Building my own FrankenMac

theapplegeniustheapplegenius
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Because I am such a good boy, my mother told me that I could get my own computer for High School. Now we already have an iBook so I don't really need a laptop. Now with my extensive background with screwing around with the insides of computers, I've decided that instead of getting a Mac Mini, I would get an old Power Mac and make it awesome. Because of my endevours, I would like a bit of advice with this.



1. B&W G3 or G4: I'm getting a G4 processor regardless, but because of this, I need to know what motherboard is better and if the extra cash for a G4 is worth it.



2. I have an assload of SDRAM, over 2.0GB, so this will impact my decision. What is the best model I can get that will support this.



3. I know the ATi Radeon 9800 only works with the G4. And I'm not so hot on getting a G5 one so don't mention it. Anyway, will this be a seller for the G4? Or will a PCI 9200 do the trick?



4. Is there a limit to the hard drive space in either of these? I've heard of the 120GB or whatever limit so I was wondering if this is an issue.



If you read this, thanks for helping out a Mac Modder newbie.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    Hate to burst your bubble, but custom building a Mac is nothing like doing a PC. You could spend thousands of dollars in upgrades for a computer that hardly match Apple's off-the-shelf power.



    A dual processor upgrade alone is more than a Mini.



    I would start with something like a mini, boot off a firewire drive, and max the RAM. Or something along that route...



    Oh yea, firewire drives have no 127GB limit. Well, OK a few do, but that was a long time ago. Chances are you'll never use one of those.
  • Reply 2 of 14
    theapplegeniustheapplegenius Posts: 584member
    a Mac mini would still cost me over 1200 dollars...and I never said anything about dual processors\



    edit: with a monitor, just wanted to clarify.
  • Reply 3 of 14
    mynameheremynamehere Posts: 560member
    What's your budget?



    Also, look here for used G4 PowerMacs (don't go e-bay) powermax.com



    Those QuickSilvers are really sweet.



    EDIT: for a monitor, go to Dell. Generally, buying a used monitor is a bad idea.
  • Reply 4 of 14
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    $1200???



    $549 - Mac Mini

    $43 - Firewire enclosure

    $40 - 160GB drive



    $89 - Ebay B&W

    $300 - G4 Processor Upgrade (1.2Ghz)

    $32 - Graphics card

    $0 - RAM (You got plenty)

    $40 - Drive



    So basically, you can buy a old computer and spend big bucks to upgrade it, or buy a cheap but powerful computer now and spend money to tweak it.



    Like working on cars... You can buy an eclipse and upgrade it to run like a porsche, or you can just by a cheap porsche and fix it. Trust me, option #2 works better.
  • Reply 5 of 14
    xoolxool Posts: 2,460member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by theapplegenius

    a Mac mini would still cost me over 1200 dollars...and I never said anything about dual processors\



    edit: with a monitor, just wanted to clarify.



    You'd probably want a mid model G4 tower. QuickSilver models are top-of-the-line SDRAM models.



    Also, what monitor are you buying? If you're trying to get a Mac on the cheap, a new Cinema Display is not the way to start.



    You may want to download MacTracker so you can easily view machine specs from a single app.
  • Reply 6 of 14
    theapplegeniustheapplegenius Posts: 584member
    i was thinking of getting the 20.1 inch widescreen dell monitor for 500 bucks. and i would rather get the 1.42GHz w/ a superdrive is i were to get a mac mini.



    edit: thanks a ltofor the MacTracker app, its very cool.
  • Reply 7 of 14
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    The only time it's really worth making a franken mac is when you can do it for free. For example, if you live near a college campus or go to college, you can usually "salvage" older hardware that's on its way to the surplus warehouse.



    Sell the SDRAM on eBay or something, and buy a mini.
  • Reply 8 of 14
    theapplegeniustheapplegenius Posts: 584member
    well, i might just end up getting my own Powerbook w/ the Yonah and spend 100 dollars putting my PC back together...
  • Reply 9 of 14
    pevepeve Posts: 518member
    i'm with ebby.



    the price of new hardware is very cheap today.



    if i compare the price and the features of a cheap new mac against a souped up used mac - the new one wins the race!



    besides good hardware you get a updated os and one year of warranty.





    i can't believe i didn't say that to myself before i started investing on my bike
  • Reply 10 of 14
    theapplegeniustheapplegenius Posts: 584member
    thats a pretty bad-ass bike
  • Reply 11 of 14
    spiers69spiers69 Posts: 418member
    wow. that's incredible what you've done to that bike. Well done.



    Way cool
  • Reply 12 of 14
    thereubsterthereubster Posts: 402member
    That is a damn fine makeover on that Bike. I am a Triumph man myself but that looks like great fun. Hey, theapplegenius, if you want to dump some of that ram, PM me, I need some SDRAM for my 3 (!!!) power(Franken)macs.

    EDIT: Oh yeah, and buy new, doing up old macs is a money pit
  • Reply 13 of 14
    pevepeve Posts: 518member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by theapplegenius

    thats a pretty bad-ass bike



    thanx guys!

    its far from perfect - but its mine.
  • Reply 14 of 14
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    is that SDRAM PC133? if so, i can take some off your hands
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