Can you build your own computer running mac os and a ppc? I was wondering this because with any wintel box you can buy the parts you want and put them in to a box for less money. I was wondering if you could do this with a ppc and mac os.
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computer from scratch
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You cannot--it's from Apple or bust. (mnkeybsness: such an endeavor would be similar to making your own TV--impractical to the point of being moot.)
blakespot
blakespot
Not as impossible as you would have it.
...and as a matter of fact, I've done it.
What you do is get yourself a good ATX tower and power supply. Then you get yourself an older apple motherboard... perhaps even a first generation G3 board (they are cheap as snot these days) Then you get yourself an upgrade card and upgrade that tanker to a G4 if you want. Get your RAM direct. PC133 is going for about $40 bucks for 256 MB (dalco.com) Then your $100 hard disk, optical drive, USB card (if you're using a G1 G3 board) monitor, etc.
After all is said and done, you save a couple hundred, but at the same time, there is something to be said about a new computer that you had nothing to do with. Sandwiches always taste better when you didn't make them. I think lickable computers are the same.
...and as a matter of fact, I've done it.
What you do is get yourself a good ATX tower and power supply. Then you get yourself an older apple motherboard... perhaps even a first generation G3 board (they are cheap as snot these days) Then you get yourself an upgrade card and upgrade that tanker to a G4 if you want. Get your RAM direct. PC133 is going for about $40 bucks for 256 MB (dalco.com) Then your $100 hard disk, optical drive, USB card (if you're using a G1 G3 board) monitor, etc.
After all is said and done, you save a couple hundred, but at the same time, there is something to be said about a new computer that you had nothing to do with. Sandwiches always taste better when you didn't make them. I think lickable computers are the same.
Thank you. you helped me.
Thank you guys. you helped me lots. i think ill stick with a apple insted of making one.
Thank you guys. you helped me lots. i think ill stick with a apple insted of making one.
Not possible in the same way as a PC, but like msiegal said, nothing is there to stop you from taking a Mac logic board and re-casing it in the enclosure of your choice. My next desktop system will be a Dual G4 in a regular ATX case.
I don't see any need to pay the Apple premium for the case, though it is very pretty. Even if a G4 and motherboard is $1200, that's a lot less than the whole system would cost from Apple. Plus, you get a higher wattage power supply, more drive bays, and a case that you won't stress over denting, scuffing, cracking, etc. I can put in a couple nice IBM hard drives, nice Plextor CD and CD-R drives, get high quality RAM, a SBLive!, and a GeForce3 instead of the nice case, so-so CD and CD-R, and ho-hum GeForce2 MX. Though, I don't get the Pro Keyboard with it, I can get one for $60 or so. But I probably wouldn't. >ick< or the Pro mouse. >double ick< I already have OS X/OS 9, and since I gotta pay $20 for 10.1 anyway, the bundled software means nothing. Bugdom? Yay! >ick< Caveman Rally Thing? Yay! >ick<
Sounds like a good deal to me.
I don't see any need to pay the Apple premium for the case, though it is very pretty. Even if a G4 and motherboard is $1200, that's a lot less than the whole system would cost from Apple. Plus, you get a higher wattage power supply, more drive bays, and a case that you won't stress over denting, scuffing, cracking, etc. I can put in a couple nice IBM hard drives, nice Plextor CD and CD-R drives, get high quality RAM, a SBLive!, and a GeForce3 instead of the nice case, so-so CD and CD-R, and ho-hum GeForce2 MX. Though, I don't get the Pro Keyboard with it, I can get one for $60 or so. But I probably wouldn't. >ick< or the Pro mouse. >double ick< I already have OS X/OS 9, and since I gotta pay $20 for 10.1 anyway, the bundled software means nothing. Bugdom? Yay! >ick< Caveman Rally Thing? Yay! >ick<
Sounds like a good deal to me.
Lets put it this way, if you want to build a computer, build a PC. You can't build a big bad Mac, you can buy one though. You can build a big bad PC from scratch, but then again you'll end up using Windows or Linux, and that may lead to death of not only the PC but you as well.
It's pritty damn hard to
Getting all the parts is fair, putting it together is hard. A Pc is simple cause their are parts all over and instruction every where on the web how to. A mac is different.
Getting all the parts is fair, putting it together is hard. A Pc is simple cause their are parts all over and instruction every where on the web how to. A mac is different.
It's a different setup
Pc's have been made by hand for many year's. Mac's are Diffucult to make. With older parts it just makes it harder.
Pc's have been made by hand for many year's. Mac's are Diffucult to make. With older parts it just makes it harder.
I thought that buying a Mac ment that you got away from all the stuff that comes with building a PC. To get a descent PC you have to build it your self. Then when you try to load the OS... it wont reconise 1/2 your high-end parts. I help my PC friends build there recording studio.. (digital) and they didnt want to go Mac. It was hard getting every thing to work. If you want to slapp togeter a dune buggy then get a PC. I would rather go down to the BMD dealership and pick up a new Mac.
I don't recall ever buying a Mac for the purpose of not having to build one on my own. Truthfully, I'd love to be able to build one, but I love Mac OS and have absolutely no desire to fumble around with Windows. Buying a Mac means you want to use Mac OS, not because you don't feel like building a PC. At least for me anyways. Seems a little illogical to buy a Mac only because you don't want to build a PC...you can buy PCs fully assembled of course.
its not the only reason I am a Mac Head. What I ment was is that it is not nessesary to build one. When you buy from Apple its the best you can get. When you build a PC you can build one that is bigger and better than anything you can get on the consumer PC market. To build a Mac... I dont think that you could make a better Box than Apple. But I could be wrong. Probably would be fun to put one together 
I build mine at the apple Store
Yup, that apple store. Oh yaaa Dual 800. 1.5 gig's of memory. 22" Screen. Nivida Geforce3.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...re.woa/211/wo/ZPieo0abYV6JcyF7SD/3.7.0.3.30.1
Yup, that apple store. Oh yaaa Dual 800. 1.5 gig's of memory. 22" Screen. Nivida Geforce3.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...re.woa/211/wo/ZPieo0abYV6JcyF7SD/3.7.0.3.30.1
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. You got ripped off!!
Why would you spend $2000 dollars on memory from Apple? I maxed out mine for around $300, though it could have been cheaper but I went with Crucial. NEVER buy RAM from Apple, it is WAY over priced.
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?model=Power+Mac+G4+(Dual+800MHz)&x=5&y=10
PC133 is dirt cheap right now, most RAM is(not RDRAM of course).
Why would you spend $2000 dollars on memory from Apple? I maxed out mine for around $300, though it could have been cheaper but I went with Crucial. NEVER buy RAM from Apple, it is WAY over priced.
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?model=Power+Mac+G4+(Dual+800MHz)&x=5&y=10
PC133 is dirt cheap right now, most RAM is(not RDRAM of course).
Well
I'm not buying the RAM from Apple. It's a DREAM SYSTEM!!!! FOOL!!!!! And I found out that besides Cruical, there is lower priced RAM (GASPING). CAn't Breath.
I'm not buying the RAM from Apple. It's a DREAM SYSTEM!!!! FOOL!!!!! And I found out that besides Cruical, there is lower priced RAM (GASPING). CAn't Breath.
Re: I build mine at the apple Store
Nice system. I built mine too... but its not as beefy as your system
867 G4
CD-RW (no Super Drive)
128MB RAM (1 gig extra from 3rd party vender)
USB 2.0 PCI Card (outpost.com)
harman/Kordon Soundsticks and iSub (outpost.com)
Apple 17' LCD
[Edited by evildead on 08-14-2001 at 12:19 PM]
Nice system. I built mine too... but its not as beefy as your system
867 G4
CD-RW (no Super Drive)
128MB RAM (1 gig extra from 3rd party vender)
USB 2.0 PCI Card (outpost.com)
harman/Kordon Soundsticks and iSub (outpost.com)
Apple 17' LCD
[Edited by evildead on 08-14-2001 at 12:19 PM]
Re: Well
I don't have to dream.
I don't buy RAM from Crucial because it is the cheapest, but because it is the highest quality. I'm aware you can get PC133 for much cheaper.
http://www.pricewatch.com or
http://www.ramseeker.com
I don't have to dream.
I don't buy RAM from Crucial because it is the cheapest, but because it is the highest quality. I'm aware you can get PC133 for much cheaper.
http://www.pricewatch.com or
http://www.ramseeker.com
The thing with Apple's components is that they are ****! The CD burners that are in the new G4 are the same lame piece of $89 trash you can get at Best Buy. Exactly. There are no high-end sound card options direct from Apple, the chip they build onto the G4 is in the same class, if not an idential chip to the $19 PCI sound cards that go in PCs, or get built onto the motherboard. They are also junk. The power supply is built to Apple spec by another cheap Taiwanese OEM, and is probably on par with those from Dell, Gateway, etc, but is no comparison to the high-end offerings from performance components vendors. Same goes for OEM Apple RAM, hard disks (I think), CD rom drives, and keyboards (yuck!).. Basically, buying Apple may be the best you can get, but not if you look at it on a component level. Then, Apple is just as bad as any other whole unit computer maker.
I'd much rather see an IBM 75 GXP, and Plextor or Yamaha optical drives, rather than Maxtor and "Lite-On"..
But then, I'm interested in these things, and they matter to me.
I'd much rather see an IBM 75 GXP, and Plextor or Yamaha optical drives, rather than Maxtor and "Lite-On"..
But then, I'm interested in these things, and they matter to me.
He's totally right...
He's right...the parts are crap. You get name-brands sometimes in your drives, but you could do WAY better. And Apple used to do way better, too. Remember the days when the drives were SCSI-based? Ahhhh.
But guess what? All the "loyal Apple" people continued to complain about the price, and the best way to cut costs was to use cheaper parts. The grave you folks have dug is your own....
He's right...the parts are crap. You get name-brands sometimes in your drives, but you could do WAY better. And Apple used to do way better, too. Remember the days when the drives were SCSI-based? Ahhhh.
But guess what? All the "loyal Apple" people continued to complain about the price, and the best way to cut costs was to use cheaper parts. The grave you folks have dug is your own....