atfpreach Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 I have been considering putting together a mac system for sometime now, and recently my laptop finally died on me. The price tag for repairs could be as much as $300 (more than its worth). So I decided to put a bit more cash into it and build a decent desktop. I have been comparing hardware on the website, but ive got to confess I havent really looked into hardware for the past 3-4 years so im not really sure what the best hardware for my budget is. So far I have came across this hardware that I like and would like everyone's feedback (that will) and suggestions. I would like to run the most recent version of OSX and would like to not have to worry about upgrading for several years again (if possible). $100 ASUS M2N-SLI Socket AM2 Motherboard $150 AMD Phenom 9550 Agena 2.2 Ghz Quad Core Processor Not sure what type of RAM I need but from what I have been seeing I can probably wait and find a deal and get 8GB of RAM for $100. Do I need a specific kind for this board? $30 DVD-RW... I'm sure some extra money needs to be set aside for heatsinks, fans etc which i'm not up to date on either but a little more research should fix that. I would like some suggestions on the best graphics card for the money. I also understand that this motherboard has the ability to do dual graphics cards for enhanced performance, but would it be better to just spend double the money on the first? Still not sure about this. I would like to be able to run some of the newer games but it doesnt have to be perfect. I think I have a case and hard disk that will work for this setup (no worries here) Thats all I got so far. Is this a pretty decent setup or could I be spending my money more wisely to get better results? Any changes & recomendations welcome. Thanks for all your time and help. When its done I'll let you know about the setup and how it runs. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/137912-best-hardware-for-500-600-budget/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synaesthesia Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 My suggestion is go for an Intel based setup, rather than AMD. It's what runs OS X best, seeing as Macs are using Intel. I suggest: - Some compatible motherboard eg. Gigabyte G31M-S2L - Core 2 Duo or any Intel CPU really. - nVidia 8800GT, or 9-series GPU. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/137912-best-hardware-for-500-600-budget/#findComment-975850 Share on other sites More sharing options...
atfpreach Posted November 24, 2008 Author Share Posted November 24, 2008 ***UPDATE*** Just purchased; OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) (purchased two of these total) $60 ($120 w/ two MIR's for $30) Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 1000GB Hard Drive - 7200RPM, 32MB, Serial ATA-300, OEM $80 ($110 w/$30 MIR) I decided that it was a good deal on the RAM based on what I have been hearing this is good stuff. Also decided that I would use my old hard disk as a backup drive in OSX and just get a new one at a good price too. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/137912-best-hardware-for-500-600-budget/#findComment-976415 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Generic George Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 If you do have your heart set on an AMD chip, you might want to wait a bit. They are supposed to be introducing the Phenom II chips sometime early next year and they sound like considerably better chips than the current Phenom chips. Not to mention that they sound like they will be considerably better overclockers than the current ones, which have virtually no headroom. That said you are probably better off with an Intel solution since that's what the real macs are built with and thus it does help to minimize the problems with getting things to work. If you do though, make sure you don't get a DDR3 only board, given the memory you already purchased. But that shouldn't be a problem with most motherboards. As far as a graphics card goes, some sort of a 8800 gt or a 9800 gt seems to be the consensus. The 9800 will perform slightly better, but will also cost slightly more. They are however pretty much the same GPU chips/cards. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/137912-best-hardware-for-500-600-budget/#findComment-976657 Share on other sites More sharing options...
atfpreach Posted November 27, 2008 Author Share Posted November 27, 2008 Thanks for the info on the AMD chips. It was actually just one of the setups that I liked and seemed cheap for the money, but I think that I may end up putting more into this build than I had origionally planned. After reading around the forums some more it sounds like that ppl prefer Intell over AMD, and thats not a problem for me. I actually found some great build ideas that have given me some ideas, but I would still like some opinions (especially to make sure the MOBO's are compatable with the RAM I purchased) That being said I have CLEARED my buy list and am going to start fresh. I have found a website (sorry don't have the link handy but will post in the future) concerning the XFX 768mb 8800GTX video card. It is possible to flash these to a Quadro FX 5600 (which apple sells the 1.5gb Quadro FX 5600 for $2850.00) This is going on my buy list. I do have some questions about the motherboard and processor. On a build I found they recomended a standard Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L motherboard, but I have also read very high recomendations for the Bloodiron P35-T2RL...Which do you guys think would be best. Also for the processor I was considering Intell Q6600 2.4Ghz Quad-Core that I hear is able to be overclocked to 3Ghz or I also saw another Dual Core Intell E8400 that was able to be OC'ed to 4Ghz. Is it better to have a faster Dual-Core or a slower Quad-Core this is outta my ability to jugde and would appreciate some input on this and the mobo. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/137912-best-hardware-for-500-600-budget/#findComment-979190 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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