Topic: Mac News and geek talk.

[RRobar]

Just figured I'd start a thread here for those who run macs. Maybe we will all learn somthing and maybe even win a few converts

So is Pather worth the upgrade from Jaguar? ANd can one go straight from OS X 1.0 to Panther.

[John Kelly]

I've been running the betas on a spare drive, and so far I'm impressed enough to pay the upgrade fee.  I was running the very first beta full time at one point, but the next one broke core audio so I had to go back to 10.2 so I could keep taping.  

The only thing I don't like about it is the brushed metal finder.  Apple's breaking their own design guidelines, and they're making it ugly when they do it.  I'm getting sick of brushed metal going into every application, they may as well make the entire OS metal (blech!).  

But since Panther is so amazingly fast, I think I can deal with the nasty metal.  

Edit - And yes, you can upgrade from any X install to 10.3.  I'd recommend a format and a fresh install, though.  Usually tends to work out better.

[RRobar]

I've been running the betas on a spare drive, and so far I'm impressed enough to pay the upgrade fee.  I was running the very first beta full time at one point, but the next one broke core audio so I had to go back to 10.2 so I could keep taping.  

The only thing I don't like about it is the brushed metal finder.  Apple's breaking their own design guidelines, and they're making it ugly when they do it.  I'm getting sick of brushed metal going into every application, they may as well make the entire OS metal (blech!).  

But since Panther is so amazingly fast, I think I can deal with the nasty metal.  

Edit - And yes, you can upgrade from any X install to 10.3.  I'd recommend a format and a fresh install, though.  Usually tends to work out better.

Cool, Thanks. I asked the last part as the old G4 I have at work is 10.1 and it could use a format and new install anyway. It was a hand me down and unless my coworker leaves and I get the dual process G4 she has I need to make do with this one. But I am still pushing for a G5. I guess I could do without the monster dual 2ghz one but If they are spending the cash might as well go for the gusto.

DO any of you in the graphic design field know what the bugs are in Quark 6. We are at the crossroads with a decisin to buy Quark 6.0 (so we can stop running OS9) We have in design but our output houses seem to all have issues. Not sure if InDesign actually is crashing rips or if it's lack of knowledge of the software. But they all seem ok with quark. WHich i have no real love for but am forced to use. Just wondering.

[John Kelly]

Actually, from everything I've read a single G5 will be better for most people that the Dual.  But if you are thinking about it, definitely go for the 1.8.  The 1.6 has a crippled mobo (edit - reduced memory bandwidth and older pci slots)...

[RRobar]

Actually, from everything I've read a single G5 will be better for most people that the Dual.  But if you are thinking about it, definitely go for the 1.8.  The 1.6 has a crippled mobo (only an 800MHz bus)...

Yeah That was the one I thought I had the most chances of getting. The super drive is also imprtant to me for obvous reasons

[John Kelly]

Cuz it's super?

[scb]

>> The 1.6 has a crippled mobo (only an 800MHz bus)...<<

i'd hardly call the 1.6ghz crippled...

[John Kelly]

Well the fact that they deliberately underclocked the board, I'd say it's crippled.  It's like what they did to the Yikes board, there's no reason for the downclocking except to distinguish the models a little more.  

Still probably 50x faster than my iBook, though.

[RRobar]

I think since the other has 1ghz fsb is why he was considering it crippled. But your right still 2 times as fast as any PC FSB and given the fact the PC's don't even use half of the 400mb fsb they have now.

I'm begining to develop my master plan

[John Kelly]

I thought there was an Intel chip that had an 800Mhz bus now?  Yes/no?  Don't they call it "Hyperthreading" or something like that?

I dunno, I've been out of the PC loop for a while now (and don't miss it at all).

[Nick in Edinboro]

Ya John, Intel's Pentium 4's have an 800mhz FSB.  

However Hyperthreading is something completely different and is merely an extension of old technologies (called pipelining and SIMD) .   If anyone else here has taken a language like Assembly it's easier to comprehend what exactly it's doing.  

I'm looking forward to the AlthlonXP 64's but it seems like it'll be a while before they're widely available

[RRobar]

I thought there was an Intel chip that had an 800Mhz bus now?  Yes/no?  Don't they call it "Hyperthreading" or something like that?

I dunno, I've been out of the PC loop for a while now (and don't miss it at all).

I guess so, My laptop is a 2.4 ghz P4 and I don' think it runs that. My home desktop is a AthalonXP 1700+ series and it's about 400mhz.

Now that I think about it, the P4's do have 800 mHz FSB, however I think without Rambus Ram it does not even come close to using what is available. Maybe more so now with the faster DDR that is out. I went with the athalonXP rather than the P4 when I bought that as it was cheaper but a few hundred.

[Nick in Edinboro]

RRobar, your Athlon has a 266mhz FSB, not 400, in fact, only Pentium uses such "even" numbers.  

Your motherboards FSB is actually 133mhz (it just has two channels), the AMD's have a doubled pumped CPU bus which terminates into the two FSB channels thus creating a "266mhz" FSB number.

The newer Athlons are 333mhz FSB which relates into a motherboard FSB of 166mhz "double pumped".  Intel conversly "quad pumps" theirs.  So 200 x 4 = 800mhz FSB.

When you say that without Rambus Ram it doesn't use what's available it's only a half truth.  With the faster FSB it also provides faster speed to the PCI and AGP buses.  I think a PCI bus is usually about 1/5th the speed of the FSB and the AGP slot runs at twice the speed of the PCI.  So the FSB speed does affect the whole package from your potential HD speed to how fast of video card you can run.

You said you wanted geek talk right?   :afro:

My post is heavily quoted from this article, and it's good for further reading:
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_side_bus
http://www.4reference.net/encyclopedias/wikipedia/Front_side_bus.html

[RRobar]

I stand corrected Thanks.

[Nick in Edinboro]

Only stood out because I have the same processor  

Although I think my mobo is fried as when it boots it says it's a 733mhz or 1100mhz processor depending on how it feels.