John Kettler Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 While hunting for the tower refubisher in my earlier post, I discovered PowerMax (www.powermax.com) has quite a few dual OS lampshade iMacs for sale @ ~$1K. Many have upwards of 200 MB of RAM, with either CD-RW or SuperDrives. The catch? May or may not have speakers. Don't have OS discs, but do have both OS 9.2? and 10.2 installed, and lack the additional software and manuals. Keyboard and mouse included. Why? These are exApple corporate rigs. The same site has many other options, including earlier iMacs and dual OS eMacs. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffsmith Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 I have an older G4 450 and am feeling the ramifications of a slow system There isnt a recent game I can play and my rig really won't even support Tiger (though I probably could push it, but why waste $$$) I myself have decided to simply wait to upgrade CMAK is not imminent (nor are the Spec's released) Apple is transitioning to Intel & OS changes and the ONLY thing I use OS9 is for CMAK (& once CMX2 is released my CMAK days are probably history) Unless your computer is on deaths door I can't see any reason to upgrade now I am going to wait to see what Apple does with Intel and what BFC has in store for CMX2 THEN I will invest in a machine that meets my needs [ September 24, 2005, 04:20 PM: Message edited by: jeffsmith ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted September 25, 2005 Author Share Posted September 25, 2005 jeffsmith and troops, The situation is indeed ticklish, but presently I have no means of playing any CM game. If the CD-ROM drive worked on my Gen One 233MHz Bondi Blue iMac (w/32MB RAM upgrade), then I could at least play CMBO, but it doesn't. Was supposed to have had a pretty potent replacement rig several years ago, but the deal that was to fund it has taken much longer than expected, and various workarounds have been both helpful (allowed me to play in one ROW I'd otherwise have missed) and humiliating (had to drop out of other ROWs because I couldn't afford to keep shelling out the rental fees). I now have separate funds with which to finally buy a rig so I can run CMBO, my still virginal CMBB, and my barely played CMAK. Am weighing the merits of a dual OS: iBook,Ti 800 PB, 17" iMac/functional equivalent, or one of the radically upgraded Macs available from Headgap Operator Systems, Inc. (http://stn2.headgap.com), which may be the way to go. What's clear is that the old iMac is done, and since I'm moving out of here and away from my friend's OS X only iBook on which the post is being typed, I need to get a replacement Mac and soon. Besides, I need it to write articles, handle business correspondence, etc. Thoughts? Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffsmith Posted September 25, 2005 Share Posted September 25, 2005 Ok please give us an idea what your funding range is FYI as an example of "field expediants" that can work I have a old iBook SE (graphite) that will play CMAK not great but it works 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted September 29, 2005 Author Share Posted September 29, 2005 jeffsmith, Sorry for the delay, but I have a couple of open major financial items hanging over me yet which will likely affect my computer options. As an educated guess, I probably won't be able to swing much more than ~$1K. Am also torn among: the peculiar charms and ergonomic advantages of the 17" lampshade iMac, the value of having a notebook computer, and the upgrade flexibility of a G4 tower. What's absolutely clear, though, is that I need a replacement rig and soon--within weeks. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dook Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 You would be amazed at how well long-obsolete Macs run CMx1 games. I have a 350 mhz G3 white and blue tower and a 466 mhz iBook SE that can both run any CMx1 game. I'm sure there is some downsampling going on, but the graphics are still perfectly fine. The biggest problem is actually connecting to the internet for PBEM and transferring files to the G3, which can't support a wireless card. Have you looked into simply repairing the CD-Rom drive on your old Mac? If the price isn't too high, you could still probably play CM on it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted September 29, 2005 Author Share Posted September 29, 2005 Dook, I've done that once already, but the grim truth is that my Gen One iMac simply can't run CMAK at all. 2 MBs of VRAM aren't enough to get the job done. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pzman Posted September 30, 2005 Share Posted September 30, 2005 Be careful with the early G4 Powerbooks, they often have dead Firewire, ports, and bad hard Drive connections. A refurbished model may only last as long as the 30-90 day coverage the company you get it from offers. That said, the old Powerbook G4s Ti's only have 8 or 16mb VRAM, you could play CMBO and maybe CMBB with a junk load of downsampling, but to run CMAK you would need a newer machine that, sadly, cannot run CMx1 games. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted September 30, 2005 Share Posted September 30, 2005 A suggestion to bridge your lack of CM1 and hopefully reach the potential of CMx2: For a semi-home build your own solution - Get a cheap dual-boot Quicksilver G4 Mac Tower with twin processors and 64 MB NVIDIA GeForce2 MX card or 'mirror door' with stock ATI 9000 (glitchy with CM) or NVIDIA - Bung in a GigaDesign twin processor upgrade (1.8Ghz - 2Ghz should be possible) and when CMx2 comes out slap in the best card for the x4 AGP slot i.e. an aftermarket ATI Radeon 9800 Pro for the G4 (sadly unsupported in OS9). EveryMac System specs GigaDesign Processor upgrades For purely CMBO/BB/AK use then a G3 ibook 800Mhz should suffice, slap as much RAM in as possible (640mb). Its ATI 32mb Radeon will be easily up to it. Viola- and you can connect it up to a CRT, use CDs and watch DVDs - Cheap as chips! [ September 30, 2005, 08:12 AM: Message edited by: Wicky ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted October 14, 2005 Author Share Posted October 14, 2005 Troops, Following a near disastrous to me sellout of the previously described 17" iMacs, PowerMax put up another batch for sale, at reduced price thanks to the recent improved iMac G5 product intro. Have ordered a 17" iMac G4/800 w/512K RAM/SuperDrive. Unit includes AirPort, speakers, OS 9.2 and 10.2 backup disks (small upcharge) for installed dual OS, etc. Total cost? Just over $1K shipped. Was told that sales of these units have been brisk, thanks to continuing heavy demand for OS 9 platforms, especially in the graphics field. Thank you one and all for your help! My decision ultimately came down to the best combination for me of ergonomics, screen space, footprint, and cybernetic horsepower. My computer space in the new place is limited, thus, no tower (let alone one built by cyber inexpert moi), and the footprint of the new iMac is actually less than the present Bondi Blue. The eMac was simply too big for the space, not to mention a bear to move (no handles). I thought seriously about an iBook (Ti800 scarce and too rich for my blood), the portability being nice, but decided that the combination of big RAM, SuperDrive, much larger HD, and the ergonomic and visual advantages of the 17" iMac's infinitely repositionable LCD trumped the iBook. Here's hoping I chose wisely! Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffsmith Posted October 15, 2005 Share Posted October 15, 2005 Good Choice Enjoy 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted October 15, 2005 Share Posted October 15, 2005 "The iMac "Flat-Panel" series ships with MacOS X as the default operating system (models shipped after February 4, 2003 do not support earlier versions of the MacOS)" web page Do you know if your model is capable of booting into OS9? Graphic designers will just run Quark 4 and their 'old' OS9 apps etc in classic mode, while you'll definitely need proper dual booting for CM. [ October 15, 2005, 05:04 AM: Message edited by: Wicky ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted October 15, 2005 Author Share Posted October 15, 2005 Wicky, I made absolutely sure that this was not only a full dual boot model, but the last and most powerful in the 17" lampshade iMac series--with all the bells and whistles. Descriptive text on the site clearly indicates that it has both 9.2 and 10.2 installed, but I personally confirmed it with the PowerMax tech consultant. PowerMax.com has quite a few dual boot lampshade iMacs and iBooks of various stripes, though the fast iBooks there seem sadly to generally have only CD-ROM drives installed, which definitely impinged on my buying decision. As noted before, the eMacs, assuming any were dual boot, were simply too big, heavy and awkward for my computing environs. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted October 15, 2005 Share Posted October 15, 2005 Sounds like you've done your research John - You shouldn't have to watch the blue bar for as long as you used to But don't hold your hopes up on crunching fluently CM-SF though... If it comes with Tiger (10.4) rebooting between X and 9 should only take about a minute, so you can enjoy the best of both worlds. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted October 16, 2005 Author Share Posted October 16, 2005 Wicky, I tried. As for watching the blue bar, I haven't even seen one since I was forced to drop out of the latest ROW tournament, which was well over six months ago. The OS X version on the new rig will be 10.2, not 10.4. Frankly, I don't know whether Tiger will run on my machine. I may or may not be screwed when it comes to CM-SF, but even if I am, in the absolute worst case I have months of glorious gaming ahead of me, as I work off a near terminal case of CM deprivation. Reading and judging the ROW AARs kept me going--while the dagger twisted in my heart because I'd had to drop out and worse, couldn't even play the games I was reading about. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted October 20, 2005 Author Share Posted October 20, 2005 Troops, The Day of Days has arrived! It's here, and I'm online with my 17" iMac--after a certain amount of hairpulling. Why? The computer won't let you register without a phone #, and I just moved, planning to run Skype (www.skype.com), a free Internet phone system as my phone. In desperation, I finally used my prior number. That worked, but I then found that I'm one OS version number shy (have 10.2, need OS X 10.3) for the Mac version of Skype. Sigh. The new rig's amazing, arriving Thursday here in SoCal after being shipped from Oregon Tuesday. Came in original Apple box complete with a sealed packet containing the all-important restore disks and OS disks, plus user's guide, the originally bundled goodies and a very useful PowerMax mousepad with the OS X commands right on it. Speakers work great. Huge LCD screen's a joy and is in perfect shape. Haven't tried any of the CM games yet, but figured that getting online with the good news was more important. ISTR there were some GeForce display issues. Am grokking the received words on dual OS PBEM and am off to get Netscape 7.1, per the recommendation. Am one happy camper! Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted October 21, 2005 Author Share Posted October 21, 2005 Troops, Following lots of mistakes learning the ropes and what seems like cubic hours of installation (especially CMBB!), I finally have all three games fully installed, patched and operational--at least for single player. Haven't tried anything more exotic yet. Thanks one and all for your help--not to mention vast patience in my multiyear saga of cybernetic woe! Gratefully, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pzman Posted October 22, 2005 Share Posted October 22, 2005 If you can get your hands on a copy of Tiger do so. An 800Mhz G4 with 512RAM will have no trouble with it. Tiger switchs back and forth between OS's much faster IMO than 10.2.8 or 10.3.9 for that matter. I've been running it on a ibook G3 500Mhz (Combo Drive) with 256RAM, so you should have no trouble at all. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted October 22, 2005 Share Posted October 22, 2005 I concur - Tigger is nippy compared to previous OSs esp rebooting and fixing permissions - John check your e-mail for a solution Originally posted by Pzman: If you can get your hands on a copy of Tiger do so. An 800Mhz G4 with 512RAM will have no trouble with it. Tiger switchs back and forth between OS's much faster IMO than 10.2.8 or 10.3.9 for that matter. I've been running it on a ibook G3 500Mhz (Combo Drive) with 256RAM, so you should have no trouble at all. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted October 24, 2005 Author Share Posted October 24, 2005 Troops, Progress continues, even when I get the details wrong. Got Netscape 7.1 and installed same, but on advice of a longtime friend and Mac power user, I chased down an earlier version of Firefox (latest requires OS X 10.3), and it runs great (seems to be much faster than Netscape 7.1). No joy thus far on Safari, which he thought should've come preinstalled. Definitely not there. My friend also thought I should be able to find an earlier version of Skype (now requires OS X 10.4), but that was a complete bust on both tucows.com and versiontracker.com Odd indeed, considering Skype's been around for a couple of years. Got your E-mail, Wicky, and am pondering my next move. I now have confirmation from both the troops and the vendor that Tiger will run on my new rig. Call me relieved! Have so far not noticed any display related problems (thank goodness!) and have actually (see "Rejoice with me!" thread in CMBB) managed to play my previously virginal CMBB disk in a vs. AI QB. Other than rudimentary game function testing a few days ago, this marks the first time I've played CMBB since the Beta Playtest. Long hiatus! Am finding that I'm very rusty on lots of CM basics (did remember to use Cover Armor arcs, though), but hope that they'll'll come back quickly, so I can regain my fighting edge by concentrating on tactics, instead of switchology. The ergonomics of the new rig are great, and my eyes, neck and back are all much better off. The 17" iMac sits perfectly speakers and all on the monitor stand portion of my little computer desk. The desk is fine as far as it goes, but I need to go vertical in order to find room for the fax and scanner, horizontal space being at a premium presently. Would love to get a fully tricked AnthroCart but will probably be looking at Staples, Office Depot, Ikea, etc. for an inexpensive stand-in. Thanks for all the help, advice, and suggestions. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted October 25, 2005 Author Share Posted October 25, 2005 Troops, Tiger's been successfully installed, and after a wholly unexpected lengthy set of procedures (including the EULA from hell), so has Skype. Think I'll go kill something! Regards, John Kettler P.S. In case anyone's interested, Ikea has nothing in the way of a tall computer desk. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pzman Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 Good to hear that everything is working out for you. Sounds like you got a really good dual boot machine, even if its not as upgradeable as a PowerMac G4. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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