Apple Macs

We need to get some Macs at work for a new team who will be doing some graphic work (using CS4) and video work (using Final Cut Pro).

As there are quite a few designers on here I was wondering if anyone could help with ideas on what sort of specification we should be using for Macs.

We're thinking of going for Mac Pros - and the new ones look nice - but we can't afford to spend too much especially as our budgets are being squeezed :-(

So what specs would allow us to do graphics and videos work (without being excessive)?

yo i work at the apple store on regent street.

we have a business team that can help you get them and set them up and tell you what you be best for your business/work.

the new macbook pros are pretty good as well and have 2 graphics cards.

also look at the new imacs they just came out yesterday and are pretty nice....

thanks for the reply

that sounds useful - will probably give the apple store a call tomorrow

do you have any initial thoughts on the kind of Mac Pro specs i'd need (just so i can look at the website and get a feel for prices)?

he said macbook pros, not mac pro, they are quite different things

hi flickwg, yeah i know he said macbook pros and that they're different to mac pros

i think we probably want the bigger desktop machines for flexibility (i.e. they'd give us more future-proofing by having scope for hard-drive, memory and video card expansion etc.)

The 24" iMac with the 2.93GHz processor would be great for your needs. It's the third one along at this page (the one that's £1,499. The Mac Pro that you seem very interested in works out costing quite a lot. The days when a Powermac (the old Mac Pro) was the only beast that you could edit video on are long gone.

first off i am a she not a he. and the new 24''imac would be good. it has a new chip set, more ram, and can have up to a 1tb hard dirve.

the mac pro is super expensive and you would still need to buy all the bits. the only good thing is that you can up grade it later and add more exerything. but most the time people buy a mac pro whe it is not needed. with the mac pro you are going to be spending at least £2500 with a display and other stuff.
anyway. give the business team a call and see what they can do.

first off i am a she not a he.
sorry, i shouldn't have assumed

CS4 is optimised for 4GB of RAM, so that's one target to make sure you hit.

sorry should have said we have already got some good quality monitors that we were going to use so that's one reason why i thought it would make sense to get a unit without a monitor

and so that would take us down the mini or pro route and i'm guessing a mini may not quite have the spec we need?

but mac pros are very expensive so need to think again and speak to the apple people :-)

thanks for all the other replies

I've had a mini, it wouldn't be up to your needs. It's more of a trendy thirty something 'I'm going to make photo albums and play around on garage band' kind of thing...

Head down to Albion(re-seller) - most business's use them as they offer on-site/telephone support, server support etc etc - good stuff.

don't get any Mac with a gloss screen. crap to work on

CS4 is optimised for 4GB of RAM, so that's one target to make sure you hit.

bugger. i have 6gb. i can never get it right.

don't get any Mac with a gloss screen. crap to work on

My MBP has a gloss screen - I thought it would be a problem but I can't think of one occasion where it's been a nuisance. Obviously Matte would be nicer but it hasn't been nearly as much of a problem as I was expecting it to be.

don't get any Mac with a gloss screen. crap to work on

+1. I was working on a new iMac the other day in a clients office and although they are fairly capable machines, the monitor really lets it down. The glossy screen picks up reflections everywhere, which for colour work is a total PITA. I don't know how anyone can work on one of those 8 hours a day 5 days a week. The people you're hiring won't appreciate it.

If you've already got decent monitors, bite the bullet and spend some cash on a mac pro. The new ones are certainly expensive, but they are worth it, and if you're quick you might still get one of last years models at last years prices from the likes of Cancom or Jigsaw. Whatever you get, just spend as much as you can on ram, that's what makes the biggest difference.

don't get any Mac with a gloss screen. crap to work on

+10000000000

unfortunately the only option with that seems to be either a mac mini or a mac pro with a non apple screen now...

so much for saving the environment apple, all glass eh? they're about 3 times more reflective than the glossy coated ones back then. thing is if they can coat the new glass trackpad on macbooks why can't they coat the damn screen too?

G5 Mac Pros with Apple Cinema displays, ideal for graphics and video work, but as mentioned above, not glossy screens unless you want to work in a darkened room

PowerMac G5's and Mac Pros with Intel chips, don't mix them up!

yo i work at the apple store on regent street.

we have a business team that can help you get them and set them up and tell you what you be best for your business/work.

the new macbook pros are pretty good as well and have 2 graphics cards.

also look at the new imacs they just came out yesterday and are pretty nice....

do you get a commission for bringing in big deals like this one?

Eizo monitors ftw, i'm rocking a CG241W for the past year or so and its flipping awesome!

I recently worked with the quad core variant of the Mac Pro which is very capable for most graphic outputs but I've never used it for video, so I couldn't comment on that aspect. To my thinking you'd probably need to upgrade to the eight core unless you have time to wait for rendering.

I need to buy a new (well, gently used) apple computer. If you know anyone that's selling one, I'm needing desktop, probably a g4, or at least something that can run Illustrator and whatnot without crashing.

i have a G4 you buy. PM me.

don't get any Mac with a gloss screen. crap to work on

+1 - Have been working on an iMac at an agency this week, and its like looking in a mirror CRAP!