[gumby5647]

which is a better gaming machine?

Rev A iMac

233mhz

6MB ATI Rage IIc

8MB Voodoo2

128RAM

4GB Hard drive



or, oh , lets say the 799 iMac

350MHz

8MB ATI uh...whatever it is.

128MB RAM

7GB hard drive



i understand that the Rev. A is hampered by the 66mhz system bus....and the 233mhz.....but is it worth spending the money on an processor upgrade? or should i put it toward a new iMac?



Thanks for the help

[TylerDurdan]

I'd say the rev A is better. Why?

Well... ok, the indigo has 8 megs of ATi. Ati sucks. 3dfx is good. SOOoo.. there's an advantage.

The other is the processor upgradeability.

I mean, I have a feeling these systems would be relatively comparable, however, you can always go out and spend some $ on a new processor for the rev A, but NOT for the revB.

And the 66 mhz bus? Ah. Phooey. Its BS. I dont think it hinders much, considering my 333mhz/Gamewizard iMac gets about 7 fps less than a G4/500 in UT.

Ca$h

[ShortcutToMoncton]

"And the 66 mhz bus? Ah. Phooey. Its BS. I dont think it hinders much, considering my 333mhz/Gamewizard iMac gets about 7 fps less than a G4/500 in UT."

Really? Interesting. I didn't think that could be true. How does that work out? I'm not sure if I believe it or not. What's your fps?????

As well, remember that the iMac Voodoo card isn't supported any more. Drivers for OS X, future games, optimizations, etc... will probably be a long time coming, or not at all. Are you willing to risk not being able to run games well under OS X????

One other point to consider - screw getting a new machine, and look around for a used computer. While you might lose warranties or what have you, you can often pick up a better computer for the same price as the $800 iMac.... (The B&W G3's, for example, are often got cheap, as are the early model G4's.)

greg

------------------
Though the day's been
really long
I still feel I'm close to
nowhere....

[cashsixty8]

its not too bad, like 30ish. yeah, some new macs can go like 50 fps, but thats with everything off. The new G4s get like 37.

But......heh... at higher resolutions I obviously get SPANKED hardcore.

[roders]

I'd get an Idigo iMac, if you take all the better hardware specs + warranty, the Vid cards in each machine are pretty comparable, but when OSX hits next year my guess is your going to be left high & dry if you get/find a Gamewizard + install it.
The latest iMacs in my opinion are much better machines all round than the Rev A, and the gaming experience should be comaprable, you also might have to upgrade th HD in the Rev A (7gig in Indigo imac) if your doing full installs of lots of games; Ram which is another thing games like/need, is (a lot) easier to install, faster, cheaper & easier to get hold of than Ram for a Rev A + your helping Apple out with "slight" (uhum cough) sales probs.
The gamewizard has NO ONE that officialy supports it, and this situation is not going to get any better, if you already have a Rev A & can't afford a new iMac then the Gamewizard is a good idea, but if you have a choice between the two, personaly I'd go 100% with a new Indigo iMac.
P.S you'll get a years warrantie with a new Mac (upgardeable to 3).
PPS Ca$h has an ugraded Rev A with a Gamewizard; but just because he loves he's machine I doubt he'd let that cloud his thinking...


[This message has been edited by roders (edited 11-17-2000).]

I would definitely get a Indigo iMac. I have a Rev. B that I love, but the specs are much better on the new iMac's.

There is no way the video cards are anywhere near comparable - Rage128 is much faster than the original Rage Pro or Rage IIc. I also believe you're going to see processor upgrades for the newer style iMac's sometime in the future too - they're just as upgradeable as the previous models. You also get a faster hard drive - ATA 66 vs. the standard IDE in the original iMac's. You also get much better sound via the Harmon/Kardon speakers. The GameWizard is a good product, but they don't sell it new anymore (I've heard it's getting kind of hard to find) and it might not be compatible with OS X.

If you can swing the extra cash upfront, the new iMac's are much better machines than the older iMac's.


------------------
Eliott Wolfe
Winnetka, Calif

Used Blue & white G3

PCI slots for the latest graphics card

Zif socket for the latest processor

4 ram sockets

3 drive bays

and a DVD drive if you want


I am not biased either but I have a B&W G3 with a G4/500 card 256MB 53 Gigs a VooDoo 5 5500 and an ATI Rage 128

[SpeedRacer]

The problem here is that neither machine is a true "gaming machine." So the question you're asking becomes merely, "what is the lesser of two evils?"

Phrased in this manner i can say that i have used both the newer iMacs w/Rage128 and an older Rev A w/333mHz processor and V2 and while the Rev. A seems to have the edge in certain Glide-based games (ie: Unreal series) it's compatibility with OpenGL-based games (the future of MacOS 3D acceleration) is sketchy at best.

Moreover, even a $799 Indigo iMac feels infinitely faster in everyday tasks than the older Rev A. upgraded iMac at home.

If you're looking for a cheap gaming machine, go w/a used/refurb B&W G3.

If you're looking for a solid all-around Macintosh w/the best bang for the buck, get a $999 iMac - the Firewire capability is well worth the extra $200.

Speed

Originally posted by gumby5647:
which is a better gaming machine?

Rev A iMac
233mhz
6MB ATI Rage IIc

8MB Voodoo2

128RAM

4GB Hard drive

or, oh , lets say the 799 iMac

350MHz

8MB ATI uh...whatever it is.

128MB RAM

7GB hard drive

i understand that the Rev. A is hampered by the 66mhz system bus....and the 233mhz.....but is it worth spending the money on an processor upgrade? or should i put it toward a new iMac?

Thanks for the help