DrKupo said:
sean0007 said:
DrKupo said:
IBNobody said:
Musturd said:
Name one thing you want in OSX that is not available on windows (besides the childish ease of use (which you obviously don't need since your planning on building a computer))
There's nothing I particularly want in OSX. What I want is competition in the OS department. OSX being released for the general x86+BIOS would be a good thing, because they would swiftly take market share from Microsoft. Microsoft would have to improve Windows, and things would be better for everyone... (Except Apple. They'd lose out on all the $$$ they get from hawking overpriced hardware.)
Oh, and Littlestevie? Macs are overpriced, and the disparity increases for us build-our-own-PC types. You get considerably more bang-for-your-buck that way. I could build a $600-700 PC that knocks the socks off any $2000-3000 Macintosh.
Alright, go ahead, build a 700 dollar pc that beats my Mac Pro. Hell, beat the base model.
If you manage to pull it off without stealing the parts I'll paypal you 50 bucks.
www.apple.com/macpro
Beat the base model.
I can do it for less than $1300 and beat a mac pro (doesn't even need to be the base model). Also, stop with the pissing and moaning, get OSX86 if you really want a cheap mac (won't be able to update).
he said 700 however. you can't beat 2 quad core processors that are more expensive than his entire budget.
The base model only has one XEON processor, not two. I could do a two XEON build for $1300.
(FYI: The $2799 model also includes sales tax. In Texas with the 8.25% tax, the cost is $3030. Buying parts online lets you avoid that tax.)
Note: This PC sucks, by the way. I would never buy it. I don't like servers. I'm a gamer. I would de-emphasize the CPU (Core 2 Quad is great), add extra RAM, and get a better video card. But I'm trying to compare Apples to... Apples for you.
1. Scavenge a case, power supply, drives, cables, etc. from your local used computer store. These things rarely go bad, and you throw money away buying them new. Veteran PC builders have these things sitting around the house. You can get everything you need for about $50-$100. I'll splurge at $100.
2. Video Card - This is just an off-the-cuff thing, but here's the same video card in that base unit (with 512MB of VRAM instead of Apple's 256)...
ATI Radeon 2600XT 512MB for $70
Incidentally, Apple charges you $130 extra to stick an extra 2600XT card in that Power Mac. Ouch! Can we say price gouging?
3. RAM - That Power Mac uses 2GB of DDR2 800 buffered ECC RAM. Right off the bat, you can strike out the ECC. ECC is a waste of money unless you're running some web server 24-7. You don't need error checking, and it also slows down RAM performance.
Here's a Crucial 2GB memory kit with decent CAS latency for $30.
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit
Incidentally, Apple charges you $500 for another 2GB of ECC RAM. LOL!
So now we have $500 to find a CPU/MOBO combo.
4. Processor - Here's the equivalent XEON X3360 for $340 (heatsink included):
Intel XEON X3360 2.84Ghz QuadCore
Now I don't agree with that choice. I would never buy a XEON. I would insted prefer to buy a Core 2 Quad or some such. I can get the CPU and the MOBO for $340, and I'd have more flexibility to bargain hunt.
Incidentally, Apple charges you $500 for that processor.
5. Motherboard - We have $140 to buy a motherboard. $140 is tight for a mobo that supports XEON. Off the cuff, I would choose...
Asus P5BV-C, which supports the XEON 3300 series of Quads
This is $145.
6. Operating System - Windows XP - Free. FREE?!?!? Yes. Free. I'm not going to pay for another license of that OS when I have 3 XP disks laying around. If you want to be a stickler, though, you can charge $5. That's what I paid for my last legal and legitimate license of Windows XP Pro.
So there you go... It ended up being $710 just shooting from the cuff. I didn't take advantage of too many mail-in-rebates, and I didn't finesse the price of the CPU or motherboard at all. I know that if I really wanted to, I could easily shave off the extra $10 (or more).
We ended up with a PC that's equivalent to the Power Mac. It doesn't appear to knock the PM's socks off, does it? Well... The dirty little secret is that the much maligned XP runs 10-20% faster than OSX. Don't believe me? Load XP onto your PM using boot camp and bench it.
You may disagree with my choices, and I'm sure you're going to raise hell over #1. (OMG! He's using USED parts!?!?!). Because of that, you don't have to pay me the $50 you promised. I just wanted to show you that you are paying $2300 for something I could make for less. You are being ripped off.
Wouldn't you like it if Apple stopped overcharging you for your hardware? Wouldn't you like to have the thriftiness of a PC and the glamor of OSX?
That's what Psystar was trying to do, in a way. They were undercutting Apple by building their own Macs without the painful markup and then loading OSX onto it. Apple slapped them with a lawsuit, because they knew that their loyal Mac customers would flock to a Mac Clone seller. Fortunately, Psystar is fighting back
If I were you, I'd jump on the "get-Apple-to-abandon-computer-sales-and-stick-to-making-OSX" bandwagon with me.
EDIT: If any of these parts are not compatible with each other, I apologize. It's an off-the-cuff analysis. If I were really buying this PC, I'd spend a month researching and bargain shopping for the perfect parts.