[DisneyFan25863]

Good to hear. I've already been looking at monitor elsewhere. Is the Dell one really the exact same monitor? Sweet, because I really like the quality of the Mac ones and was considering shelling the extra $400.

Yup, exact same panel (both are LG). Only thing is that the Dell has some rare backlighting problems (caused by the manufacturing process). But, other than that, identical. And the Dell has RCA and Svideo in also, so you can use it as a TV.

- Is there a difference between the versions of these cards sold through Apple/Apple resellers vs. the "PC" version generally available? I believe I found that the "only" difference is that the Mac ones are firmware keyed, but that reflashing is a bit of risky business. Is that correct?

Firmware and Dual Dual DVI Capibility, I believe.

- What's the difference between the GeForce Ultra 3800 and the GeForce 3800 GT?

I think the GT has more memory, better airflow, and the Dual Dual DVI.

I've looked at Mac catalog sites, including macconnection.com. I found something odd. Take a look at this system vs. this one. What gives. Here's what I see:
- System A has a crapier vid card (not a problem since I plan on replacing either of them.
- There's some odd difference between the CD/DVD drives. What's a super drive, is that just a marketing term for a CD-R/DVD-R drive? Is the drive on one of these two systems significantly better than the other?
- The important thing that caught my eye, for some reason system A has the PCI-X and PCI-100 slots that aren't supposed to be with the 2.0 Ghz system, only the faster ones. Whereas system B has only standard PCI slots. (why the heck hasn't Apple graduated to PCIe yet? Anyway) That's nifty, it'd be nice to get that.
- System A seems like the better system (due to the PCI ugrade) for $100 less. Score, or do I lose something I'm not seeing?

Could also be the new and old versions of the 2.0 GHz PM (its been around since 2003 in various different forms).

Okay, figured one bit out. System A above has a "combo drive" while System B has a "SuperDrive", the important difference being that the SuperDrive can burn dual layer DVDs. Hmm, worth it or not?

I got a combo drive on my powerbook, and I'm kicking myself about it. Literally weeks after I bought it, I had to transfer a 4 GB file to school. I ended up having to split it on 4 or 5 CDs. Quite a pain. I ended up buying a LaCie 16x Dual layer firewire DVD drive for $160. I use it all the time now for backups and such.

Wait, where do you see a Dell 20" for $400? I see it for $750.

Rebates and such. Give it 2 or 3 weeks, and a deal will come along. Good place to check for them is MacRumors.
I saw it on sale for $327 a few weeks ago.



Also, CP qualifies for an educational discount, doesn't she? Saves you a few hundred there.