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Build a Perfect Mac for less than $250


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The Atom has hyper threading so is able to handle multiple applications quite easily. I often have Itunes, Mozilla, Email, ETC open at the same time.

 

Doesn't that dvd burner only have generic drive support?

 

 

 

 

 

I am unsure about the DVD-RW Drive. I simply selected that one because it was the cheapest. In my actual system I am using a spare Pioneer burner I had around.

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The Atom has hyper threading so is able to handle multiple applications quite easily. I often have Itunes, Mozilla, Email, ETC open at the same time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am unsure about the DVD-RW Drive. I simply selected that one because it was the cheapest. In my actual system I am using a spare Pioneer burner I had around.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...190&CatId=4

 

That seems like a pretty good drive, burns DVDs and CDs

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Is there a similar mother board with a bit more speed, or is this currently our only option if we want out of the box support for all of the aspects you listed above?

 

Either way, thank you for the information. My girlfriend is looking for a new machine, and I didn't think a mac would be possible until I found this.

 

Thanks,

defn

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hey guys what about firewire? the mobo doesn't includes one, but i've seen pretty cheap pci ones in newegg, since this mobo has one pci slot. firewire = time machine (been using it with an imac, already saved me twice big time, also makes switching macs a breeze). what do you think? is time machine working with osx86?

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2) think this thing could handle any hd content?

 

There are a lot of variables that go into this, including bit rate. Not all HD files (even at the same size, such as 720) are equal. I suspect it would have some difficulties with high bit rate movies, whether in 720 or 1080.

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Alright, so light room has been installed and tested. Verdict.... works great!

 

I was using 3mb Jpeg files (I think using RAW files would be a little to much) and it was handling them no problem. I applied filters, and checked and slid every option i could.

 

Most things rendered instant, but nothing had be waiting for more then 1.5 seconds to render.

 

I also installed ilife yesterday. I am going to play around with a couple of the software packages and see how that goes.

 

 

Also just finished my HD content test.

 

I used the Wall-E trailer from apple.com/trailers

 

480p - Ran perfectly no noticeable problems

720p - Ran perfectly no noticeable problems

1080p - Very Choppy, Slow and clearing skipping frames.

 

Looks like 720p is the systems sweet spot.

 

It is worthwhile to note that different HD formats may perform different. If anyone tests another format, please post an update.

 

Hope this helps,

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I used the Wall-E trailer from apple.com/trailers

 

480p - Ran perfectly no noticeable problems

720p - Ran perfectly no noticeable problems

1080p - Very Choppy, Slow and clearing skipping frames.

 

Looks like 720p is the systems sweet spot.

 

It is worthwhile to note that different HD formats may perform different. If anyone tests another format, please post an update.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Apple trailers are generally at a moderate bit rate (Wall*E 720 is at 5800), which is usually fine but can have pixelation during high-motion scenes. Did you use Quicktime for this assessment? It's not that great of a decoding app. You ought to try X Box Media Player for Mac - it is easily the best playback software for Macs, at least as far as decoding high bit rate, high resolution video without dropping frames.

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great news that lightroom runs fine. guess its a buyer then. i'll order my parts tomorrow monday. thanks guys!

 

Just remember what MrFlooD said - he did not try a raw file. My suspicion is that you might be a little disappointed if you're going to be working with 12- or 14-bit raw files.

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I've got the system running perfectly. Everything works with vanilla kernel 9.4.0.

 

Unfortunatly, there I get kernel panics while running time machine. Sometimes after a few minutes, sometimes after a few hours. Since I disabled time machine I got no kernel panic so I guess it' the issue. Any advice?

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I've got the system running perfectly. Everything works with vanilla kernel 9.4.0.

 

Unfortunatly, there I get kernel panics while running time machine. Sometimes after a few minutes, sometimes after a few hours. Since I disabled time machine I got no kernel panic so I guess it' the issue. Any advice?

 

Hmm,

 

I haven't been using Time Machine, but I just turned it on. I will leave it on all night and see if I experience a Kernel Panic.

 

I have found a new issue though. My restart is no longer working (I used to work perfectly) Not big enough of a problem for me to start messing with thing.

 

I am using Darwin Kernel 9.4.0

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type "uname -a" in the terminal to get kernel version

 

Maybe my problem is that I've selected "TimeMachineFix" during Kalyway 10.5.2 install. I suppose that I have a patched "IONetworkingFamily" kext. Can someone provide me the original version?

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Mr Flood, please tell me the best place to get Kalyway 10.5.2, how long to download with a cable Internet download speed of 10mbps, explain the use of ISO software, and the procedure to burn the DVD. I am hoping to build the Intel Atom as a first try and then a much faster unit after that. Thanks.

leroiun@gmail.com

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Time Machine was on all last night and zero problems.However, it isn't able to make a successful backup. I tried backing up to another partition and a USB key and I get this error "backup volume could not be found".I am going to look for a fix now.

 

Does sleep work? I guess I could worry about SpeedStep too but with the Atom it barely seems like there is a point ;)

 

Sleep works 100%, no worries there.I got my copy of Kalaway off newsgroups. I am sure you can use P2P and Torrent sites as well

 

EDIT:

 

Time Machine Update

 

Just tested the ToH IONetworkingFamily.kext and not only did it NOT work, but it also took out my eathernet connections. Glad I backed up my original Kext file.

 

I am going to test another solution now.

 

Update 2:

 

I have tested almost every Time Machine fix I could find. Still no luck. If anyone gets this working please post.

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Update 2:

 

I have tested almost every Time Machine fix I could find. Still no luck. If anyone gets this working please post.

 

Ok, it turned out that my kernel panics where related to the Ralink driver of my USB-WLAN stick. No I'm using ethernet and run OS X for more than 10 hours without any problem.

 

Now I've ordered a ASUS WL-138g V2 card to get native (Airport) WiFi.

 

My time machine backup ran perfectly! I am using the TimeMachineFix_ionetworkingfamily from the Kalyway 10.5.2 DVD.

 

Did I mention how amazing this system works? :)

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Ok, it turned out that my kernel panics where related to the Ralink driver of my USB-WLAN stick. No I'm using ethernet and run OS X for more than 10 hours without any problem.

 

Now I've ordered a ASUS WL-138g V2 card to get native (Airport) WiFi.

 

My time machine backup ran perfectly! I am using the TimeMachineFix_ionetworkingfamily from the Kalyway 10.5.2 DVD.

 

Did I mention how amazing this system works? :shock:

 

Glad to hear it :(

 

I am going to try to install the fix now. If it works for me, I will update the Tutorial.

 

Edit:

 

Is there a way to install the fix after I have already installed the OSX? I don't know how to explore the DVD and find the fix.

 

Thanks for the help.

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Glad to hear it :)

 

I am going to try to install the fix now. If it works for me, I will update the Tutorial.

 

Edit:

 

Is there a way to install the fix after I have already installed the OSX? I don't know how to explore the DVD and find the fix.

 

Thanks for the help.

 

You need something to set Finder to show invisible Folders....I believe Onyx has the option to, though I could be wrong. Once you do that, you can see all the invisible folders on the DVD. I believe that the install packages are usually in

 

/System/Installation/Packages

 

on the install DVD. Just hunt around and find the right one, and double click to install it.

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So I bought this system with 1 GB ram. SATA 250gb hard drive and pioneer SATA DVD burner. I'm having a problem installing it. There is only 1 option when it boots which is to boot off of my DVD which as kalyway 10.2.what ever in it. So I boot, a lot of loading text scrolls by. Then it stops and gives me a kernel panic. The error is something like 0x0000002 I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong... How do I get by it?

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So I bought this system with 1 GB ram. SATA 250gb hard drive and pioneer SATA DVD burner. I'm having a problem installing it. There is only 1 option when it boots which is to boot off of my DVD which as kalyway 10.2.what ever in it. So I boot, a lot of loading text scrolls by. Then it stops and gives me a kernel panic. The error is something like 0x0000002 I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong... How do I get by it?

 

Hmmm... Well I used an IDE DVD drive and that is really the only thing I can think of. Try change the SATA mode in the BIOS to IDE.

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