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Looking for something to complete my existence...

M

MacSlurp

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 27, 2006
17
0
I am a PC guy turning to MAC. Wify got a MAC and I am definately leaning that way now. Of course I have no clue how to compare PC with MAC (yes I know you cannot compare the two. lol). I wanted a PC that is going to last me and run what I want to run on it. I was looking at a 2ghz p4 as a base half deecent ram in the neighbourhood of 512, accelerator card and so on and so on. Now that I have the MAC need flowing through my veins, I need to find something that will equal what my, (choke) pc wants, was. Have any clues? I would like to get some Pre-Intel if at all possible. I am just not happy that Mac went that way.... Its so wrong. I do not like Intel.

PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZEE help me!
 
Oh Forgot to mention I want to stay with a laptop. I am starting to love the mobility. I know I will sufer on some of my wants for it, but I am willing to do so. Hey maybe I must have both a desktop and a laptop. Tee Hee
 
MacBook Pro (intel) or PowerBook (PowerPC).

If you get the MBP, make sure you upgrade the RAM to something more than 512mb. That's so not enough.

Only reason I say MBP is that the MacBook doesn't have a dedicated graphics processor. It steals your internal RAM.

Oh and don't get the MBP until they've updated the chips to Merom, which is going to be sometime in the next month (august).

Good luck.

EDIT: what is an accelerator card anyway? I just assumed it was a dedicated graphics chip.
 
Who cares what processor they use as long as it's fast and runs the software you want to use? :rolleyes:

Get a MacBook Pro, and be happy that it has a fast Intel processor inside.
 
atari1356 said:
Who cares what processor they use as long as it's fast and runs the software you want to use? :rolleyes:

Get a MacBook Pro, and be happy that it has a fast Intel processor inside.
Click to expand...

uh considering they're updating them soon for SURE, I think anybody who's somebody (or vice versa...right?....well, w/e) would want to hold out unless it's absolutely necessary to have it now.

Better stuff for same price? duh hello good morning yup.

Aren't I just grandeloquent?
 
if you don't want an intel processor, start searching on ebay. i'm sure plenty of people are selling their powerpc notebooks so they can buy the newer models. also, people on MR often trade or sell to other MR members.

512MB of RAM isn't good for any computer anymore. 1GB should be the minimum you should consider. i'd look at a powerbook since it seems to fit what you're looking for (fast processor, dedicated graphics, etc.)
 
I have just heard alot of proplems with the new MACs with the intel processors. I have never been a fan of Intel.


what is an accelerator card anyway? I just assumed it was a dedicated graphics chip.

Sorry I am still thinking PC. An accelerator card is a dedicated graphics card that has 2d and 3d graphics. Used alot in gaming where graphics cards are not all created equal. I had a 3dfx Voodoo card that I loved but it had a run in with a mouse years ago which fried.

So going with a Mac that is Pre intel invasion, what would be the processor speed and how much would I be spending on it? I just do not want to go crazy all out although I would want something that would last me like my old celeron 533 PC desktop I have hiding under my computer table.
 
pianoman said:
if you don't want an intel processor, start searching on ebay. i'm sure plenty of people are selling their powerpc notebooks so they can buy the newer models. also, people on MR often trade or sell to other MR members.

512MB of RAM isn't good for any computer anymore. 1GB should be the minimum you should consider. i'd look at a powerbook since it seems to fit what you're looking for (fast processor, dedicated graphics, etc.)
Click to expand...


Oh I agree 512 isn't alot. It would do for PC. I know MAC people love to max out their ram right off. I could easily survive with 512 mgs am in pc with a dedicated graphics card but I am done with PC. Tired of the problems and the lock ups and the Blue screen of death this P4 toshiba laptop started having when using a wireless card. MAC is just so simple.

I just need a place to start so I can really get into and explore to find out exactly what it is I need in the end.
 
Hi, first off, MAC is a networking term, a Mac is a computer. With all the tech talk going around it can get confusing when people call Macs "MACs."

I wouldn't bother with getting a Mac based on a PowerPC processor - by the end of this year they will be all gone. Intel is the future and would make the wisest purchase.

You're hearing about all the problems with Intel machines because you're hanging around internet forums - who goes online to talk about their flawless Mac? Nobody, we just get on with using it. You're hearing from the vocal minority on here.

Intel Macs are great - no manufacturer is perfect, there are times when things just go bad but that is very rare.

I would recommend a MacBook Pro (if you need the graphics processing power of a dedicated card for gaming) or a MacBook (if your primary focus isn't games and you want the best bang for your buck).

I'd forget about all this Intel-hate, I don't like Microsoft not because they monopolised the OS market but that they did it with such a sub-par operating system BUT, I recognise that at the moment MS Office is the best office suite going around so it's installed on my Mac. Buying a PPC-based Mac would just be like buying a seat on a sinking ship.
 
MacSlurp said:

Looking for something to complete my existence...

Try finding a girlfriend with an intel Macbook. Kill two birds with one stone (so to speak) :D
 
Since you want a laptop, your only choices are iBook/PowerBook or MacBook/MacBookPro.

You want something that's as fast as or faster than a P4@2GHz? At what though? With games nothing will beat a PC ... yet. For office work, you won't notice much of a difference. For engineering/technical/coding, the faster the CPU the better. For video, fast CPU + GPU is better. For Photoshop a fast CPU is better (of course, a Universal Binary for the Intels would trump any hardware gains)

So for roughly 2GHz P4 equivalent G4 laptops, you can't really go any slower than a 1.5GHz G4. But the new Intels MB/MBPs are much, much faster at all but a few non-Universal apps and are more future proof ... there's going to be no faster pre-Intel laptops unless you get third party CPU upgrades, and the upside on that is still severely limited.

If you want a dedicated GPU ("accelerator card") then you can forget about the MacBook, leaving the iBook/PowerBook and MBP. But the MB integrated graphics is roughly the same performance (at games), maybe a little less, as the GPU in the PB.

So if cost is not a major issue, the MBP is your best fit.

Try to get over the fact that they're using Intels - if AMD's CPUs were currently better, I might understand, but when it comes down to it, a computer is just a tool.
 
SteveRichardson said:
hey nice metaphor. or wait. is that a simile?

grrrr

it's probably both.
Click to expand...

Simile. It uses a comparison.

A metaphor doesn't compare but treats the two items as identical.
 
Chundles said:
Hi, first off, MAC is a networking term, a Mac is a computer. With all the tech talk going around it can get confusing when people call Macs "MACs."

I wouldn't bother with getting a Mac based on a PowerPC processor - by the end of this year they will be all gone. Intel is the future and would make the wisest purchase.

You're hearing about all the problems with Intel machines because you're hanging around internet forums - who goes online to talk about their flawless Mac? Nobody, we just get on with using it. You're hearing from the vocal minority on here.

Intel Macs are great - no manufacturer is perfect, there are times when things just go bad but that is very rare.

I would recommend a MacBook Pro (if you need the graphics processing power of a dedicated card for gaming) or a MacBook (if your primary focus isn't games and you want the best bang for your buck).

I'd forget about all this Intel-hate, I don't like Microsoft not because they monopolised the OS market but that they did it with such a sub-par operating system BUT, I recognise that at the moment MS Office is the best office suite going around so it's installed on my Mac. Buying a PPC-based Mac would just be like buying a seat on a sinking ship.
Click to expand...

Thank you for clarifying. I would not want to confuse anyone. "Mac" I will use for now on. I have never like Microsoft either. Just do not like the games they play really but until now there just is not much choice in the matter. I just wish that yeras ago IBM would have pushed their OS/2 Warp in the face of the consumers instead of trying to stick to comercial apps. It died out wayt o fast. It was very Mac-ish. Anyhoot I guess its just preference at this point. I haven't hung out in any forums that are complaining about their PC based Macs. I have heard from Dedicated Mac People whom just prefered their PPC based systems and I was protraid to me to stay away from them..... At least for the beginning of the changeover. I really do not want to wait the time. I need a computer in the near furture so I want to go with something PPC-based Mac.

Looking at Craigslist I can see I will be paying about a grand for a powerbook with a 1.3 ghz processor in it. Suits me just fine. I am not a heavy gamer but I do like to "PLAY" now and then.
 
Passante said:
MacSlurp said:

Looking for something to complete my existence...

Try finding a girlfriend with an intel Macbook. Kill two birds with one stone (so to speak) :D
Click to expand...

I do not need a girlfriend. I have a wife with an iBook. She is the one that has turned me to the good side of the force. LOL
 
plinden. Thank you. I think for right now I am leaning towards a powerbook and expect to pay somewhere around a grand for it. Should suit my needs okay. Like I said I am no longer a huge gamer but do like to "play" once and a while

Now all I need now is a good place to buy one. Craigs list has them for an average of $1300 CAD. Any where else good to get these???
 
Chundles said:
Simile. It uses a comparison.

A metaphor doesn't compare but treats the two items as identical.
Click to expand...

See I spent 8 years (middle and high school) at two private institutions (with tuition on the upside of $14k a year) and that's how much I know.

Just if I had paid attention. Or used Dicitonary.com.

No matter. I'm going to a music conservatory for college! :cool:
 
michaelrjohnson said:
I would definitely recommend an Intel-powered Mac. For the simple reason that you can run Windows on it also.
Click to expand...

Well truthfully I am tired of windows. I have no wish to run windows at all. I am tired of their shabby operating systems. Their ever rampant lockups, freezes, blue screens, errors. Adapters drivers that go missing and the list goes on. I was told by my wife of an individual she saw had a pic of a Mac with 32 or so windows open and running with no lockups or freezes. I like that reliability. I do concure that some office stuff from microsoft is still the best but seeing as i do not run any office stuff anyways, I want to forget microsoft exists if at all possible. lol
Anything after their windows 95 sucks. Just to many problems. I constantly had to tune my windows 98 SE to make it run good. I think because of that its the reason its still alive today, a celeron 533. Just a pain. I am starting to really like the whole Mac environment.

I do appologize if I insulted anyone. Not what I meant to do at all.
 
You're running Windows 98?! Dear god!

Throw Ubuntu on that machine ASAP, it's free, and it's not Windows 98, then do some more research about Intel Mac's because everyone here is correct, you should get them.

I can't stress this enough, get off Windows 98 right now
 
SwitchedBack2XP said:
You're running Windows 98?! Dear god!

Throw Ubuntu on that machine ASAP, it's free, and it's not Windows 98, then do some more research about Intel Mac's because everyone here is correct, you should get them.

I can't stress this enough, get off Windows 98 right now
Click to expand...

Ahh no
Hes been running XP with the lovely blue screen of death on the P4 and reverting back to the trusty 98 when all fails... as xp always seems to do :rolleyes:
 
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