As we wrap up our reviews of the apps that make up Apple ’s iLife ’ 08 suite — iWeb discharge the cycles/second that start with iPhoto — there ’s one last bit of occupation to attend to , demand performance . No newfangled programs join iWeb , iPhoto , iMovie , iDVD , and GarageBand in iLife ’ 08 , there are plenteousness of changes , bragging and small , to the existing apps . And many of these changes rely on greater H.P. .
Most of iLife ’ 08 sports the same system requirements as its precursor — you need a Mac with either an Intel processor or at least a G4 chip if you ’re still using a PowerPC - based system ( and that chip well be 733MHz if you plan on using iDVD ) . However , the all rebuilt iMovie has more rigorous demand , ask at least a Power Mac Dual 2GHz G5 or 1.9GHz G5 iMac for instalment .
That has some readers wondering : Just how well does iLife ’ 08 run on my Mac if I have an older political machine ? For a more definitive answer , we installed the suite on a broad reach of Macs and ran a few exam for each coating to see how they do on different systems .
All systems were running Mac OS X 10.4.10 with 1GB of RAM, with processor performance set to Highest in the Energy Saver preference pane when applicable. In iDVD, we recorded the amount of time it took to save a 523MB project to a disk image. We imported 100 jpegs from the desktop into iPhoto. We exported a 6-minute,41-second movie for mobile devices. We exported a 3-minute, 35-second, 9-track Garageband project to disk. We saved an iWeb site to a folder on the desktop.—MACWORLD LAB TESTING BY JAMES GALBRAITH, BRIAN CHEN, AND JERRY JUNG
The first thing we can report is that Apple is n’t banter about those iMovie system requirements — the novel variant of the app wo n’t install on computers that fail to meet theminimum requisite . That ’s a variety from the past when Apple ’s organization requirements were more of hypnotism than a hard and fast dominion . Of the eleven Macs we prove for this report , three were below the lower limit requirements for iMovie ’ 08 — an 1.42GHz iBook G4 1.42GHz , a dual-1.42GHz Power Mac G4 , and a 15 - inch 1.5GHz PowerBook G4 — and all three were block from instal iMovie ’ 08 .
judge by the issue of our Export iMovie to iPhone tryout , it seems that Apple may indeed have the best interest of users in brain . The minimal required organisation , a dual 2GHz Power Mac G5 engage 11 instant to complete the test — two - and - a - one-half time prospicient than the 2.4GHz iMac Core 2 yoke , which completed the test in just over four minutes . A 2.1GHz iMac G5 took nearly 15 minutes to discharge the test . We tried to examine the other minimum required system , the 1.9GHz G5 iMac , but our version of that auto seems to have died while baby-sit in storage . And though we prove valorously , we were ineffectual to come to the hapless affair , so the 2.1GHz iMac is as tight to the bare minimum requirement as we were able-bodied to get .
iLife ’08 Tests
Best results inbold . PowerPC - ground system initalics .
All systems were run Mac OS X 10.4.10 with 1 GB of RAM , with C.P.U. performance set to Highest in the Energy Saver taste pane when applicable . In iDVD , we recorded the amount of time it took to save a 523 MiB project to a disk image . We import 100 jpegs from the background into iPhoto . We exported a 6 - minute,41 - second moving-picture show for wandering devices . We exported a 3 - minute , 35 - moment , 9 - track Garageband labor to disk . We saved an iWeb website to a pamphlet on the desktop.—MACWORLD LAB examination BY JAMES GALBRAITH , BRIAN CHEN , AND JERRY JUNG
The all - around fast Mac in our tests was the 2.66GHz Mac Pro Quad - magnetic core Xeon organization . Looking at the specs , this was no surprise . It was surprising , however , to see the slim margin by which it led the 2.4GHz iMac Core 2 Duo . With both more and faster processing cores , the Mac Pro was only about 11- to 12 - pct faster in the iDVD and iWeb tests , 5 - percent quicker in the iPhoto and GarageBand tests and just 2 - percent quicker than the 2.4GHz iMac in the iMovie Export test .
Along the same lines , we find oneself that the wearisome system of rules we tested , the 1.42GHz iBook G4 , posted the slowest time in all of the tests it was able-bodied to run . And though it was pokey when compared to the respite of the system we tested , it was in no way unuseable , except maybe in the iDVD run .
Missing in the above chart is the Garageband outcome for the 1.66GHz Mac mini . When we tried launching Garageband , we got an mistake say that the scheme was leave out a Core Audio machine driver ( pictured on the right ) . We then realized that the system no longer recognized the interior speakers , or headphones , as uncommitted audio output devices . We adjudicate reinstalling the OS , we reboot off of an external difficult drive that worked just fine on another Mac miniskirt — no go . We open up the cause but saw no disconnected wires .
We contacted Apple , but the ship’s company was unable to reduplicate the problem . We ’ve find a few similar issues on somediscussion board , but it ’s unvoiced to say whether this is an isolated problem or if we ’ve stumbled onto something gravid . We ’ll stay on to look at this job and account back whatever we find .
We hope that these answer avail those of you who have been on the fencing about purchasing the novel iLife ’ 08 suite .
[ James Galbraith is Macworld Lab music director . ]
