Lowest End Machine for OSX

J

jpford

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Hey everyone,
I'm a unix admin and of course I have a few machines around running various OS's just so I can keep learning. My question is, what is the lowest end used or new machine I can by to put OSX on and not feel confined by my decision. An example is a while back I installed Linux on a 486 but when I started to do some real stuff on it, it turned into a dog. It never crashed but it still was a dog. The kinds of things I would do is mostly web hosting, some basic scripting, and just playing around to see the differences between OSX and the other unix's.

Thanks everyone..

JP
 
Originally posted by jpford
Hey everyone,
I'm a unix admin and of course I have a few machines around running various OS's just so I can keep learning. My question is, what is the lowest end used or new machine I can by to put OSX on and not feel confined by my decision. An example is a while back I installed Linux on a 486 but when I started to do some real stuff on it, it turned into a dog. It never crashed but it still was a dog. The kinds of things I would do is mostly web hosting, some basic scripting, and just playing around to see the differences between OSX and the other unix's.

Thanks everyone..

JP
Click to expand...
I'll suppose a 233mhz Rev A Imac is the slowest and most cheap you could install OSX on. But I recommend you to buy a newer one due to the low prize. OSX uses quite heavy graphics an therefore needs a fast chip. You should also have at least 128 mb ram.
 
techically beige g3's are supported, but apparently people are having alot of problems with them.

Rev. A iMacs (and any original bondi-blue model) have some perceived collector value so might actually be more expensive than a later, flavor colored one with a faster processor & (possibly) more ram.
 
On the other hand, an older (i.e., lower-end) beige G3 often goes for $8-900 or less. I've not installed OS X on one, I'm only guessing...the older beige G3 I've got at work is on OS 9 & I've no intention of getting a new one for at least a year. If OS X beta isn't very good on it, the final ought to be...IMO.
 
Originally posted by iamnoel
On the other hand, an older (i.e., lower-end) beige G3 often goes for $8-900 or less. I've not installed OS X on one, I'm only guessing...the older beige G3 I've got at work is on OS 9 & I've no intention of getting a new one for at least a year. If OS X beta isn't very good on it, the final ought to be...IMO.
Click to expand...

If a lower-end beige G3 is going for $800, then why NOT get a brand-new iMac/350? Or better yet save even more and get the last rev of them (the blueberry 350s)? Then with 128-192mb of RAM. That will still be cheaper (and faster) than your beige G3 especially once you've taken the cost of the monitor into consideration.
 
actually, the lowest computer model would probably ge the 7500, back from like '95... 200mhz 604e(upgraded), 64mb ram, 1gb hd... etc....
 
Personally, I got a used rev. A Blueberry iBook with 160megs of Ram and 3Gb hard disk for a little over $1,000 just a bit before the new iBooks were released.

A first revision iBook is the ass end of the performance curve, but it runs quite acceptably for my uses with the 160Mb of RAM so if you're concerned about blowing too much money, buy something cheap and spend some money on RAM and hard disk space. After all, if you want to take these accessories over to your PC if you decide to forgo the Mac, then there are a number of PC's you can use the RAM and HD.

I like just about everything about the iBook except that the screen feels a little small. It can only do 800x600. Portability makes up a LOT for the small screen though. Especially since all my friends, relatives, and co-workers want to see what OS X looks like. The low end portable really makes a cool demo machine.

Looking back, I might have gotten a blue and white G3 desktop since their prices seem to be quite reasonable compared to anything with a G4 in it, but on the whole I'm not at all disappointed with the iBook

Just my two cents.
 
OSX works fine on my beige revision a minitower g3. My machine is even overclocked and OSX seems to support my USB pci card as my USB mouse is supported (both buttons!)

My machine
PowerMac G3 300Mhz (Overclocked to 350)
128 Megabytes of RAM (Needs more to be smooth)
6 Megabytes of Video RAM (ATI RageII+, not even Rage Pro)
Voodoo 2 (not supported under OSX)
USB Card (seems to work)

The machine hums along nicely. I have a much more stock Beige G3 Tower 233 at work running OSXPB and it also works fine. The only upgrade it posseses is 224MB of RAM. The memory really makes a difference. It sometimes seems faster than my 350 due to the difference RAM makes.

With any luck Apple will fix this by OSX 1.0. Thanks. Just wanted to post my good fortune. (For those who are having errors and also have a Voodoo2 card, try removing the video card. Others have had problems with this. I have a GameWizard 12MB PCI Version)
 
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