To Buy a New Mac or Not to Buy....
graphicsguy (17 points) | Wed, 2009-08-26 23:51OK, need some advice...
The background: I've been working as a contract graphic designer for about a year and a half. I work 100% at home, mainly for one large client (trying to move away from that, but that's another story!). I do all of my work on a dual 2.3 GHz G5 Powermac. It's about 3 years old, has Leopard, has 6GB of RAM, and is running pretty well. I also have an older Powermac G4 (1.25 GHz I think) which mainly collects dust, and I doubt will run the latest Adobe software very well (which runs on the G5).
The situation: Business has been pretty good recently, and I recently completed a larger-than-usual job from my big client, and am awaiting a nice big check. I have enough to buy a new computer, if I want. I'm thinking about getting a second machine because I have this fear that something would happen to my one only capable machine during a time when I can't afford a new one. (I doubt that G4 could cut it anymore for the long run) Not to mention the fact that my poor G5, yet still capable, won't see any more OS upgrades, and any future software upgrades may not run well on it, seeing how things are going. However, it would still make for a very capable backup Mac if I had a newer model. I would also love to be able to be more mobile with my work, so the Macbook Pro thoughts are swimming in my mind. I have the money NOW to do something. But I also have some debt that I would love to put a dent in. So, I'm torn...
My question: How many of you in my field (full time contractor) have more than one capable computer to use? OR, in your opinion, how important is it to have two capable computers at the same time to run your business? Is it a must? Or just a nice cushion to have? Anyone chime in!
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I think it's enough to have one capable Mac with proper backups. I personally use an MBP because I travel a lot and I have two levels of backup:
1. External HD with a Time Machine daily.
2. Complete copy of my HD with Carbon Copy Cloner from time to time.
3. In an emergency I can also use my wife's macbook.
If my HD fails I can just put in the CCC HD which contains everything, so I can continue to work. If my laptop fails, I will buy a new one. I should not take more than 2-3 days wherever I'm and it's better to buy something at a slightly larger price in the event of a need instead of having my money parking in an unused machine.
Not really sure what you're main concern is here, so I'll address a couple issues...
Your mac won't break down unless you mistreat it - so that's not a problem. And if you're on a budget, you can get AT LEAST 5 years out of a Mac like that. Just because you can't upgrade the system doesn't mean you need a new machine. Wait until it actually affects your work cycle. I say this as someone who's been on both sides of the issue - selling the Macs and using them (I have a home business like yourself right now). You're in advertising - remember that every upgrade pitch is an ADVERTISEMENT. They're trying to sell you something you probably don't NEED. Sound crazy? Consider this - that machine you have "collecting dust" is newer and faster than the machine I'm typing on right now.
So far as back-ups - a simple low tech answer is to back-up everything twice - once to your internal and once to an external. Then regular long term back-ups to CDs or DVDs. I don't think you need an extra machine laying around (and actually - you HAVE one laying around right now). A good solution is to find a friend or a friendly shop that might let you use their machine while yours is being replaced or repaired. But again - I've been on my own for 16 years now and I think there was only one time I needed to borrow someone else's machine. It's just so rare for a Mac to fail (unless - again - you mistreat it).
Now - if after all that you still want to upgrade... go to the Apple website. They have a credit card offer that will give you 12 months no interest if you buy a machine (actually any item over $1000 will be 12 months no interest - everything under $1000 is 3 months no interest, I believe). The offer is always up (at least it has been for over a year now), so you don't really need to have the money for a computer - just credit.
Edit:
Just to clarify, with powerbooks the drives will fail due to cooling issues sometimes. So Macs do "fail" on ocassion. It's just very rare.
upgrading to an intel mac isnt going to buy you much performance-wise. they are better but not dramatically...
side by side, my new octocore macpro was not smack-down faster than my old quad G5.
its faster, but not enough to justify a purchase just for that purpose.
about the biggest reason to move to an intel mac is that many pro-apps are going intel mac ONLY. i discovered that the hard way, after purchasing the adobe master collection upgrade. when i got to after effects i was greeted by a screen saying that it required an intel mac. DOH! there goes another 3grand!
having multiple machines is great. but in 16 years in the business ive never had any mac "fail" on the job. ive had very old macs that no longer boot up after years on the shelf. ive had software go wonky or become obsolete (from a working with colleagues standpoint) files go corrupt but never a mac failure. not that they dont, its just fairly rare.
multiple machines are great if you hire in contract help (but then legally you need multiple software installs) or if you are doing something that takes a while (like 3d or video renders) but other than that its just a cool luxury
as far as your mobile thoughts. HECK YEAH! from a graphic designer standpoint a mobile mac isnt significantly slower than a desktop mac. i say get you a macbook, 2 external hard drives (one to work from and one for backup) and a second monitor and you'll be ready for about anything!
on a side note, as far as im concerned the ONLY reason to go with a macbook PRO is connectivity. im in the video biz so i need the expresscard slot for offloading cards from my camera. if you dont need that, a plain old macbook or macbook air would be more than fine.