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4 years for one machine?
- Thread starter jefhatfield
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Yep.
My Power Mac G4 400 is entering its fourth year by my side... although I have plans to upgrade after college, I have an emotional attachment with this machine that has brought me through undergrad and has helped me learn everything pertinent to the multimedia production career I am pursuing.
I don't know any PC users with a machine as old as mine who are as content with their box as I am, that's for sure.
---
Skan
Duke University '03
skandranon@mac.com
My Power Mac G4 400 is entering its fourth year by my side... although I have plans to upgrade after college, I have an emotional attachment with this machine that has brought me through undergrad and has helped me learn everything pertinent to the multimedia production career I am pursuing.
I don't know any PC users with a machine as old as mine who are as content with their box as I am, that's for sure.
---
Skan
Duke University '03
skandranon@mac.com
I've used 1 mac for nearly 5 years for home use if that matters.
I've added RAM, a bigger hard drive and various OS updates but other than missing out on USB & firewire because I havn't got a card yet, It's been a good performer and If I'd bought one of the 600Mhz Pentium 2 PCs at the time all I'd have is large beige doorstop right now instead of a functional computer.
It might only be a beige G3 but It can run everything I want to run on it and if anything gets too slow I can add a G4 cpu upgrade for very little to keep it going for another year if I want to.
If you're buying a new mac now I guess any model would be more than fast enough to last you the next 4 years, they can handle loads of RAM and if cpu upgrades keep coming out like the 550Mhz - 1Ghz and dual 500 - 1.2Ghz upgrades, you should have no problems later on apart from scrapping together a few hundred to buy a new cpu. That's all assuming you're running software that's going to bloat beyond belief over the next 4 years (like Adobe software that bloats with every new version).
I'd say for most day to day tasks, audio (to a point) and 2D graphics work, any of the current towers would be fine for the next 4 years.
I've added RAM, a bigger hard drive and various OS updates but other than missing out on USB & firewire because I havn't got a card yet, It's been a good performer and If I'd bought one of the 600Mhz Pentium 2 PCs at the time all I'd have is large beige doorstop right now instead of a functional computer.
It might only be a beige G3 but It can run everything I want to run on it and if anything gets too slow I can add a G4 cpu upgrade for very little to keep it going for another year if I want to.
If you're buying a new mac now I guess any model would be more than fast enough to last you the next 4 years, they can handle loads of RAM and if cpu upgrades keep coming out like the 550Mhz - 1Ghz and dual 500 - 1.2Ghz upgrades, you should have no problems later on apart from scrapping together a few hundred to buy a new cpu. That's all assuming you're running software that's going to bloat beyond belief over the next 4 years (like Adobe software that bloats with every new version).
I'd say for most day to day tasks, audio (to a point) and 2D graphics work, any of the current towers would be fine for the next 4 years.
4 years of college
1995-1998, Pentium 1 MMX, 3gig hd, 64mb ram......still have case and motherboard,
Now have an Alienware Aurora XP2100+ 768mb DDR Sdram, Ti4600, etc.... .....iMac DV 320mb Sdram, 70gig firwire, etc.... And a nice Presario 700 Laptop......and I'll get an eMac once it's 1GHZ with an 80 GIG hd...... I do miss college though....even though you don't get paid to go
1995-1998, Pentium 1 MMX, 3gig hd, 64mb ram......still have case and motherboard,
Now have an Alienware Aurora XP2100+ 768mb DDR Sdram, Ti4600, etc....
.....iMac DV 320mb Sdram, 70gig firwire, etc.... And a nice Presario 700 Laptop......and I'll get an eMac once it's 1GHZ with an 80 GIG hd...... I do miss college though....even though you don't get paid to go
my old peecee (used from my aunts) lasted from 1990-1998, from '97 - 98 or 99 it was mine, then i accidently renamed the windows dir n i could never use the puter ever again
My Performa was my only computer for the last 2 years of Elementary school, 3 years in middle school and my first year in High school! Over 7 years!! Now I have an iMac which should last me until college when I buy a G4 iBook (Or G5 )
The only things that changed with the performa was me adding 32mb of RAM and buying two new Apple Bus Mouses. And it lasted 7 years amazing
(Or G5 )The only things that changed with the performa was me adding 32mb of RAM and buying two new Apple Bus Mouses. And it lasted 7 years amazing
like me, who has had my two laptops for three years now, almost, the rest of you are not like those others on macrumors who seem to have a new mac under their signature every time i see them make a post
some users get a new mac every four months and complain that their machine(s) is too slow or that the new one will make their life easier
either they have a lot of money, their parents have a lot of money, or they walk around naked, bath in a lake/ocean, and eat wild insects and berries to save the funds it takes to buy two of three macs every year
even with a good job, at least in the states, if you make more then you are taxed more...higher positions come with more expensive clothes, better cars with higher maintenance fees, and sometimes private school for the kids (if one has kids)
in reality, we are all peons living from check to check and whether our savings can last us a day or five years, buying a new mac at every release is really tossing one's money away
though it would be fun to have a new mac on my doorstep each month like a wine/cheese of the month club
some users get a new mac every four months and complain that their machine(s) is too slow or that the new one will make their life easier
either they have a lot of money, their parents have a lot of money, or they walk around naked, bath in a lake/ocean, and eat wild insects and berries to save the funds it takes to buy two of three macs every year
even with a good job, at least in the states, if you make more then you are taxed more...higher positions come with more expensive clothes, better cars with higher maintenance fees, and sometimes private school for the kids (if one has kids)
in reality, we are all peons living from check to check and whether our savings can last us a day or five years, buying a new mac at every release is really tossing one's money away
though it would be fun to have a new mac on my doorstep each month like a wine/cheese of the month club
Yes
Three Times over.
Used a 386sx PC for 8 years with only a memory upgrade from 1mb to 4mb
Used the Same Mac in 11 High School classes for 4 years (I Know, because I did all the maintence for that lab, and it was the only one with OS8 on it.)
My Current PC is 4 years old, I don't use it verymuch, but probabily won't even think about buying anything for it untill 2006.
I really hope my little PBG4 can make it. It needs some ram, and either a bigger Hard Drive or an external HD. If Apple's past is any suggestion, I should have a good 7 years left of useful ness.
TEG
Three Times over.
Used a 386sx PC for 8 years with only a memory upgrade from 1mb to 4mb
Used the Same Mac in 11 High School classes for 4 years (I Know, because I did all the maintence for that lab, and it was the only one with OS8 on it.)
My Current PC is 4 years old, I don't use it verymuch, but probabily won't even think about buying anything for it untill 2006.
I really hope my little PBG4 can make it. It needs some ram, and either a bigger Hard Drive or an external HD. If Apple's past is any suggestion, I should have a good 7 years left of useful ness.
TEG
I upgraded the RAM on my 500Mhz Tibook to 768MB and the performance increase was incredible. I've had just over a year now and I can see that it will still be very usable for many years to come. If only I could up the resolution.
My first PC, an NEC 133MHZ Pentium lasted over 5 years and only needed to have a floppy replaced after 4 years. My last two PCs, a Compaq 600MHZ Athlon and a Dell 1.5GHz P4 both lasted a little over a year. They don't make 'em like they used to.
Here's to hoping my new iBook puts those last two to shame....
Here's to hoping my new iBook puts those last two to shame....
My first Mac...a Motorola Starmax 3000/120 I had for 4 years when I sold it for my TiBook last January. It came with a 5 year warranty. That thing ran great till the day I got rid of it...
the G4 I have here at work is 2 years old now...
and the G3's we have here are going on...5 years?
the G4 I have here at work is 2 years old now...
and the G3's we have here are going on...5 years?
I have used my dad's first PowerMac, it was and still is very fast! It is the Power Macintosh 7500/100, It has two internal Hard Drives,one is a 1 gigabyte Hard Drive and I think a 3 gigabytes. It runs pretty well and I love it. It has a cool A/V in ports (VIDEO IN, S-VIDEO IN, STERIO AUDIO IN/OUT) Its a great machine. My dad bought it when it first came out and its workin fine! It's not my primary Mac but then agian I use them all!
Should be more than capable of doing the usual schoolwork aspect for 4 years ...
However it most likely will fall behind in the FPS department for id's newest wares.
But if you find games more important than school, you might as well drop out and work at Chuck E Cheese.
However it most likely will fall behind in the FPS department for id's newest wares.
But if you find games more important than school, you might as well drop out and work at Chuck E Cheese.