New processor(s) or new iMac ? that is the question...

Hi everyone,
My Dad is getting more and more kind of impatient at the slow running speed of the old Single processor base model Quick Silver G4 I gave him after I bought my MacPro. It does run OK and I upgraded its HD capacity to 150 GB and 40 GB, with 1.25 GB RAM, but it does run slow compared to today's computers.
He uses it mainly for Internet browsing and stocking our family's vast photo collection in iPhoto and printing out photo collection with a personnal home printer system.
Loading up iPhoto does taking some time and browsing and editing between Albums and photos can be lengthy at times while waiting for the beachball of death do run its course.
The Milion dollar questions are:
1) Is it worth it, in this day and age, to upgrade its single processor to a dual processor or save up that money for a new iMac in a few years?
2) If I do upgrade its processor, do I need to upgrade other parts too ? that could become costly as well...worth it ?
3) Would upgrading to a Double processor allow that much more speed and will it allow me to install Leopard or Snow Leopard because at the moment its stuck at Tiger?
Opinions and comments ?!?

1) Is it worth it, in this day and age, to upgrade its single processor to a dual processor or save up that money for a new iMac in a few years?
The rule of thumb is it is almost always cheaper to buy a newer used machine than to upgrade the processor. Possible exceptions if you can get the processor extra cheap, etc.
2) If I do upgrade its processor, do I need to upgrade other parts too ? that could become costly as well...worth it ?
You've already done two of the big ones, the drive and the RAM.
3) Would upgrading to a Double processor allow that much more speed and will it allow me to install Leopard or Snow Leopard because at the moment its stuck at Tiger?
You don't say exactly which model Quicksilver this is. Still, no G4 can run Snow Leopard which requires Intel processors which won't fit in a G4. Leopard, yes, assuming you have the RAM and processor speed.
Opinions and comments ?!?
I don't know how far you can push it on the funds side. Put it this way, any PPC generation Mac is fast reaching the age of almost total non-support. Leopard is already one generation old and once you reach two generations, as Tiger just did, support really drops off. This is exacerbated by the advent of Intel Macs. As you see, Apple's new OS only runs on Intel Macs and many software developers are turning their backs on PPCs. What I'm saying is that you may want to reconsider tossing a couple of hundred on a processor upgrade for a computer that will still be markedly behind when you finish your upgrades. A few years ago when Leopard came out and PPCs were still young, if you had Panther and wanted Leopard you could toss in a faster processor and be running the newest OS on an old machine with not too many noticeable disadvantages vs. a newer machine. There's no way you're going to emulate that by putting a faster processor in a G4 unless you're content with still having limitations at the end of it all.
If at all possible try to get at least an Intel Mac of some variety and then you'll at least be able to run the newer OS versions.

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When I try to make a new video, a window comes up that says,"The operation could not be completed," and then under it, it says,"No other information is available about the problem," what is happening and how do I fix it?

when I try to make a new video, a window comes up that says,"The operation could not be completed," and then under it, it says,"No other information is available about the problem," what is happening and how do I fix it?

Hi
And without info - it's near to impossibly to help. Try my general troubleshooting note:
Troubleshooting note
When iMovie doesn't work as intended this can be due to a lot of reasons
iMovie Pref files got corrupted - trash it/they and iMovie makes new and error free one's
problem in iMovie Cache folder - trash Cache.mov and Cache.plist
Creating a new User-Account and log into this
This forces iMovie to create all pref. and cache files new and error free
Event or Project got corrupted - try to make a copy and repair
a Codec is used that doesn't work (even though iMovie and/or iDVD tries to / they fail in the end)
version miss match of QuickTime Player / iMovie / iDVD
preferences are wrong - Repair Preferences
other hard disk problem - Repair Hard Disk (Disk Util tool - but start Mac from ext HD or DVD)
External hard disks - MUST BE - Mac OS Extended (hfs) formatted to work with Video
( UNIX/DOS/FAT32/Mac OS Exchange - works for most other things - but not for Video )
USB-flash-memories - usually do not work
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iPhoto Library got problems - let iPhoto select another one or repair it. Re-build this first then try to re-start iMovie. When iMovie starts-up it first look trough this iPhoto library and if faulty it all Halt’s.
This You do by
First - close iPhoto
Secondly - on start up of iPhoto - Keep {cmd and alt-keys down}
Thirdly - now select all five options presented
THEN - WAIT a long long time (>20 hours are not strange)
free space on Start-Up (Mac OS) hard disk to low (<1Gb) - I never go under 25Gb free space for SD-Video (4-5 times more for HD)
external devices interferes - turn off Mac - disconnect all of them and - Start up again and re-try
GarageBand fix - start GB - play a few notes - Close it again and now try iMovie
Screen must be set to million-colors
Third-party plug-ins doesn't work OK
Run "Cache Out X", clear out all caches and restarts the Mac
Let Your Mac be turned on during one night. At about midnight there is a set of maintenance programs that runs and tidying up. This might help
Turn off Your Mac - and disconnect Mains - for about 20-30 minutes - at least this resets the FireWire port.
In QuickTime - DivX, 3ivx codec, Flip4Mac, Perian etc - might be problematic - temporarily move them out and re-try
(I deleted the file "3ivxVideoCodec.component" located in Mac HD/Library/Quicktime and this resolved my issue.)
buenrodri wrote
I solved the problem by removing the file: 3ivxVideoCodec.component. after that, up-dated iMovie runs ok.
Last resort: Trash all of iMovie and re-install it
Yours Bengt W

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More involved forgotten question issues - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3961813
Kappy 09/2012 post about security questions - https://discussions.apple.com/message/19569468
John Galt's tips (09&11/2012) - https://discussions.apple.com/message/19809294 and https://discussions.apple.com/message/20229239
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Why do you need to re-install? Try to fix the problem.
I would assume a 10.2 full install would be fairly cheap on ebay.
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HD Upper or lower interlace or not that is the question

Ok Im a bit confused and cannot seem to get a straight direction on this. I shoot in 30fps 1080i, I capture in HD via firewire, I edit and when outputting for regular DVDs do I encode UPPER FIELD first since the source media is HD or LOWER FIELD first because it is doing to DV.
When encoding with Media Encoder should I check the deinterlace button when encoding HD for a DV project going to encore or not check it...that is the question.
Where is my Commedore 64 when I need it?

Choose the correct field order for your
export format when exporting, in this case DV.
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Who needs a Commodore 64 when you have a Vic 20! ;)
Cheers
Eddie
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I have a mac mini which I bought in 2008. I need to buy a new mac, imac, and want to transfer all the files to the new mac. Can I do that with the 5 year old mini?

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Use the Migration Assistant. See:
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Thankyou for the reply.
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How do I remove migrated PPC apps from Intel iMac that has the same apps?

Before I begin, please know that I've read a lot of previous posts but all the posts only had some of what I needed so I'm posting this as a new topic. OK, here I go:
My PPC running 10.5 just froze-up (that has since been solved) but in the process of solving that issue, I migrated everything as a different user (User B) INCLUDING my applications, to my Intel iMac - my iMac that also had the same applications on it - except they were intel versions and they were under User A.
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Then, using Migration Assistant, I transferred User B onto my PPC. Now both of my computers have duplicates of most of my applications. In trying to fix this issue, I found out I should NOT have transferred my applications. So now I'm very confused as to which apps I should remove off my PPC and which I should remove off my intel iMac.
If I just delete User B from my intel iMac, that's easy enough but will that remove the dupes? I have a funny feeling it doesn't.
And then, which do I remove from my PPC?
AND THEN, are there other things I will need to remove from different places on my computer?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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Normally application go in the Applications folder at the top level of the hard drive, not in any user folders. If you have applications in user folders that are the same as those in the Applications folder, you can delete them from the user folders. If you actually migrated PPC applications into the Applications folder on an Intel Mac, it would have replaced the Intel versions. To fix that,you would have to reinstall OSX on the Intel Mac.
The same thing would apply on the PPC Mac.

Buy or not to buy? that is the question !!

I have a powerbook already and I love macs, I being thinking about buying an iMac to have at home and enjoy the sweetness of the dual core intel processors but when I start reading "rumors" web pages I came down to the question of if it was the proper moment to buy an iMac or not, I mean, we have "Leopard" stepping at our doors an there are rumors about it coming on the end of march or beginnings of April, and possibly the computers may update then too, so should I buy it now? I don't mind to wait a little time to get some thing better like leopard or a little more of ram or video memory, what should I do?

Hi Kornfobic
Elmac is right as far as I am concerned. I just bought this iMac about three weeks ago knowing that I'll probably have to pay extra for Leopard whenever it comes out. I don't for a minute regret getting the iMac now instead of waiting. It is SOOOO much better than the old G4 I had. I am having a real ball working with it and, as a sort of bonus, when Leopard actually does come out I will no doubt upgrade and enjoy yet again all the new features as if I had just purchased yet another iMac.
Go for it.
Rick

To RAID or not to RAID, that is the question

People often ask: Should I raid my disks?
The question is simple, unfortunately the answer is not. So here I'm going to give you another guide to help you decide when a raid array is advantageous and how to go about it. Notice that this guide also applies to SSD's, with the expection of the parts about mechanical failure.
What is a RAID?
RAID is the acronym for "Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks". The concept originated at the University of Berkely in 1987 and was intended to create large storage capacity with smaller disks without the need for very expensive and reliable disks, that were very expensive at that time, often a tenfold of smaller disks. Today prices of hard disks have fallen so much that it often is more attractive to buy a single 1 TB disk than two 500 GB disks. That is the reason that today RAID is often described as "Redundant Array of Independent Disks".
The idea behind RAID is to have a number of disks co-operate in such a way that it looks like one big disk. Note that 'Spanning' is not in any way comparable to RAID, it is just a way, like inverse partitioning, to extend the base partition to use multiple disks, without changing the method of reading and writing to that extended partition.
Why use a RAID?
Now with these lower disks prices today, why would a video editor consider a raid array? There are two reasons:
1. Redundancy (or security)
2. Performance
Notice that it can be a combination of both reasons, it is not an 'either/or' reason.
Does a video editor need RAID?
No, if the above two reasons, redundancy and performance are not relevant. Yes if either or both reasons are relevant.
Re 1. Redundancy
Every mechanical disk will eventually fail, sometimes on the first day of use, sometimes only after several years of usage. When that happens, all data on that disk are lost and the only solution is to get a new disk and recreate the data from a backup (if you have one) or through tedious and time-consuming work. If that does not bother you and you can spare the time to recreate the data that were lost, then redundancy is not an issue for you. Keep in mind that disk failures often occur at inconvenient moments, on a weekend when the shops are closed and you can't get a replacement disk, or when you have a tight deadline.
Re 2. Performance
Opponents of RAID will often say that any modern disk is fast enough for video editing and they are right, but only to a certain extent. As fill rates of disks go up, performance goes down, sometimes by 50%. As the number of disk activities on the disk go up , like accessing (reading or writing) pagefile, media cache, previews, media, project file, output file, performance goes down the drain. The more tracks you have in your project, the more strain is put on your disk. 10 tracks require 10 times the bandwidth of a single track. The more applications you have open, the more your pagefile is used. This is especially apparent on systems with limited memory.
The following chart shows how fill rates on a single disk will impact performance:
Remember that I said previously the idea behind RAID is to have a number of disks co-operate in such a way that it looks like one big disk. That means a RAID will not fill up as fast as a single disk and not experience the same performance degradation.
RAID basics
Now that we have established the reasons why people may consider RAID, let's have a look at some of the basics.
Single or Multiple?
There are three methods to configure a RAID array: mirroring, striping and parity check. These are called levels and levels are subdivided in single or multiple levels, depending on the method used. A single level RAID0 is striping only and a multiple level RAID15 is a combination of mirroring (1) and parity check (5). Multiple levels are designated by combining two single levels, like a multiple RAID10, which is a combination of single level RAID0 with a single level RAID1.
Hardware or Software?
The difference is quite simple: hardware RAID controllers have their own processor and usually their own cache. Software RAID controllers use the CPU and the RAM on the motherboard. Hardware controllers are faster but also more expensive. For RAID levels without parity check like Raid0, Raid1 and Raid10 software controllers are quite good with a fast PC.
The common Promise and Highpoint cards are all software controllers that (mis)use the CPU and RAM memory. Real hardware RAID controllers all use their own IOP (I/O Processor) and cache (ever wondered why these hardware controllers are expensive?).
There are two kinds of software RAID's. One is controlled by the BIOS/drivers (like Promise/Highpoint) and the other is solely OS dependent. The first kind can be booted from, the second one can only be accessed after the OS has started. In performance terms they do not differ significantly.
For the technically inclined: Cluster size, Block size and Chunk size
In short: Cluster size applies to the partition and Block or Stripe size applies to the array.
With a cluster size of 4 KB, data are distributed across the partition in 4 KB parts. Suppose you have a 10 KB file, three full clusters will be occupied: 4 KB - 4 KB - 2 KB. The remaining 2 KB is called slackspace and can not be used by other files. With a block size (stripe) of 64 KB, data are distributed across the array disks in 64 KB parts. Suppose you have a 200 KB file, the first part of 64 KB is located on disk A, the second 64 KB is located on disk B, the third 64 KB is located on disk C and the remaining 8 KB on disk D. Here there is no slackspace, because the block size is subdivided into clusters. When working with audio/video material a large block size is faster than smaller block size. Working with smaller files a smaller block size is preferred.
Sometimes you have an option to set 'Chunk size', depending on the controller. It is the minimal size of a data request from the controller to a disk in the array and only useful when striping is used. Suppose you have a block size of 16 KB and you want to read a 1 MB file. The controller needs to read 64 times a block of 16 KB. With a chunk size of 32 KB the first two blocks will be read from the first disk, the next two blocks from the next disk, and so on. If the chunk size is 128 KB. the first 8 blocks will be read from the first disk, the next 8 block from the second disk, etcetera. Smaller chunks are advisable with smaller filer, larger chunks are better for larger (audio/video) files.
RAID Levels
For a full explanation of various RAID levels, look here: http://www.acnc.com/04_01_00/html
What are the benefits of each RAID level for video editing and what are the risks and benefits of each level to help you achieve better redundancy and/or better performance? I will try to summarize them below.
RAID0
The Band AID of RAID. There is no redundancy! There is a risk of losing all data that is a multiplier of the number of disks in the array. A 2 disk array carries twice the risk over a single disk, a X disk array carries X times the risk of losing it all.
A RAID0 is perfectly OK for data that you will not worry about if you lose them. Like pagefile, media cache, previews or rendered files. It may be a hassle if you have media files on it, because it requires recapturing, but not the end-of-the-world. It will be disastrous for project files.
Performance wise a RAID0 is almost X times as fast as a single disk, X being the number of disks in the array.
RAID1
The RAID level for the paranoid. It gives no performance gain whatsoever. It gives you redundancy, at the cost of a disk. If you are meticulous about backups and make them all the time, RAID1 may be a better solution, because you can never forget to make a backup, you can restore instantly. Remember backups require a disk as well. This RAID1 level can only be advised for the C drive IMO if you do not have any trust in the reliability of modern-day disks. It is of no use for video editing.
RAID3
The RAID level for video editors. There is redundancy! There is only a small performance hit when rebuilding an array after a disk failure due to the dedicated parity disk. There is quite a perfomance gain achieveable, but the drawback is that it requires a hardware controller from Areca. You could do worse, but apart from it being the Rolls-Royce amongst the hardware controllers, it is expensive like the car.
Performance wise it will achieve around 85% (X-1) on reads and 60% (X-1) on writes over a single disk with X being the number of disks in the array. So with a 6 disk array in RAID3, you get around 0.85x (6-1) = 425% the performance of a single disk on reads and 300% on writes.
RAID5 & RAID6
The RAID level for non-video applications with distributed parity. This makes for a somewhat severe hit in performance in case of a disk failure. The double parity in RAID6 makes it ideal for NAS applications.
The performance gain is slightly lower than with a RAID3. RAID6 requires a dedicated hardware controller, RAID5 can be run on a software controller but the CPU overhead negates to a large extent the performance gain.
RAID10
The RAID level for paranoids in a hurry. It delivers the same redundancy as RAID 1, but since it is a multilevel RAID, combined with a RAID0, delivers twice the performance of a single disk at four times the cost, apart from the controller. The main advantage is that you can have two disk failures at the same time without losing data, but what are the chances of that happening?
RAID30, 50 & 60
Just striped arrays of RAID 3, 5 or 6 which doubles the speed while keeping redundancy at the same level.
EXTRAS
RAID level 0 is striping, RAID level 1 is mirroring and RAID levels 3, 5 & 6 are parity check methods. For parity check methods, dedicated controllers offer the possibility of defining a hot-spare disk. A hot-spare disk is an extra disk that does not belong to the array, but is instantly available to take over from a failed disk in the array. Suppose you have a 6 disk RAID3 array with a single hot-spare disk and assume one disk fails. What happens? The data on the failed disk can be reconstructed in the background, while you keep working with negligeable impact on performance, to the hot-spare. In mere minutes your system is back at the performance level you were before the disk failure. Sometime later you take out the failed drive, replace it for a new drive and define that as the new hot-spare.
As stated earlier, dedicated hardware controllers use their own IOP and their own cache instead of using the memory on the mobo. The larger the cache on the controller, the better the performance, but the main benefits of cache memory are when handling random R+W activities. For sequential activities, like with video editing it does not pay to use more than 2 GB of cache maximum.
REDUNDANCY(or security)
Not using RAID entails the risk of a drive failing and losing all data. The same applies to using RAID0 (or better said AID0), only multiplied by the number of disks in the array.
RAID1 or 10 overcomes that risk by offering a mirror, an instant backup in case of failure at high cost.
RAID3, 5 or 6 offers protection for disk failure by reconstructing the lost data in the background (1 disk for RAID3 & 5, 2 disks for RAID6) while continuing your work. This is even enhanced by the use of hot-spares (a double assurance).
PERFORMANCE
RAID0 offers the best performance increase over a single disk, followed by RAID3, then RAID5 amd finally RAID6. RAID1 does not offer any performance increase.
Hardware RAID controllers offer the best performance and the best options (like adjustable block/stripe size and hot-spares), but they are costly.
SUMMARY
If you only have 3 or 4 disks in total, forget about RAID. Set them up as individual disks, or the better alternative, get more disks for better redundancy and better performance. What does it cost today to buy an extra disk when compared to the downtime you have when a single disk fails?
If you have room for at least 4 or more disks, apart from the OS disk, consider a RAID3 if you have an Areca controller, otherwise consider a RAID5.
If you have even more disks, consider a multilevel array by striping a parity check array to form a RAID30, 50 or 60.
If you can afford the investment get an Areca controller with battery backup module (BBM) and 2 GB of cache. Avoid as much as possible the use of software raids, especially under Windows if you can.
RAID, if properly configured will give you added redundancy (or security) to protect you from disk failure while you can continue working and will give you increased performance.
Look carefully at this chart to see what a properly configured RAID can do to performance and compare it to the earlier single disk chart to see the performance difference, while taking into consideration that you can have one disks (in each array) fail at the same time without data loss:
Hope this helps in deciding whether RAID is worthwhile for you.
WARNING: If you have a power outage without a UPS, all bets are off.
A power outage can destroy the contents of all your disks if you don't have a proper UPS. A BBM may not be sufficient to help in that case.

Harm,
thanks for your comment.
Your understanding was absolutely right.
Sorry my mistake its QNAP 639 PRO, populated with 5 1TB, one is empty.
So for my understanding, in my configuration you suggest NOT to use RAID-0. Im not willing to have more drives in my workstation becouse if my projekts are finished, i archiv on QNAP or archiv on other external drive.
My only intention is to have as much speed and as much performance as possible during developing a projekt
BTW QNAP i also use as media-center in combination with Sony PS3 to run the encoded files.
For my final understanding:
C: i understand
D: i understand
E and F: does it mean, when i create a projekt on E, all my captured and project-used MPEG - files should be situated in F? Or which media in F you mean?
Following your suggestions in want to rebulid Harms-Best Vista64-Benchmark comp to reach maximum speed and performance. Can i use in general the those hardware components (exept so many HD drives and exept Areca raid controller ) in my drive configuration C to F. Or would you suggest some changings in my situation?

AVCHD or not AVCHD (That is the question)

Just bought new camcorder to go from DV to HD (AVCHD).
Now i'm reading that Premiere sees this codec as difficult to work with. I thought it would be easier as it is a smaller file size / bit rate that other HD formats
is this not the case?
Have had to buy new processor, more rame and new graphics card just to get it to playback i track of AVCHD.
Why does Premiere see it as hard to decode / playback.

Say dippy26:
I might have a few things in common with you as I am about to go the 980x and Quadro 4000 setup..
What I seem to be finding out is the Quadro cards do not add that much benefit when working with AVCHD Files / do I have this right ?
I notice you have a raid setup / I was not going to go that way with AVCHD work because I was under the impression it was not needed as file access speed in not the issue with most AVCHD setups.
As you may know I have a Core I7 /920 & CS4, which does not work so well / but not because for drive speed.
The files play just fine, even a couple of layers, no problem.
But when I try running any FX's the 920 just bytes the dust.
Part of my problem is memory limitations of Win-XP./ my new setup will have 24gb memory access so those problems should be gone with CS5 64 bit once I get the configuration figured out..
Which Raid card are running / or just off the motherboard controller ?
Which Hard Drives are you running on the Raid array ??
RE: your NX5U...
right now I have only a little Sony cx550v, which for the bucks is rather amazing.
but the issue of files being automatically split is a real bummer as I do music videos and concerts.
**I have been looking into the NX5U and I see id does the Sony software which comes with it (for joining these split files into one long segment) "does not support a 64bit OS / has this been updated now / I can't seem to find this info on the Sony Site?
**the cx550v also does not support a 64 bit OS.
Does CS5 actually import split ACVHD files from your Sony and seamlessly join them ?
I was going for the EX1r which cost as much as 2 NX5U's / I know I would not have editing issues with the X1r files and they would also be better quality (so they say). my little cx550 has done a few things which to me are not a huge difference from what I see coming from these higher end EX1r's / at least on the internet display quality.
I understand when on full screen HD TV that is another story..
Do you have a clip or two of your NX5U work I could look at ?
Just trying to get my act together here and have to make a wise decision the first time around, if possible.
Thanks for the feedback !

To sleep, or turn-off, or leave on, that is the question

A couple years ago I called a local Mac dealer and asked the worth of my G4 iMac for a trade-in. He asked whether I usually turned the G4 off, or put it to sleep, or left it on all the time. I said, I usually left it on (with display turned off), or put it to sleep at night. He said the value was less in that case because the heat stresses in high-powered ICs were more detrimental to the life of the machine than on-off stresses. He said I should always turn the machine off at night.
I'm a retired computer engineer, and the philosophy we had at the time I was working was that the thermal stresses on ICs and solder joints induced by repeated on-off cycles was more harmful than the steady-state stresses of leaving a computer on 24/7.
So, that's my question. What is best for my new iMac for maximum reliability. (Forget about energy consumption for the moment.}
1. What's best for overall reliability - turn the unit off at night, put it to sleep at night, or leave it on (with the display in sleep) - or some variation of these.
2. Is there some magic in the OS that is optimized by one mode over another?
I'm expect there are no comprehensive studies on this subject, but perhaps there are some informed opinions.
-Bob

For a desktop Mac, I leave it ON all the time using only Display Sleep. I also have the setting for +sleeping hard drives when possible+ enabled, but that does not apply to the internal drive (when used as the startup disk); it keeps spinning. External drives do spin down when not accessed.
I believe leaving it on all the time causes less long-term stress on the hardware, for a Mac that is used every day for at least half the day.
I think the second best approach, and better approach for energy conservation, is to use Computer Sleep. However, it should be used so that when you start using the Mac at the start of the day, your Mac stays ON (with Display Sleep only) for the rest of the day. At the end of the day (when you will not be using it again until the next day), use Computer Sleep.
Periodically, for leaving it on all the time or using sleep, restart the Mac; you can make it weekly if you want a routine, but my iMac is fine for about three weeks. After that, I often notice some oddities with general performance, so I do a restart. I don't think about too much, because there is usually some other reason to do a restart within a three week period.
I think the worst approach, which a lot of people use, is have Energy Saver set to do Computer Sleep after a relatively short inactive period. Then, the Mac is repeatedly powering on and off (sleeping/waking) throughout the day, and that probably puts more stress on the hardware.
For a laptop Mac, they are designed to run off battery power and use sleep to save power (and their hard drives are better suited for that mode). The issues and considerations are not the same.

Lion or Snow Leopard - that is the question

We have an Imac that is just over a year old. We are trying to decide whether to switch to Lion from Snow Leopard.
We have an ipod, ipad and we just got two new iphone 4s. I think my main reason for switching will be to use the new features of the iphone 4s. I have not seen too much positively written about the lion os.
Does anyone know where i can go to see reviews on lion othere than these forums?

Here's a start for you:
http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2011/07/mac-os-x-10-7.ars
To get more, just type "os x lion reviews" in google and get all you want.
I didn't bother with reviews myself. I just made a clone of my Snow Leopard startup disk and went ahead and purchased and installed Lion just after it came out. To me, the best review is how the OS works for me, not what others say about it. By cloning my main drive and going ahead with the installation, I can safely try it out for myself. I've been using it for quite some time now and personally I do like most of the new features. There are some that I don't use but that's the case with all OSs I've had for the last 25 years on Macs.
So my advice is give it a try after you've backed up your stuff. $30 is not much to risk if you don't like it compared to what the earlier systems have cost. BTW, reading these forums is very useful but remember you are reading mostly posts from people who have had problems. The majority of users probably don't have these problems. And DO notice that the loudest protests are coming from those that have NOT taken the precaution to back up their SL stuff first. Not very wise.
Rick

New processor(s) or new iMac ? that is the question...

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