Am I the only one that finds this pricing scheme offensive?

[kwo]

So, I'm in the process of resurrecting a dual 550mhz Sawtooth G4 that was being trashed. Turns out it needed some new fans (both PS fan and big 120mm fan were garbage)

It was completely stripped (motherboard, case, power supply...that's IT) so I've been scrounging parts to get it working.

The only thing I still need is a video card.

So, I thought I'd look around to see what's available....and I was shocked!!!!

a radeon 9200 for over $100! That's just...nuts.......

Anyone know some good leads on *cheap* video cards for this mac?

Another Anandtech user offered to sell an ATI rage Pro for this thing...and I may take him up on his offer, but was hoping for something a little newer........but we're talking for cheap.........

/rant off

 

[Pepsi90919]

yes

 

[sswingle]

Yea...mac stuff is overpriced. What else is new?

 

[kwo]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
yes

Alright, alright, I'll stop whining.

I guess, I just forget sometimes, and then I wind up diving into MacLand and getting a bit of culture shock.....

 

[chcarnage]

Maybe you can buy one of the cards mentioned here in the regular low-end market and flash their ROM? You need a Windows PC for that and you have to chose a card for which the Macintosh ROM is available, but I don't know for which ones it is because I never got deep enough in this stuff.

"Mac Edition" graphics cards, like Mac hardware in general, have a very slow price decline compared to PC counterparts, I'm sorry.

 

[kwo]

Heh, yeah, thanks for the sentiment.

I may consider that..but had read that these 'flashed' PC vid cards actually had issues....... but perhaps they've gotten better.......

Thanks for the thought!

 

[chcarnage]

Well I'd only try cards others have already successfully flashed. Given the Sawtooth's age determining this shouldn't be much of an issue and a quick glance at the search results for "ROM flash radeon" or "ROM flash geforce" in the search engine of your choice looks promising enough to give it a try, if this is a serious tinkering project and you value your time less than your wallet.

If the flash goes wrong, you still can flash back and sell the card in the FS/FT forum . One important source of error is that Mac ROM software sometimes is too big for the standard ROM on the card... so you need to know exactly which card you have and which firmware you are about to flash. Like I said above, this is serious tinkering.

 

[Kaido]

http://strangedogs.proboards40.com/

 

[MisterJackson]

I've seen the power supply for a G4 tower go for a few hundred.....it's just a friggin' power supply Apple....sheesh.

 

[ForumMaster]

mac parts are overpriced mostly cause there is little demand and because it is made especially for Apple. mac's aren't cheap.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: kwo
So, I'm in the process of resurrecting a dual 550mhz Sawtooth G4 that was being trashed. Turns out it needed some new fans (both PS fan and big 120mm fan were garbage)

It was completely stripped (motherboard, case, power supply...that's IT) so I've been scrounging parts to get it working.

The only thing I still need is a video card.

So, I thought I'd look around to see what's available....and I was shocked!!!!

a radeon 9200 for over $100! That's just...nuts.......

Anyone know some good leads on *cheap* video cards for this mac?

Another Anandtech user offered to sell an ATI rage Pro for this thing...and I may take him up on his offer, but was hoping for something a little newer........but we're talking for cheap.........

/rant off

Honestly, you're better of buying a Mini, gutting it, and putting it inside your Sawtooth since you said it was completely stripped. I have a done a lot of research as far as getting parts and doing upgrade goes, and it is just as expensive to do that as it is to buy a new machine. I have done a lot of work with the Mac Mini as far as modifications go (connecting full-sized drivers, swapping processors, etc, etc.); if you want to know more just shoot me a PM.

 

[mercanucaribe]

But it will never crash like a PC!

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
But it will never crash like a PC!

That's true. However, they definately DO crash. I love Macs, but one thing I hate about them is how programs crash - they simply disappear. Poof. Gone. No popup box stating that your program has crashed, or has an error, or whatever. Just blip, gone.

Other than that they're pretty dang good

 

[KrillBee]

im getting a g4 733 from my school that is also gutted.

except in my case its even worse, since the powersupply is completely shot.

so i have a working case, board, and cpu. nothing else, lol.

im trying to debate if its even worth getting it to run.

 

[chcarnage]

Originally posted by: KrillBee
im getting a g4 733 from my school that is also gutted.

except in my case its even worse, since the powersupply is completely shot.

so i have a working case, board, and cpu. nothing else, lol.

im trying to debate if its even worth getting it to run.

I don't know how much a new powersupply costs. On the other hand, your Mac even is 183 Mhz faster than the Sawtooth...

You will have to spend some money to get this Mac running, however this could be the last PPC-based desktop system you get for the rest of your life! :clock:

 

[kwo]

Well, I ordered that Ultra 500w PS from Fry's (FAR)...so I'll probably try that...though I may also try to replace the cap....heck, if that's the only one...and I can do it..then that'd be cool.

As I understand it, the PCB of PS's is far simpler than MB's...so I won't have to worry about all the MB-related stuff with PCB's.....