Should I Get A G4 Or G5???, For use with Cubase/Yamaha 01v mixer Options

[garyrpeter]

I am making the jump from PC to MAC and have a tight budget. I have Cubase and a Yamaha 01v mixer (with fibre optic digital upgrade). I know I want at least 1 Gig RAM, but from a technical AND financial perspective, I don't know what would be better: upgrading a G4 with a soundcard that can handle my mixer, or getting a G5 which can already handle it. So far I've been told that upgrading a G4 would cost almost as much as getting a G5 and I should just pay the extra money and get a G5 with dual drive. Is this true? Money is a serious concern as I am a student, but I also want everything to work properly.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me out!

Gp

[Mjoshua77]

Get the G5, period

[snow]

hey gary
on wednesday apple released a new line of dual processor G5s, which is naturally MUCH faster and stronger than any G4.
i use a G4, very good machines and will suit you well. but there is a big speed gap between them. some new technologies, too.
i do think you can find a G4 that would cost you much less than a new G5. check macworld and price finder for prices for used machines...
if there is any way to get the cash for the G5, it would be worth it. the G5 have optical I/O which will help you with your digital Yamaha as well.
good luck

[mikenichol]

The G5 is leaps and bounds ahead of any other PC, if you have the funds go for it you won't regret it

[jessone]

A dual procesor G5 is like driving a Porsche. It's only money - go for it.

[majn]

Basically

If you get G4 you will end up havng to get a G5 soon afterwards - because all the new software that's coming out really won't run well on a G4.

Okay - nothing's future proof - but the G5 will last you much longer.

I just upgraded - and - yeah it cost money - but it has already paid dividends.

One thing - don't buy memory from Apple - get a standard machine and then go somewhere like http://www.crucial .com - it's much cheaper and just as good. And yes - you'll need at least 1 gb of RAM (actually - you'll probably want to double this).

It's a big move - but you won't regret it.

[gdoubleyou]

If you are using SX2 I would keep it on PC.

I moved my SX licence to PC because of SXs poor performance when compared to other Mac DAWs.

From my observations SX2 uses 40%-60% more cpu than DP4,or Logic6 when using the same plugs.

Wouldn't suggest using it on a single processor machine. Some plugs will not work with multi-processor support enabled, rewire will not work with multi-processing enabled.

For more details check out cubase.net

[swilder]

A good rule of thumb is: Figure out how much money you have to spend and buy the most powerful machine you can get AT THAT TIME.

Machines always get faster and old technology always gets cheaper so get the most computer you can right now.

Scott

[Lord Pasty]

Eveybody seems to have dropped 2 cents worth so here's mine...



Which Cubase are you running? The newer stuff DEMANDS a great computer. There's nothing wrong with that, but if it's the case that you have some of the latest processor crunching Cubase software you'll want to go out and get the G5.


However, and contrary to alot of what I just read, I use a measly iMac G4 with 768 MB of ram. I'm running Logic on it. It blazes. It really does... then again, I also don't use a lot of soft synths. I just felt like somebody should advocate penny pinching. HA!

[swilder]

One More Thing

The G5 design is much quieter than the G4 design.

That's an important consideration for people who record and mix in front of their computers.

The G4 is an outrageously loud beast. I've had to scrap recordings because fan noise was unacceptably loud picked up by the mic.