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Build your own mac

Haberdasher said:
No, it would be a very powerful, tricked out machine that would cost about 1200 bucks. The myth of a crappy beige box is naive and represents the extent to which some of you Maccies have breen brainwashed.

Love my Mac, but honestly, PCs are cheaper and won't break on you just because you don't pay 3000 bucks.
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There we go, thank you :)

People need to understand that while a build-it-yourself PC is cheaper, doesn't mean you should buy the cheapest components available. Basic common sense like not buying 3rd-party/no name RAM should be there. Sticking to a reputable MOBO maker (Asus or Abit) and quality fans (demand Panaflos, nothing else quieter and as powerful).

1) The power supply. Don't try to save money buying a $30 PSU that is supposedly "400W". That $30 PSU will die on you, and can possibly take your entire computer with it (hard drives, motherboard, ram). Don't want that to happen? Spend 70bucks on a reputable Enermax or Antec power supply. Accept nothing less.

2) The case. Again, no $30 "On-sale" cases. These are worthless. I still stick to the basic Chieftec, 4-fan case with 2 USB2.0 ports/FW. These usually run $60-$80 and are well worth it. Those $30 cases will probably have poor ventilation as well...that could lead to a MULTITUDE of problems for your components. Don't risk it.
 
Can you even buy all the parts on ebay? You do realize it doesn't come w/ the coveted 3 year apple care right? I mean you just can't buy a $3K mac w/o tagging another $300 on there 'cause you never know when something will go wrong, and the only way to save it is ship it to Apple. I mean seriously, who wants to buy their own PC and have the freedom to fix it any time they want by switching out the faulty part, buy the replacement part, and resolving the problem all in the same day?

caveman_uk said:
Yeah, but it would still be just another buggy, virus-ridden, crappy beige box though wouldn't it?
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Thanks for solidifying the ignorance of mac fanatics.
 
macs have their purpose and pcs have theirs

if you strapped for cash, are really into gaming, running auto cad etc then pcs are for you. sure xp, 2000, 98 se, arent perfect but they do what most people want them to do. im not ashamed to say i own a windoze box, and i dont think anyone who does should be. in fact i think it makes me a better mac user for owning one, a better computer person for owning one. helps me know what other people are using so i can help them, and lets me appreciate my mac.

Building your own mac will be a labor or love, because of sourcing parts, assembly, etc. building a pc is much easier, and a great experience as well.

know thy enemy :)
 
virividox said:
macs have their purpose and pcs have theirs

if you strapped for cash, are really into gaming, running auto cad etc then pcs are for you. sure xp, 2000, 98 se, arent perfect but they do what most people want them to do. im not ashamed to say i own a windoze box, and i dont think anyone who does should be. in fact i think it makes me a better mac user for owning one, a better computer person for owning one. helps me know what other people are using so i can help them, and lets me appreciate my mac.

Building your own mac will be a labor or love, because of sourcing parts, assembly, etc. building a pc is much easier, and a great experience as well.

know thy enemy :)
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very well said
 
FuzzyBallz said:
Thanks for solidifying the ignorance of mac fanatics.
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Hardly a mac fanatic. I've probably built a lot more PCs than you ever have and I used them for years before I got a mac so I'm not some uniformed blinded zealot. I've also used most of the Window's OS's from 95 through to XP as well as FreeBSD and Linux on x86 hardware. None of them comes close to the ease of use and just plain reliability as a mac running OS X. Even if macs cost 4 times as much as a PC I still wouldn't buy/build another PC for my own use.
 
blue&whiteman said:
if upgrades didn't have a market then they wouldn't be around.
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Very true.. I just sunk $1000 into my iBook.. RAM, HDD and Superdrive.

Makes things ta whole lot nicer and its going to hold me over till I can get a 12" PowerBook thats atleast 1 - 1.5GHz faster than my current notebook..
 
To make an equivalent PC to Powermac G5 Dual 2.0, you have to spend somewhere close to 3K using good components/brands.

But more importantly, it will still be a x86 PC running Windows variations.
 
Horrortaxi said:
I know of people who have built their own Macs "from scratch" and I have considered doing it myself. You really only do it for bragging rights. It isn't worth it. You have to buy a lot of used parts, which will be from older Macs, and some 3rd party upgrade parts. In the end you will have a 3-4 year old Mac that ended up costing you almost as much as a new one.

If you want to spend $1500 on a Sawtooth G4 then go right ahead.
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Sawtooths run like $400 on ebay.
 
MacDaddie0 said:
To make an equivalent PC to Powermac G5 Dual 2.0, you have to spend somewhere close to 3K using good components/brands.

But more importantly, it will still be a x86 PC running Windows variations.
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Not true. Around 1.5 years ago, I built a PC for gaming with the following spec's for $1200:

Antec Tower Case with 350W Power Supply
Asus A7N8X Deluxe Motherboard
.. with Dual Ethernet ans Serial ATA RAID
AMD Athlon 2600+ CPU
512MB Corsair DDR333 CL2 RAM
60GB 7200rpm Drive
Asus DVD-ROM
PNY 128MB GeForce4 Ti Video Card

Those components are all good brands and it actually boots faster than my PB 1.33 and iMac 800. I still love the Mac for its usability and stability, however, the notion of the Macintosh line being priced comparatively to PC's is not true. Of course, you are also paying for the OS when you buy a Mac, but that only remove $130 from the equation. I still think Mac's are overpriced, but I will still continue to purchase from Apple because I feel that's where my money is best spent.
 
rhpenguin said:
Very true.. I just sunk $1000 into my iBook.. RAM, HDD and Superdrive.

Makes things a whole lot nicer and its going to hold me over till I can get a 12" PowerBook thats atleast 1 - 1.5GHz faster than my current notebook..
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glad to hear you've boosted your mac. it was so much fun upgrading my mac. seeing it get faster and faster with each add on brought lots of joy to me.

you have a pretty respectable ibook setup from what I see in your sig.
 
tomf87 said:
Not true. Around 1.5 years ago, I built a PC for gaming with the following spec's for $1200:

Antec Tower Case with 350W Power Supply
Asus A7N8X Deluxe Motherboard
.. with Dual Ethernet ans Serial ATA RAID
AMD Athlon 2600+ CPU
512MB Corsair DDR333 CL2 RAM
60GB 7200rpm Drive
Asus DVD-ROM
PNY 128MB GeForce4 Ti Video Card
...
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Are you sure you spent 1200? If you look at my specs, I built basically the same thing (ignore my 250gb), except:
Non-Deluxe A7N8X (- $35)
2100+ vs. 2600+ (- $80)
NEW 80GB WD w/ 8MB cache (+ $20 or $30)
DVD-ROM (? $, probably $50-$70?)
Ti 4200? (~ $130-140).

If you add that up, that's + $240; - $115.
Net gain...only like $130.

Considering I only spent $ 700, with your new components that should be around only $830 then...I am wondering if you are not including the cost of a new monitor perhaps (my 17" NEC/Mitsubishi Diamontron was only $170 2 years ago)? That makes it $1000 then. My set up also included a new Chieftec (1999 Alienware look-alike) AX-01BLD case [$70] and a [$80] Antec True 430. Again, all of this ~700.

Did you buy your components from Newegg or elsewhere? I am really worried you might have gotten ripped off somewhere :(
 
Mav451 said:
There is no such thing as 1.8Ghz P3. There is a 1.8Ghz P4, however.
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It probably is. I couldn't remember if it was a P3 or P4. I knew it was 1.8 GHz for sure, though. I'll have to check on updating those video drivers. Thanks.

My friend's PC on the other hand is really screwy despite running Adaware. I installed FireFox and he uses that, but nothing has actually helped his computer.
 
7on said:
Sawtooths run like $400 on ebay.
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Thank you for pointing that out.

A complete Sawtooth will run about $400. Now price the parts individually--case, logic board, graphics card, etc and it will cost much more. Add RAM, hard drive, upgrade processor (if you want faster than 450mhz or can't find a stock one) and you've spent 3 times the value of the computer. But buying one whole for $400 goes against the idea of building your own.

That's why I think it's a little stupid. Noble, but stupid.
 
applekid said:
It probably is. I couldn't remember if it was a P3 or P4. I knew it was 1.8 GHz for sure, though. I'll have to check on updating those video drivers. Thanks.

My friend's PC on the other hand is really screwy despite running Adaware. I installed FireFox and he uses that, but nothing has actually helped his computer.
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Yeah, it might be too late. For all we know, his registry and dll's are probably fubared from the numerous spyware/viruses that seep through IE/OE respectively...

A clean format, with firefox ONLY should cover this for now. I personally stopped using adaware b/c it missed a ton of spyware in its detection; hence the reason I use only Spybot S & D.

*One last thing. If he has a 1.8 Celeron in there...that is like a 1ghz Athlon equivalent, or even less. A celeron is called "celery" for a reason :)
 
Mav451 said:
Are you sure you spent 1200? If you look at my specs, I built basically the same thing (ignore my 250gb), except:
Non-Deluxe A7N8X (- $35)
2100+ vs. 2600+ (- $80)
NEW 80GB WD w/ 8MB cache (+ $20 or $30)
DVD-ROM (? $, probably $50-$70?)
Ti 4200? (~ $130-140).

If you add that up, that's + $240; - $115.
Net gain...only like $130.

Considering I only spent $ 700, with your new components that should be around only $830 then...I am wondering if you are not including the cost of a new monitor perhaps (my 17" NEC/Mitsubishi Diamontron was only $170 2 years ago)? That makes it $1000 then. My set up also included a new Chieftec (1999 Alienware look-alike) AX-01BLD case [$70] and a [$80] Antec True 430. Again, all of this ~700.

Did you buy your components from Newegg or elsewhere? I am really worried you might have gotten ripped off somewhere :(
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The $1200 includes a 19" monitor. Also, I bought the A7N8X Deluxe when it first came out, and it was close to $100 then. And the 2600+ was pretty new too. And the RAM, I splurged on it because it was a dual-channel kit, and those were relatively new. When you buy parts when they first come out, they tend to cost a little more.
 
tomf87 said:
The $1200 includes a 19" monitor. Also, I bought the A7N8X Deluxe when it first came out, and it was close to $100 then. And the 2600+ was pretty new too. And the RAM, I splurged on it because it was a dual-channel kit, and those were relatively new. When you buy parts when they first come out, they tend to cost a little more.
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You DO realize I bought the parts around the same time as you did? (1.5 years ago) I am referring to a NewEgg receipt and not making this up.

The Deluxe was $150+ at release, not 100. The Non-Dlx was around $114.

If that 19" was a Sony, then that would explain for most of the discrepancies. Additionally, I think you meant CL2, not CL3 for ddr333. Even Crucial.com's PC2700 memory, which is not exactly mean for overclocking, is default @ 7-3-3-2.5 (2.5 being the CL). Again, more reason to think you got CL2 (those were running 150-180 for dual kits back then).

Now it does make a bit more sense.
 
Mav451 said:
You DO realize I bought the parts around the same time as you did? (1.5 years ago) I am referring to a NewEgg receipt and not making this up.

The Deluxe was $150+ at release, not 100. The Non-Dlx was around $114.

If that 19" was a Sony, then that would explain for most of the discrepancies. Additionally, I think you meant CL2, not CL3 for ddr333. Even Crucial.com's PC2700 memory, which is not exactly mean for overclocking, is default @ 7-3-3-2.5 (2.5 being the CL). Again, more reason to think you got CL2 (those were running 150-180 for dual kits back then).

Now it does make a bit more sense.
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I did say CL2. Anyway, it seemed the bulk of my cost was in the video card and case. I had a case from Antec that I definitely wanted because it was so easy to take apart and haas the ability for numerous fans.

At any rate, I've been happy with this system.
 
Come on guys, it's called a logic board over here in Apple land. Don't be sending this guy off to ebay looking for a G4 motherboard. Now adays it isn't that hard to get old G4 parts, and put in a nice CPU upgrade. The hard part is finding one of those apple power supplies. Cause even when you find one, you must make sure it works for you SPECIFIC logic board. Apple changed power supplies ever few years. If I were you, just go looking for either a Digital Audio logic board or a Gigabit Ethernet Logic board. Bottom line is you need to get everything that will work on your specific board.
 
No, it's a mainboard with daughtercards. As long as they get the picture, it isn't a big deal. :rolleyes:
 
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