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Thinking of buying Dual 400-450 G4, good computer?

chanoc

chanoc

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Are these older PowerMacs worth 500-700? That is what one can get them for on eBay. The dual 800s and 1.2s are about the same price as an entry-level G5. 😱

So what kind of a computing experience will I get with a dual 450 compared to an iBook G3 500? I need to burn DVDs, CDs, surf the net, email, IM, write code, Photoshop, Office and play a few games. I could always put in a SCSI card and SCSI hard drive and a larger video card.

Comments? Thank you! 🙂
 
The G4s are very powerful, reliable machines. I am selling a PowerMac G4 500MHZ (AGP Graphics). Here are the specs, it is upgrade to the max, very fast:

G4 500Mhz
Radeon 8500 Pro (64MB, POWERFUL card)
768MB RAM
(2) 32GB IBM Hard Drives
Pioneer DVD-R Drive
Iomega Zip 100 Drive (Built in)

This machine is really top noche. Let me know if you are interested (PM me)
 
chanoc said:
Are these older PowerMacs worth 500-700? That is what one can get them for on eBay. The dual 800s and 1.2s are about the same price as an entry-level G5. 😱

So what kind of a computing experience will I get with a dual 450 compared to an iBook G3 500? I need to burn DVDs, CDs, surf the net, email, IM, write code, Photoshop, Office and play a few games. I could always put in a SCSI card and SCSI hard drive and a larger video card.

Comments? Thank you! 🙂
Click to expand...

I'd wait for MWSF and see if the headless G4 mini iMac surfaces. 😉 If it does, you'll see the prices on the machines you're looking at drop like crazy.
 
well not only that but $500 sounds right around your budget isn't it. I would not buy a 400-450 Powermac, they're still alright machines but the value doesn't seem right to me atleast.
 
Get the G4. The G3 seems to me like it wouldn't be able to handle the burning of dvds, some of the heavier tasks like photoshop work.

i believe that unless the G3 you are talking about is a B&W, then it seems like a waste of money to me. I have tried using Adobe Photoshop CS, and Illustrator on my iBook, but it just seems to be slower (obviously) than my Dual 450 G4.

anyways, they price is fitting in that the G4's will be used for quite a bit longer than the G3's. just keep your eyes peeled on ebay, i scored my G4 by searching for Duel G4, instead of how it is really spelled Dual G4. Best of all there was only one other person that realized it, but it was too late, i won the auction for $400(+50 for shipping)!
 
I personally don't see the prices on the older PowerMacs dropping. The people that buy the PowerMacs want a machine with expandibility, future upgrading, mass HD space, etc.

The headless iMac will have none of that.
 
I'm not trying to hijack this thread, but my machine seems to be what you are looking for.

I have a SCSI Card and an 18GB SCSI drive that I can include also.

As for the performance between a G3 500 and this? Its uncomparable.

My brother bought the iBook G3 800MHz, and my computer was WAY faster than that. The video card I have was ATLEAST twice as fast as his, and the G4 500MHz is an incredibly powerful chip.
 
Thanks for all the replies!

I am tempted by the Mac Mini, but as stated there is limited expandablity. The only ways to expand are with USB and FireWire ports and a limited 1GB of RAM (one freaking slot). I am bidding on this awesome Dual G4 500 with 108GB SCSI, DVD burner (external), Zip, ATI RAGE 128, etc... Now the video card is in an AGP slot correct? 16MB of VRAM is kind-of "old school". 🙂

ebay link
 
That machine is still going to be slower at most things than the mini Mac....and take up a lot of space and make a bit of noise. You'd get more power from a 1.25 or 1.42 G4 Mac mini - and what do you need to expand it for?

For running the current OS you'll get soso performance on the dual 500. What are you going to use this thing for? And you can only put in 1.5 gig of memory in the dual 500... not much benefit over the mini...

D
 
Mr. Anderson said:
That machine is still going to be slower at most things than the mini Mac....and take up a lot of space and make a bit of noise. You'd get more power from a 1.25 or 1.42 G4 Mac mini - and what do you need to expand it for?

For running the current OS you'll get soso performance on the dual 500. What are you going to use this thing for? And you can only put in 1.5 gig of memory in the dual 500... not much benefit over the mini...

D
Click to expand...

I'd also mention that you would get a 1-year warranty with the purchase of the mini... you won't with a secondhand Mac. That could prove useful when ERRRR IF your harddrive or logic board or memory or firewire port or anything else wonks out on you.

sidenote: Mr. Anderson, I found myself staring at your avatar trying to figure out what's going on... what is it?


EDIT: For retardedness. Spelled useful: "youself". geezus.
 
i'm not sure how accurate this is but in my test when i was upgrading my B&W to a G4 i found that a G4 is about 4 times faster than a G3 at the same clock speed. i tested encoding a 30 sec DV file to mpeg 4. and i think dual processors adds like 80% performance so a dual 500 be like a 900 in some tasks. thats just my guess. Personally i really want a mac mini it woulkd fit nicely ontop of my B&W
(600 mhz G4, 512 RAM, ATI 9200 w/ 128 vRAM, Sonnet Tempo HD(Dual ATA 133 Controller), 40 gig Maxtor HD, 80 gig Seagate HD, 160 gig Western Digital HD, Pioneer Super Drive)
 
Oh well, the auction went to 800.00 and I backed out. I thought anything over 600.00 for dual 500 was highway robbery.

It looks like I am going for a 1.42 Mac Mini and upgrading the RAM slot with a third-party 1GB chip. No Superdrive option though, but may get an external drive.
 
adding your own ram will void the warranty on your computer and this desktop is more like a laptop, you can't just swap in any parts.
 
Kwyjibo said:
adding your own ram will void the warranty on your computer and this desktop is more like a laptop, you can't just swap in any parts.
Click to expand...

No it wont.

Hey, I am selling my PowerMac G4, it is loaded with tons of stuff. EMail me at jcarian@mac.com if you are interested. It has:

Radeon 8500 Pro (64MB vRAM)
768MB RAM
80GB HD
Pioneer DVD Burner
Iomega Zip Drive (Built in)

I can include up to (2) 32GB IBM Hard Drives also. I also have an 18GB SCSI Drive w/SCSI Card. Let me know.
 
macaztec I was referring to the Mac Mini because my statement is true in that case and it seems like the way you keep pushing your machine out of the FST forums is getting to be borderline SPAM.
 
Chanoc, I am very happy with my Dual 533. G4 towers are good buys because you can upgrade them as funds permit to pretty high performance.

dvwarehouse.com has a decent selection of G4 towers, though ebay and people on MR will probably have better prices. I'd shoot for a Digital Audio for the slightly faster bus, but Gigabit Ethernet or Sawtooth G4s are no slouch.

The Mac mini is an option here too, but the towers can accept a SATA PCI card and several hard drives, more RAM and far better video cards like the Radeon 9600 or 9800. Not to mention dual 1.0-1.33 GHz or single 1.0-1.7GHz CPU upgrades.
 
chanoc said:
No Superdrive option though, but may get an external drive.
Click to expand...

you can BTO Superdrive for $100... at that price, i can't see any reason for getting an external...

i don't see much need for the expandability for your listed uses... mini will give you a much better performance for the money, not to mention the smaller form factor...
 
Lord Blackadder said:
The Mac mini is an option here too, but the towers can accept a SATA PCI card and several hard drives, more RAM and far better video cards like the Radeon 9600 or 9800. Not to mention dual 1.0-1.33 GHz or single 1.0-1.7GHz CPU upgrades.
Click to expand...

But all that costs even more money and you start getting closer and closer to a G5 by the time you're finished.

In the end, it all depends on what you plan on doing with it and if expanding is actually in your future.

D
 
jxyama said:
you can BTO Superdrive for $100... at that price, i can't see any reason for getting an external...

i don't see much need for the expandability for your listed uses... mini will give you a much better performance for the money, not to mention the smaller form factor...
Click to expand...

Sure the Superdrive optiion is a around a 100USD, but I believe it is only the 4X. I saw on Apple's Store Web site 16X dual layer DVD burners for about the same price (or a bit more).
 
Lord Blackadder said:
Chanoc, I am very happy with my Dual 533. G4 towers are good buys because you can upgrade them as funds permit to pretty high performance.

dvwarehouse.com has a decent selection of G4 towers, though ebay and people on MR will probably have better prices. I'd shoot for a Digital Audio for the slightly faster bus, but Gigabit Ethernet or Sawtooth G4s are no slouch.

The Mac mini is an option here too, but the towers can accept a SATA PCI card and several hard drives, more RAM and far better video cards like the Radeon 9600 or 9800. Not to mention dual 1.0-1.33 GHz or single 1.0-1.7GHz CPU upgrades.
Click to expand...

Those dual 1GHz and higher machines are selling for about the same price as a new entry-level G5 tower on eBay. I do love the G4 towers, but the Mac Mini is more in my price rage. Although I could save my dishwashing wages and buy a G5 single 1.8 by April, 2005. 🙄

CPU upgrades? Maybe.

What am I using this for? Nicecast, Photoshop, DVD ripping with HandBrake, Web site updating, home stereo (iTunes and speakers), Office stuff, Final Cut Express, DVD Studio, iapps, file sharing....
 
chanoc said:
Sure the Superdrive optiion is a around a 100USD, but I believe it is only the 4X. I saw on Apple's Store Web site 16X dual layer DVD burners for about the same price (or a bit more).
Click to expand...

the lacie dual layer 16x dvd burner at apple.com is $199, i'd say that's quite a lot more than $100... also, it probably doesn't work with iDVD without a hack as it's an external.
 
from my experience.. including owning a DA 533 for a while, they are very nice computers, but not really worth what they go for on ebay. macs hold there value very well- too well in my opinion. you'd be better off to buy a new one. Even if for no other reason, user enjoyment.

my DA ran even the finder just a bit too slowly, and it was grating. plus, everything will have to be upgraded as well- mac mini comes with brand new OS, iLife and everything. I got mine and it was running 9! and the only OS X i could get for less than another $100+ was like 10.2. its drive was old and slowish, its graphics card often may be as well AGP 2x in 450/500s, and oh yeah plus shipping was like 60 bucks or so- mini is free. the only really good thing was that i sold it about a year later- for only $100 less. Also CPU upgrades are painfully expensive. just a lot of little things to consider

/ramble
 
jxyama said:
the lacie dual layer 16x dvd burner at apple.com is $199, i'd say that's quite a lot more than $100... also, it probably doesn't work with iDVD without a hack as it's an external.
Click to expand...

iDVD, yeah not to impressed with the '04 version, maybe '05; I use Toast 6. I was thinking of the LaCie 40GB hard drive listed below the LaCie DVD burner - forgive me, my memory is only 256MB. 🙂
 
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