Psystar Mac clone in hand! Engadget shows its performance on video and benchmarks it

[motulist]

I was actually hoping this computer would be a good alternative to fill certain niches that Apple currently doesn't fill, but this video shows that there are significant reasons to be dubious of the OS's operation on this box. And the fans are loud!

http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/30/psystar-open-computer-notes-benchmarks-and-video/

 

[flopticalcube]

No memory config or audio is a bit disconcerting.

 

[motulist]

Yeah, I was kinda excited about the possibilities of a Mac clone filling missing niches in Apple's product line up, but when I saw in that video that System Profiler couldn't recognize much of the installed hardware I was disappointed. Seeing those errors makes me think that this machine really is much closer to a quick hack rather than a market ready product.

 

[motulist]

Hmm, this got me wondering...

It's LOUD. Crazy loud. OS X doesn't seem to interface with the fan controller, so it runs at full tilt all the time. It doesn't really come across on the video, but it's loud enough so that it's hard to talk on the phone when the machine is running. There's no way we could deal with this thing on a daily basis.

Do you think there might be a way to control the fan speed even if OS X can't? Meaning, do you think there's a 3rd party utility that can communicate with the fan? Maybe it would be possible to control the fan speed manually with an external switch?

 

[clevin]

lol, i thought some of u guys have it first hand...

hearsay. from apple fanboy engadget? other than confirm the operation and existence of ***star. really contribute little.

of course, for $399, it won't be quietest machine in the world. its a tower anyway.

real question in my mind, is, will 10.5.3 break it intentionally?

 

[NC MacGuy]

CNet has a video of unboxing and benchmarks. Lots of peanuts and included retail Leopard in box.

Not the most professional box or packing but they do have one.

It looks like they're shipping a few now. I wonder if we'll hear from Apple now?

 

[flopticalcube]

lol, i thought some of u guys have it first hand...

hearsay. from apple fanboy engadget? other than confirm the operation and existence of ***star. really contribute little.

of course, for $399, it won't be quietest machine in the world. its a tower anyway.

real question in my mind, is, will 10.5.3 break it intentionally?

You don't have to be a fanboy to see that the profiler is having trouble identifying the hardware. From the clones I have seen, its not the smoothest job. I don't care about the fan noise in this case. If I did, I would buy an iMac or a mini (and I did!).

 

[clevin]

You don't have to be a fanboy to see that the profiler is having trouble identifying the hardware. From the clones I have seen, its not the smoothest job. I don't care about the fan noise in this case. If I did, I would buy an iMac or a mini (and I did!).

well, you can't hack OSX to accomplish the task it isn't capable of, however, even without IDing of those harddwares, they all work fine.

Again, you might want OSX to ID them correctly, but the simple question is if it really bother people that much so they would like to pay extra $600~1000 for it.

 

[Lancetx]

You don't have to be a fanboy to see that the profiler is having trouble identifying the hardware. From the clones I have seen, its not the smoothest job. I don't care about the fan noise in this case. If I did, I would buy an iMac or a mini (and I did!).

Agreed. It has nothing to do with being a fanboy, and everything to do with not wanting to buy a half assed piece of junk. You could do much better building your own Hackintosh if that's the direction you really wanted to go in rather than buying one of these crappy things.

 

[clevin]

You could do much better building your own Hackintosh if that's the direction you really wanted to go

I doubt it, not everybody is expert.

 

[notjustjay]

Again, you might want OSX to ID them correctly, but the simple question is if it really bother people that much so they would like to pay extra $600~1000 for it.

Seems to me that once you're paying for this box AND a copy of Leopard, you're only a few bucks away from a Mac mini that will be light years ahead of what you can practically do with this thing. Plus you get iLife and all, too.

 

[flopticalcube]

well, you can't hack OSX to accomplish the task it isn't capable of, however, even without IDing of those harddwares, they all work fine.

Again, you might want OSX to ID them correctly, but the simple question is if it really bother people that much so they would like to pay extra $600~1000 for it.

I'm sure it runs most things, its just an uncomfortable feeling if system profiler can't identify major items and points to a less than stellar hack.

I'm not sure where you get that figure from. With Leopard, the PsyStar is only $400 less than a refurb white 20" iMac with lots of things (including a good 20" monitor) missing.

The point of hackintosh is to get the hardware you want (perhaps at a lower price) and have OSX as well. From the look of things, no one should be wanting this mess.

PS. The plural of hardware is just hardware. No 's' on the end.

 

[gkarris]

No iLife? That's another $80 - fast approaching the price of a Mini...

Not "seeing" certain components properly? Sounds like some PC's I've work on...

Yea, no slots in a Mini, but I'm starting to think for Macs (at least) - all built in is better than a hodge-podge of components...

This video has Woz talking about how they decided to make the IIc with everything built-in rather than open slots:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul7NkLGtD84

They've just kept this philosophy until know, and the Psystar computer will confirm why...