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Build a Macintosh From Scratch

Posted by pudge on from the more-diy dept.

An anonymous reader writes "MacOpz has posted a great step-by-step tutorial on building your own G4-based Macintosh from scratch. This article includes where to get parts, what modifications must be performed, and tons of photographs. A must-read for anyone that wants a Mac but doesn't want to pay Apple prices."

6 of 415 comments (clear)

  1. This is from a thread on Arstechnica... by juuri · · Score: 5, Informative

    You can follow other people's progress here:

    http://arstechnica.infopop.net/OpenTopic/page?a=tp c&s=50009562&f=8300945231&m=4820959925

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  2. Fun to read, but impractical by marcsiry · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As a professional who relies on my Macintosh to generate income, the supposed "price premium" of Apple hardware over a build-it-yourself amounts to a half day's billing.

    Add the time to build eating into billable hours, and it would come out as an expensive proposition.

    There are lots of reasons to build a machine yourself- better control over the parts, getting a custom config that you can't easily buy, and saving money. I wager that most people's reason to buy a Mac- it works, out of the box, to make us money- is not really compatible with those ideals.

    I do agree with one sentiment addressed in the story, and that's avoiding the outlandish prices Apple charges for standard parts such as RAM and hard disks. Most savvy Mac users buy base configs and then load up the RAM and HD's via cheaper, third party suppliers.

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    Marc Siry || interactive media professional, motorcycle enthusiast ||
  3. Why not a clone? by stew77 · · Score: 5, Informative

    OS X is a chance for the clones to come back: This German vendor is selling OS X compatible Umax clones with G4 CPUs for EUR 729+.

  4. case mod not 'building a g4' by spasm · · Score: 5, Insightful

    uh.. read the article. it's not 'building a g4 from scratch' so much as 'getting an apple mobo & other random g4 parts off ebay and mounting them in a pc case with some noisy fans', primarily because "it's impossible to use a Zip drive, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM together in the same machine with any G4 that Apple has ever shipped".

    this is a glorified case-mod project for a specific end use, not 'building a g4 from scratch'.

  5. Re:Why? by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Funny
    Paying to build a Mac from scratch? That's like buying parts and building a Fiat.

    I hate to have to be the one to break this news to you, but if you're buying a fiat, parts are all you're getting.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  6. What next? A Mac logic board in a Mac case? by dpbsmith · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wow, this is so exciting... first a PC board in a Mac case, now a Mac board in a PC case.

    How long before someone takes a G4 Mac, removes the logic board from it, puts it back, and put up detailed step-by-step photos on a Web site showing what he or she has accomplished?

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    "How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!