mad hatter Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 Ok, so I have a small time band with small time budget, but I've heard some great things about the Garage band software for mac... I've always been a PC guy, and don't know much about macs, but I'm about two semesters away from a BS in computer systems administration, so I'm not too worried. I don't want to invest in a mac because they are costly, and if I don't like it I'm stuck with it (plus these days, isn't is just an expensive PC anymore?) There is so much hardware on the compatibility list that I didn't really know where to start. I want to build a machine to run OSx86 and probably a dual boot with vista, if I deem it necessary. the machine will be in a rack mount case, and used for garage band as well as playing mp3s through my PA system, and possibly playing movies from onto my tv. I want to spend as little as possible, God knows I have enough tied up in all my music equipment. I have a TON of older hardware, including a whole box of PC100 and PC133 memory, countless AGP 3d cards, and lots of other parts lying around. Using any of these parts would be nice if it could save me money, but if it's not worth it, it's not worth it. Generally I've been an AMD kinda guy, the last intel I had for my personal machine was a 486. I'm not too proud to use an intel if thats what I have to do for this project, but AMD would be my first choice. If I didn't have to buy new memory or video card (either because the MB has one built in, or it has an AGP slot) then I'd like to get a CPU and MB for around $200, but if I have to buy memory I'd be willing to spend as much as $250 - if I had to. One more specific, but not totally necessary, the rack mount case I have is kinda old, infact I converted it from AT to ATX, and there isn't a ton of room. The board could be as long as necessary for slots, there is plenty of room in that direction, but it's prety slim in the width category. Currently the MB in it is about 18.5 CM wide, it could go to 21-22 without taking the cd drives out. (something around the size of MSI K9N4 Ultra F would be great) If I have to put a large board in, I could find something else to do with the drives, or leave them out completly once it's built. They probably wouldn't be needed anyway, just convienient. So, bottom line, MB/CPU with built in video or agp slot, and uses PC133 memory if possible for under 200-250 that will run OSx86. What's my best bang for buck here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glassJAw Posted May 26, 2007 Share Posted May 26, 2007 This place is slow with response. Just start searching these forums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pcharles25 Posted May 26, 2007 Share Posted May 26, 2007 MSI 945GM3 is the board i am using i got it for 42.00 ( new egg ) and its almost 100% fully functional xbench rated at at 97.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Nonny Moose Posted May 26, 2007 Share Posted May 26, 2007 OK, so with a small time budget, you can't afford a MAC MINI and be legit??? Forgive this rant, but you know, if you're going to make money off of something, at least do it legally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synaesthesia Posted May 26, 2007 Share Posted May 26, 2007 Look at the wiki's HCL, that stands for Hardware Compatiblity List. Get an intel CPU with SSE3 and a 945-based motherboard with GMA950 graphics. You can't go wrong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnop Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 I know that this suggestion is a bit off-topic, but have you thought about just getting a cheap G4 tower (Sawtooth or MDD models). They are going cheap ($80-150) these days. I'm willing to bet that if you put the word out, you might find one for free. The point of getting one, would be that you wouldn't have to deal with disk images, incompatible drivers and hardware and Garage Band would install just fine. CPU speed would be sluggish, but if you're just trying to get familiar and experiment and want to spend no money, I'd look for a real mac. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad hatter Posted May 27, 2007 Author Share Posted May 27, 2007 OK, so with a small time budget, you can't afford a MAC MINI and be legit??? Forgive this rant, but you know, if you're going to make money off of something, at least do it legally. Well, by being a small time band, I mean, we're not good enough to make money off of it. Heh... I've never owned a mac, or used any mac os for more than about five or ten minutes. If I go this way, and I hate it, I can just format and install windows, and I have a pretty good machine I can use without throwing my money away... and honestly, no, I can't afford a Mac Mini, like I said I'm trying to get out for around 200 bucks here... this will allow me to get my feet wet, and if I actually like the mac, and get the hang of it, then I'll have some expierence when it comes time to professional recording and making money, and then I'll spring for something legit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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