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azukizero · May 4, 2004, 01:04 PM

I've recently made the switch to Mac so I'm fairly new at this and I have a couple of questions:

Are third party sound cards made for Macs? Soundblaster or otherwise? Is there any way to take advantage of surround sound speakers?

I've read here that OS 9 is installed on my new G5 by default and that it's recommended I do a fresh install of OSX to get rid of Classic. Will a new installation from the OSX Install discs not include OS9?
Are there any advantages to uninstalling OS 9? Are there any advantages of having it installed? (I don't plan to run any software that requires any OS previous to OSX)

thanks for your help!

Lateralus · May 4, 2004, 01:20 PM

We used to get SoundBlasters, but Creative's drivers blew so not many people bought the Mac version of the card. One of the best cards out now, the M-Audio Revolution 7.1, supports both Mac and PC out of the box. You can find it at NewEgg.com for under $100.

Installing Pather using just the Panther discs will only install Panther. Using the system restore discs will install Panther and classic.

And yes, I agree, get rid of classic. The only reason you have to run it is if you have old Mac software, and since you're new you probably don't. Having it on your HD when you don't rely on it is a waste of disk space and having two OSes on your drive makes file navigation that much more confusing.

azukizero · May 4, 2004, 01:30 PM

Thanks for the info!

The reviews on that sound card sound great. At the risk of sounding stupid, is installing a card as straight forward as installing one in a PC? I've built my own PCs for years but I'm more cautious with a Mac. Also, messages on this forum have pointed to the risks of installing 3rd party hardware in a Mac. Have you experienced any errors with this card installed?

Thanks

reader50 · May 4, 2004, 01:34 PM

Classic is the previous version of the Mac OS, OS9. On your G5 with 80 or more GB of HD space, Classic takes up all of about 300 MB.

Deleting it means that you can no longer run the majority of legacy Mac software. I'm not sure why many of our members here like to delete it, doing so only reduces options and offers no advantage. It's kind of like shooting yourself in the foot, or throwing away the spare tire in order to reduce weight and save gas.

Leonard · May 4, 2004, 03:09 PM

Originally posted by azukizero:
Are third party sound cards made for Macs? Soundblaster or otherwise? Is there any way to take advantage of surround sound speakers?

You don't have to use a third party card. You can also use the built-in optical audio out port. Hook that up to an amp and speakers and you'll have surround sound. Or hook it up to these speakers and away you go...

Mr. Blur · May 4, 2004, 11:56 PM

i agree with reader50 - don't get rid of classic unless you really really really need that 300MB...all you need to do is search the os x forum for threads about "how do i install classic" etc etc and you'll see how many people ended up needing it for something later on.

azukizero · May 5, 2004, 12:44 PM

I didn't realize that Classic only took up 300mb. My main concern was having two OS' on the Mac. As long as there aren't any conflicting issues, I'm fine with the small space it takes up. I guess I was looking for a possible solution to the freezes my mac experiences, but this is a common issue with G5s so I've come to accept it.

thanks again

olePigeon · May 5, 2004, 04:08 PM

Originally posted by azukizero:
I didn't realize that Classic only took up 300mb. My main concern was having two OS' on the Mac. As long as there aren't any conflicting issues, I'm fine with the small space it takes up. I guess I was looking for a possible solution to the freezes my mac experiences, but this is a common issue with G5s so I've come to accept it.

thanks again

I think the freezes have something to do with the latest 10.3.4 update.

heresiarh · May 5, 2004, 05:46 PM

Apples have a fantastic audio setup.

Lateralus · May 5, 2004, 06:53 PM

Originally posted by heresiarh:
Apples have a fantastic audio setup.

Not when you consider that a Creative SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 card for the PC costs $30 at NewEgg, and it blows away the built-in audio that Apple provides.

Apple could do a lot better.

heresiarh · May 5, 2004, 07:43 PM

Well im talking about external setups, not built in.

Cadaver · May 5, 2004, 09:14 PM

Originally posted by azukizero:
I didn't realize that Classic only took up 300mb. My main concern was having two OS' on the Mac. As long as there aren't any conflicting issues, I'm fine with the small space it takes up. I guess I was looking for a possible solution to the freezes my mac experiences, but this is a common issue with G5s so I've come to accept it.

thanks again

I don't know if anyone has had any luck with fresh OS installs, but my early-build dual 2.0 doesn't have any such freezes (knock on wood).
However, if rumors are to be believed, the up-coming 10.3.4 update pre-release notes look like they address some of these issues.