Dual 800 Dies, iMac G5 Ordered
Posted May 14th, 2005 @ 07:52pm by Erik J. Barzeski
Last night, my parents lost power for a little while. When the power came back on, their Dual 800 "QuickSilver" G4 refused to.
Today, they purchased (via me) a 17" iMac. I think they'll be happy with it.
Right now, I'm trying to find an external FW drive enclosure. I don't know if I'm going to have much luck: it's looking like it's USB 2.0 or nothing at all (locally). We've got a Best Buy and a Circuit City as well as Office Max, Office Depot, and Staples in town. Very little of anything else.
Donate Life
Posted 14 May 2005 at 9:41pm #
Don't do it!
Don't buy a firewire (or anything) enclosure locally. And be very very very careful of what you buy online.
I have about 5 of the things, all from various cheap-o manufacturers...and every one of them has some sort of glitch. Piercingly loud fans. Dead ports. The ability to make my PC crash by plugging in. Eeek.
I know there are good enlosures out there....but you've got to buy for quality, not price (or availability at lame local stores!)
And if it's a drive+enclosure that you're looking for, go buy it from LaCie. Those guys have been doing Good Things for the mac community for ages, and they may a top quality product. THOSE are the droids you're looking for.
Posted 14 May 2005 at 10:58pm #
Erik,
I know that you probably already thought of this, but when my box refused to boot after a power outage, all that was needed was a new motherboard battery and a reset of the PMU. Now, I would have liked have an excuse for a new machine....so if that's the case, mums the word. But, it's worth a shot.
Posted 15 May 2005 at 12:08am #
Yes, Christopher, I did think of that. 😉 The machine is dead. D-E-A-D.
Posted 15 May 2005 at 1:20am #
Locally, I've had good luck with an independent Apple reseller (they stocked LaCie primarily). When they were out of drives, I tried CompUSA (they have Seagate and/or Maxtor usually). I'd say to only go to CompUSA if they have a really good sale price, though; otherwise I prefer to just mail order LaCie drives if there aren't any available locally. Usually you can get a much better price online, dollars per MB, even for higher quality drives like the LaCie. Regardless, so far I haven't had troubles with any of the drives I've bought (be it LaCie, Seagate, or Maxtor). I did have one Maxtor that was DOA, but they replaced it quickly and I've never had a single glitch with the replacement drive, so I have no complaints there. Probably just luck of the draw.
Posted 15 May 2005 at 3:20am #
If you want a great looking FireWire enclosure that mimics the design of the PowerMac G5 (but not the iMac) NewEgg carries several different models of Rosewill enclosures that have USB 2.0, FireWire 400, and even FireWire 800 — and all at unbelievable prices.
I own the top-of-the-line model with FireWire 800 and couldn't be happier for $88. Rosewill RX30-U2FAB Aluminum 3.5" Enclosure
Posted 15 May 2005 at 9:55am #
I bought a Wiebetech firewire enclosure from Small Dog Electronics (http://www.smalldog.com/product/12654046) -- had it a month, and so far very happy with it. Quiet fan, works well.
Posted 15 May 2005 at 10:10am #
They are going to love the iMac. It has been the hands-down favorite at our house. It is our first Mac and a monster. I'll never go back to the dark side.