I missed you guys so much I just had to come back!

S

SirDeity

Big Geek
It's time for me to upgrade my PC again. I'll probably just buy the hardware and build a new one. I have lots of questions. I'll ask no more than 10 per post.


1) I hear that MAC is coming out with a new 64-bit processor. Is MAC going to be the first one to release the 64-bit processor?

2) Please explain what the roll the bits play in the processor. What is 64-bit??

3) I rarely see discussions about MAC. I'm curious, in what cases would you recommend someone purchase a MAC? How does it compare?? (Take gaming, art, programming, server hosting, web designing, and everything else you can think of into consideration when comparing.)

4) Would you say that MAC comparatively has a good platform for graphic?

5) Is MS word compatible with MAC? Can a MAC user talk to a Dell user if the Dell user is using MS Word?

6) Is there a special certification one can get for building computers? If there is one, what would be the primary reasons for getting it? How would someone go about getting it? Is it something which requires a onetime written test?

7) Please share comments based on this short paragraph:
IBM is creating a new chip (PowerPC 970) that will be used instead of the Motorola PowerPC chip. It will be what is called a 64-bit chip. There is a lot of speculation about it. One is that the system bus will be as much as 900 MHz and the clock speed could be as high as 2.5 GHz.


Thank you!

P.S. How have you been Big B and syngod?
 
1) I don't know, but AMD wants to release theirs also. But in the case of AMD, they'll wait the longer they can so as not to give the opportunity to Intel of releasing a better one than them.

2) Right now it's 32. Compare it to the number of lanes on an highway. If the Highway has 64 lanes and the cars drive at the same speed than cars on a 32 lane highway, twice as much cars can pass on the 64 lane highway than on the 32 lane highway for a given span of time. This is in theory, and I'm not sure if you'll get twice the speed, but if you run a program that was written for a 64 bit processor, with a 64 bit processor, it will certainly be faster than a 32 bit program, with a 32 bit processor. Btw, 64 bit programs would not be compatible with 32 bit processors, but I would guess that the other way around is possible.

3) Let me put it this way : when you buy a Mac, you plug it into the wall, and that's it. It just works perfectly. But it's more expensive and it's not well supported by software companies. Small companies will wanna' use Mac computers because it never fails, thus they don't have to have an IT department. That is actually what they're saying in their tv commercials !

4) don't know. Way back ago, Mac had better graphics, but now, I just don't know. For instance, movie makers use pcs to create their special effects, and Hollywood is moving on to Linux, from windows, because of the cost. So maybe a pc is better , but again, I don't know.

5) I believe some MACs can run Windows programs but I'm not sure. And I don't understand the second part of your question, sorry.

6) I'm not sure but the easiest way would be to experience it yourself with cheap parts, so that you won't be that mad if everything breaks in your hands. Building computer is something good to know, but you can't know only this, it's gonna' get you nowhere imo, if that's the only thing you know about computers. For instance, once you've finished building the computer, you have to configure it and test it, you can't just build it.

7) well right now the highest possible stock bus you can have on an AMD cpu is 333, so 900 is quite high, but then again Intel is neck to neck with AMD, and they have a bus of 533 (maybe 800 now, I haven't read about computers lately). Bus is good, but there are other things to consider, like the number of operations the cpu can make in one cycle. That is why AMD is faster if you compare their 2ghz with intel's 2ghz cpu, but that is also why it generates a lot more heat.

You're already upgrading ??? It's not worth the money imo. You already have a pretty great system !
 
Hey harrack! Thanks for your response! I missed chatting with you too man! :D


Can you use an AMD chip in a MAC? AMD compatible? What about IBM? What kind of chips do MACS (currently) use?


On question 6 I was asking about the certification, not the knowledge. I already have a basic understanding of how to build a PC. I'm just curious why one would bother getting a certification for it, and how to get it.

Btw, is the Intel 3.06Ghz still the fastest processor chip available?



P.S. Big B and syngod, I'm interested in your responses to the 1-7 questionnaire also =) (first post)
 
I missed you too, I was wondering if everything was working out for you.

For the glow, you have to go in the store zone in the section "Add glow to your user name", it costs 250 points but you have 411 so you can afford it. You can do other things like buy an avatar or change what it says under your nick name for instance.

No, Mac and PC hardware are not compatible.

I guess the only reason why one would bother getting a certification for building computers is that it always looks better when you have a paper with your name on it saying that you can do something, like a diploma. You know how it is ! They will hire any imbeciles that have diplomas, but no intelligent people with no diplomas.
Or maybe companies like Dell will want you to build it regarding their own procedure so they'll make you take a course on how to build Dell computers.

The p4 3.06 is the fastest intel mainstream cpu on the market , but there are xeons and ithaniums which are more powerfull (for workstations). One of the differences is that with a p4 3.06, you have 512kb of cache, with a ithanium 2, you have 3mb of cache, and that is very expensive. You can go on www.intel.com , their site is flawless, you can find anything you want.
 
Oh, I'm doing fine, especially since college is out for the summer. :D

From the top:
1.)I've heard that Apple has considered using x86 CPU's in future Macs. Beyond that I really don't know, since I don't really pay much attention to them.

2.)64-bit CPU's and what they offer most is much, much larger physical memory addressing. Right now we're limited in gigabyte's. 64-bit extends that into terabytes. Also, (when properly written for 64-bit execution) programs don't need nearly as fast of CPU. That's why the benchmarks of the Opteron (AMD's 64-bit CPU) are clocked well below 2GHz and still take on 3GHz and faster CPU's (mostly Intel's P4) quite well.

3.)Macs seem to be big with graphic artists and music production, but their slower clock speeds are beginning to hurt them. It's not that they are crap, it's that they use a very different architecture than PC's. I'd love to have a Mac to play with, but for what you get, they're a bit expensive and there's not enough for me to tinker with. I've had very limited Mac experience, so I can't give a very good picture from personal experience. I think that Apple has come up with some very innovative designs (especially their Cube), but somehow that doesn't seem to be enough.

4.)See above

5.)Word is compatible, but you have to purchase the Office Suite that Microsoft put out for Macs. Sometimes programs come on a hybrid CD that has the files for both Macs, PCs and sometimes Linux. It all depends on what you want to run. A good number of popular programs do get ported over to the Mac platform, but not everything.

6.) No special cert is needed, but it does look good. Lower end ones are the A+ and Net(work)+ tests. Setting your sights higher you can look at Micrsoft MSCE, MCSA, and others. If you want to look really good, Cisco is the way to go, but this is pretty difficult.
I have no certifications (I have failed all 3 that I took), and I can build PC's just fine.

7.)Well with Intel having an 800MHz system bus (I like to use FSB--front side bus), I wouldn't think it'd be out of the question. Again, the PC and Mac architetures are 2 different setups, so how they scale will differ in requirements and results.

Depending on the hardware, some PCI cards will work with PC's and Macs. I don't know enough to have a general rule of thumb other than check it out before you try.

Macs use Motorla G4 processors in current machines.
 
Summer is my favorite time of the year! Thanks for the replies. Now to go shopping for my new color glow... =)

Here is another question about MAC. It's a scenario which I'm interested to see your response to:

You have a very close friend who has never owned a PC before. His third MAC has just died. He has invested a lot of money into software that is only MAC compatible. He uses his computer mostly for web design, text editing, art editing, and photogrpahy editing, but he also has an interest in games and communications via online. What would you say to him in an attempt to convince him to make the switch to a PC when purchasing his fourth computer?



Regarding question #6: Is the certification just a written test you sign up for and take in one day? Or is it something you usually take classes for? If it's just a one day, one test thing I'd be interested in taking the test merely for the experience.



P.S. This new "Quick Post Reply" option is very convenient. Do you still get the same amount of points for posting this way?
 
I'd say to him:"Buy a pc because it costs less AND it gives you a chance to learn how to configure it time and time again since there will always be something not working with it".

Mostly the cost thing....I'd leave the other part alone :p

But seriously, to me a pc is more appealing because of the cost of course but also for support reasons, because so many people have a pc that you can ask them answers. You can also change parts of your system easily instead of changing the whole system. You cannot custom build a MAC I think, you have to buy it at a Best Buy or something.

But anyway, have you ever seen a store that sells MAC hardware ? I haven't.

When I own something, I like to be able to do anything with it, and I just can't with a MAC. To me , buying a MAC is like buying a Compaq Presario. I hate the idea of having to bring my system to the store just to get the case opened !

EDIT: Using the quick post reply doesn't change anything, it's only faster !
 
I checked out the top ten richest persons to make sure I was getting a glow no one else already had. I hope I succeeded! =)

I don't think I have ever seen MAC hardware being sold at a store before. That is a good point. If something is wrong with a MAC, you probably aren't as likely to be able to fix it yourself as you would with a PC.
 
Are there any sites where you can download:

Adobe PhotoShop 7.0
Adobe PageMaker 7.0
Macromedia Dreamweaver
Freehand

(Those are some of the expensive software programs a friend of mine is reluctant to sacrifice for a new PC. They are MAC only and he can't afford to buy new copies of them all.)

Do major software companies like Adobe offer customers the option of sending your MAC only version in exchange for a PC only version? Or vice versa? If they don't they should! Sounds like an essential software support option to me.

Is the Mac OSX based upon a Unix system?
 
OS X is based on Unix, and is pretty close to Free BSD (a distribution of Unix, like Linux), and gives a whole lot more flexibility to the Mac architecture.

I can see why he's not too eager to jump ship to the PC considering how he'd have to spend several grand on the new programs. As for some type of trading program, I'm not sure at all.
You'd have to talk to the company about that. I'd wager a no, but again, I really don't know.

All the certs I've taken have been through my college. I did have to get my date set up in advanced, and also filled out the paperwork as well. All the certs I took were part of the requirement. Just to take them, not pass. Classes are good, but they can't tell you everything, so belive me, even if you don't pass (even the profs have failed the tests they teach about), it's definitely a nice thing to go for. All tests were taken on a computer at my college, and most of the questions were multiple guess.
 
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