To build or not to build....

[WaLLy]

Here's a little dilemma. I've been itching for a new computer, mainly because I would like to sell both of my Dell's and either buy a Mac mini or build a Hackintosh.

What's a hackintosh? Look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QF8I7_bymA&feature=related

lol

To sum it up, it's basically using PC components and tweaking some stuff to load up the Mac's operating system. I've been running a hackintosh for the past year or so, small hiccups here and there but nothing I couldn't get through.



Anywho, back on topic. I've been contemplating on buying this puppy: http://www.apple.com/macmini/ With my student discount I can get it for $650 plus tax. The reason why I'm looking at it is well, it's a small thing; wont heat up my room (I leave my PC on 24/7); takes little space; I can still run cod4.




I'd also like to build my own PC. Never built a PC but I've upgraded a few things here and there that I feel comfortable building my own. Anywho, what I'd like to build is a Hackintosh. Have a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEseEOjq7Oc&feature=related that's basically what I'll be doing as well if I go this route. Going this route, I'd probably spend anywhere from $600-$1,000 or so -- I see myself spending close to a grand at the very least though because I'd really go all out.


I plan to do this over my unwanted vacation from work over the summer. What are your thoughts?

PS: Please don't tell me about sticking with Windows because both of those machines can run Windows 7

 

[PwnSauce]

New Mac minis are super sweet and when on but not in use they take only 40 watts to run. Sweet.
Perfect for you home web server.


Also, get a nice, high end PC case, like a silverstone from http://frozenCPU.com.
Use all your best components in it and maybe upgrade he mobo and CPU every few years.

Works for me.

 

[AVC]

The Minis certainly have a use. Although I doubt I would ever have one. I like grunt, and RAID, so that pretty much rules out the Mini.

I have always built my own machines (except the lappies). That way you put in them all the bits YOU want. Definitely the way to go.

Who builds a PC on a coffee table? Hasn't that guy heard of a desk? A table? Man that's gotta hurt your back.


Man, it was soooo tempting to edit the poll and add "build a real PC" lol

 

[Pugsport]

the bad thing about small computers is you will never really be able to upgrade anything inside of it. because it wont have a whole load of ports on the board and all the pc stuff will be pretty much to big to fit inside the case even if the motherboard dse haave space for it. i mean can you really see a full size graphics card in there lol.

building a pc is the best way to go as you get what you want for a shed load less money than you would pay in the shops for a machine of the same spec. i have always built my own pc and even made a few laptops and its always 100% better than buying from shops but if you do buy off the shelf computers i always found that going to a small business that deals with computers is far better than going to big name stores as you get a better deal most of the time.

building your own setup tho you might not be able to get such a small case and even if you do with top spec stuff in there its going to get hot and may slow performance down or make the computer should down from over temp after a while

 

[BluBirD78]

As for me, I would have to agree with Pug and the others about "building" your own PC instead of buying it like your talking about Wally. My very first PC was pre-built when I got it, and I did know the specs on it before I got it so it was all good.

My PC now that I have is completely custom built by me alone, and it gives me "satisfaction" as you could say that I have for it, because it's like I know it inside and out. Anyways, what I would do is build the PC, get a good PC case (like this one here) and put your Hackintosh on that

 

[stevo]

yea build youre own is the best way to go sometimes computer stores claim to have parts in it and they are the specs they say but not the brand they cheap out on mobo and stuff thermaltake also makes nice cases and good ones

 

[Code]

I say Hackintosh, why spend $650 on a mini only to be limited? I built my PC 6 months ago and could not be happier and I don't know jack shit about computers. My pc will be good for a while, is upgradeable and I know every bit about what's in it.

AMD 965BE OC to 3.9
8g Ram
2 750g HD's
Corsair H50 CPU cooler
Gigabyte MA790xt UD4P MB
850w Ultra modular PSU
Cooler Master HAF 922 w/8 fans
XFX 5850 Video Card
2 fan controllers: 1 digital, 1 analog with temp sensors
2 DVD drives (1 will be blu ray soon)
Win 7

My windows experience overall score is 5.9 because of my HD. My lowest individual score is 7.4 on ram and 7.5 on everything else. An SSD will easily get me over 7.0. That's just a gauge though.

My next mod is an SSD (waiting for prices to drop a bit)

Wally, you have to ask yourself. Would Chuck Norris own a Mac Mini?

 

[Cent0]

'll say hackintosh

 

[Pugsport]

My next mod is an SSD (waiting for prices to drop a bit). code you wanna get a western digital 10,000rpm sata II hard drive wipes the floor with solid state drives for cost and performance. but the HAF has to be the best gaming case out there for airflow. i was going to buy another case but i could not find the one i wanted that was in stock so i got the 2nd case i wanted the coolermaster HAF 932 and im glad i did.

most mid tower case and anything smaller needs to be water coolered if you going to run good spec stuff inside because of heat. one thing i will say is that if your going to go with an Asus motherboard then get an Asus made Graphics card aswell as they will work a hell of a lot better but if your going to go with a another make board then just get a good make card.

 

[Mr.Rippie]

hackintosh dude!
so much cheaper and can do the same things a mac can do....I would do it if i had a better pc and more ram

 

[PwnSauce]

My am I the only one who voted for Mac Mini?
That's a badass piece of equipment in a tiny box.

 

[BluBirD78]

I guess that shows how many people that don't like macs, lol

For me I would rather have a PC than a mac because for one, I can actually build the PC the way I want it instead of buying it already pre-made. With that being said you can also upgrade the hardware, video card, mobo, etc., and I actually have not seen much software that I use that is for mac too. It's kinda like Linux in a way, the thing I like more about Windows is how much more software that is out there and compatible with it, yeah Windows has it's problems but IMO they all do, that's my 2 cents.

 

[igno121]

or even better...buy both

 

[WaLLy]

Wish I could buy both.

Thanks for everyone's input. Looks like I'll be building my own PC. Now to find the right components that'll give me an easier OS install. ;D

 

[igno121]

get an i7 prossecor, 4 gig ddr3 kingston ram, 740 watt power supply, nvidia 475 1.5 gig, and SR2 motherboard, base line price 2-3000...lol

 

[WaLLy]

an i7 is a must. Least for me it is.

I already know I'm getting:

-i7
-Nvidia 1GB video card
-at least 6GB's of ddr3 ram (not sure if I should get the 1600mhz, is that even beneficial for me?)
-cheap-O dvd burner (I plan to swap this with my Blu-Ray burner so I can sell my Dell with the cheap-O burner)
-500GB hard drive (I don't want SSD since they cost an arm and a leg at this point)

I'll research more tomorrow so I can start the purchasing process within the next 2 weeks.

 

[Cent0]

wait.
YOUR BUYING ONE?
then i would still say hackintosh
thought you were building

 

[WaLLy]

I'm buying the parts.... So yes, I'm building a PC.

 

[BluBirD78]

Why waste money on an i7 when u can get an equivalent with an AMD for probably a 1/3 of the price. Intel is over priced like the Macs are, I do have an Intel now but wished I had gone with the AMD cause I could have had more speed (black edition of course) for the same price, my 3 cents...

 

[WaLLy]

I can go the AMD route and save some money while building a Hackintosh but it's definitely quite a bit more tweaking on my end to get it to work. The build I'm going for is going to give me the install like if you were installing Windows 7; minimal tweaking. 8)

With that said, I'm sticking with Intel. ;D