My Black Friday Mac at DVinfo.net

Nathan Quattrini · November 26th, 2007, 11:20 AM

So I went out at stupid AM on friday morning (left the house at 2:30am). I waited in line at Best Buy for my ticket for a samsung 22" widescreen monitor ($130 off) to find out they weren`t giving tickets for it. I just had to get one. Thats fine. Hung out with people outside till 5, went in, got my monitor and left. Went over to CompUSA at 6. Picked up a 500 gig WD harddrive for $100 and 2 gigs ram from cheap. I asked a Mac person there if it`d work in a Mac, he said no. Needed special psycho RAM for them. The 2 gig Mac compatible Ram was $300. I said hmm....maybe i`ll wait until i decide what i`m doing about a Mac. So he asked some questions about what I wanted the Mac for etc, and said "Well I`m not a manager but if you want to get the Mac today I'll see about dropping $100 off the Ram price. I said...hmm...lets take a walk to the Mac dept. While there I also mentioned an online store where they had the same Mac for $200 cheaper. He said again he would talk to the manager and try to price match it if I bought it that day. (I wish i said lower hah). So i ended up giving the go for him to approach the manager. He made a deal (i think) to give me the Mac for $2,300 if I bought the Apple care 3 year service package for the $250 (i think), and he`d also give the $100 off the Ram. So all in all (after realizing when i got home hours later they never rang up my harddrive) that I got the following

2.66GHz - Two Dual Core Xeon Woodcrest processors
3GB Ram - 667Mhz DDR2
250GB 7200rpm SATA hard drive
500GB 7200rpm SATA Western Digital Internal Drive
16x Dual Layer SuperDrive
Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
3 year Apple Care full system warranty/customer service etc
In store training by appointment of the OS and general use

For $3100. More months of debt but I hope it`ll pay for itself eventually. Did I get a deal of any kind? Or was I swindled in my tired stooper (though I was going to but one soon anyway)

Now to decide between the Adobe Suite and Final Cut Studio

Paul Cronin · November 26th, 2007, 11:40 AM

Congrats

Nathan so you are one of the crazy people out buying at that hour. Good deal going with the Mac I have been very happy with my switch. To the point that I am now about to switch my laptop also.

Your deal looks fine to me.

Nathan Quattrini · November 26th, 2007, 11:41 AM

Hey Paul do you have the Apple Studio of Adobe Suite or both?

Paul Cronin · November 26th, 2007, 12:18 PM

Nathan I purchased FCS2 and Adobe Production Suite.

I am using FCS2 to edit but also wanted After Effects, Photoshop, Flash, Encore, and Soundbooth so it made sense to buy the suite.

Nathan Quattrini · November 26th, 2007, 12:32 PM

Yea thats the issue i`m having, the standard is FC but I have used the Adobe stuff since photoshop 5, and am familiar with all the software. Maybe I`ll get the Adobe suite and just FC by itself for now. Not sure if the Studio is worth it with many of the programs sounding like lesser versions of the Adobe ones.

Paul Cronin · November 26th, 2007, 01:26 PM

Could be a good way to go. But don't let learning the new software stop you. I am finding Adobe and Apple software very easy to learn.

Victor Kellar · November 26th, 2007, 01:34 PM

Nathan, you can't buy Final Cut Pro by itself. You have to go back many versions to be able to do that; not sure what version that would be but it was quite a while back

If you are reluctant to dole out the whole amount for the suite, you could consider getting Final Cut Express to try it out. In terms of basic editing, it is identical to FCP. You are limited to DV/HDV (ACHDV with the newest version) and you don't have as many export options, batch capture, media management that sort of thing, but it edits just like FCP. FCP 3.5 gave you keyframable filters as well as Livetype and Soundtrack; I understand Soundtrack has been deleted from FCE 4 but they lowered the price as well. May be worth looking into.

Unfortunately, you can't upgrade from FCE to FCS, but it is a cheaper way to find out if the Mac editing environment suits you

Matthew Pugerude · November 27th, 2007, 10:50 AM

Hey Nathan,
I think you made the right choice on the Mac platform for your future work. Now for the Adobe Idea. If you already have the CS3 package on a PC you could call adobe and see if they will port it over to the mac. If you have not upgraded to yet you can definatly buy the Mac version of the CS3 package. Then you can buy the FCS2 package and have the best of both worlds.
Matt

Make sure you get any ID number or name from the adobe personel it can be a bit wacky. I have had different people tell me different things on different days. Oh and be ready to be on hold for a while maybe 20 minutes but that 20 min could save you a lot of money. So it could be worth it.

Matt

Ron Priest · November 29th, 2007, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathan Quattrini

Went over to CompUSA at 6. Picked up a 500 gig WD harddrive for $100 and 2 gigs ram from cheap. I asked a Mac person there if it`d work in a Mac, he said no. ...So all in all (after realizing when i got home hours later they never rang up my harddrive) that I got the following

Hey Nathan, you got a great deal! Oh, btw I called CompUSA and informed them about their mistake. They ended up fireing the kid that got you the good deal, and they are going to bill your for the extra hard drive.

JK :) I'm a new Machead myself, should get mine around Wed next week. But I don't have a Mac store around here anywhere so I called Apple and talked to them before ordering my Mac and the guy saved me over $400! I was then able to purchase some additional RAM and another Hard drive from a third party and I'm set to go!!

Nathan Quattrini · December 3rd, 2007, 09:34 AM

NEW QUESTION - how does my computer compare to a Power Mac G5? Seems they are not the same? I`m not quite sure to be honest what everything means. And if mine is only a dual 2.66 couldn`t I have gotten a Quad Core PC for the same price and twice the power?

David Garvin · December 8th, 2007, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathan Quattrini

And if mine is only a dual 2.66 couldn`t I have gotten a Quad Core PC for the same price and twice the power?

Yes.

A few weeks ago I sold a friend on a PC with 2x 2.6MHz dual core processors, 2gig ram & 400gig hard drive for something like $650

Customizing a MacPro with about the same specs and it would have cost him almost $3000. (Compared to that price which came off apple's site, to what you paid, then you did get a "deal" as far as the Mac goes)

The only real difference between the PC and the Mac was the video card that the Mac had, but could be picked up for $80 just about anywhere. $730 PC with the same specs as a $3000 Mac. It's all up to you and what your "user experience" is worth. To him saving $2,200+ was worth more than going into debt for the Mac Experience. It's all up to the end user. Different strokes for different folks.

At the point the Mac OS can more easily be run flawlessly with more hardware, I'll completely get rid of my MacPro. Right now I don't have the time to deal with trying to make it work, although I know a couple people who are dual or triple booting their "PCs" with OSs including OSX and they're very happy with their PC purchases. But when the point comes that I can run all the Mac-only apps on a PC for a fraction of the price without too much time spent getting it to work, there's only one path I'll take.

Nathan Quattrini · December 11th, 2007, 01:43 PM

as i figured. So much hype etc for the brand name mostly. But I guess I can`t argue with the industry forever. I`ll put myself in a better position to know both platforms and more software so I`ll be more versatile, just wish all this elitist thinking would take a back seat to common sense and stop letting Apple rape our wallets

Mathieu Ghekiere · December 11th, 2007, 02:47 PM

The standard 2.66 Mac Pro configuration IS a quad core.
It's a 2x dual core CPU's.

Nathan Quattrini · December 11th, 2007, 03:01 PM

touche....stil twice the price though

Nathan Quattrini · December 17th, 2007, 10:25 AM

very disappointed in Apple so far. I finally received my software package in the mail and was ready to install it and start to get to work. I go to install Leopard and halfway through checking the DVD consistency, it dies. "Try cleaning the DVD and reinstalling". Checked the DVD and its spotless, brand new. Tried 2 more times to be safe. So I called Apple Care, the half hour wait on the phone seemed about average for this time of year, and was informed if I didn`t purchase the Apple Care protection I would have been out of luck though THEY sent out a faulty disc. So it`ll now take 7-10 days for a replacement DVD to arrive. Maybe longer because of Christmas. Hurray for the "Problem free Mac!" "Don`t get a PC, they are full of problems". Just further proof that the computers are all tools, its the user that really matters, when will people see that?

November 26th, 2007, 11:20 AM	#1
Nathan Quattrini Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Warwick, Rhode Island Posts: 740	My Black Friday Mac So I went out at stupid AM on friday morning (left the house at 2:30am). I waited in line at Best Buy for my ticket for a samsung 22" widescreen monitor ($130 off) to find out they weren`t giving tickets for it. I just had to get one. Thats fine. Hung out with people outside till 5, went in, got my monitor and left. Went over to CompUSA at 6. Picked up a 500 gig WD harddrive for $100 and 2 gigs ram from cheap. I asked a Mac person there if it`d work in a Mac, he said no. Needed special psycho RAM for them. The 2 gig Mac compatible Ram was $300. I said hmm....maybe i`ll wait until i decide what i`m doing about a Mac. So he asked some questions about what I wanted the Mac for etc, and said "Well I`m not a manager but if you want to get the Mac today I'll see about dropping $100 off the Ram price. I said...hmm...lets take a walk to the Mac dept. While there I also mentioned an online store where they had the same Mac for $200 cheaper. He said again he would talk to the manager and try to price match it if I bought it that day. (I wish i said lower hah). So i ended up giving the go for him to approach the manager. He made a deal (i think) to give me the Mac for $2,300 if I bought the Apple care 3 year service package for the $250 (i think), and he`d also give the $100 off the Ram. So all in all (after realizing when i got home hours later they never rang up my harddrive) that I got the following 2.66GHz - Two Dual Core Xeon Woodcrest processors 3GB Ram - 667Mhz DDR2 250GB 7200rpm SATA hard drive 500GB 7200rpm SATA Western Digital Internal Drive 16x Dual Layer SuperDrive Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger 3 year Apple Care full system warranty/customer service etc In store training by appointment of the OS and general use For $3100. More months of debt but I hope it`ll pay for itself eventually. Did I get a deal of any kind? Or was I swindled in my tired stooper (though I was going to but one soon anyway) Now to decide between the Adobe Suite and Final Cut Studio __________________ Cinematography Site

November 26th, 2007, 11:40 AM	#2
Paul Cronin Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 4,048	Congrats Nathan so you are one of the crazy people out buying at that hour. Good deal going with the Mac I have been very happy with my switch. To the point that I am now about to switch my laptop also. Your deal looks fine to me. __________________ Paul Cronin www.paulcroninstudios.com

November 26th, 2007, 11:41 AM	#3
Nathan Quattrini Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Warwick, Rhode Island Posts: 740	Hey Paul do you have the Apple Studio of Adobe Suite or both? __________________ Cinematography Site

November 26th, 2007, 12:18 PM	#4
Paul Cronin Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 4,048	Nathan I purchased FCS2 and Adobe Production Suite. I am using FCS2 to edit but also wanted After Effects, Photoshop, Flash, Encore, and Soundbooth so it made sense to buy the suite. __________________ Paul Cronin www.paulcroninstudios.com

November 26th, 2007, 12:32 PM	#5
Nathan Quattrini Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Warwick, Rhode Island Posts: 740	Yea thats the issue i`m having, the standard is FC but I have used the Adobe stuff since photoshop 5, and am familiar with all the software. Maybe I`ll get the Adobe suite and just FC by itself for now. Not sure if the Studio is worth it with many of the programs sounding like lesser versions of the Adobe ones. __________________ Cinematography Site

November 26th, 2007, 01:26 PM	#6
Paul Cronin Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 4,048	Could be a good way to go. But don't let learning the new software stop you. I am finding Adobe and Apple software very easy to learn. __________________ Paul Cronin www.paulcroninstudios.com

November 26th, 2007, 01:34 PM	#7
Victor Kellar Major Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Toronto Ontario Canada Posts: 239	Nathan, you can't buy Final Cut Pro by itself. You have to go back many versions to be able to do that; not sure what version that would be but it was quite a while back If you are reluctant to dole out the whole amount for the suite, you could consider getting Final Cut Express to try it out. In terms of basic editing, it is identical to FCP. You are limited to DV/HDV (ACHDV with the newest version) and you don't have as many export options, batch capture, media management that sort of thing, but it edits just like FCP. FCP 3.5 gave you keyframable filters as well as Livetype and Soundtrack; I understand Soundtrack has been deleted from FCE 4 but they lowered the price as well. May be worth looking into. Unfortunately, you can't upgrade from FCE to FCS, but it is a cheaper way to find out if the Mac editing environment suits you

November 27th, 2007, 10:50 AM	#8
Matthew Pugerude Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Redmond, Oregon Posts: 173	Adobe Idea Hey Nathan, I think you made the right choice on the Mac platform for your future work. Now for the Adobe Idea. If you already have the CS3 package on a PC you could call adobe and see if they will port it over to the mac. If you have not upgraded to yet you can definatly buy the Mac version of the CS3 package. Then you can buy the FCS2 package and have the best of both worlds. Matt Make sure you get any ID number or name from the adobe personel it can be a bit wacky. I have had different people tell me different things on different days. Oh and be ready to be on hold for a while maybe 20 minutes but that 20 min could save you a lot of money. So it could be worth it. Matt

December 3rd, 2007, 09:34 AM	#10
Nathan Quattrini Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Warwick, Rhode Island Posts: 740	NEW QUESTION - how does my computer compare to a Power Mac G5? Seems they are not the same? I`m not quite sure to be honest what everything means. And if mine is only a dual 2.66 couldn`t I have gotten a Quad Core PC for the same price and twice the power? __________________ Cinematography Site

December 11th, 2007, 01:43 PM	#12
Nathan Quattrini Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Warwick, Rhode Island Posts: 740	as i figured. So much hype etc for the brand name mostly. But I guess I can`t argue with the industry forever. I`ll put myself in a better position to know both platforms and more software so I`ll be more versatile, just wish all this elitist thinking would take a back seat to common sense and stop letting Apple rape our wallets __________________ Cinematography Site

December 11th, 2007, 02:47 PM	#13
Mathieu Ghekiere Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Belgium Posts: 2,195	The standard 2.66 Mac Pro configuration IS a quad core. It's a 2x dual core CPU's. __________________ http://productionsofthe3rdkind.com http://pr3k.com

December 11th, 2007, 03:01 PM	#14
Nathan Quattrini Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Warwick, Rhode Island Posts: 740	touche....stil twice the price though __________________ Cinematography Site

December 17th, 2007, 10:25 AM	#15
Nathan Quattrini Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Warwick, Rhode Island Posts: 740	very disappointed in Apple so far. I finally received my software package in the mail and was ready to install it and start to get to work. I go to install Leopard and halfway through checking the DVD consistency, it dies. "Try cleaning the DVD and reinstalling". Checked the DVD and its spotless, brand new. Tried 2 more times to be safe. So I called Apple Care, the half hour wait on the phone seemed about average for this time of year, and was informed if I didn`t purchase the Apple Care protection I would have been out of luck though THEY sent out a faulty disc. So it`ll now take 7-10 days for a replacement DVD to arrive. Maybe longer because of Christmas. Hurray for the "Problem free Mac!" "Don`t get a PC, they are full of problems". Just further proof that the computers are all tools, its the user that really matters, when will people see that? __________________ Cinematography Site