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awcopus · Jul 22, 2003, 05:51 PM

Sold Quicksilver 933 for $1300.
Purchased Dual 1.42 for $2100.
Effective purchase price: $800

Then...

* Ramped up to 2GB RAM ($260)
* Plopped in a Sonnet Tempo RAID ATA/133 ($200)
* Added 3 200GB HDs (WD Caviars[8MB cache]) ($403) to the included 120GB...

...for a grand total cost of $1663.00 !!!!

WOOO HOOO!!!!

Will add an addition CD burner, like a 52x burner, for $80, to utilize that second optical slot. No rush.

Had been considering just buying a dual 1.4 upgrade card for my Quicksilver, but feel more comfortable with this setup. Should serve as a rock-solid DV editing station for a while. I'm thinking this will get me through the next 18 months at least.

My plan is to wait until Apple produces a duallie G5 that doesn't cost close to $4000 once it's ramped up for DV editing and doesn't force me to clutter my desktop with external HD solutions.

mikemako · Jul 22, 2003, 06:34 PM

where did you get the 1.42 Powermac for that price from? Is it possible to customize it?

awcopus · Jul 22, 2003, 06:52 PM

The answer is a small dog. No really...
http://www.smalldog.com

I didn't customize it through them. Too expensive for the RAM (I trust Crucial.com for that) and the HDs I got through Hypermicro (2 of them...had one on hand). Bought the Sonnet card from Macwarehouse (MacMall was trying to gouge me on shipping).

The rest, as they say, is history.

videian28 · Jul 23, 2003, 12:01 PM

I bought one from there, very happy with it

Esquare · Jul 23, 2003, 03:30 PM

Originally posted by mikemako:
where did you get the 1.42 Powermac for that price from? Is it possible to customize it?

The bigger question is: where did you find the idiot paying $1300 for a Quicksilver 933? I'd like to know, because mine is for sale and it looks like I have to drop the price to sub 1000 level to get rid of it.

MindFad · Jul 23, 2003, 03:53 PM

Originally posted by Esquare:
The bigger question is: where did you find the idiot paying $1300 for a Quicksilver 933? I'd like to know, because mine is for sale and it looks like I have to drop the price to sub 1000 level to get rid of it.

Yeah, I'd also like to know who bought that for $1300.

awcopus · Jul 23, 2003, 04:02 PM

Quicksilver 933, 1.25GB RAM, 60GB + 180GB HDs, Sonnet Tempo ATA/133 card, loaded with software...$1300.

He was a former Wintel guy who wanted a Mac that was already "outfitted" so he didn't have to think about adding anything to it. Not interested in cutting edge, just a bargain on a decent machine. He got a decent deal, which enabled me to get a great deal.

milhouse · Jul 24, 2003, 11:43 AM

Well since the G5 announcement prices on "current" pre-owned models have tanked.

Perhaps it was sold "pre-WWDC".

awcopus · Jul 24, 2003, 04:09 PM

It was sold last week.

Is the price that out of hand? The Sonnet card is $100, the cable that connects it to the internal HD is $25, the HD is $200, the RAM is about $150. He basically got the QS for well under $1000.

Pretty reasonable deal by my reckoning.

Anyway, the dual 1.42 arrived and it's zippy. The HD installation is brilliant. Makes the G5 even more unbelievable to me...these ingenious Apple engineers couldn't work this out? NOT BELIEVABLE. Must have been a cost issue.

4 x 200GB drives, 2 of which are RAIDed using the Sonnet solution. So cool. I'm thrilled with my new PowerMac.

I'll graduate to a new G5 at the end of 2004. That'll be a sweet upgrade, too. Between now and then, I think I'll take a peek at one of those 12" powerbooks....

Kenneth · Jul 24, 2003, 06:52 PM

Nice to own the top-of-the-line last generation Dual PowerMac G4.

How is the noise compared to your QuickSilver 933?

For me, I removed the entire front HD carriers (or ATA/66 carrier) for better air flow to the big fan on my DP 1.25.

awcopus · Jul 25, 2003, 01:31 AM

Kenneth,

When I'm working, have headphones on so I don't notice the noise. Right now I'm chilling out with some tunes in the background, and I don't notice the fan. When it's quiet in the room, I hear the computer but it's not making anything more than a low drone, not so different from the Quicksilver.

As you can see, I've maxed out the HDs for this machine, but they're all very quiet.

On balance, I think the Quicksilver was a sliver quieter. I don't miss it though. I'm loving this machine so far. The fact that I can have mutliple things going on at once and the processors share the task....that's just cool. And FCP4 has a "ready to serve" operative quality that was sorely lacking with the 933.

I miss the Quicksilver's look, and that's about all.

Azzgunther · Jul 28, 2003, 04:09 AM

Wow...it just struck me that it was a SINGLE 933mhz Quicksilver that you got $1300 for. I know there were upgrades...but that's still a sweet deal man. Congrats.

awcopus · Jul 28, 2003, 08:05 AM

Azzgunther, I considered upgrade cards, especially the duals from Powerlogix.

With my video-editing work (concerns about stability) and Panther around the corner (Apple will optimize it for the dual G4 on their motherboard, not those of third parties), I decided to stick with Apple's own thing. Glad I did. This machine is solid (less than a week on it, but I can tell, it's great), and I got such an irresistible deal on it.

Yeah, I got a great deal. And the dude who got it is thrilled as well. Basically a happy day all around.

PSYCHED! WOOO HOOOOO!!!!! New Mac vibes still strong!

mikemako · Jul 29, 2003, 09:20 PM

The 1.42GHz I got is really quiet compared to what I was used to! It is quieter than my previous (Digital Audio) 533MHz DP G4.. I guess the one I got (it was refurbished) had the fan upgrade.

Every once in a while though it gets REALLY loud.. usually when it is starting up from being off. The noise only lasts 10-20 seconds or so then it chills out and gets quiet again.

awcopus · Jul 29, 2003, 10:32 PM

mikemako, same here. My refurbed unit has a relatively quiet but constant hum, and is only loud on startup. Love it. LOVE IT!

L-O-V-E I-T !!!!

And you know, there's nothing quite like instant gratification. Reading about all of these people struggling to wait for their G5... I'm just so glad I'm not in that position right now.

With a Panther speed boost around the corner and cheaper-faster G5s in the 12 month pipeline, it's just all awesome! WOO HOOO!

macdude22 · Jul 31, 2003, 07:54 PM

Small dog is great, got a steal on a dual 1ghz from there myself a few weeks ago.