My First Mac

[wsteineker]

Hi everyone. I'm new to the Mac world, so I'll keep it brief. Save a brief stint on an iBook, I've never owned a Mac. I had to learn them to use FCP for a class at school, and I fell in love with the OS. I currently have a P4 1.2 box that runs Windows XP. Actually, to say that it runs would be a misnomer, but I digress. Anyway, I am looking to get a secondhand Mac to run OS X. I don't do much with my machine. I maintain a webpage for my fraternity, surf, word process, and e-mail. I've found a 450mhz Cube with i.5 gb ram and a Radeon for $800 in perfect condition. Is this a good buy, and will it be sufficient for what I need? I have heard about OS X and its ability to tax a system. Will this machine be too anemic? Thanks for your input!

 

[Vilacr]

That machine should run OSX just fine. For the price that is a good deal. What school do you attend in AL?

 

[wsteineker]

I attend Huntingdon College in Montgomery, AL

 

[Ensign Paris]

I would buy a Cube just because they are cool, I really love them!

Technically the Cube will be able to Run OSX with no problems, you would be better with a new iMac but the Cube should have no problems, I might consider upgrading the Cubes Graphics Card (There are a few hack sites that tell you how to do this!) to a Geforce 2 or 3 (OSX runs better on them

Ensign

 

[Mighty Mac]

Just thinking

Check out the old iMacs still for sale on apple.com. they are cheep never been used and have cd burningcapability. (for a little bit more money) Also should have a bigger HD, and the ram is easily upgradeable. And its only $800, if you are a student I think it is even less.

I run OS X on an iMac 400 mhz. if you get the 500 should be good for what your doing.

 

[wsteineker]

Thanks for the input, Ensign Paris. I am interested in the cube because of it's price. I'm a college student on a budget, and every cent I save counts. The cube is maxed out in the ram department, and if I add a refurb 15" Apple Studio Display from Smalldog.com, I still come in at $1249 as opposed to $1399 for the baseline iMac. The iMac would require memory upgrades, and I couldn't play DVDs on the low end drive. I already have an external firewire burner, so I don't need a built-in CDRW. And a GeForce2 MX is basically the same card as a Radeon, so there's no advantage there, either. Once I add speakers and the upper 512 mb dimm to the iMac it costs $1783, and that's before I add the other 3rd party 512 mb dimm. I do agree, though, that the cube is super cool. That's another part of the draw, honestly. What do you think?

 

[eyelikeart]

I would venture to say that $800 for a 450 Cube with 512 MB of RAM doesn't seem to be a bad price...

I really...really...REALLY want a cube...but I just can't bring myself to spend nearly $1000 just so I can have one...got way too many priorities to handle first...

 

[Vilacr]

Cool. I am a graduate of Tuskegee University in AL. I got my undergrad (ChemEng) in 98 and my masters( environEng) in 01. As for the cube, go for it. You can't beat that price. Have you checked out circuit city? They have great prices on the original imac since apple severed ties with them. I saw the G3 700 mhz imac selling for $899 the last time I was there (about a week ago). That was in Columbus Ga though. Montgomery and Columbus aren't to far apart. The gump is about 40 miles from TU and TU is about 40 miles from Columbus so 80 miles in all. Or maybe go through Auburn and cut out a few miles.

 

[wsteineker]

I thought about the G3 iMac 700, but I can get more ram and a better video chipset in the Cube. I can get a bigger, nicer monitor for the Cube as well. Also, I was under the impression that, while the clock speed of the G3 iMac is faster, the G4 450 in the cube would perform better in OS X due to AltiVec acceleration. Am I mistaken about this? By the way, it's good to hear from someone who is familiar with the gump. It's a hole, but it's home.

 

[kishba]

Originally posted by eyelikeart
I would venture to say that $800 for a 450 Cube with 512 MB of RAM doesn't seem to be a bad price...

I really...really...REALLY want a cube...but I just can't bring myself to spend nearly $1000 just so I can have one...got way too many priorities to handle first...

i hear you... i'm really annoyed by the loud sound of my quicksilver... i have been spending more and more time on my powerbook because it is quiet

the cube is the perfect machine for me... i couldn't find a cube when i was looking to buy (They stopped making the machine while i was still saving for it)

i really hope the cube is reincarnated (sp?)

 

[wsteineker]

Crunch Time

Ok folks, here are the final specs of the Cube. Let me know if this is a good idea before i get frisky with the PayPal, ok. It's a G4 450, DVD, 512 mb ram, 40 gb hd, GeForce 2 mx with Photoshop 6, Dreamweaver, and Office 2001. I plan on running OS X (my reason for switching platforms), so these apps won't do me a whole lot of good, as I'd really prefer to run antive apps. It's $900, and I am getting 1 more gb of ram for $200. That puts me at $1100 total for a maxed out system. Should I do it? I think I will do it no matter what, but I just want a little reassurance first. Thanks for the help. You guys are really a great community, and I'm thrilled that I've found all of you!

 

[mac15]

thats a cool setup
I'd keep the cube for collectors purposes and it
simply rocks
I wiash apple still made cubes

 

[Beej]

Mmm... cube... *drool*

Buy it. Cubes rock. And to have it maxed out like that... what a great little setup!

 

[wsteineker]

Final Thoughts...

Thanks for the input everyone. See, this is why I love the Mac. No PC users on these boards listing their occupation as hAx8r, saying that their P4 is k3wler than yours. Just nice, friendly people helping me make a pretty important decision, welcoming me into the fold. It's done, I'm in. The Cube is en route, and soon I'll be joining you on the greener pastures of OS X. Again, thanks.

 

[Mr. Anderson]

Welcome to Macdom. This thread could almost be put in the mac convert section. Post back here once you get up and running and let us know how everything is working out.