Few G4 questions...

davidg4781 said:

I'm looking to purchase a G4 Quicksilver but I just haven't found THE one I want yet.

I do have a few questions. Currently there are two different models posted on CL, both have the highest single processor speeds for their model. Would I be missing out on much if I hold off for a Dual Processor?

Also, I've been wanting one that can boot into OS 9. According to Wikipedia, on the maximum OS, it has these as Leopard but the rest of the models, including DP, as Tiger and OS 9. Is the running of OS 9 because of hardware or because Tiger still allows Classic? If I do end up going with Leopard on these am I giving up the chance of using OS 9?

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I can answer the last question. Leopard killed Classic. Tiger is the last version capable of running Classic, but the only real way of getting it on to an OS X machine with Tiger is either copying a OS9 install over completely or having had it on there already alongside OS X.

Note that a Mac running Tiger can run Classic, but may not be able to BOOT into OS9.

Further note, Lion is where PowerPC actually died. You can still run PowerPC (OS X) apps in Snow Leopard.

Models capable of dual booting both Leopard and OS9:

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-1757

Really, if you add CPU/GPU upgrades into the mix, or if you're willing to run Leopard on less than what Apple recommends, any G4 Tower except the FW800 models can be included.

davidg4781 said:

So it's not booting into OS 9 natively? I was under the assumption it was going to be similar to using Windows with bootcamp, not running in an emulation.

Is the performance at least better than it was when using Rosetta? That was almost unbearable on my '06 CD MacBook.

Click to expand...

If your model is not dual bootable then Classic itself runs in a window inside OS X. If it is dual bootable, then you can just run OS9 or OS X, but not concurrently. While in OS X on a dual bootable Mac, you can also still run the OS9 system as Classic inside OS X. When you run a Classic app OS X treats the app as if it were running in OS X. It's similar to what Parallels does, except that it's not Windows, it's Classic.

Since Tiger is the last version capable of running Classic you'll have reasonable performance. It's not like trying to run a PowerPC app under Rosetta. It's all fairly smooth and fast depending on the amount of memory you have. The one key difference is that you will see pixelated low resolution icons in your dock for any Classic apps that are currently running.

Aye. I think I misunderstood the question. Going back and reading more carefully.

Would I be missing out on much if I hold off for a Dual Processor [Quicksilver]?

Also, I've been wanting one that can boot into OS 9. According to Wikipedia, on the maximum OS, it has these as Leopard but the rest of the models, including DP, as Tiger and OS 9. Is the running of OS 9 because of hardware or because Tiger still allows Classic? If I do end up going with Leopard on these am I giving up the chance of using OS 9?

Click to expand...

No, you wouldn't be missing out on anything. The 867MHz cutoff for Leopard was really an arbitrary thing. The dual 800MHz Quicksilver, though not officially supported, is actually a more capable Leopard Machine. The dual 1GHz, of course, even more so.

Any Quicksilver can boot OS 9 either natively or in Classic Mode under Tiger or earlier. Leopard does not support Classic Mode, so you cannot use OS9 from within Leopard, but you can still have both installed on the same system and boot to whichever one you want to use.

@ davidg4781:
you might also be interested in this http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g4/index-powermac-g4.html

Yes.

davidg4781 said:

Ok. Comparing a Power Mac G4 and an iMac G4. Are they both pretty compatible if the processor speeds are the same? I would think the Power Mac might have a better GPU.

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The iMac G4, of course, will always be single CPU. But here is an old 2002 Bare Feats article that compares the Dual 800 QS to a single 800 iMac. Also note that the iMac has no Level 3 cache.

The single CPU wouldn't matter as much for OS9, though.

Maybe give us a few more words about what you're wanting to do. Are you looking for the best OS9 G4 that can also run Leopard? Or the best Leopard G4 that can also run OS9? Does it matter whether OS9 is bootable on the machine or runs in Classic Mode under Tiger? What do you want from Leopard on this machine? What do you want from OS9?

Here is a list that shows models by OS9 boot/classic capability:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/by_capability/macs-that-support-macos-9-classic.html

Just make sure you check the speed on the iMac before you buy it. If it is 1Ghz or faster, it cannot run OS 9.

davidg4781 said:

It's a 1Ghz but at the price I can do without OS 9.

Click to expand...

What Intell means by that is that it can't BOOT in OS9. As long as you are running Tiger on a PowerPC Mac you can still run Classic, even if the Mac cannot boot into OS9.

Used to run Classic all the time for QuarkXPress 4.11 (for a specific purpose) on my G5. At least until we moved off to InDesign CS4 anyway.

davidg4781 said:

It's a 1Ghz but at the price I can do without OS 9.

Click to expand...

1GHz or 1.25?

that's a very good machine.

G4 iMac's optical drives are standard 5.25" desktop IDE/PATA drives. In some of them they loose the ability to read DVD. Probably because of a weak laser or dust build up. Their arms can get weak through use as well. But tend to stay in proper working order if not abused. They can be tightened, but it is difficult to get sometime to tighten the special three holed screws.

I don't think Leopard has Classic. At least, 10.5.8 on my Quicksilver does not have it at all. I think they removed it for Leopard.

It's all been said in earlier posts, but I will repeat.

1. Tiger. Last version capable of running Classic.
2. Leopard, no Classic
3. If you have a Mac that is dual bootable you can have Leopard and OS 9 and boot into both, but OS9 won't run as Classic while running Leopard.
4. If you have a Mac that is dual bootable you can have Tiger and OS 9 and boot into both and OS 9 will still run as Classic when running Tiger.