Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

electroJerm · Jul 30, 2001, 02:36 AM

Here's my idea so far:

733 base system, 128 ram, 60 gig 7200 rpm HD, CDRW, Zip 250, 15 Inch Display

Now... the graphics card... I have yet to figure this out. Is the GeForce2 MX decent? Will I be able to run all the games out there without feeling "slow" ? For GF2 users, what kinda Quake 3 speeds, UT, etc can I expect (as in good, great, super duper - cause I don't know frame rates).

Even if people respond and say the GF2 sucks (I hope not)... I don't know that I'm willing to spend $329 on the GF3 upgrade. What if I want to settle for the GF2 now and upgrade in a year or so? Well according to nVidia's website, the only place to get the mac versions of nVidia cards (with an ADC port) is through apple.com - and, if you were to buy a GF3 by itself, apple wants like $450 for it.

Are there other options out there for those of us stuck with ADC?

Ok, the twin view option: First, I have zero need to run two monitors simultaneously. But, what about that extra ram? The standard GF2 comes with 32mgs sdram ... the GF2 with twin view has 64. If I get twin view but I'm still only using one monitor, will I get increased performance as a result? If so, is it worth it?

Ok, the zip upgrade... I was thinking I'd get it now cause i want it too look right, but if I upgrade later, how will I do that? Do I have to get the zip kit through apple to get the faceplate or does it come in the Quicksilver box? If you've already received ur quicksilver, let me know.

The DVD upgrade.... I have no need for it now, but can I get an external DVD player at some time in the future? How much would it cost? Who makes em? Or is it a better deal to fork over the money for a combo drive?

One final question: Since I get free cable tv in my dorm next year, I thought it would be cool to have a tv card in my mac. Can anyone refer me to some good cards that aren't too $$$$. OS X compatibility would be icing on the cake.

Thanks to anyone who answers any of these questions.

ElectroJerm

-- clueless person who's ditching a family iMac for a dorm room Quicksilver

applenut1 · Jul 30, 2001, 03:15 AM

all the nVidia cards suck because the drivers suck, the 2d is poor, dvd playback has problems, and RAVE support is horrible

but other than that they are fine

as far as the twinview vs geforce 2 mx. if you only use one display you still only get 32 MB VRAM

Lolo from Paris · Jul 30, 2001, 04:59 AM

Originally posted by electroJerm:
<STRONG>phics card... I have yet to figure this out. Is the GeForce2 MX decent? Will I be able to run all the games out there without feeling "slow" ? For GF2 users, what kinda Quake 3 speeds, UT, etc can I expect (as in good, great, super duper - cause I don't know frame rates).

Ok, the twin view option: First, I have zero need to run two monitors simultaneously. But, what about that extra ram? The standard GF2 comes with 32mgs sdram ... the GF2 with twin view has 64. If I get twin view but I'm still only using one monitor, will I get increased performance as a result? If so, is it worth it?

Ok, the zip upgrade... I was thinking I'd get it now cause i want it too look right, but if I upgrade later, how will I do that? Do I have to get the zip kit through apple to get the faceplate or does it come in the Quicksilver box? If you've already received ur quicksilver, let me know.

The DVD upgrade.... I have no need for it now, but can I get an external DVD player at some time in the future? How much would it cost? Who makes em? Or is it a better deal to fork over the money for a combo drive?

One final question: Since I get free cable tv in my dorm next year, I thought it would be cool to have a tv card in my mac. Can anyone refer me to some good cards that aren't too $$$$. OS X compatibility would be icing on the cake.

</STRONG>

First, the Geforce 2 MX even if it's a low end card in the PC world, it's a good card for the Mac as processors and bus are bottlenecks for faster graphic cards.
Twin view is great for dual screens, but if you have only one screen, just don't buy it, you won't use 64 MB of V RAM. Performance using a GeForce 2 MX is great for games, anyway you can't choose a Radeon anymore and Geforce 3 is too expensive.

You will be able to upgrade to ZIP later but most of the time it will be more expensive...So IMO you should take in on the Apple Store. For my old G4, I bought it afterwards and I bought a faceplate too at a retailer, it was VERY expensive.

For DVD, you have many solutions, buy an external firewire DVD from Lacie for ex or buy a firewire enclosure and add an IDE DVD drive. I do prefer combo drives because they are internal and don't need any external stuff BUT combo drives are slower than real CDRW and DVDs...

There is currently no tuner pci card OS X compatible, so you should wait a little more before buying one...

electroJerm · Jul 30, 2001, 11:33 PM

Thanks for the info Lolo. What kinda TV tuner cards are out there if I don't care about OS X compatibility? Just curious.

How's Paris?

Thanks

mrchin · Jul 31, 2001, 12:41 AM

Apple Store's Okay and all, but if you don't wanna pay full price go to an authorized retailer like the Magazines. My personal favorite is Club Mac. I've gotten 3 systems from them already. And I just ordered my 867 for $2400 plus add the 99 bucks for the Zip 250. Free Zip outta the deal. It'll be here in 2-3 weeks. All the Mags are the same but I think that ClubMac is the only one you can actually haggle with on the prices. I also picked up a Griffin iMate ADB adapter for my Wacom tablet. Retail $40 everywhere, but the sales guy gave it to me for $31. And best of all No Sales Tax!

spicyjeff · Jul 31, 2001, 10:16 AM

You should configure it with your address in the billing field and my address in the shipping field.

electroJerm · Jul 31, 2001, 06:20 PM

I bought my rev B imac from MacWearhouse 2.5 years ago - had some problems in the order, nothing I would hold against them. I agree, catalogs offer great deals, but you can't beat Apple Education Store. In general, their prices amount to about 5% of standard Apple MSRP. For example: Zip 250 is $94 education rather than $100 retail. G4 733 without BTO is $1597 rather than $1699 retail. Find a place that gives better prices on BTO machines (plus free ground shipping), and I'll buy from them... but I don't think you can.