My work was kind enough to replace my aging 24″ iMac (MA456LL) with a new 27″ iMac (MC814LL). It’s a huge difference, not just screen size but performance as well. I’m coming from a Core 2 Duo processor to Intel’s i7 Quad Core Sandy Bridge. This has Hyper Threading so I get up to 8 threads. It’s very nice and fast. I’ve been able to run multiple Virtualbox VMs without slowing down.
This is the latest version of the Apple iMac line (Spring 2011) and comes with 2 Thunderbolt ports – which I don’t have any compatible devices to play with. The have removed support for Firewire 400 which I thought was not a good move. I still have devices using that port. I can still use it with a Firewire 400 to 800 cable. They should have at least added USB3.0 support but of course Apple doesn’t like using mainstream ports (also no support for eSATA or Bluray). Oh well, that’s Apple for you. I also have to replace my mini DV cable if I want to use a secondary monitor. An SDHC card reader available on the right side. This is a great addition, consider my Macbook Pro 13″ has it, it’s another way to transfer files between devices. It’s also convenient pulling images off my camera if needed.
Here’s a screenshot of the About this Mac.
As you can see, it comes with an 8GB ram running at 1333. My desktop at home (PC clone) with the same CPU is running 16GB at 1600MHz. I’m not sure if it will recognize the 1600MHz, but the great thing about my desktop at home is I can overclock the ram and CPU if i choose to – which is one of the limitations of Apple hardware.
Here is a screenshot of the details on the ram. As you can see, there are 4 total slots and can go as high as 16GB.
This iMac comes with an AMD Radeon 6970M 1GB video card. Based on the System Profiler, it’s running on the x16 slot and has a maximum resolution of 2560×1440. As with all iMac design, it isn’t something that can be replaced and upgraded. Notice the “M” on the model number. That stands for Mobile which is the same type of card you’ll find on laptops and is embedded on the motherboard.
The iMac is configured to have a 1TB hard drive. It’s a Western Digital 7200RPM. Based on the model number it’s a Caviar Black with 32MB cache. Not bad at all. The System Profiler also reveals that the max speed supported is 6Gbps – so it can use SATAIII drives. The drive it currently has is SATAII – 3Gbps.
I don’t know much about the the Thunderbolt ports nor do I have any devices I can plug in it. So I’ll just post the screenshot of its section in the System Profiler.
Using Geekbench I got a score of 11809. The free version only runs in 32bit. I’m not sure if there’s a big difference if it’s running in 64bit. You can check the details here… http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/426677. I also ran Geekbench on my old iMac and got a score of 3210. It’s almost 4x faster but keep in mind, it’s a Core 2 Duo with no Hyper Threading and 4GB ram plus it’s slower ram. You can check out the details here… http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/426690.
I’m beginning to feel limited while using Apple products. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great platform. But as I start introducing non-Apple devices, I have to go out of my way to get it to work. I started looking into building a PC after 8 years of exclusively using Macs. At first I had my eyes set on an i7 Sandy Bridge but after doing more research and talking with experts, I decided to go with the last generation i7 (LGA1366, Bloomfield). Why?
More motherboards available
Supports faster memory – DDR31600
If I ever want to switch out CPU to the hexacore, I don’t have to switch out motherboards
X58 is a great platform and more stable
It’s been almost a week and I’ve been impressed by some of the tests I’m running. I will go part by part and tell you what I liked and disliked (if applicable).
Corsair Graphite 600T: I decided to spend the extra money getting this tower for several reasons.
I can run the cables in the back side of the tower. There’s plenty of room there.
It is truly tool-less.
Can hold 7 hard drives. It can be reconfigured and move around depending on how you want your airflow to work.
Removable dust filters.
Great quality and durable.
Bottom mounted PSU for liquid cooling solution.
So far, the only thing I don’t like is it doesn’t have a 3.5” slot. I don’t use a floppy drive but most internal memory card readers use this slot. Now I have not only buy the memory card reader but an adapter to make it fit in the 5.25” slot.
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3: I was going to get the ASUS Sabertooth but the Gigabyte has dual bios where if one were to fail to load, I can use the other and fix the issue.
3 different raid controllers. 6 Intel (SATAII 3Gbps), 2 Gigabyte (SATAII 3Gbps), and 2 Marvell (SATAIII 6Gbps)
Supports triple channel ram up to 24GB
Software to OC is easy to use
One thing I don’t like is it doesn’t have an internal USB port. The front of my tower has a USB3.0 and uses the standard cable. In order for me to use it, I’d have to run the cable to the back of the tower and plug it in.
Intel i7 960 3.2GHz: Currently the fastest processor before going into the extreme hexacore CPU. I have seen people OC this over 4.0GHz so it has great potential. This is a quad core CPU and with Hyper Threading, it becomes 8 cores. I was considering the AMD Phenom II 1100T Black Edition but the benchmarks I’ve seen online were not impressive. Based on those benchmarks, it runs against the Intel i5 Sandy Bridge – not the i7.
Corsair Vengeance 12GB DDR31600: I was going to get a 6GB set but decided to go with the 12GB so that I can max it out in the future. It has XMP and all I needed to do in the BIOS is to set it to Profile 1. Comes with a heat spreader as well. It has a CAS Latency of 9 but seen it run at 8 when OC.
Seagate ST3500641AS: Seagate makes great drives and since I’ve started to use them, I haven’t had one go bad yet (knock on wood). Drives that have died on me are usually Maxtors and Western Digitals. These drives have a 16MB cache and runs at 7200RPM. I bought 4 of these 500GB hard drives and set them up as a RAID10. They run great and my Windows gives it a score of 6.1.
Corsair CMPSU-850TX: I figured 850W should give me enough for current any future mods. Supports SLI and Crossfire. It’s rated at 80Bronze. The only thing I don’t like is it doesn’t support the new ATX v2.3. Corsair just came out with the second version of the PSU. I could’ve waited but I didn’t want to. I figured the changes were not important for my set up and use.
Corsair CWCH70: I could’ve use the stock heatsink that came with my i7 but would need an aftermarket one if I decide to OC it. Rather than figure this out later, I bought it so it’s ready for OC. The install was not as easy as the videos I’ve seen on Youtube. Once installed, I get around 40-52 C on idle or normal use. When doing transcoding (high CPU usage) I don’t go over 65 C. Spending the extra $80 (after rebate) is worth it. It’s compact unlike the first versions of liquid cooling solutions.
EVGA nVidia GTX470SC: It’s not the high end video card in the series but works great. It has CUDA and works great with Adobe software. I have already used Adobe Premiere Elements 9 and exported an HD video to 1080i, 25fps. At the same time, I played Starcraft 2 on ultra settings. The computer remained stable and responsive. I was very impressed. All 8 cores were at 100% and ran around 52-65 C and the video card ran at around 84 C. Starcraft 2 was running at about 52-58FPS. I was able to ALT+Tab between applications, play HD videos off Youtube and watch an HD video off my hard drive.
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit OEM: One of the best, if not the best OS Windows has “created”. I find the 64-bit to be more stable than 32-bit and with 12GB of ram, it’s necessary. I still miss things on OS X but there are things on Windows that don’t exist in my Apple. I love Live Writer. I can blog from my desktop. I wish Apple would create something that works similarly. The built-in Backup/Restore is still unreliable. I’ve had failed backups and failed restores. I decided to keep my iMac and run it side by side. My iMac will contain all of my important documents and use Time Machine to back up. Hopefully one day there will be a back up software/workflow as easy as Time Machine for Windows.
Whoever says using Windows is cheaper than a Mac is wrong. I have spent about the same price building this PC rather than purchasing a new Mac. I have already spent close to $300 on just software, where similar software is unnecessary or already included with a Mac. The hardware cost is about $1500. Unlike my Apple products though, I can switch out parts. To make this possible with Apple hardware, you’d have to purchase a Mac Pro which starts at $2400 and you are still limited to hardware that’s compatible. Regardless, I would have to use both in order to do everything I need to do. I just wish software licenses are easily transferable for both platforms.
Shout out to Jeff of JB Tech Enterprises and his brother Eric for helping me build this machine.
It’s been over 6 years since I exclusively used Windows and have been using Apple. But recently I’ve had the urge to build a PC – mainly for games and video transcoding. So I started doing so research on hardware. As I am doing research, I’m starting to realize how much Apple has limited me from doing certain things and lacked support for some I/O devices.
I find myself running Windows virtually for doing simple tasks that I can’t seem to do with Apple either free or efficiently. For instance, if I need to edit metadata on a video file without having it render again is only possible with iTunes. But if I use iTunes, it has to be added to the library and not all file formats are supported. In Windows, I can accomplish this by using a free app called MP3Tag. I’ve looked and have not found an app for OS X – free anyway.
My second example. USB 3.0 and eSata has been available for years now (well eSata has been around for years) – no support at all by any Apple hardware. Yes, there is FW400 and FW800 but it isn’t as practical or affordable. I have many external devices that have both USB 2.0 and eSata. The eSata is begging to be used but I can’t. Even my HD camcorder uses USB and iMovie can recognize it – no FW support on the camcorder.
My third example. I have a bluray burner and have a lot of movies. Not all have portable media versions that come with it and even if they did, I would download through iTunes and have it be stuck (DRM) to 5 accounts. I’d like to throw this file onto my DLNA server and have it stream throughout the house. I don’t want to leave my iMac on all day just so that iTunes can share things – that’s why I have a Terastation with DLNA. Now I can rip blueray videos. I use MakeMKV to rip it then use Handbrake to create an MP4 file which would take around 9 hours to do. I’m hoping to cut this down by a lot on a Windows machine because Windows supports blueray format.
My fourth example. Time Machine is great. But without the expensive Time Capsule, I can’t do back ups over the network. I have found hacks but they are not 100%. Again, I have a Terastation and want to use it to its full potential.
My fifth example. My iMac that I bought in 2008 has been maxed out of its upgrade. The ram is at 4GB and the hard drive is 1TB 7200RPM (I think this model should recognize up to 1.5TB). I’m unable to upgrade the video card because iMacs are built like laptops. So whenever a new game comes along (Starcraft 2), I’m stuck with hardware from 2008. I’m able to get as high as medium setting and still experience some lag. World of Warcraft, I’m able to get 22-40 FPS in high populated areas. For my uses, I can’t upgrade the hardware anymore and would like to. If I had bought a Mac Pro, I probably could but for the price… no thanks!
So the plan is to build a PC that will let me have a better experience in games as well as transcode/edit videos more efficiently than my current iMac. I will be using an Intel i7-2600K processor and an H-series motherboard. The P-series is a little more expensive and I don’t plan on overclocking anytime soon – even though the 2600K allows me to. Now why spend the extra bucks on K? I just want to have the capability of overclocking once I do decide. And when I do, I just get a new motherboard. By then the Z-series motherboards will be available will have the Quick Sync capability and overclocking capability. I will be running 8GB DDR3 1333 ram for starters but the motherboard will be ready for 16GB when I am. For now, I’ll be running 500GB Sata 3Gbps, but in the future I’ll have it set up with 4 250GB on Sata 6Gbps with RAID10. That should give me a powerful and enjoyful experience compared to what I have now with my iMac.
I enjoy using Apple and OS X and will continue to use it. But as a desktop and for my current needs, I feel I’m better off on a PC running Windows 7 64bit. My MBP 13″ will be my second desktop/laptop because I still don’t feel comfortable nor do I trust doing certain things on a Windows machine.
Once I get more comfortable and have a nice workflow set up on my new PC, I will be selling my iMac. But that won’t be for weeks. Hopefully, what I have read and expect is true. If not, my new PC will just be a gaming computer and I will continue to do everything else on my Mac.
I was using an Apple Extreme Base Station for a few years now. It’s the model right before they added the gigabit ethernet support but it does have wireless N. There were several things I hated about this router. The one thing I just can’t stand is it has to reboot every time you make any changes. I’ve owned other routers from Linksys, Netgear, and Belkin prior to this router and they never rebooted nor took a long time to apply changes. I use Mac address filtering so whenever a new device is introduced to the network, I have to make this change. In order to do so, anyone who is connected will be disconnected because it has to reboot.
After doing some research I found the Linksys E2000. It does everything I need it to do. Comparing it to my old Apple router, it has more ethernet ports (4) and supports gigabit speed. It’s fast when you make changes and the Cisco Connect software is compatible with OS X. Another great feature is it has a guest mode where it has a separate connection for guest devices. Guest devices can access the internet but will not have access to your LAN. Great feature, but for now I have it disabled. I still have to check how far that signal reaches. I don’t want anyone camped outside leeching off my internet.
The installation is simple. Only problem I had was with the software trying to connect to the router after I had changed the default settings. Turns out the version of the software was old. Linksys has a support chat system and they were able to direct me to the latest version of the software. After I installed the newer version, I was up and running.
I picked up a factory refurbished version. I figured it’s half the cost and should work as well as a new one. There are certain brands I don’t concern about quality even though it is refurbished, and Linksys is one of them. I’ve always had great experiences with their products. It’s a big savings compared to the $180 I originally paid for the Apple router (never again). A brand new E2000 will run $80 and up.
The only thing I lose from the Apple router is the USB port. Actually I won’t miss it at all. I hardly used it. What you can do with it is attached a USB printer to share or a hard drive. I have 2 wireless printers on the network and a Terrastation NAS box… problem solved!
So far it has been doing its job. The signal seems a bit stronger too and does not interfere with other wireless devices. Here are some pics.
My work recently ordered our Snow Leopard DVD so we can upgrade our iMacs. I did my usual Time Machine backup and upgraded. I didn’t worry much about compatibility since my personal 13″ MBP has been running SL for a few months now and it had the same apps installed – no problems at all.
After I upgrade my work’s iMac, there were problems. I kept getting errors from my Symantec antivirus (I had to install it, work policy even though it isn’t necessary). I reinstalled it and it warned me to install Rosetta. I thought that would be the “aha” so I installed it. It looks like it fixed that problem, but now my Adobe CS3 apps crashes when I launch them. I Googled and it turns out there is an existing compatibility issue with CS3 and SL. It’s weird though since my MBP runs CS3 without a problem.
So now I got another external firewire hard drive. What I’m going to do is restore a backup that I made in Time Machine before upgrade onto an external hard drive. This way I can make sure that’s a clean copy before formatting and restoring it onto my iMac’s hard drive. This is why I love using Macs. When running into problems, I have several options to restore without losing data – as long as you back up data.
Once this is complete and I’m satisfied with the restored data, I will restore the backup onto the iMac. Then I’ll format the external drive and install a clean copy of SL and migrate my Leopard over to see if it’s SL or just my iMac configurations.
The iMac is configured to have a 1TB hard drive. It’s a Western Digital 7200RPM. Based on the model number it’s a Caviar Black with 32MB cache. Not bad at all. The System Profiler also reveals that the max speed supported is 6Gbps – so it can use SATAIII drives. The drive it currently has is SATAII – 3Gbps.
I don’t know much about the the Thunderbolt ports nor do I have any devices I can plug in it. So I’ll just post the screenshot of its section in the System Profiler.
