G4 800 or Mini, RAM, and other contingencies, i really need the help so sorry :) Options

[pinnocio]

hello mates, i'm so very new to mac.
i want to leave PC (hopefully for good) and move into mac.
now i don't have much money and i'm concidering 2 machines -
used Power G4 800mhz with 512mb
or the Mac mini 1.42mhz with 256mb
now here the story doesn't end...
i plan on buying (for both so it doesn't matter regarding the money cost)
a FIREWIRE HDD 160GB 7200, M-AUDIO FIREWIRE AUDIOPHILE and a 1GB Ram stick (not apples so again, it doesn't regard the money cost).
I use my current P4 2.4 with 1GB ram and EMU 1212m mainly for MIDI projects, classical and film scoring using only samples through kontakt (nothing external) and VST plugins (some VSTis but nothing heavy).
My dilema is very simple i guess but for me it's a mess, getting the Power G4 means i can have up to 2GB RAM but a slower Processor and an older version. Getting the Mac Mini means i'll have a brandnew hardware but only a 1GB limit.
As i said i plan on loading alot of samples but as i've calculated the amout that i load into kontakt, it turns out to 750-800 MB, so a 1GB plus Virtual memory can handle it... i guess.. but still i havn't god a clue if it's worth it... any suggestions? thanks alot, Yoav

[lepetitmartien]

Forget the Mini, even if it's a good little computer, 1GB of RAM is definitely not enough to run virtual instrument and especially samplers. OS X needs at least 512 MB to feel at home. add 512 MB to 1 GB for heavy current MIDI/audio jobs, then you stack for virtual instruments and especially the sampler. Grow to the maximum 1,5 GB first thing.

The G4 800 can work but it'll be stressed easily now it can be later upgraded to something more powerful (accelerator card, 2 processors, up to 1,42 each) and you can fill it up with RAM. You can also put in up to 2 more hard drives (and keep FW for backups), say one SATA drive with a SATA PCI card.

As I'm helping a friend who has a G4 800 right now, running DP, I can tell you it'll bring you fast anyway to bounce tracks fast to save CPU. But processor upgrades are in the $500-800 range now. To give you an idea, my G5 mono 1,8 is about a double G4 1,42 on benches.

My 2 cents

[pinnocio]

thanks for the reply mate, but are you saying 1GB won't hold?

i mean, basically what i'm doing is loading samples into kontakt via DFD which uses almost none of the physical memory and plus - all the samples will be on the new FIREWIRE 160 GB 7200 HD which i'm sure is FAST right?
which leaves most of the memory for the OSX and the DIGITAL PERFORMER... so isn't it worth it?

cause the upgrades u mentiond will cost me almost as buying a new G5... or - much more than the mini mac with the upgrades... and i just can't afford all this... so?

thanks again, yoav

[lepetitmartien]

Samplers are RAM hungry, so it'll be difficult. Check threads on ibooks they are basically in the same specs as the Mini (Mini is an iBook with a few shortcuts unneeded for squashing everything into a laptop).

I've never said you can't use the G4 800, but you'll have an upgrade path available when you have some more cash to burn. You'd be relying less on sampling it'll be easier in the low end/old macs. things that need power are 1/virtual instruments-samplers 2/reverbs 3/very high quality audio (24/96), things that need RAM are 1/samplers 2/virtual instruments 3/OS X

Also DP is a little more CPU hungry than Logic. but it's certainly easier to grasp. (lurkers I don't say one is better than the other, it's a question of learning curve, hidden power)

btw I change the title of the thread, this one has no sense…

[pinnocio]

hahaha
yeah, well i told to myself - "that wasn't my thread" lol

anyway, thanks mate. i know they all LOVE Ram, this is so frustrating.

i know that by buying the mini mac i won't be "upgrading" my g4 2.4, even more - it'll be almost the same.
i just want to know i'm not going to buy something i'll regret, something that a year from now i will want to replace, meaning i threw all this money away... i dunno...

[lepetitmartien]

hahaha
yeah, well i told to myself - "that wasn't my thread"  lol

Well, we do make mistakes sometimes (for the audience, it's a PM matter

anyway, thanks mate. i know they all LOVE Ram, this is so frustrating.

Love is too small a word…

Making DTP, with my 1,5 GB i'm more than comfortable, musicwise… different matter. Not that it's impossible to work with one GB only, but the more the better.

i know that by buying the mini mac i won't be "upgrading" my g4 2.4, even more - it'll be almost the same.
i just want to know i'm not going to buy something i'll regret, something that a year from now i will want to replace, meaning i threw all this money away... i dunno...

Entry level computers are always pushing you to be imaginative.

I see the Mini as a nice machine, but no known (and possibly) upgrade path, the G4 is less powerfull, but the system drive is better (faster), and there are lots of options to upgrade if you want to. Also with the Mini around, old G4 will be dirt cheap (for the audience).

It's not an easy choice… If you're and you plan to still be in the future (say a year or two) money challenged, if you are lacking of available working surface, if you want a silent computer, go Mini.

Fortunately, I don't have to decide…

This post has been edited by lepetitmartien: Sun 23 Jan 2005, 14:36

[pinnocio]

thaaaaaaaaaank you