iMac equivalent

[jcruzlara]

I want a new computer, something that would be a little below of equal to the performance of a 20" iMac. I just want to get into Photography, you know do some photoshops, maybe some small renders, and edit some clips. I don't need it to be a Mac Pro just something that will let me do those things without taking all day.

 

Heres what I've been thinking of buying

 

AMD Athlong 64 X2 4200 2.2GHz

ECS Nforce4m-a (V3.0)

Gigabyte GeForce 7600GS

G.Skill 1GB RAM

and

Cooler Master PSU

 

I've already got a wireless card, HD, and CDROM and case of course. It all comes down to 300 and something dollars, the intel alternative would have been 623 so I went with AMD. Thank you.

[Soündless]

if you want to run os x, i would reccomend an intel system

[SpeedfreaK]

why is the intel system 623 dollar? you can buy a low-end or midrage intel processor as the equivalent of that amd processor (personally, i don't like amd)

[jcruzlara]

why is the intel system 623 dollar? you can buy a low-end or midrange intel processor as the equivalent of that amd processor (personally, i don't like amd)

 

Well the I want it to be a dual core, and the one I chose for intel was the 2.13GHz C2D, and I couldn't find a good compatible motherboard for it so I had to put in the Bad Axe 2. Do you guys know of a cheaper one? or a cheaper yet fast Intel processor?

[sarahbau]

The BadAxe 2 is about 2.5x as much money as you need to spend on a board. You can get good Intel compatible boards in the same class as the one you picked for the AMD in about the same price range. This board is $65 right now. Also, the X2 4200 is much slower than the E6400. Even the E4400 is faster than the X2 4200 ($45 less than the E6400, but still $60 more than the X2 4200). The Intel system might cost a bit more (more like $100 more than $323 more), but it will be slightly faster and will have a better chance of being compatible.

[jcruzlara]

The BadAxe 2 is about 2.5x as much money as you need to spend on a board. You can get good Intel compatible boards in the same class as the one you picked for the AMD in about the same price range. This board is $65 right now. Also, the X2 4200 is much slower than the E6400. Even the E4400 is faster than the X2 4200 ($45 less than the E6400, but still $60 more than the X2 4200). The Intel system might cost a bit more (more like $100 more than $323 more), but it will be slightly faster and will have a better chance of being compatible.

 

Thank you, exactly the kind of information I was looking for, people that know what works. Thank you and with those modifications the price on the Intel build comes down to 416 just 70 more than the amd one. Thanks again

[A Nonny Moose]

I want a new computer, something that would be a little below of equal to the performance of a 20" iMac. I just want to get into Photography, you know do some photoshops, maybe some small renders, and edit some clips. I don't need it to be a Mac Pro just something that will let me do those things without taking all day.

 

OK, believe it or not:

 

1. Clock for clock, an iMac with a smaller screen will be slightly FASTER than its larger screened counterpart.

 

2. You're just dabbling in photography, so you won't need to have a graphics card in order to run Aperture (trust me--Adobe crapware is dependent on the processor and RAM, not the graphics card). Most likely, you don't want to run Aperture, and will want to work with iPhoto and some kind of Photoshop thingie.

 

3. You most likely won't miss 300 MHz, as RAM will more than make up the difference between the processor specs. Actually, you probably won't miss very much between a G5 architecture and an Intel architecture (note that you will miss something with a G4, as CS2 runs faster on that one than CS 3). Again, Photoshop depends on RAM more than anything.

 

So if you want the legit Mac, get the low end iMac (1.83 GHz dual core C2D). Or, go for a used high end G5 iMac and max out the RAM. Since you're not going the legit way, follow the advice of the previous poster, but be well aware there are some extremely good legit alternatives.

[EPDM]

I want a new computer, something that would be a little below of equal to the performance of a 20" iMac. I just want to get into Photography, you know do some photoshops, maybe some small renders, and edit some clips. I don't need it to be a Mac Pro just something that will let me do those things without taking all day.

 

Heres what I've been thinking of buying

 

AMD Athlong 64 X2 4200 2.2GHz

ECS Nforce4m-a (V3.0)

Gigabyte GeForce 7600GS

G.Skill 1GB RAM

and

Cooler Master PSU

 

I've already got a wireless card, HD, and CDROM and case of course. It all comes down to 300 and something dollars, the intel alternative would have been 623 so I went with AMD. Thank you.

 

Why do you stupid ppl always pick out the hardware that is just the opposite of a real Mac and then nag that you want to run OSX86?!?!?!?

 

It's been said a thousand times before. If you desperatly want to run OSX86 and have the least amount of compatibility problems then your best bet is obtaining hardware which resembles a real mac as much as possible.

 

Which means:

 

Mainboard with Intel 945G, 945P or certain 965 chipstes (for now)

Graphics card like a real mac has (or used to have) like ATI radeon X1900XT or Nvidia Geforce 7300GT/7600GT (or formerly ATI X1600/X1650)

Core Duo or Core 2 Duo cpu's

 

It's not that hard to figure out. Just go to www.apple.com and see what specs their machines have. Some tech-savvy ppl even dissected various mac-models to indentify the actual chips and chipsets used. Look around for that information. www.google.com or read the goddamn OSX86-wiki. It has tons of info on compatible hardware.

 

So you don't do:

 

-AMD cpu (Yeah I know that AMD cpu's are FULLY compatible with Intel's but there's lot more than CPU's involved. Fact is AMD cpu's don't run on mainboards with Intelchipsets! And that's where most of the trouble is, chipsets.)

 

-Nvidia chipset mainboard (or SIS or Via)

-NO AGP videocard (Yeah, I know the Radeon 9800pro is reall nifty card but it's NOT gonna run Quartz Extreme nor Core Image)

-And if you really need onboard GFX stick with the Intel 945G board with GMA950 (I know it's not that great to play Wingnuts 2 or Doom 3 but it's fully compatible with OSX86 and runs QE and CI)

 

If ppl would follow these simple rules then the community would have more time to devote on real issues then figuring out why SATA on Nvidia-board X isn't recognised by JAS-cd-Z. Just ignore the systems which are too different from real Macs and concentrate on the hardware that has the best change of becoming fully compatible.

 

Just for the record: Has any member of InsanelyMac with a geniune Apple-system ever opened up his Mac to identify the important chips onboard? For instance what audio controller is in the real mac (Don't come with that stupid ICH7/8/9-responce because that's no sound chip) or what Intel LAN card/chip is there? What the controler IC is from that webcam build into the screen? What type video-memory is on the gfx card (ddr,gdr,pdr,vdr,qdr,ttr whatever-r) etc...

 

In fact I would really like to see a full run-down of a real iMac or Macpro on the Wiki aswell as the usual info. It's strange that nobody ever placed that info in this site (I though as THE authority of mac-related technics that info is a MUST)!

 

Cheers,

[EPDM]

why is the intel system 623 dollar? you can buy a low-end or midrage intel processor as the equivalent of that amd processor (personally, i don't like amd)

 

Indeed!

 

I can build a fully 95%-compatible Mac with some (new) pieces I have lying around

 

MSI 915G Combo mainboard

P4 631 3GHz (OK it's no Core 2 duo but it's as fast as the low-end C2D cpus and cost a good deal less)

2GB DDR1 Ram (on the 915 chipset DDR2 makes no performance difference it only consumes less power)

80GB 8MB s-ata150 (or slower 160GB 2MB s-ata300)

LG Dual layer DVDRW/DDVDRAM

Lovely Black case with gorgous Plexi front (fits your Black iPod very well) :-)

17" LCD screen 8MS

PS2-keyboard and optical mouse

 

for the total of about 690 euro VAT included (or 570 euro VAT excluded) (apparantly about 787 USD according to quote.com... man what's happening with the USD?!?!?)

 

That's even +200 USD cheaper than the low end 17" iMac in the US which cost 999 USD VAT excluded and you get DVDburner (instead of Combo-drive) and 4x more memory. The US used to be the cheapest place for generic consumers to buy computer stuff.

 

In Europe this low-end iMac 17" with 2GB but still the stupid combo-drive costs 1290 euro (VAT included). Almost twice as much as the system I have described here. Sure OSX is included in the deal but 600 euro difference is A LOT for the inclusion of an OS which otherwise retails for 129 euro VAT included)!

 

Another thing not mentioned here is that my described system has an extra PCI-e-slot. So you can insert the ATI X1600/X1900-xx or Geforce 7300GT from the high-end 24" iMac for that extra gfx-power. Which cost with 2GB Ram about 2230 euro?!?!?!

 

Just to point out prices differences between Europe and US and the costs of even low-end Intel PC's

 

BTW. I'm typing this from a similar system with ECS 915P (very cheap I915 mainboard), P4 631 (o/clocked to 3.2GHz), 2GB Ram and Radeon X1600pro-256. This system I paid about 1050 euro (VAT incl. + keyb, mouse and 17" LCD panel included) over a year ago. WingNut 2 plays very well on this rig, thank you :-)

 

 

 

Cheers

[Synaesthesia]

I can build a fully 95%-compatible Mac with some (new) pieces I have lying around

 

MSI 915G Combo mainboard

P4 631 3GHz (OK it's no Core 2 duo but it's as fast as the low-end C2D cpus and cost a good deal less)

2GB DDR1 Ram (on the 915 chipset DDR2 makes no performance difference it only consumes less power)

80GB 8MB s-ata150 (or slower 160GB 2MB s-ata300)

LG Dual layer DVDRW/DDVDRAM

Lovely Black case with gorgous Plexi front (fits your Black iPod very well) :-)

17" LCD screen 8MS

PS2-keyboard and optical mouse

 

for the total of about 690 euro VAT included (or 570 euro VAT excluded) (apparantly about 787 USD according to quote.com... man what's happening with the USD?!?!?)

I'm surprised you even paid that much for those parts, if they're 2nd hand or lying around. I was able to put my computer together for R4700 (South African Rand) from various sources, and computer parts are way high here in south africa.

 

For comparison the intel imacs start at R9970, and that's the crappy type with gma950 gfx and combo drive...

[jcruzlara]

Why do you stupid ppl always pick out the hardware that is just the opposite of a real Mac and then nag that you want to run OSX86?!?!?!?

 

It's been said a thousand times before. If you desperatly want to run OSX86 and have the least amount of compatibility problems then your best bet is obtaining hardware which resembles a real mac as much as possible.

 

Which means:

 

Mainboard with Intel 945G, 945P or certain 965 chipstes (for now)

Graphics card like a real mac has (or used to have) like ATI radeon X1900XT or Nvidia Geforce 7300GT/7600GT (or formerly ATI X1600/X1650)

Core Duo or Core 2 Duo cpu's

 

It's not that hard to figure out. Just go to www.apple.com and see what specs their machines have. Some tech-savvy ppl even dissected various mac-models to indentify the actual chips and chipsets used. Look around for that information. www.google.com or read the goddamn OSX86-wiki. It has tons of info on compatible hardware.

 

So you don't do:

 

-AMD cpu (Yeah I know that AMD cpu's are FULLY compatible with Intel's but there's lot more than CPU's involved. Fact is AMD cpu's don't run on mainboards with Intelchipsets! And that's where most of the trouble is, chipsets.)

 

-Nvidia chipset mainboard (or SIS or Via)

-NO AGP videocard (Yeah, I know the Radeon 9800pro is reall nifty card but it's NOT gonna run Quartz Extreme nor Core Image)

-And if you really need onboard GFX stick with the Intel 945G board with GMA950 (I know it's not that great to play Wingnuts 2 or Doom 3 but it's fully compatible with OSX86 and runs QE and CI)

 

If ppl would follow these simple rules then the community would have more time to devote on real issues then figuring out why SATA on Nvidia-board X isn't recognised by JAS-cd-Z. Just ignore the systems which are too different from real Macs and concentrate on the hardware that has the best change of becoming fully compatible.

 

Just for the record: Has any member of InsanelyMac with a geniune Apple-system ever opened up his Mac to identify the important chips onboard? For instance what audio controller is in the real mac (Don't come with that stupid ICH7/8/9-responce because that's no sound chip) or what Intel LAN card/chip is there? What the controler IC is from that webcam build into the screen? What type video-memory is on the gfx card (ddr,gdr,pdr,vdr,qdr,ttr whatever-r) etc...

 

In fact I would really like to see a full run-down of a real iMac or Macpro on the Wiki aswell as the usual info. It's strange that nobody ever placed that info in this site (I though as THE authority of mac-related technics that info is a MUST)!

 

Cheers,

 

OK it's not that you called me stupid, it's that you came in here knowing that you didn't post this, I did, and acted rude. You know more than me and you don't bother to tell me in a humanely manner, if you talk like that no one will listen to you. I may not know I may not know as much as you, but at least I have manners. I did look at the wiki, and I made sure every single part I chose was compatible with OS X. Thank you for you're help and since I guess this post is so stupid, someone please delete it.