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iMac or iBook?


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I'm looking to purchase a secondhand iMac or iBook, can anyone tell me what the performance of CM is like on these machines. The iMac or iBook i would go for would be the bog standard issue somewhere in the region 300mhz 64mb ram @£400. The iBook would be the original toilet seat shape @£600. Which should I go for? Also what is the lowest spec I can get away with? I've seen so fairly low priced old powerbooks but I have no idea of their performance, can anyone help?

:confused:

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The original iBook will have lower performance than an iMac of the same period.

Any slot loading iMac (350mhz & up) will have pretty good CM performance, as will any of the newer iBooks.

Price and your need to transport it will dictate what mac to get.

I've played a lot of CM with my old 333mhz iMac, so I can tell you that processor speed is not a problem, the video card is with those older iMacs.

Gyrene

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The Original iMacs (Tray loading cd-rom 233 to 333mhz G3's) do have 3d hardware, but they are not that great for modern games with only 6MB of memory.

I works fine with CM at 800 x 600, but detail is not that great, although the speed is fine.

Later iMacs, like the 350mhz & up models all have better 3d hardware, especilly the very latest 600-700mhz models.

Powerbooks (Or any portable computer) all lag a bit behind desktop models and all cost more, even used. The Powerbook 3400 only has a 4mb video card, and it will not be that great for any 3d game.

I would not get a portable unless you really have the need to take it around with you regularly. Older Blue & White desktop G3's are good buys now, and will give you a lot more upgrading options (Such as much better video cards than either iBooks or iMacs), and consequently lasting you longer.

350-400mhz iMacs can be had for pretty good prices in the refurbished market.

Gyrene

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I ran CM for a year on a 200MHz 604e desktop with a 4MB 3D card and only 48MB of RAM (I had VM turned on and set for 72MB). It would only run at 640X480. It looked like hell but ran okay. It was a little slow computing the blue line in larger battles, but that just gave me a breather.

My guess is that it will run just fine on any of the machines you are contemplating, but you might want to look into getting a sprightlier video card.

Michael.

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As a reasonable entry system I would heartily recomend the 400mhtz models as a good baseline. I also have a 233 model that will only show the game in fairly low res (800x600). My 400 model is adequate for all but the largest scenarios, it reamains to be seen whether or not I like it with CMBB smile.gif

I would not recomend any but the most recent and fastest iBooks as they have gone to a 16mb video card and a 100mhz system bus.

[ 10-21-2001: Message edited by: kmead ]

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