Mac for porting

#1 I'm not a Mac guy at all, but stay away from this one. OS 9 is old.

#2 You need OS X and more memory.. I think it could be put on that box.

Mac Mini's seem to be the rage. Do some search on past mac hardware posts.

#3 According to this thread

You only need

MAC OS-X
G3 +, 64 MB RAM
OpenGL Compatible 3D Graphics Accelerator

so if I could get OS X for that system it would compile and run TGE and T2D ok? I'm not making tihs my main dev system... Just compiling and making sure the funcitonality is still there.

#4 It would probably work but my guess is you might die from the slowness. I have an old iMac collecting dust, probably around the same model you describe, and it struggles a bit with OS X. Can't imagine how it would do with XCode.

If you're not looking to spend more than $300, might as well give it a try, though.

Or, for $435 you can get a refurb Mac mini...juts use a KVM with your current setup, if that would work for you.

#5 What is a KVM ?

I dont care if it's slow. I just want it to run.

#6 @Chris: That thread refers to requirements for T2D, which are lower than those for TGE.
The posted minimum requirements for TGE on the Mac are here.

For a more pleasant development experience, you'll probably want at least 256Mb RAM, at least a 1 Ghz processor, and a graphics card with more than 32Mb of memory, and a 2 button mouse. Aside from the graphics card, a Mac Mini should fit fairly well, though it won't be the greatest for primary development. The current round of iMacs should make fairly nice TGE dev platforms.

Most 3rd party 2-button usb mice work under MacOSX, and I highly recommend using a 2 button mouse. One button is a wonderful blessing when my Sainted Grandmother calls tech support, but is not optimal for developers.

For TGE, processor speed is the biggest factor. The engine is heavy on the processor. GCC is heavy on the processor. Without digressing into a discussion about processor architecture, clock speed does in fact matter to applications like Torque & GCC.

The second major factor is graphics card memory. More is better, because you're likely to be throwing around lots and lots of textures while developing.

In summary, the Mac Mini is certainly sufficient for compiling & testing.
The other machine listed by the first poster could compile a Torque app if updated to a recent version of MacOSX, but would not run Torque apps well.

#7 Paul - But it would run it? That's all I need to know really. I have absolutely no intention of making this a primary dev station... It will probably sit in a corner of my office most of the time, except the rare occasion I need to port a project and make sure it runs. Should I need something better I'll buy it when I need it.

For now this is just a cheap option to get my T2D game onto Mac.

thanks for the help everyone

#8 A KVM is a device that will allow you to share a single Keyboard, Video Monitor, and Mouse (KVM) among multiple computers.

You hook up both computers to the KVM switch box, and you only need one keyboard, mouse, and monitor. To switch between computers, you just flip the switch on the box. You can get them pretty cheap these days.

I agree with Paul if you wanted to do development on the Mac, but it sounds like you only need to test things out to make sure it runs. However, I'd still opt for a more current machine, since you'll want to know how your game works on the more recent models.

I would go for at least a G4, but a G5 would be better. The more memory the better, of course, but you'll want at least 256MB if you're running OS X.

If you want to spend $299, you can get a decent used eMac machine here. Has a little pre-existing screen burn-in, but not a bad machine.

#9 @Chris: If you're just trying to get your game working on the Mac...
Then you should perhaps consider contracting it out to another member of the GG community.

The machine you describe may 'run' the game... Hard to say since you didn't post any info about the graphics card. I've run the torque demo on old iMacs. But since I got about 4-5 fps, I wouldn't try to test a ported game on one.

So, it might run a T2D game, but there are better options for your money.

#10 The problem is I don't want to rely on someone else to do it.

#11 So...how much are you looking to spend max?

#12 I was hoping to spend about 250. Don't know if it's going to happen or not.

#13 Looks like you'll need a G4, per the specs. I tried running TGE on my old 350MHz G3 iMac (pretty close to the model you mentioned above) and it quit before loading.

I think the cheapest G4 I've seen is the $299 deal on the used eMac above.

#14 I know you can compile linux stuff in windows with an emulator, maybe you can do the same with OSX.
www.macwindows.com/emulator.html

#15 Unsung Zero - The cherryOS looks like it might do the job, but I can't seem to find anything useful on the webpage

#16 I find my Beige Mac, upgraded with a G4 400mhz and 768mb ram is really slow for OSX, so I'm going to get a Mac Mini, min 1gb ram.

If anyone wants, I have an Apple 21" multimedia display to go with the Beige Mac, I'm willing to give it all away if you can collect from Newcastle.

#17 What is NewCastle?

You mean if I can pay for the shipping to get it here, I can have it for free ? and it runs TGE ?

#18 Newcastle is in the UK. Shipping a 21" monitor would be a big pain in the A. I have one of those in a basement they weigh as much as me. Shipping would be expensive, but still perhaps less costly than buying a G4.

#19 Lol.

Newcastle Upon Tyne. One end of Hadrians Wall. Located in the North East of England (Thats just south of Scotland). Has the best night life in the UK, and rated as best in Europe by some.

Shipping to the US from Newcastle would cost as much as buying a Mac Mini. If you really, really. really want it, you can, but you arrange collection and payment for the collection. I'll even throw in two 9gb Ultra SCSI drives and a SCSI Toshiba DVD-Ram drive (old, 2.3gb ver).

I also have an old PowerPC 650'ish base unit lying around too, and maybe even an LC400 classic, with 14"/15" monitor.

While I'm on, I also have some dual CPU SparcStation 20's, a 10 and a 5. 1 20" Sun monitor, 2 17" Sun monitors. Assorted keyboards and mice, some Compaq 17" monitors.

If you need something to cinch the deal, I have some nVidia window stickers and fairy posters, some yellow MSI stress balls.....

#20 Mark - How much do you think the system weighs (without the monitor) ?

I'm sure I can get it to Canada at a reasonable price.