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Built on a budget build 3.


GTR-33
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I built a cheapo e-mail/internet machine at about 200 bucks total. Don't need a powerhouse gaming/video editing/photo editing blah blah and at a third of the price of a Mac Mini. It won't replace my Powermac anytime soon though it's pretty quick. No one ever mentions the compatibility of the cheap systems. I figure if I'm going to drop some major coin on a Mac, I might as well buy the real thing. After all, who wants to spend a grand on a set-up and only have partial compatibility? Why spend 600 on a Mac Mini with little to no upgrade options? So once again I set out to beat a mini on the cheap. Now this build is lacking some of the quality that comes with a real mini such as a a Core 2 Duo processor, but I also spent around a third of the price. Around 200 bucks, and if you really want a C2D you only need add around 70 bucks and still be right around the 300 mark. Not bad IMO. Bigger than a mini? Sure. As stylish as a mini? No way, but it works, costs less, and was fun to put together. Anyone that was into Macs before all this intel stuff will tell you building a Mac from parts was simply not possible. Sure you can piece a PPC Mac together out of used APPLE hardware, but that isn't the same.

 

Intel D945GCCE using JAS 10.4.8 disk

-Intel GMA950 CI/QE out the box

-Realtek 8111B onboard NIC driver available from Realtek believe it or not.

-Realtek ALC 662 not working/no driver available at this time.

-SATA USB IDE etc etc all work great.

 

Intel Celeron 440 2.0GHz

-Not the fastest Intel on Earth but for nearly a third the price of a Core 2 Duo I couldn't go wrong.

 

1GB Kingston Value ram.

-Twenty bucks well spent.

 

Ran an xbench test and got a score of 107.87 with a fresh install of OS10.4.8.. Nothing to sneeze at IMO for the cost.

 

 

Thoughts.. Although the board was cheap I may have avoided knowing there was no ALC 662 support. I bought it specifically for OS10 compatibility and simplicity. It only has two standard PCI slots. I may exchange for a P945GCNL slightly more expensive has PCI-E and Realtek ALC888 to my knowledge is supported with a driver. This board also has greater expandability should you decide that you want something more than GMA950 support. I spent appox 60 bucks on the Celeron but for 60 bucks more you could get an E4400 and be dual core happy.

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Hi GTR-33:

 

Thank you for sharing your buying and building experience with us. Prices have really come down lately.

 

I bought and built my "cheapo" system about 1 1/2 years ago all for under $400. I thought it was a "steal" at that time (considering the cheapest Mac Mini Colo Solo was going for $600). If you want to add Wireless, you can spend another $60 for NetGear WG311T that is recognized natively as Apple Airport.

 

When I run XBench, I get benchmarks *very* similar to Mac Mini Core Solo. I'm wondering what kind of benchmarks you are getting with your system.

 

--danyel :mellow:

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For my "Giant Apple TV" (that's what I use my cheapo for), I used:

 

$55 Gigabyte GA-945GCMX-S2 motherboard

$65 3 GHz Pentium 4 Prescott

$45 APEX DM-317-A Black/ Silver Steel MicroATX Slim Case

$85 320 Gig SATA HD

$35 Pioneer IDE DVD Burner

$20 1 gig of 533 DDR2 RAM

$55 Biostar GeForce 7300 GS Low Profile Video Card

 

for a grand total of $360 - now, truth be told, I had some of the stuff laying around - the CPU, the HD, the DVD, the RAM, so my actual outlay was a bit less... hooks right up to the DVI in on my TV. XBenchs at 104, with the disk test. So that's faster than the Dualie 2 gig G5 that I was using at work until a few months ago... Oh -used UpHuck 10.4.9 v1.3, everything worked from the start.

 

Patrick

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Hi Bibendum:

 

Thanks for sharing your build and experiences. XBench of 104 is excellent (about speed of Dual G5). My Xbench's were closer to around 85 (similar to Core Solo). Right now, I'm using the integrated GMA950 Chipset for Graphics.

 

Coincidentally, I just purchased Biostar GeForce 7300 for Windows to play Half Life 2. Did you have to do install any drivers or do any modifications to get the video card to work properly?

 

--danyel :D

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Coincidentally, I just purchased Biostar GeForce 7300 for Windows to play Half Life 2. Did you have to do install any drivers or do any modifications to get the video card to work properly?

 

I installed the Natit driver (but it also worked with the Titan one)...

 

Patrick

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