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Im thinking of Switching....

C

Computer_Phreak

macrumors 6502
Original poster
I have mulled over the decision of selling my iMac to buy a cheaper, faster PC.

I know, The quality of software won't be as great, but the hardware will be excellent.

I can keep my ~$1350 Combo iMac
-40 GB HD
-256 MB 133 RAM
-700 Mhz G4
-Geforce 2 Mx

Or, for about ~$400 get a PC:
-80 GB /w 8 MB cache
-512 MB DDR 266 RAM
-2000 AMD Athlon
-Geforce 4 Ti 4600

I plan on using Linux Redhat 8 or Mandrake 9. None of that M$ crap. 🙂

I will probably switch back to the mac when I go off to a private HS or to college, when I'll probably get a TiBook.

I just can't justify the inferior hardware of the Mac for such a high price.
 
sorry for the switch. hope you come back soon. but one question, why are you telling us this. you wanna start a thread where everybody yells at you. just curious.

iJon
 
Originally posted by iJon
sorry for the switch. hope you come back soon. but one question, why are you telling us this. you wanna start a thread where everybody yells at you. just curious.

iJon
Click to expand...

Well... I want to show people that right now, a mac isn't even half-decent in terms of hardware. People say their G3 can compete with someone's P4, but it really can't. And the sad thing is, the processor is the least of Apple's worries right now.

If Apple were to include some high quality components, then sure, your Mac could compete with the Dells out there and win, in all but the most CPU intensive benchmarks.
 
Can I ask where you can get that pc stuff for ~$400? I am thinking of upgrading my pc to something close to that but the best I can find is around $600-700.

As for your switching, why do you want new hardware? If it is for games then a pc is definitely a better way to go but for everything else I doubt you will gain much. An extra stick of ram for the imac would probably be a better investment.
 
?

Were can you get a peecee with thouse specs for 400$???, i know that the Geforce 4 ti has come down a lot but this sounds a little false. Maybe you could get that computer w/ thouse specs if you paid about 700+ dollars and made it your self. It dosen't add up if i could have a crappy peeccee for that amoount a would have it planted right next to my wonderful TiBook 🙂

why why why why?????

what do you need to do that you need a peecee for other than gaming ? and if it's for gaming thier aren't many games for linux, they have almost the same # of native games as we do ;(

POwerBook g4 1ghz
 
Originally posted by Computer_Phreak


Well... I want to show people that right now, a mac isn't even half-decent in terms of hardware. People say their G3 can compete with someone's P4, but it really can't. And the sad thing is, the processor is the least of Apple's worries right now.

If Apple were to include some high quality components, then sure, your Mac could compete with the Dells out there and win, in all but the most CPU intensive benchmarks.
Click to expand...
what cpu intensive programs are you gonna be using under redhat or mandrake??

iJon
 
Originally posted by rundevilrun
Can I ask where you can get that pc stuff for ~$400? I am thinking of upgrading my pc to something close to that but the best I can find is around $600-700.

As for your switching, why do you want new hardware? If it is for games then a pc is definitely a better way to go but for everything else I doubt you will gain much. An extra stick of ram for the imac would probably be a better investment.
Click to expand...


Well i need the $...


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31497&item=2083695987

Im not sure if hes legit... but I contacted him and and the Gefoce 4 is +$100
 
Originally posted by iJon

what cpu intensive programs are you gonna be using under redhat or mandrake??

iJon
Click to expand...

I'll either dual boot Window$ or use an emulator to play games....

I really don't do that many CPU intensive tasks, but i was just using it as an example.
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...item=2083695987
Im not sure if hes legit... but I contacted him and and the Gefoce 4 is +$100
Click to expand...

Well I'd be careful, something smells funny with that one. The cheapest Geforce 4 Ti4600's on ebay are up to around 175, seems unlikely he'd be selling them for 100. Unless they're remarked 4200's or something.
 
See you soon.
😀
Apple does have low-end hardware, but if you wanted to make your own mac there have been a couple guides for both of them.
And when drives come out for decent graphics cards you can get them. 🙄
Atleast your not 'totally' switching (to M$).😉
 
so your in need of money and you bought an iMac for $1350 which you will now sell for much less than the sticker price to buy a cheap pc? sorry to here that man. is there no way to get some extra money other than selling your mac, like a second job or something? maybe some old baseball cards or comics......heh.
Oh and how do you justify selling an iMac that you just bought to only go out and buy a even more expensive Tibook later?
doesnt make much sense to me, but it doesnt have to becaue its your choice, hope you think it through first.
 
Originally posted by medea
so your in need of money and you bought an iMac for $1350 which you will now sell for much less than the sticker price to buy a cheap pc? sorry to here that man. is there no way to get some extra money other than selling your mac, like a second job or something? maybe some old baseball cards or comics......heh.
Oh and how do you justify selling an iMac that you just bought to only go out and buy a even more expensive Tibook later?
doesnt make much sense to me, but it doesnt have to becaue its your choice, hope you think it through first.
Click to expand...

First of all....

I purchased the iMac soon after it came out and payed the full $1495 from Amazon.com

Anyway...

The money shortage has come about recently, and also don't see the point of keeping the iMac when new ones are coming out in days.
 
Hey you didn't include a monitor for the PC either...

... and a flatscreen monitor comparable to that of the iMac will cost about $200 to $300, and it won't tilt and swivel as nicely.

And what about the cost of software? XP home is $100, XP pro is $200. And you'll need MS Works or something like that too. You wouldn't be using illegal copies now would ya? Of course not.

Say, what software are you going to use for CD burning?

I think that $400 PC is going to cost a tad more to be comparable to that iMac. Quite a big tad, in fact.

Hey, if this is all about money, why don't you consider a used G4 tower and a VGA monitor? The tower will let you upgrade the video card and add lots of drives.
 
I give that ebay item a thumbs down!

Where do you see the Geforce4 card on that ebay post?

I agree with other posts, you will need to buy a decent monitor, so add an additional $300 or so for a good one (if flat like the iMac's, add $400).

The motherboard has some noname sound chip and a Geforce2 integrated chip. Oh, no Firewire on it 🙂

Now, you probably won't get much support from this guy, and I see no software or OS included, so add a couple of hundreds for that.

So let us see,

$300 for system
$300 for a good monitor
$150 or so for OS
$150 for software
$100 for a firewire card (estimate)

what does that get us to? $1000. And that box looks ugly! But you might be able to play games faster!

😀
 
Re: Im thinking of Switching....

Originally posted by Computer_Phreak

I just can't justify the inferior hardware of the Mac for such a high price.
Click to expand...


I gotta ask what you are doing / need to do that your Mac can't handle (games don't count).


Looks like a troll to me....
 
Originally posted by Computer_Phreak



Well i need the $...


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31497&item=2083695987

Im not sure if hes legit... but I contacted him and and the Gefoce 4 is +$100
Click to expand...

Dude, there's no way this guy is for real. Look, he says to email him at "bigsexy@bradleo.com". I wouldn't buy from him just for that. 🙄

If you want to buy cheaply but from a reputable vendor, try building your own machine from a barebones kit from TigerDirect.com. For $300 you can get a rockin' setup with a 1.7 GHz Athlon, 40GB drive, 128MB RAM, motherboard with 5 PCI slots, 3 DDR DIMM slots, a 4x AGP slot, 6 drive bays (though the motherboard only supports up to 4 IDE devices), and 6 USB ports. Add 256MB DDR RAM for $59, a network card for $8, and GeForce2 MX for $39, and you've got a pretty damn sweet setup for a little over $400 (monitor not included).

I myself am thinking of building this setup for gaming. I figure this should be able to handle any games that come along in the next 2 or 3 years, with at most one video card upgrade during that time.
 
Originally posted by Computer_Phreak


I'll either dual boot Window$ or use an emulator to play games....

I really don't do that many CPU intensive tasks, but i was just using it as an example.
Click to expand...

Oh man, good riddens. You are contradicting yourself in your own posts! You said earlier "none of that M$ crap", and here you go dual booting. Not fast enough for what? Your porn will download a .5 seconds faster on a built in version of IE. I guess I am a bit cranky today, don't take it personally. i don't mean any harm. 🙂
 
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