Making the Switch G4

Valencia · May 12, 2005

Hi

I've been reading the threads on this board with great interest. I am very keen to make the switch as I have always liked Apple products but when I started university my Dad said I would have compatibility problems and advised me against it, so I got a PC instead. That was three years ago and my PC is due for an upgrade, but I would like a change. The things I want to do on my Mac would be assignments, surfing, IM, download music, watch/burn dvds etc. I have looked at all the options and I'm interested in the iMac range.

In terms of physical appearance I have always liked the G4, however I went into my local computer store today and saw the new G5 and it was love at first sight! However the G5 is out of my price range.

A couple of questions:
1.Would I be able to get a G4 that would be sufficient for my needs and where would I go? I have been looking on ebay and there seems to be so many versions of the G4.
2.What should I be looking for and what price should I expect to pay?
3.If I get one with ram of say 256 can I upgrade it? I would like a superdrive version with 17" screen preferably and wireless and maybe bluetooth.
4.Obviously the G4 will come with Panther, would I need to upgrade to Tiger or can I just use Panther.

Sorry for all the questions I'm a Mac novice!

wrldwzrd89 · May 12, 2005

Valencia said:
Hi

I've been reading the threads on this board with great interest. I am very keen to make the switch as I have always liked Apple products but when I started university my Dad said I would have compatibility problems and advised me against it, so I got a PC instead. That was three years ago and my PC is due for an upgrade, but I would like a change. The things I want to do on my Mac would be assignments, surfing, IM, download music, watch/burn dvds etc. I have looked at all the options and I'm interested in the iMac range.

In terms of physical appearance I have always liked the G4, however I went into my local computer store today and saw the new G5 and it was love at first sight! However the G5 is out of my price range.

A couple of questions:
1.Would I be able to get a G4 that would be sufficient for my needs and where would I go? I have been looking on ebay and there seems to be so many versions of the G4.
2.What should I be looking for and what price should I expect to pay?
3.If I get one with ram of say 256 can I upgrade it? I would like a superdrive version with 17" screen preferably and wireless and maybe bluetooth.
4.Obviously the G4 will come with Panther, would I need to upgrade to Tiger or can I just use Panther.

Sorry for all the questions I'm a Mac novice!

1 and 2 I can't help you with.
3. Yes, you can - keep in mind that the iMac G4 has 2 memory slots, only one of which is user-accessible. It's possible, but difficult (you have to crack open the iMac's innards) to access the non-user-accessible slot.
4. There's absolutely no reason why you have to use Tiger. If you'd rather stick with Panther, you can.

seanet · May 12, 2005

I have an iMac you might be interested in. It is an awesome machine and it's done everything I've asked of it and more. I can take some pics if you'd like them.

17" G4
1 gig Ram
80 gig HDD
Superdrive
exellent cond.
AppleCare Warranty

Later, Sean.

chv400 · May 12, 2005

If youre going to get a G4 iMac id say look for one of the 1.25 ghz ones since they have the Nvidia 5200 which is a core video card as well as a 166 mhz bus so if you ever decide to move up to tiger you could take advantage of some of the new features. When getting it no matter which OS it runs Panther or tiger make sure you can get around 512megs of RAM since that will make OS X run much more smoothly.

ReanimationLP · May 12, 2005

For the price of a 1.25 GHz G4 iMac you could get the G5 iMac. x.x These seem to go for really high prices on eBay. A refurbed 1.6 GHz G5 iMac is 900 at the Apple Online Store.

Dont Hurt Me · May 12, 2005

Just get a new MacMini and find a cheap LCD. iapps,Tiger,warranty......if you got a few bucks leftover get some software or memory. They are awesome when you consider they can do about everything but the hardest gaming.

Valencia · May 13, 2005

Reanimation_LP said:
For the price of a 1.25 GHz G4 iMac you could get the G5 iMac. x.x These seem to go for really high prices on eBay. A refurbed 1.6 GHz G5 iMac is 900 at the Apple Online Store.

Is this the US Apple store? Because I am from the UK and I don't think I would probably be able to get one from the US even though the prices are better. However I do have family over there and I will be visiting there at the end of May, so do people think its a good idea to get from the refurb store. $900 is like £500 which is pretty good for a G5.

I have an iMac you might be interested in. It is an awesome machine and it's done everything I've asked of it and more. I can take some pics if you'd like them.

17" G4
1 gig Ram
80 gig HDD
Superdrive
exellent cond.
AppleCare Warranty

Later, Sean..

I would love to see pics. Have PMed you.

mad jew · May 13, 2005

Have you looked at the Mac mini? It'll probably end up being cheaper and faster if you bring your own keyboard and monitor to the party. It's just a thought, because the G4 iMacs have pretty inflated prices at the moment IMO.

cubist · May 13, 2005

You could consider a Sawtooth or other used G4 for around $200-$300. Then again, since the Mini's come out, Blue & White G3s are going for under $100 - astonishing, since you can add SDRAM to these boxes and have a fairly nice machine.

Valencia · May 13, 2005

Getting the Mac Mini

If I got a Mac Mini what sort of specs would I be going for and looking at? I read somewhere that it hasn't got very good sound or something.

Right now I have a screen, mouse and keyboard, so if I got the mini (which would come with Tiger and iLife) would i just add those to it. Also what about speakers do I add my own too?

I have just been to the Apple site and priced up for the spec I want. I chose:
Mac Mini 1.42GHz
512 RAM
Superdrive
Bluetooth and Airport Extreme card (are these essential? and can I buy any wireless keyboard mouse or does it have to be Apple)
Apple Care

The price on the US store is $997 - £541
The price on the UK store is £641 (with Edu discount as I am univeristy)

Would there be any benefit from me getting the Mac Mini in the states when I am there or do they have to be orderd? I know Apple care is worldwide, so when I bring it back to the UK it should be ok.

Is there anything else I should add to this to get the most out of the mini?

Thanks in advance.

Valencia · May 13, 2005

ou could consider a Sawtooth or other used G4 for around $200-$300.

What is a Sawtooth?

wrldwzrd89 · May 13, 2005

Valencia said:
What is a Sawtooth?

"Sawtooth" is the code name for a particular model of PowerMac G4.

mad jew · May 13, 2005

The idea of the mini is to be able to add all your old PC components including screen, keyboard, speakers and bluetooth mouse. Thos specs look really cool but remember that there's only one RAM slot so if you ever want to upgrade the memory (and OSX uses as much as you can muster) then you'll have a spare 512MB card lying around. It might be worthwhile lashing out for a full 1GB of RAM. Obviously the same applies for the hard drive, which is incidentally a 2.5 inch notebook drive.

Sorry, but I've got no idea about the Applecare stuff and whether an American mini will be fine in the UK.

Of course, the other option is to get an eMac. It'll have a faster hard drive (and potentially bigger), better graphics card and in built screen, speakers etc. Once again, it's just an idea.

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