ORDER
SECURELY ONLINE!
OR give us a call on the toll free order line
877-639-1543 9-6 CST, M-F (901-759-1543 in TN or
outside U.S.)
New
901-591-1548 tech
support
FAX
615-523-1360. Remember our bottom line price
includes shipping! We stand behind the products we
sell with a 30
day warranty
less shipping and handling (90
days on systems).
Prices subject to change with out notice. Questions? Try
our HELP
file
first. Need
hardware help? Read Bob's Mac Tech
Tips.
Why
use reconditioned equipment?
See
the Mac Comparison Chart!
All large orders have to be signed for. Operator Headgap
Systems, Inc.,7181 Autumn Forrest Dr. Memphis, TN 38125
Contact
Us.
View
our Computer Comparison Chart!
So
many of you liked the way the chart shows all the
different features and prices into one easier to read
chart you can now access it from here or the store.
Simply close the window to go back to where you
were.
Why Buy
Reconditioned Equipment?
There
are a number of reasons why purchasing reconditioned
Macintosh equipment may make sense for you or your
organization. The two most common reasons, though are the
obvious ones Price & Functionality.
Many
older computer systems can perform needed functions as
well as the newer, more expensive models. If all you do
is do a bit of word processing, cruise the web, answer
emails, or balance the checkbook your desktop machine
doesn't have to be the latest Intel Mac running quad
processors. The same is true for Email Servers, Print
Servers, Fax Servers or machines dedicated to printing
mailing labels. The purchase of a reconditioned system
will save you money while meeting your needs beautifully.
We can also recondition and upgrade your old systems
should you choose. Some of you have expensive NUBUS cards
running your milling machines or other industrial uses.
We can help. We can also help move your old data off your
older systems so that you can use it on your new one, or
even convert the format of your files so they will open
in your new applications.
BAD NEWS FOR
CLASSIC USERS • NEW INTEL MACS WON'T RUN
CLASSIC!
Not
only can you not boot into 9, you cannot even use classic
mode with the new Intel Macs. If you are using old
software you will want to pass these systems up. If you
are new to Mac or never use old software then they may be
the system for you. Keep in mind while Apple says they
are 2 times faster that is only true if you are using
Applications that are optimized for theIntel processor.
Most Pro Apps like any Adobe Product will be slower,
unless you have an Intel optimized version. If you work
for a living you may want to avoid buying one until the
software catches up or locate one of the remaining real
G5 processored systems. It is kind of cool that you can
run Boot Camp and boot into Windows, if you have a need
to gather PC viruses and spyware.
EVEN MORE BAD
NEWS FOR CLASSIC USERS • NEW LEOPARD OSX WON'T RUN
CLASSIC!
One
major gotcha for many folks is that Leopard does NOT HAVE
A CLASSIC MODE. If you must run an older program you can
boot back into 9.2 on dual bootable machines and use your
programs. If your computer is not 9 bootable then you had
best keep Tiger around a while longer. I think some folks
will probably keep a second drive with Tiger and classic
installed if they must run a classic application and they
have a system that only boots in X.
THE NUMBER ONE
REASON: Are
the programs you use older? The latest machines no longer
boot into 9, and many programs do not work properly in
classic mode. Many of our later custom upgraded systems
are equally at home running in 9 or the latest version of
X. You can still use your old Pagemaker or Quark or
earlier versions of Pro Tools, yet still have the ability
to boot into X and use the later software. Lastly the new
Mac systems these days run OSX 10.6.x. Some earlier
versions of Adobe Products don't work properly and you
can spend thousands upgrading your software.
THE NUMBER TWO
REASON: Hardware
incompatibility. If you've made equipment upgrades with
your current system, you may find that these upgrades
will be incompatible with a new machine. For example, if
you have an older Mac with big bucks invested in a SCSI
scanner, SCSI externals, they won't work in the new Macs
that lack a SCSI port (you could add a card but that's
another expense). Perhaps you have a nice large monitor.
To adapt it to the output of the new Macs may make you
reconsider. Perhaps your expensive Laser Printer will not
longer be supported. Have your backups on floppy, or deal
with folks who bring you files on floppy? Plan on
spending another $60 or so for an external USB floppy and
then buy a powered hub because you are out of USB ports
and then what do you do when you get an 800K floppy? The
USB models only read Hi Density disks.
Actually,
some older Macs may perform functions that newer ones
won't or it would be too expensive to equip the newer
machines for the purpose. Our upgraded G4 Towers can run
both the later versions of OSX yet still boot into the
older OS9. Our G5 systems can run Tiger and classic mode.
Another example, the Beige G3 Tower has always been a
favorite as a File Server. It has a G3/300 upgraded to a
500 mhz processor, can handle two or three internally
mounted hard drives, has two SCSI buses for a total of 14
SCSI devices, boasts 3 SDRAM sockets, and, to top it all
off, it has EIDE bus allowing low cost PC drives, DVD
Burners etc to be inexpensively added. Compare these
specifications to a new system, then look at the cost of
the newer system!
Reconditioned
equipment isn't always the answer. But, before you buy
new, you owe it to yourself to compare.
QUESTION:
I
am musician who uses Pro Tools and other music software.
Many of my plug ins run in OS9 only and I have quite an
investment in software. I want a faster system but all
Apple has only boots into X. Can you help.
ANSWER:
We
upgrade standard G5 Towers, G4 Sawtooth or optionally
Digital Audio, Quicksilver model or Mirror Drive Door
systems as well as iMacs, iBooks and MacBooks. On many
units we install faster larger hard drives (for increased
performance) and new optical drives (DVD/CD Burners)
along with more RAM. Some of these units are designed for
you and others who still need to boot into 9. With OSX
software installed you can also boot into X if you want
to try some of the newer software that only works in X.
We have quite a list of musicians who use our systems. I
guess being here in Memphis has probably helped us be
aware of what musicians are needing.
I can't
tell you how many folks including print shops, graphic
designers, and more, who need to use software that only
works in 9 or some other earlier OSX version. We are here
to help providing fast thoroughly reconditioned systems
that perform at high levels.
QUESTION:
I
am a graphic designer/AD. Opening my own business asap.
I'm confused about the new Macs and all the software
compatibility problems and vendor issues. I need
something really powerful that will not be out of date
tomorrow. What's your advice? What do you have for
me?
THE LONG LONG
ANSWER: Depends
on how much money you have to spend and what software you
are planning on running. For heavy duty use we recommend
our custom upgraded G5's, G4's, but the G3 Beige Boxes or
the Blue & White Towers depending may do what you
need for less money. The G5's can easily run 10.5.8
Leopard but also can run 10.4.11 along with 9.2.2 for
classic mode. The G4's have to run 9.2.2 and up to Tiger
OSX10.4 but the Beige or Blue and White G3's can run OSes
as early as 8.6. I usually run 9.2.2 on them. What is
nice about most of these Macs is that you can also
install OSX on them. There may be some limitations so you
should check before buying. That enables you to use new
software on the same machine as well as keep your old
investment.
If you
need a modern web browser that allows you to view
video's, use your bank software etc. you need a machine
that will at least run OSX Tiger 10.4.11. Tiger also
supports the Adobe Suite up through CS4 as well.
I like
and am still using some Beige G3 boxes. You probably are
already familiar with them. They come in a Tower and
Desktop model. There main limitation is a 66mhz bus speed
which is relatively slow by todays standards.
That being
said, what I like about them though is they are
dependable (that built in ROM doesn't get fouled like a
software rom), have a built in floppy, SCSI external and
internal, use IDE devices so large drives, CDRW's and
DVD's are relatively low cost since they share the market
with PC's. Our upgraded G4 Towers are also a good choice
as they can be updated and have 100 or 133 mhz buses.
These machines all will boot into 9 but can also boot
into early X when the need arises and give good
performance for the money. These make perfect cusp
machines that allow you to move older file easily to
newer equipment even if you are moving up from some of
the early Mac systems.
We sell
Hitachi (IBM) Deskstar & Seagate 7200 rpm Hard Drives
and prefer them. We have never seen a bad one, and while
they are a few dollars more I think they are worth it. We
stock 80/120 sizes (and larger for those models that can
use them). The Mac OS has a problem with anything over
132GBs in anything earlier than the QuickSilver 2002
model. I won't talk bad about Western Digital as
sometimes these days they are all you can get for some
applications. If dependability is important to you then
the Hitachi or Seagate drives are worth the few dollars
difference. Of course the G5's use the newer SATA type
drives and we generally buy the Seagates when
available.
We like
the latest from Pioneer SuperDrive that burns both CD's
and up to dual layer DVD's for $69.77. We have iTunes
drivers included and use it with Toast 5.2OEM that works
with 9 and X. Use these with Toast or if you run X buy
the iLife package and get iDVD. You need a good graphics
card with at least 16MB on board to playback DVD's so
count on the extra expense of a card and using a slot on
the beige boxes. Most Blue & Whites and G4's have a
good enough video card to playback DVD's, though on the
Blue and Whites you may need to run the patched DVD
player. G5's have at least 64MB video cards capable of
Core Video support requires by some of the high end video
programs.
For
monitors we recommend you either buy our adapter ($19.99
shipped and works with almost anything if you have the
older DB15 connector that came on all the Beige Macs) or
if you get one of the upgrade cards they work straight up
with PC monitors. Go down to the local discount office
supply store and catch a 17" Flat Screen for less than
$200 after rebate. No reason to buy a 4 to 7 year old
Apple monitor. We have quit handling anything over 15",
since they are heavy to ship. We do stock a select few
Flat Screens that offer bright sharp screens and they
work with any Mac that either has native VGA support or
with our adapter.
We add
USB and Firewire via the PCI slot either with separate
cards or save a slot with a combo card on early models,
later models of course have this built in. If you plan to
use more than the 2 root USB ports make sure you purchase
a high quality POWERED USB Hub. We carry a good one.
USB2.0 cards are available for the Mac but there are no
drivers available prior to OSX. Firewire is faster and
better anyway so avoid USB2.0 products unless you are
going to be running OSX and even then choose Firewire
whenever possible since it is faster.
If you
have DSL or Cable Modem or are on a fast network we sell
and recommend the Realtek 8139C chipset 10/100 Ethernet
Card for older Beige equipment. We sell the card and
include the Mac driver for less than $20. We also now
have 1000baseT Gigabit Ethernet Cards for the Mac for 8
6-X and are fast and reasonably prices should you be on
that fast of a network with an older machine. On later
machines you have fast built in ethernet.
Most of
these products are available in the premade models we
make up, but we can build to order. For servers you may
want RAID for dependability or UltraWide SCSI or even the
Serial ATA for speed. We carry the components to build
these and do so frequently for a lot of our customers.
Your larger graphics and print houses like these
components, but anyone needing high reliability may want
to consider the extra money it costs to add these
components. The SATA card we carry works in G3 Blue and
Whites and up and allows you to install up to two 2
Terabyte Drives internally in the tower models. Perfect
for mass storage of video and music.
The G4
and G5 towers are now more affordable to upgrade. We are
buying them and upgrading them with fast Seagate or
Hitachi Hard Drives and Pioneer SuperDrives as well as
new larger RAM chips. You do lose the serial and scsi
ports and of course it doesn't have a floppy. These all
can be added though if there is something that you can't
live without that uses them.
All the
Native G3, G4 and G5 upgrade machines we sell will run
OSX, although Panther (and Tiger) requires a system with
built in USB ports. Beige G3 owners should stick with
Jaguar 10.2.8 or earlier. Leopard the latest Mac OS has
some pretty stiff system requirements and does not
support classic mode. I would encourage folks to continue
to use Tiger for as long as you can. We can upgrade any
G4 Tower to Leopard compatibility by adding ram and video
card, if you are ready to move up.
Take a
look at our model comparison page. http://resale.headgap.com/compchart.html
It
shows what we build and price at. We do customs anytime
though if you want something different. We are always
happy to help.
Apple,
Apple Macintosh, Macintosh, Power Macintosh, Mac, iTunes,
iLife, iDVD, Disc Burner, Quadra, Centris, Performa,
Jaguar, Tiger, Leopard, LaserWriter and StyleWriter and
the multi-color apple graphic device are trademarks of
Apple Computer, Inc. All other trademarks are properties
of their prospective owners.
Back
to Resale
