strawnman Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Hello everyone, I have been part of the crew here for a short time but have watched these forums everyday. My question is this: I have the opportunity to do two things, one is to purchase the silver imac basic for 1199.00, or build a hackintosh for roughly 1000.00 with the following components: BadAxe2 motherboard Intel Quad 6600 Corsair xms 2X1GB WD HD 320GB ASUS g7600GS 256mb silent video Rosewill 600w PSU Coolmax Case Samsung optical I am not new to building systems, I have built screamers for the past six years. So the build will not be a problem. What I need from you all is suggestions as to which system will be a better buy. I need two things. One is for OSX to run at its native speed and stability. I have Upchucks 10.4.9 install cd. I need to run itunes, ilife 06 to burn and create movies from my digital video camera without freezing. I want to play WOW without freezing and without noticable lag in my system. Concerns: the silver imac basic's video card issue as well as its ability to play Wow without lag. With a hackintosh, I don't want to invest in a machine that will not deliver the same quality experience as a mac and I want the ability to upgrade to leopard when it is feasible. I will use this machine for daily tasks and on occassion I will do my work from it, but mainly i need a stable system that will allow me the pleasurable experience with osx. I am a linux migrant and have participated heavily in the development of the kernel and gui, but right now I just want to use the machine for which it is desinged. Oh yea, I will wait for purchasing the imac if that is the consensus after leopard has been released. I already know the argument with the free upgrade for ilife and osx. So when you suggest an option leave that one aside for now. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoarthing Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 This is probably too personal a decision to want to intrude my opinion on; but you have asked . . . . . . having used the base 20" aluminium iMac [& the 24" plus the previous-gen Intel iMac 20 & 24"] as well as this hackintosh I'd suggest the ideal would be to save a bit longer & get the 24" [not just for the size: the panel is better quality] . . I don't think the mid-range 20" is worth the extra. Forget a hackintosh if you can afford the real thing: they can be made to work very well; but quite apart from the moral issues, hacks have very little resale value compared to an iMac. If *all* you can afford in the next couple of months is the base 20" this is a very decent box & a helluva bargain . . . & of course wait for Leopard. (edit) FWIW the nicest overall iMac I've used is a BTO white 24" w/ the 2.33Ghz & 256MB NV7600 upgrades . . these are occasionally available from the Apple refurb store or of course s/h elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munky Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 I'd say go with the iMac. With a hackintosh, it will always be just that - a hacky. Building a hackintosh is a learning experience, but you'll always be fighting for compatability - with the real thing you have zero worries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strawnman Posted October 23, 2007 Author Share Posted October 23, 2007 Thanks, that is what I needed. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Verona Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 I would go with the iMac, because, I have both, and the iMac makes that sound when you turn it on. You can't beat that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headrush69 Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 I'm in the same boat and have been jumping back and forth in my head about going for the new iMac. If anyone with a aluminum iMac and that runs bootcamp can test the UT2007 demo in Windows, knowing how well it can handle it will probably be the decision maker for me. (Although this is the main game I care about, it's not an option buying a game console so no need to suggest that. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strawnman Posted October 31, 2007 Author Share Posted October 31, 2007 well I broke down and bought the basic imac silver. It runs well and there hasn't been any issues with speed so far. I tried wow on it and it plays ok, but it is not like my other pc desktops with older video cards ie. geforce 6600XT. That card is older but still plays wow at a noticably better rate. I just hope there is some tweaking on the drivers because this newer video card should be alot faster than it currently is. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicdrift Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 i think if ur gamin people.. build a hackintosh... for everyday regular use / plus lack of tension of installing kexts n worrying about leopard support then imac is d way 2 go... personally for me.. imac was way outa my budget and im gonna jump around vista / mac both... wanted some windows gaming as well so its a no brainer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts