hey all, sorry, this is kinda one of those posts that everyone hates. im a multimedia student, and im looking to buy a mac laptop [most likely 2nd hand]. i need some advice, im clueless about mac hardware as im a long time pc user. what processor speeds should i be looking at, g3 or g4? ill be running photoshop 6, freehand 10, dreamweaver, flash and director [all mx]. ive been told not to look at anything under a 700mhz processor... is that correct for my usage? this will be purely a multimedia computer, all surfing/games etc will be on my pc. any help would be much appreciated, i have about $AU 1000 - 1500 to spend. cheers james

Not sure but i would update to photoshop 7.0 it has SO many more features and really makes life a lot easier.

Dear James, I've worked on a Mac for the last 10 years, using many of the apps you mention. If you buy a G3, you will quickly outgrow it. I'd recommend a G4 with at least a 1 GIG processor - not because I'm a technology geek - because that's very least that you need. As you progress your multimedia becomes more sophisticated - and it will - a 700 mhz might seem inadequate. So this recommendation is for now, and for down the road. Several of the apps you mention are memory hogs as well. Get as much ram as you can get your hands on. You can often find dual 450's on eBay in your budget range, which will bring you close to the mark. Ditto on the 7.0 version of Photoshop. If you are going to be working with high-res files for printed matter, say 300 dpi or better, you might find a 700 mhz frustratingly slow. Often the tool will not be able to keep up with your motions - you'll have to wait a few seconds to see if what you did (paint stroke, eraser, etc.) is correct, rather than seeing it real time. If you will be handling image files only for the web alone, which are 72 dpi, 700 should be fine. Depending on their complexity, Flash files can get pretty heavy. I have a dual GIG and operation of the the native file can bog down pretty quickly if you are importing graphics or using audio. Simple ani's should not pose a problem. Director is also a pretty heavy app to run, again, depending on complexity and the number of effects you use. Also, I would recommend a choice between an OS 9 environment and an OS X (10.2.5 known as Jaguar). I found operating both in 10.1 to be a hassle with all the errors and kernal panics. If you choose to go with 10.2.5, you will need to make sure all your apps run in the OS X native enviroment (meaning alone). Photoshop 6 will not do that. OS 9 is still okay for now if your budget is limited. X runs better with the faster processors, anyway. With Flash MX, you will need to have OS X available, either in the dual envirnoment or alone. Make sure all your peripherals have the right drivers available - drivers for Jaguar tend to be spotty of the moment. If you have older scanners, CD burners, etc, look before you leap to Native. You have a mixture of versions listed, so you will likely need that dual environment. Many people operate it successfully - I just found the bugginess a problem for a tight work schedule, but plan to go native shortly. Hope this helps. Holly

hey, wow, thanks for the replies. i would go to ps7, but what we use at tafe (school, college, whatever :) is v6. very minimal work at the moment is print res, however, as you mentioned in consideration for the future... i agree with OSX, being a computer science student as well, i appreciate the unix based environment and the stability that comes with it. some people have mentioned to me that i really dont need a mac for multimedia anymore, since most apps are cross platform. it seems that most multimedia/graphics people use mac though, is this a point i should consider? i have seen dual processor g4's on ebay, also in my price range, you think this is worth a serious look? thanks again, you have already been lots of help :) cheers james

Yes, do give duals a serious look. As I said, most of the apps cited are very hungry both RAM and processor-wise. And yes, all of the apps are cross-platform, but the PC is a clunky evironment for the serious creative person. Those who deny this have probably never given Macs a serious look. The streamlined interface really fosters spontaneity, whereas a PC wasn't designed for such. Though they have noticebly improved, most graphics pros still prefer a Mac. But if conversion to a Mac proves too costly to get what you really need - you'll still be right as rain with a PC. Holly

hi all, i just wanted to say my opinion. 1st ps7 isn't that better from 6 basicly it's the same app only 7 can run on OSX and got some small unimportent tools. my girlefriend and i both work with the programs you've mantioned exept director. i myself has the old quiksilver with 733mhz and 768ram and have no problems what so ever both in osx and 9.2.2 altough i prefer 9.2.2. my girlefriend has an even older G4 (400mhz with 640ram) and everything works smoothly with her. and since she is an illustrator she makes alot of "havy high res" work with ps6 and it works perfectly (she uses OS 9.2.2). now anothr friend of mine got the old ibook which is a G3 with 512ram and he got some problems sometimes mainly with PS6 and flashMX but he works on stuff for print. as you said you are a multimedia student so you will probobly work with low res files. so my advice to you is buy a G4 i can only reccomend mine which works very well. get some extra RAM for it 1GB can be a bit high. don't get a G3! and if you have a choice don't get a leptop. all leptops sucks (even apples) and tend do have melfunctions easely and if you but a 2nd hand you'll probobly won't have any warrenty for it and it can cause you alot later. i can only tell you that where i study many got laptops both ibooks and titaniums and it's luck they all got extended warrenty since there isn't a week without problems for them. so buy the best you can get but don't worry if you can't get the top of the top. since in macs they always put the newest hardware in ever modle that comes out and if you are not going to use it for games then a mac can last for even 7years or more before getting old. hack the G4 prossessor was used over 5 yesrs i think (untill reacently) and they still make G3s. hope it helped

P.s. most website designers prefer usimg the PC.