But why not go just a little further and get the Mac Pro? Then you don’t have to worry for a while. The 2.33 is just a couple of hundred more than the iMac 2.33 24".
3GB would be PLENTY for MANY users. Not everyone cranks out 500MB Photoshop files. In fact, I’d be willing to bet it’d be fine for 85% of all Photoshop users.
Indeed 3 Gb is plenty for many users – today. But a box bought for future (2007, 2008, 2009…) Photoshop usage constrained to 3 GB of RAM, when PSCS2 already performs better with up to 8 GB of RAM, IMO will prove to be a much less effective purchase. My forecast is that Aperture, PSCS3/PSCS4, OS 10.5 and beyond will make RAM very desirable in the future of our new true 64-bit world.
IMO pros are invariably better off with pro boxes.
Aperture’s first major hardware limitation is the graphics card, then RAM. Quad G5s with the stock, not-upgradable 6600 graphics card are virtually useless for Aperture, while my max-graphics G4 Powerbook is actually usable ("adequate"). Best of course are MacIntel boxes with 2 GB or more of RAM.