Ok. I'm doing this.
My old computer finally gave up the ghost after being much abused (CPU fried - I don't blame it, I'd rendered video on it hardcore for a number of years). It was time for me to upgrade anyway, so I went out and got an AMD Quadcore Windows machine. (I have Vista 64 on it, but am thinking about switching back to XP 64. XP is better..)
However, my old computer is still useful. I've still got 4 Gigs of DDR memory, a power supply, a DVD drive, an Nvidia graphics card, the case, and about a terrabytes worth of hard drives sitting around.
All I need is a new CPU and Motherboard. I'm getting that from
Tiger Direct. I'm consulting
this incredibly helpful list of compatible hardware and I'm ordering a copy of Leopard from
here. and will probably do the
Brazil Mac patch method for the installation DVD so that I can put it on my Hackintosh.
However, since I will be purchasing a copy of Leopard, I won't feel too badly if I get frustrated and download the Kalyway install DVD.
Why am I doing this?
I'm not a huge fan of Macs. As noted earlier in the thread they don't network well, and I've seen the spinning beach ball of death more times than I've ever seen the blue screen of death on Windows PCs.
However, that "Macs are better for graphics and design" myth still perpetuates in the art world to a certain degree, and it's had a pretty profound effect on the video and film editing industry. Everyone wants to use Final Cut these days. I've used Final Cut plenty. It's nice. But it's not appreciably better than Adobe Premiere or Avid Composer.
I was actually turned down for a job recently because I don't own a Mac. You may cry bullshit, but it's true. The interview went well, I had all the skills they were looking for, they were liking me just fine, they liked my demo DVD, they asked me if I could use Final Cut, I said "yes I can use Final Cut" they then asked "Do you use a Mac at home?" and I said "No.", and the change in the room was palpable. Interview was over shortly after. Never heard from them again.
Mac Snobs.
Well listen up Mac Snobs. I can't afford your $2800 for your lousy Mac Pro (which only comes with a paltry 2 GBs of memory and then you want to charge an extra $499.00 for 2 more Gigs of Memory? What kind of dickhead do you think I am? DDR memory only costs $49 a stick for Windows machines!)
However, I can afford $299 for a Quadcore CPU and Motherboard bundle, and $100 for a copy of Leopard, and me and my little Hackintosh will laugh ourselves silly all the way to the bank. (I also picked up an unopened copy of Final Cut Pro from a guy on Craigslist for $150. No idea where he got it.)
Also, through the hardware list and forums at
InsanelyMac I was quite pleased to find out that you could run Leopard on AMD CPU machines. I quite prefer AMD over Intel.