[Mitchji]

Hi,

“Three open PCI-Express expansion slots”

Best Wishes,

Mitch

[Mitchji]

Hi,

The minimum I would recommend would be one of the Dual 533 G4’s. A very good choice in terms of price/performance. One of those systems won’t cost that much more than a slower system and the performance will be relatively good. Here are the results of an FCP benchmark:
(FCP 2.0 or higher, render files sent to an internal HD.) Place a 10 second clip (DV25) on the timeline and apply a gaussian blur with a setting (radius) of 25. Cut the clip in half and apply a 5 second cross dissolve on the cut. Time from the click of “Render All” to the point at which the render status window disappears.
G4 SP 500 1:10
G4 SP 733 (Original ver./not Quicksilver) 1:08
G4 SP 533 1:05
G4 SP 867 (Quicksilver) :49
G4 DP 450 :47
G4 DP 500 :40
G4 DP 533 :39
G4 DP 800 :37
G4 DP 1gHz (Quicksilver) :28, :29, :30
G4 DP 1gHz (DDR RAM) (OS10.2.1) :28
G4 DP 1.42gHz (OSX w/FCP 3.0.4 : :20, :19, :19
G5 2.0 12 seconds

Best Wishes,

Mitch

[Mitchji]

Hi,

Unfortunately to get a system with two dual core chips, in a move typical of Apple’s pricing strategy you need to purchase the $3,300 system

Best Wishes,

Mitch

[Mitchji]

[Ed] “Most reports, like MacWorld, etc., say that the new chips will offer performance gains of 50-80%. They’re saying that existing programs will see the boost.”

Hi,

Existing programs that are coded to support multiple processors (FCP for example) will work as is.

When you douple the number of processors you don’t double the speed because there is some loss of efficiency. When Apple started shipping dual processor machines they stated the benefit was about 80% so similar or slightly less would make sense going from 2 to 4.

This is the Maccentral announcement (unfortunately to get two dual core chips in typical Apple fashion you need to purchase the $3,300 system):
New Power Macs

Apple has also updated its Power Mac G5 system, which Moody calls the “system of choice for creative professionals that need power.”

The new systems feature dual-core PowerPC processors and a new system architecture that can support up to 16GB of 533MHz DDR2 RAM. They can also hold up to 1 terabyte (TB) of internal Serial ATA (SATA) storage, and are the first Power Macs to feature PCI Express (PCIe) expansion slots. DDR2 RAM and PCIe are both featured on Apple’s recently refreshed iMac G5 system.

Apple has worked with graphics maker Nvidia Corp. to feature four new graphics options for the refreshed Power Mac G5 line, including the Quadro FX 4500 — Nviidia’s fastest workstation card. This fills a gap in the Power Mac line that has long been criticized by 3D graphics professionals and others who have wanted faster graphics systems than the consumer-oriented cards and chips Apple has offered in the past. The Quadro card can support dual 30-inch displays, according to Moody.

The new Power Macs G5 “Quad” system touts eight floating point units, four velocity engines, four 1MB Level 2 caches and is capable of processing 76.6 gigaflops. “There is some serious horsepower under the hood,” said Moody.

The Power Mac G5 starts in a single-processor, dual-core configuration clocked at 2.0GHz for $1,999. The 2.3GHz dual-core system costs $2,499, and the “Quad” dual-processor, dual-core system starts at $3,299.

Best Wishes,

Mitch

[Mitchji]

Hi,

At least 2.5 gigs of RAM is a good place to start.

Best Wishes,

Mitch

[Mitchji]

Hi,

Don’t even think about buying it until after the Apple announcement on the 19th.

Find out how much of the 12 month warranty is still good. It might have the full 12 month’s or it might not.

Here is a good place to look for Powermac deals. Looking at the current and expired deals will give you a good idea if that is a good deal and you might find something better:
https://dealmac.com/categories/Computer/Apple-Systems/Power-Macs/44.html

If you can find a factory refurb mail order and get the full 12 month warranty and not pay sales tax that might be your best strategy. This DP 2.0 from expercom (From the above link) for example (no sales tax outside of Utah):
The factory-refurbished Apple PowerMac G5/2GHz Dual desktop with 512MB RAM, 160GB hard drive, SuperDrive, and ATI RADEON 9600 128MB graphics costs $1,799 at ExperCom. With one cent shipping, it’s…

Another good strategy is a Open Box or dealer refurb mail order to avoid sales tax. These units usually have a big percent of the original 12 month warranty still remaining.

Best Wishes,

Mitch

[Mitchji]

Hi,

I think the single 1.8 G5 will offer better performance and also be a much quieter system.

Best Wishes,

Mitch

[Mitchji]

Hi Nick,

You might want to check dealmac.com and the Apple Store special deals section to see if you can find a good deal on a refurbed G5 Powermac. Factory refurbs (which are sometimes sold by other dealors also) come with the full 12 month waranty.

Here is a current deal on a single G5 system from the Apple store:
Refurbished Power Mac G5 1.8 GHz/ 256MB/ 80GB/ SuperDrive/ GigE/ 56K

[Mitchji]

Hi,

Yes it will work fine. Be sure to add a gig or two of RAM (Crucial.com is a good source). Also add a second hard drive for media and you will be good to go.

On the other hand those are one of the noisiest G4’s ever produced.

If the price difference is not to large (depends on the deal you are getting on the G4) I would shop for a single a dual G5. Check dealmac.com and the Apple Store special deals section. Here is a current Apple store refurb (full waranty coverage):
Refurbished Power Mac G5 1.8 GHz/ 256MB/ 80GB/ SuperDrive/ GigE/ 56K

[Mitchji]

Hi,

[jimmyhop] “1. I only really edit on MiniDV or DVCam, does this mean firewire external hard drives are more than adequate?

Yes!

3. SCSI hard drives can also be external. I am right in thinking these are the best but are more expensive and only come as drives that have to be housed yourself?”

SCSI would be a lot more expensive (if its even an avaialble option for a Powerbook) and way overkill for DV/DVCAM.

Best Wishes,

Mitch