Upgrading Macs
in [UK Mac]
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From: Peter Ceresole on 9 Apr 2010 10:28 T i m <news(a)spaced.me.uk> wrote: > Also, are you saying that if you are lucky enough to be able to afford > and select a ready made system that for fills all your needs that's > *better* in some way than a system you can easily build or adapt to do > the same thing Yes. -- Peter
From: T i m on 9 Apr 2010 10:56 On Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:28:40 +0100, Woody <usenet(a)alienrat.co.uk> wrote: >> Hmm, that description sounds like it comes from someone who didn't >> really know what they were doing? ;-) > >Not true, i have fiddled and faffed with many PCs. But that's coming from *you*. > >>> but I outgrew >>> that. >> >> I know all about that, my Dad is old and can't cope with >> non-idiot-proof or technical stuff either now. Like he wouldn't >> upgrade his Mac himself nor even update his GPS (if he even had one) >> <weg>. > >I am not that old, and cope well with technical stuff. However, I can't >be bothered now, I have too much to do and too little time to do it in. As I said, 'if you like doing that sort of thing'. >Finally after getting to this age i have learned to add a cost to my >time, so if it is going to cost more in time than money, I buy it. Yup, me too sometimes. > >Unless i enjoy doing it obviously but PC upgrades aren't particularly >interesting, compared to other stuff! Of course, depending on the 'other stuff'. And don't get me wrong (I'm sure you haven't / wouldn't), it's not the actual doing necessarily but the potential to achieve something that you want and may not exist already. Like, I wanted a low power, low cost and silent WHS and as soon as you go that way you are guided into the media PC sector where small = an excuse to charge you more. So I settled for a basic black midi case and PSU because it served my purposes and was �22. The low power Atom motherboard came with a fan for the North bridge and I replaced that with a passive cooler. I then made up some clear ducting to ensure the cooling air went from the front, over the 3 500G laptop drives and was forced over the CPU and North bridge and out by the 120mm fan in the PSU. The 'extra' work took another 10 mins and a couple of quid for the plastic sheets. Whilst the result is probably bigger than I would like it doesn't even notice in the dark corner behind out TV. It cost way less than a second hand Mini, is quieter than my Mini and is infinitely more serviceable and upgradeable. Maybe if Apple made the Midi we have often talked about I would have considered one. So, we aren't talking flashing LED fans, water cooling or turbo speeds here, we are talking about providing a solution for a specific need that may not exist otherwise (as in cost / solution). > >> I already said that playing with this stuff isn't for everyone but if >> it is, Apple kit is probably less flexible than PC stuff (once past >> the basic stuff). > >This is true, although it depends on what you want. Of course and I fully understand that / why some people don't want the 'bother' of building / modding. For me it is no 'bother' because it often provides a solution I couldn't get anywhere else. Same with building my own car or boat or re-building my own motorbike. Anyone can just buy something, it takes a bit more to build your own (if you like that sort of thing) and the rewards (for those who do etc) are often greater. [1] > I mean PC stuff is >less flexible, but you end up with a PC at the end. Erm? ;-) > I did look at >putting OSX on this PC (i7 860 8GB 2TB) but it hung at the rebooting >stage saying waiting for hardware. But that's 'hacking' so what you were expecting right? I'm in a similar position with the two Xboxes I have here. I was hoping to turn them into streaming boxes but because I have no previous experience of them it may be easier to just build something from bits. It won't be cheaper because the Xboxes cost less than I paid for a basic PCIe video card (and I paid �15 for that) but I will probably achieve my goal easier, quicker and with an infinitely more flexible solution if I go DIY. > Unfortunately the disks are new and >there were no easy guides on them, other than I would probably have more >luck if I took 4GB memory out, but I can't be bothered that much. (You are getting lazy!) ;-) >Hopefully someone who is me 25 years ago will do the work, and I can >copy their guides. Yup and I hope for the same here. I don't necessarily want to be a pioneer, just happy that I get what I want at the end and can generally only do that one way. > >>For the rest of us it's a matter of keeping stuff running at the >> best possible price (be that computers, cars or wives [1]). ;-) > >See, I am not sure I would be happy with the cheapest possible wife either! For some of it it's no more a choice than many of the others (we don't have). ;-) But no, she suits me perfectly. she's cheap to run, durable, willing, flexible, works hard with anything and isn't motivated by expensive trivia or bling. She's even been moddded quite a bit (tennis elbow, cartilage, carpel tunnel, spine, coil, new knee) and going at 60 as well as she was at 40 when I signed the papers. ;-) Cheers, T i m
From: T i m on 9 Apr 2010 10:57 On Fri, 9 Apr 2010 15:28:55 +0100, peter(a)cara.demon.co.uk (Peter Ceresole) wrote: >T i m <news(a)spaced.me.uk> wrote: > >> Also, are you saying that if you are lucky enough to be able to afford >> and select a ready made system that for fills all your needs that's >> *better* in some way than a system you can easily build or adapt to do >> the same thing > >Yes. Ok? <weg>. T i m
From: James Dore on 9 Apr 2010 10:58 On Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:42:58 +0100, T i m <news(a)spaced.me.uk> wrote: > > Also, are you saying that if you are lucky enough to be able to afford > and select a ready made system that for fills all your needs that's > *better* in some way than a system you can easily build or adapt to do > the same thing and often more for less is it > Um, like, DU-UH, yes! > (particularly if said building is part of the involvement in the > project)? This bit does not follow: If building a system is part of the project, it necessarily does not meet the criteria in your first statement - "a ready made system that for fills (sic) all your needs..." - and is a separate question. If you need to build your own, obviously you won't buy a Mac. If you need a ready-made system that FULFILLS all your needs, you will. Cheers, -- James Dore New College IT Officer james.dore(a)new / it-support(a)new
From: T i m on 9 Apr 2010 11:01
On Fri, 9 Apr 2010 15:28:55 +0100, peter(a)cara.demon.co.uk (Peter Ceresole) wrote: >Woody <usenet(a)alienrat.co.uk> wrote: > >> I am not that old, and cope well with technical stuff. However, I can't >> be bothered now > >Yup. But we weren't talking about being bothered or able, we were talking about the ability to do so if you wanted. Maybe I should start a thread called 'Sign here if you have no interest in modding Apple computers' then you could put yer name down? [1] Cheers, T i m [1] I'm only jesting, I know your reply is as much on topic as any of the others so far etc. |