t posted for a long time so I’m not sure if putting a URL is allowed so I will err on the side of caution and not post it. If listing is okay I will post it, if not, send me an e-mail and I will send the address.

[rande]

The bosses are looking, seriously into buying something now. We have
LaCie electron22blue IV monitors can we use those with a Mac Pro?

[rande]

Never mind. I actually got a hold of an Apple guy. It just needs an adapter.

[wonderings]

The bosses are looking, seriously into buying something now. We have
LaCie electron22blue IV monitors can we use those with a Mac Pro?

You can use any monitor with the Mac Pros, even with the iMacs, like the apple guy said, its just an adapter for dvi or vga or HDMI.

[rande]

The apple guy also said that he can't really compete with the third party retailers but
if something goes wrong he would replace it. Is there any advantage to buying from an Apple
Store vs a third party, online, store? I'm going to start browsing and see what I can find but does anyone have a recommendation on who else to buy from?

thanks