# My Dilemma



## Dinkmeister (Oct 30, 2001)

Hi,
   Very recently I had the chance to work with OSX and I was very impressed. So impressed that I now want to buy a mac   It has been about 3 years since my last cpu upgrade (celeron 366 oc'd to 550) and I want to purchase a new machine. 

My problem, I took a look at store.apple.com and the mac that I am interested in is the PowerMac G4 866. The price was considerably more than I had anticipated. 

Another problem is that although I fell in love with the operating system (I have used linux for about 6 years of and on and I really don't like it. I also use Windows 2000) and I am wondering if I *really* need the mac at all. I usually just browse the web, listen to music, chat, and I am a photographer by hobby and I want to do work with my photos. I want a mac because I like the operating system and I am really getting tired of windows, but is this enough to splurge and buy a really expensive mac?

My questions:
1. Is it possible to buy a barebones mac and buy the other parts? Apple has a habit of charging extreme ammounts of money for cheap devices.

2. Will I be able to use some of the devices i currently have on the mac (Hp Cd-rw, Sblive, TNT2, Western Digital IDE HD)?

3. The flat panel monitors look nice, but they sure are expensive. Will I be able to use a svga monitor on the mac? I noticed it had a geforce2 in it by default.

4. What can it do for me compared to an intel machine?

I hope to get some responses soon 

Thank you
-Andrew


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## sithious (Oct 30, 2001)

> _Originally posted by Dinkmeister _
> *. I usually just browse the web, listen to music, chat, and I am a photographer by hobby and I want to do work with my photos. I want a mac because I like the operating system and I am really getting tired of windows, but is this enough to splurge and buy a really expensive mac?
> -Andrew *



... if that's all you're going to be doing you really don't need to go out and spend tons on a g4 ... the imac will do fine for this kind of stuff ... saves you the price of a monitor too ...  the g4, on the other hand, does give you tons more power and possibilties, but it may be a bit like using a ferrari for shopping when a volkswagen would do the job just as well ... 

no idea about your devices, quite honestly... do they have usb? or firewire? maybe someone else knows...


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## callieX (Oct 30, 2001)

1. OSX 10.1 will run on just about any Mac G3 266 or better.  I am running it on a Powerbook G3 266 without a problem.  That opens the possibilites of getting a good used Mac like dual 500mHz G4.

2. As far a your devices if they are usb or firwire and drivers for the Mac are available they should work.  You will probably have to check with the manufacturers.

3.  I think you can use PC monitors with most newer Macs.

4. The biggest thing is that OSX is unix.  Many unix security programs and others are available from gnu.  Windows with its many security flaws is a big target for hackers.  Unix based systems so far are not as vulnerable.  Other than that the two OS's are very similar and run similar software.  I have had one since 1985 and feel it more stable than Windows has been

If you are lucky enought to have one of the new Mac stores near you go in and ask your questions there.

CallieX


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## theed (Oct 30, 2001)

this is resated to another thread that I decided to stop arguing on, but I agree that Apple's prices are a bit steep on the pro desktops.  If you're really cheap you could get the bottom iMac, but I have trouble recommending that little monitor to anyone anymore.  My actual buying advice would be to look at the iBook.  It's actually pretty sweet for the price, and Apple's laptop line has rocked for a while now.  It should get you the parts and power you need, along with the happiness of having that little puppy with you wherever and whenever.  

All that said, I am very happy with my dual G4 450.    I have an additional PCI video card and thus 2 monitors side by side, both standard VGA plugs.  Apple's site has good info on the tech specs about what each box has if you dig around a little.  

As for what my mac does for me that Windows never does?  It makes me smile.  Like a complimentary mint after an expensive dinner, it tends to pleasantly surprise on a lot of things.  As does this chat room bulletin board thingy here.  I love you guys. ... OK, I've been up all night and I may be getting delirious.  Good luck with your weighty CPU decisions.


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## genghiscohen (Oct 30, 2001)

You should take a look at the 733Mhz G4's, their price was recently dropped to around $1700.  You can use just about any monitor with them, and your PC peripherals, as mentioned by others, *may* be compatible.


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## FaRuvius (Oct 30, 2001)

> _Originally posted by Dinkmeister _
> *2. Will I be able to use some of the devices i currently have on the mac (Hp Cd-rw, Sblive, TNT2, Western Digital IDE HD)?
> *


You can't buy a system WITHOUT the parts you are talking about, with the exception of the CD-RW, as your system may come with a DVD-rom.  You *may* be able to replace or add your parts:

CD-RW:  is it internal or external? IDE or USB or firewire?  Check on Apple's site for a list of drives that are compatible with OS X's disc burner and/or iTunes.
TNT2: all the newer machines come with a GF2, so you would be downgrading your monitor, even if you could flash it with a mac rom.
SBlive: dunno 
IDE HD: Definitely.  With the G4, just open the case, plug it in, boot up, and you have yourself a second HD.   If you go the iMac route, you can replace the internal HD, but it is no trivial task.  To use it as a second HD for the iMac, I reccomend the purchase of a external firewire housing kit to make it a legit external drive.


> *
> 4. What can it do for me compared to an intel machine? *


Run OS X!  

Keep asking questions, we'll help you sort through it all!

FaRuvius


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## Dekatophil (Oct 30, 2001)

As has been pointed out before, you can go for a "smaller" Mac. Don't get diverted by Mhz. The Mac has a completely different processor and Intel Mhz don't straightly translate into Mac Mhz. A 500 Mhz Mac already is quite powerful. 
You can basically use any kind of VGA monitor. Also you can basically use any kind of HD. (But try to check with the Apple Store).
As for your CD-RW - you can use Toast-, it supports a hell of a lot of burners.
E.g. I've got a Toshiba Combo-drive in my G4 (which is only supposed to run on PCs) which works quite nicely. I didn't even have to install a driver !
You can still try the integrated burning (Finder, iTunes, Disk Copy, especially Disk Copy is likely to support your CD-RW).
What can OS X do for you ? A lot. Apart from the sheer functionality of the system, it spares you a lot of hassle with drivers etc. Hardware integration is just lovely. E.g. I bought  an external FireWire drive and just plugged it in. OS X just mounted it and I can do everything with it wihtout even installing any additional SW or drivers.
Music. You'll love iTunes (2). It's gorgeous and it's free (comes with your Mac).
Well, you basically have the same options as in the Windows world (IE, Netscape, Opera etc. plus a few extras (and the latest java integrated).
OS X is freaking Java comlpiant. E.g. Java Net Start comes with your Mac.
As for working with digital media, the Mac is perfect, because of its Quartz graphic layer, QuickTime etc. You'll find the Mac powerful in handling pictures etc. far beyond what you wd expect from the Mhz figure in the Intel world.

Just dive into it and you'll find a lot of stuff that's rewarding. I wont say that *everything* is perfect but I bet you'll often find yourself thinking "thank God I'm on a Mac".
P.S. Just in case you do want the command line: It's also there, but you don't *have* to use it.
Again, HW integration is really a big plus.

Hope my rambling was a little informative...


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## zerologic (Oct 30, 2001)

But you don't need a brand new one. I'm with the others here in that a nice used dual G4/500 should suffice. 

I have an HP CD Writer 9500 that works fine in an ADS Firewire case. It works with the Finder and Toast, though not iTunes yet.

The Western Digital will be A-OK in the G4 tower. There are 4 drive bays in the G4 and they're all IDE - ATA/66 at least.

The SBlive is a question mark... they make a version for mac but I don't know how it differs from the PC version. Unless you're a profesional musician, the built in sound on the Mac is great.

With the RIVA I believe you're out of luck. I don't think there is any version of that card that runs on a Mac though I could certainly be mistaken. It has happened.


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## AdmiralAK (Oct 30, 2001)

You can always get an older G4 dual processor model for cheaper.
For what you want to do you dont need a top of the line machine.

Also for OSes the macOS is nice   I have VPC with 20 x86 OSes on it he he (and I *only* have a G3 @ 350).

You dont need to buy RAM from apple, you can get your own RAM.
Also you dont need to get stuff like SCSI cards or extra peripherals from apple.

As for your stuff, you can probably make it work, if they are not USB you can get a USB adaptor for them.  Graphics cards...well.. I am not sure the TNT will work for you.  The HD will most likely work.


Admiral


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## Dinkmeister (Oct 30, 2001)

I do php development as well...and if i got a mac i'd love to get my hands in there and work around with some programming  

I think I can get the bottom of the line g4 tower for 1700? And buy a gig of ram for about 100 bucks 

I'm not into the whole iMac thing. I think they are really ugly hehe. And that screen is too small for my raisen-like eyes.

Although I do wish the powerbooks were cheaper :-(  They'd be really nice for when i go to school next fall. Which brings up another thing i want to do with my mac   I guess ill be doing all the things for school  (Word processing, etc.). 

And where can i buy these dual 500s?


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## zerologic (Oct 30, 2001)

Look around. They're hard to find but cheap.


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## Dinkmeister (Oct 30, 2001)

Here's a question.....

If i buy a mac will it come with an osx cd?  

store.apple.com doesn't say it does and I'd like to install OSX onto the current hard drive I have if I get a mac


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## Lazarus18 (Oct 30, 2001)

Not sure why you'd want to put OSX on your HD instead of the one tht comes with the computer. Do you have a higher RPM drive than the standard ones that come in Macs? If not I fail to see the advantage. You can (with a little trickery) move anything including user folders to a separate HD (ie your current one).

I'm going to second the iBook notion. Best bang for the buck in Apple's current line, and you can attach an external monitor I believe.


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## zerologic (Oct 30, 2001)

Comes with all current Macs.


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## chemistry_geek (Oct 30, 2001)

I have a Blue & White G3, 500MHz, 768MB RAM.  It will be 3 years old in January and it is plenty fast enough for me for my current uses.  I have no plans to purchase another Apple computer anytime soon - there's nothing wrong with the one I have.  I originally ordered my computer as a 400MHz G3 with 128MB RAM, a 100MB ZIP drive, and a SCSI card from the Apple Store.  I added more PC-100 RAM earlier this year when RAM prices plumeted.  I fried my logic board recently by plugging in the keyboard to the USB connector when the system was not grounded, hence a refurbished logic board and a new processor.  I added an MS-DOS formatted 7200RPM IBM UltraSCSI drive last year just to install LinuxPPC 2000, which was later removed for Mac OS X.  All I did was start up Apple's Disk Utility program and reformatted the MS-DOS-formatted 18GB UltraSCSI drive as an Apple HFS+ volume with several different partitions (which had Apple HFS format and UNIX formats).  I didn't use any special drivers for the computer to recognize the new drive.  I just dropped it in and reformatted - no problems.

I would recommend buying a new lower end PowerMac G4 733MHz instead of the 867MHz G4.  Sure it will cost a little extra cash than a used G4, but you probably won't have to upgrade for 5 years.  You're really not going to notice a difference in speed with the new G4's, especially with Altivec.  The 867MHz G4 is only 18.3% faster in clock speed than a 733MHz G4, AND if Altivec is crunching/pumping numbers as fast as it can, the system bandwidth would be the limiting factor for speed, not the processor.  Anyone know what the maximum throughput of the 133MHz system bus is now a days?  I'm pretty sure that a 733MHz G4 would likely saturate the system throughput with Altivec cranking out full speed.

A PowerMac offers you expansion slots for future expandability.  An iMac is not going to accept a SCSI HD, AND, what happens when the monitor fails?  With a PowerMac, you just keeping adding on to it as your needs grow/change.  Need 2 monitors? Add a second video card and monitor, can't do that with an iMac.

Regarding your Western Digital IDE HD, I'm pretty sure the "New World" Macs (iMac, Blue & White G3 and up) can only have one UltraATA / IDE hard drive.  Go with SCSI an extra/add-on HD, it might cost more, but it is FAST - you get what you pay for - SPEED.

Regarding SoundBlaster Live Sound card, you won't need it.  Macs already come with excellent sound chips and they don't breakdown.

When you buy a Mac, the compenents are well-matched inside such that you aren't going to have to upgrade for a long time if you're an average user.

If you MUST have Mac OS X, save your money, get a $1800 733MHz G4 with a SCSI card.  Buy your RAM (and I mean load it up) from some other place on the internet and drop-in a wapping fast IBM UltraSCSI drive yourself and install Mac OS X on that.  You will SMILE!!!  I've heard that IBM makes the best hard drives in that they have the longest mean time between failures.  I use a CTX 17 inch color monitor, purchased from Sam's Club 3 years ago; it has a standard VGA connector.

chemistry_geek

Blue & White G3, G4 logic board, 500MHz IBM G3, 768MB RAM, 12GB IBM UltraATA, 18GB IBM UltraSCSI, Adaptec 2930 UltraSCSI Card, 100MB Zip (built-in).


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## Dekatophil (Oct 31, 2001)

Yeah, comes with all new Macs and is *not* dongled. So you can install your one copy on any number of Macs  
And you'll want to get that, won't you  

Cheers

-Dekatophil


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## JaViS (Oct 31, 2001)

If you are new to the mac get the 733 it will rock... but hey if you are planning for some games too... get the GeForce 3 as a BTO since it will cost a fortune if you buy it from Apple later


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## rubberchicken (Dec 16, 2001)

> _
> The Western Digital will be A-OK in the G4 tower. There are 4 drive bays in the G4 and they're all IDE - ATA/66 at least.
> [/B]_


_

Even though there are four drive bays inside the g4 you will need to install either a scsi or ide card to use the other two. 
There are only two ide controllers on the board. One channel for two hard drives and the other for cd rom and zip._


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## edX (Dec 16, 2001)

> The price was considerably more than I had anticipated.



ever hear the saying "you get what you pay for"?

do you normally buy whatever gets the job done at the cheapest price?
if so, you should stick with your peecees, you'll never see the advantages of the macs.
if you normally are willing to pay a little bit more to get a quality product that you know is built reliably, will out live its usefullnes, and gives you more litle extras, then start doing a little more research into exactly which mac model will give you the best deal. 
(hint: are the tv's in your house sharp/rca or panosonic/sony/mitsubishi?)

if you decide the mac is right for you, you might want to look into the online mass retailers like macmall.com, macconnection.com, maczone.com, etc. While they can't offer lower prices than the apple store, they can give you more little freebies to enhance the deal - especially extra ram. 

my philsophy is to buy the best new mac-chine that you can afford. used machines may be just as good today, but will go unsupported far faster. until technology progress slows again, this is worth considering.

just my thoughts. you asked.


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## swizcore (Dec 16, 2001)

In simplist terms, the bottom of the line G4 for $1700 will be much faster than any PC you have been using and very adequate for what you've listed as your main uses. The gig of ram will be great for OSX. have no fear, that $1700 machine will go a long way. Yes the normal monitor will work with it too.


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## MacIntosh Man (Dec 16, 2001)

I want to get a PowerBook G4 667MHz machine -- screaming portability!


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## kilowatt (Dec 16, 2001)

I went through a similar dilemma.

Although I was allready a macintosh user, I wanted a computer to run osx on, and I wanted it to be fast.

Here are a few things to concider:
1) Used. There are tons of used g4's on ebay. Some of them, while they have lower mhz than the 733 quicksliver g4, were high-end when they were new and have large L3 caches and higher buss speeds. And they are much cheaper than the apple store.

2) Educational. http://store.apple.com click 'Eduication'. Select your school (trust me, your school may not realize it, but its listed at apple, and you get 10 to 20 percent off). These are the same computers (although you can get slower ones if you want) only much cheaper. 

3) Ram. Ram ram ram. I wanted to get my comp from apple with zero ram because apple's ram is so darn expensive. I couldn't, so I got it with the base-level - 128megs. Then I found this web site, called 'otherworldcomputing.com' I think, and I got 512megs of ram for something like $50. Which is expensive by today's standards. The same config would have cost me +$300 from apple.

4) Demo. Go to an apple store (http://www.apple.com/retail) and see how OS X runs on various configurations. If there isn't an apple store near you.. well that just sucks ;-) apple stores ROCK

5) Buy your ide hard disk from some one else for less (same deal with the ram, really). And the same for the cdr's. Check apple's web site for dvd and cdr compatability lists, and get one of those $99 cdr's on sale at staples. 

6) As for the screen, the GeForce 2mx (base line graphics card for the 733 I think) has two video connections - an ADC (for apple flat panels), and a vga (pc-style). you can use them both, and the geforce treats it like you have two seperate video cards, whith is cool, or mirrors them. Honestly, I played Quake3 arena on my 733 with the GeForce 2mx (32megs of video ram) and it ROCKED. my pc friends had never seen such beauty. It was smooth, colorfull.... Your G4 will probably run quake on a 32meg card just as well as it would on a 64meg card. I've heard people say you get one or two more frames per sec.. guess there's a bottle neck or two on the agp 4x port.

Oh, and if you decide to get a 19" or better monitor, keep in mind that you will LOVE IT!!! I had a 17" and a 15", so now that I have this 19" running 1600x1200@85hz, I can't look at other computers anymore because my eyes hurt ;-).

If you get a G4, you will be happy. Guarenteed. Don't bother with a G3 (unless you are really pinching the pennies). And I wouldn't get an upgraded G3. Get as little as possable if you buy from apple, and upgrade. 

Good luck with your computing adventures!


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## simX (Dec 16, 2001)

Everyone has lots of good suggestions!  I'm glad that everyone is as excited as ever to be a Mac user.   I have a few things to add, though:

1.  If you can afford it, I would buy a new Mac.  This has many advantages: first, you know that you are going to get a high-quality built machine with parts that are factory-fresh and haven't been used.  Along with this comes the standard 1-year warantee (which I think is too short -- Apple should give at least a 2 year warantee).  Basically, you can be assured that you won't one day in the near future boot up your computer and find that one of your components is fried.  The second advantage is that you get all of the latest software preinstalled: OS X 10.1.1 with all the security and installer updates, iTunes 2.0.3, AppleWorks 6.2.2, Mac OS 9.2.2, and if you get an iBook or iMac, you will get Cro-Mag Rally, Bugdom, Nanosaur (and maybe Otto Matic) preinstalled as well as AppleWorks.  ALL new Macs come with iMovie and iTunes pre-installed, and if you get the top-of-the-line G4, you'll get iDVD as well.  Lots of applications = lots of usefulness.  Third advantage: they will last longer and be better able to deal with the latest applications and system software.  You may be able to buy a used G4 for a lower price, but then again, it's probably not going to last as long as a new top-of-the-line Mac.  The only exception to this rule might be dual-processor G4s, since OS X does take advantage of both processors.  * Also, you also expressed interest about OS X.  Used Macs may NOT come with OS X.  If you get a new Mac, you will be guaranteed to have OS X pre-installed for you. *

2.  You said that you can't stand the size of the iMac's screen, yet people still recommend the iBook.  I should say that, yes, you probably get most bang for your buck from the iBook, but you also get a 12.1" diagonal screen (compared to the iMacs viewable 13.8" screen).  If you can't stand the iMacs, I'm certain you REALLY won't like the iBook's screen.  However, if you can live with that small screen, you can get the combo drive iBook (best value) for $1699 that has a 600 MHz processor, 128 MB RAM soldered onto the motherboard, and a 100 MHz system bus, not to mention the DVD playing and CD burning/reading.  It definitely is a good system, but it is VERY limited in expandibility.  You can basically only add RAM and an airport card.  Everything else has to be external.  The G4 towers would be much better if you want to add internal parts and stuff.  The PowerBook is a VERY good deal too, and it has a VERY large screen for a laptop (15.2" viewable diagonally), and it packs quite a punch -- but again, expandibility is limited.  It seems like the best for you would be a G4 tower and a third-party monitor.

3.  If you do decide to go for a new Mac OR a used Mac, wait until after the MacWorld Expo this January 7-11 in San Francisco.  This is VERY VERY IMPORTANT.  Why?  New PowerMac G4s and new iMacs (supposedly the form factor is going to change, so you might like the new ones  ) are almost definitely going to come out.  So if you're splurging and getting a new Mac, you can get a better computer for the same amount of money, OR you can get one of the old new Macs (the current G4 towers) for less money, and basically get the same quality.  Often, Apple itself has some old towers stocked up in inventory, which they offer deals on.  Many Apple retailers also offer good deals on recently-made-obsolete Mac.  It's a win-win situation to wait for MacWorld.  (NOTE: Also of interest -- PowerBooks and PowerMacs might come with AppleWorks pre-installed as of this MWSF, which is a BIG BIG plus.  And there might even be a new 19" flat-panel monitor, which is really nice if you want that space, and also nice if you want to get a 17" for only $599. )

Hope this helps.  ANY Mac you get will be a good deal, and will last a long time.  Just make sure you look at what you are going to do on your computer, and see if any of them are not suited to do that, or if they are overkill.  Once you rule out those Macs, choosing is much easier.  Basically, if you're only browsing the web and doing word processing, I would sincerely NOT recommend getting a G4 tower or PowerBook.  That would basically be a waste of computer power and money.

As to your last point, the Mac offers many advantages.  UNIX apps can now run on OS X, meaning as soon as OS X came out, there were instantly MANY more Mac developers.  Maya, one of the apps that was mainly used on UNIX (and Windows) was ported to Mac OS X, signifying that Mac OS X is really a viable platform.  You get a much more intuitive platform, and you don't get forced into the crap that Microsoft slams down on you, like all the advertising in Windows XP.  Plus, even though having a command line in Mac OS X poses a little more of a security threat, UNIX still is VERY secure, and is much more secure than Windows.  You don't get NEARLY as many viruses, and you can even set up the built-in firewall that comes with OS X (provided you download a GUI utility to set it up, or you know the UNIX commands).  The best advantage, I found, though, is that you can tinker with the command line and all the components of MacOS X, which makes it VERY customizable.  We already have a theme application (MetaMorph X), as well as many tinkering apps (like TinkerTool) that can change the transparency of the Dock and Terminal windows, position of the Dock, pinning of the Dock, as well as many other things that Apple doesn't provide with a checkbox.  Plus Mac OS X is rock-solid stable, making your computer uptime fly through the roof. 

Even though Macs seem very pricey, you really do get what you pay for -- great quality, long lifetime, not to mention Macs are a joy to use.  Plus they are much easier to use, which saves a BUNCH of time.  The overall cost of ownership (including repairs, time spent troubleshooting, time before it's necessary to buy a new Mac) is lower on a Mac, rest assured.

Oh, by the way:  would you mind coming back here and posting what your final decision is?  I'm sure we'd all be interested.


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## vanguard (Dec 16, 2001)

Did you guys notice this thread is two months old?  Dinkmiester asked his question back in October.

I'm guessing that whatever decision he needed to make has been made by now.


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## simX (Dec 16, 2001)

You're right, it was from October.  It's annoying when a thread is reactivated (like that post your OS X 10.1 desktop pics thread) -- I think threads should be locked after a month or so of inactivity, because a lot of times, the question isn't really applicable anymore (as in this case).  Also, if you want to deal with the same topic, you can just start a new thread.


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## Dinkmeister (Dec 16, 2001)

Hi,
   Sorry that I didn't reply sooner   I haven't bought a mac yet as I do not have money to spend on it yet, but I have made a decision as to what I am going to get. 

I have decided that the G4 733 system from apple seems very nice. I am probably going to get the base memory since apple charges way to much for their memory   I'll buy a bunch of memory from another company or something. It seems its much cheaper that way.

The one problem I have is that I have a 4 speaker system (Klipsch Promedia 4.1) so I'll have to get a stereo y-splitter hooked up to the headphone jack but I am worried about the quality of the sound if I do that. I don't feel like buying new speakers since these ones were pretty expensive. Hopefully that will work fine.

Thanks for your replies


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## theed (Dec 17, 2001)

splitting your audio should work just fine.  Depending on how those speakers listen to the signal, splitting the signal may mean that the sound is a little queiter than not splitting the sound.  Or it could make no difference at all.

There are decent audio cards out there for the mac, but usually people have those 4 speaker setups for games, and mac Games don't tend to look for a 4 speaker setup, su Radio Shack and a y splitter should answer your problem rather handily.


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## dlookus (Dec 17, 2001)

At this point you may just want to wait for Macworld. The configurations may all change. If not, I recommend a g4 dual processor. I have one at home and I've seen them going pretty cheap on ebay.


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## tagliatelle (Dec 17, 2001)

3 yes


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## kilowatt (Dec 18, 2001)

About that audio...

If you face two speakers in fount of you, and two behind you (pointing towards you), you may want to consider swapping the phase of the rear speakers, which can be accomplished by reversing the polarity of each rear speaker.

this is just because when you face two speakers at each other, the sound can cancel out, which doesn't sound too good. Also, when the reversed sound reflects off something in fount of you (which it does - thats why you can hear it ;-) , its phase will be corrected by the reflection, and lead to a fuller sound.

And (the beat goes on...), if you turn around, the phase will be correct, as if you were at the concert or something, and turned around.

Yeah,  this thread has really lost its subject now... oh well.. I'm an audio dude, couldn't help it.


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## vanguard (Dec 18, 2001)

> _Originally posted by kilowatt _
> *About that audio...
> ... the reversed sound reflects off something in fount of you (which it does - thats why you can hear it ;-) ...
> *



I'm not an audio expert but this seems wrong to me.  It doesn't have to bounce off something for me to hear.  If I stand in a field (open plane) and somebody behind me says my name I can here him.  It would seem like a decent portion of the sound would be coming straight from the speakers to my ears.

Any thoughts?


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## simX (Dec 18, 2001)

I would tend to agree with vanguard.  I don't think you need to do anything to the speakers behind you.  I was once working late at my former junior high, and I remember starting the exact same song at the exact same time on two G4 cubes -- one in front and one behind.  DAAAAMN that sounded good.   This just illustrates the point that you don't need to do this -- although what do I know.. I just use iTunes and my iPod.


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## kilowatt (Dec 18, 2001)

Yeah, its true, sound does pass through your body and your ear parts. But if you stuck a sound-proof wall behind you, and someone behind you said something, it would have to reflect. Its simply physics.

As for not having to reverse the polarity, its true, you don't *have to* but someone try this, you'll see, it sounds a lot better, and you will have more bass. 

Perhaps with smaller speakers it isn't such an issue, but if dude has 12" 3 way speakers, there will be a substantial difference.


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