I need some guidence.

B

[BB] Rick James

[H]ard Dawg
Joined
Apr 4, 2004
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So i've got this pimped out AMD rig. It's the newest AMD chip... it's the Athlon64 and it's nice but it's not that nice. Yeah it dominates all games and applications but would a mac technically be bettter? I mean they look super sharpe and i hear they destroy everything.

My uncle passed on so I have money to get it... Coulple of questions though; would a mac run windows better then a pc?

Also how much can I overclock this bad boy?

Thanks in advance.
 
I'll give this a shot

1) Games... if you want to run games, get a Windows pc. Game developers are Windows-centric for the most part, so hardware superiority is a non -issue

2) applications- really depends on what apps you want to run. List a few.

3) Would a Mac run windows better... - I don't know what you mean. You can run Windows itself via "virtual pc", a 3rd party program you need to buy. It performs like ass.

4) Overclock- overclock what? Most folks don't overclock Macs. You don't need to, and it voids your warranty. Overclock the amd 64? Check the "pc" forums, it should be the same as overclocking any pc


From the impression I get by your post I would seriously build a gaming rig and buy an iBook. That way you could play games, and still experience what Apple has to offer in a mobile platform.
 
I totally agree with ZenPirate. Build yourself a nice, kickass, and high end Desktop PC with a nice Flat Panel LCD. Then, purchase the new iBook.

Alex
 
I've already got the sweet Windows PC.

AMD 64 3400+
Pretty good Monitor.. Viewsonic A90f which I love. The colors on it are just increadible and it's got the .21 DPI; so I'm pretty happy with my monitor. I'm running the 9800 XT video card....

I guess I'm wondering why would i need to go MaC? What exaclty are the benefits? Some say they out perform a windows based PC.... is this true?

I do a lot of gaming so would a mac even be worth it?
 
The performance is varying. Back in the day. The Mac was the fastest hands down. Then a few years ago, it couldn't keep up. (Mostly due to lack of CPU development by IBM & Motorola which still is a factor today. There are rumours of future Macs running off AMD CPU's. Even if it's true it's at least 2-3 years away). Today. Due to optimizations in OS X with software and hardware. They run about the same. The thing about OS X is that it uses the GPU to render the desktop. So the graphics card plays a small role in smoothness.

Some apps may even run faster on a Mac than on a Windows PC. It really depends on the software developer. If it was built with the Mac in mind and has optimizations for OS X and The G4's Altivec. It will run faster. If was orginally a program for windows and then ported over. It 'll run fine but not just as fast as the windows version.

There is really no need to worry about Mac software. Just about everything that's available for windows is available for Mac. You can even make a PocketPC sync with a mac. If you need to a mobile version of windows, theres an application called virtual PC. This will allow you to run windows on a Mac. You can rund windows within a window. Have it full screen. Or if you wish. you can use virtual pc, restart and have the mac boot into windows directly for faster performance. It isn't as fast as a real pc. But it's good enough if you need an application that's windows only.

Networking on a Mac is easier than ever with OS X. It will fit in on a windows network seamlessly. You will have no issues with file or printer sharing.

The whole thing about the Mac experience is that the Operating system is far more capable and versatile than windows. And is based upon Unix. It's the most stable OS available. The user experience is the easiest ever. That's way so many people say great things. Because it's just easier to use and doesn't give you a hassle. Windows may seem pretty eazy to you by now. But once you learn your way around OS X, you'll be surprised by just how much better it is.

Some people complain about the price of a Mac. Saying it's too expensive for what you get. I used to work for Apple sales training and a popular explanation I liked was... Well. If you buy a Honda, you get a car that will take you from point A to point B. If you buy a BMW, you get a car that will get you from point A to point B. They both do the same thing. One does it better. You pay a bit more for the stability, ease of use and design.

Apple tech support is great. Apple typically has issues with it's frist run of products. But they take care of it. My powerbook from a few years ago had three issues. A bad inverter board which just whined a bit louder than it should have. Barely audible unless you listened for it and a bad power adapter. There was nothing wrong, it worked. But they recalled it because 2-3 people had a fire start Both were replaced. The adapter was even replaced when my laptop was out of warranty. Also the glue on the rubber feet at the bottom of the laptop started to become unstuck because of heat. So they sent me a pack of free feet. Apple usually takes cares of thier design flaws. But general Tech support, it's kinda like you gotta pay for it. Because it's only 1 year with 90 days of phone support. If you buy Apple care. Everythings incuded for 3 years.

You can't really OC an Apple. They're usually designed to run silent. For a few years Mac only really had a huge heatsink on thier CPU's. Then they started adding fans. Still quiet for the mostpart though.
 
Just a quick note about games: A lot of games are being ported to Mac OS X these days, mostly by Aspyr.

Medal of Honor Allied Assault Breakthrough is scheduled for a release this month.
Call of Duty is scheduled for a release in May.
Battlefield 1942 is scheduled for a June release.

Yes, it's true that game developers are Windows-centric, but the Mac platform does have some really good games that are either currently out (WarCraft 3:Frozen Throne, Medal of Honor Allied Assault Spearhead, Quake 3, UT2004) or coming out soon.
 
I should note that you technically can overclock a Mac (there's a known trick where you can get an 800 or 1 GHz eMac to run at 1.33 GHz), but I don't think it's possible with the G5 just yet. That's not because the chip is necessarily incapable, but because of the case design as it relates to the OS.

The 9 system fans (don't worry, they're normally very quiet) are controlled dynamically by the OS, and spin up depending on what's happening on the system. You don't need to run OS X: more recent versions of Yellow Dog Linux can do it, for example. The problem comes with what happens when the G5 CPUs are no longer doing what the fan monitoring expects.

If the OS doesn't know what to do, whether because the clock speed isn't right (such as with overclocking) or tne OS doesn't have code to manage the cooling, the fans automatically spin at maximum RPM - all of them. So the combination of a very noisy system with the risk of frying a computer that costs at least $1800 is, shall we say, a bad idea.
 
What makes a mac so great, is not so much in the hardware, that is generally up to par with the PC market, and actually lagging a little behind. It the OS that makes is So much better than any Windows based system could ever dream about being. OSX (10.3) is simply amazing. I have yet to have it Lock up or crash, my powerbooks has been booted up for 3 months with out ever having to restart. I love the mac OS, bill gates should take lessons from steve.
 
Quite frankly he did....he just did not pay enough atten *laugh*.

Things have been explained well although while I agree the Mac may seem to lag behind they are using PCI-X and the Dual G5 has again raised the bar. I use all systems my most powerful PC being my prior AMD64 Laptop (I had to sellit to get my car...now I am on a P3 1.2ghz Tul which runs well) and a G4 Tibook as well as a iBookG4 933. My macs are the pride of my ownership, I miss my pismo and wallstreet more than any other laptop (My 5400c is a very close second there, my first real laptop).

Anyway you should look at a Powerbook G4 12-15'. The iBook G4 is good as well but bump for the 14'. I will warn you mine drove me nuts because I am a clean freak and well...white is not always easy to clean *Laugh*. I personally would by the Last Ti book released just incase you would like to boot OS 9. It was the last Powerbook to support that. Plus I just liked the look, but the new look is very appealing to.
 
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