powermac g4 flaws

[sausages]

hello. i'm sick of waiting for a powermac G5 revision and have enough cash to buy a powermac dual g4. if nothing happens on april 19th i'm going to buy the g4 because it'll be a few more months after a powermac revision is announced, to get these machines alllllllll the way to australia.

i was just wondering if people can share all the bad / crappy things and design flaws in the power mac g4 mdd fw 800.

so far i know that:
has a very slow processor bus of around 1.3mbps (does this mean that if i had a software raid with 4 disks and was transferring hugs files over a gigabit lan, that basically all the bandwidth on my processor would be used up, and the computer would come to a crawl?)
it's noisy and can get rattlely (but that can be fixed with some tinkering around inside)
all the hot air from the case basically flows out thru the power supply, making it get rather hot and require big loud fans
it only has 16bit audio out...it would be nice it were 24bit
it only has one ata 100 channel, and two ata 66
if there was a powermac revision, the entry level rev b would probably cost the same amount, and would half this machines value.

and i don't want to get a g5 rev a because.
atm, i can only afford a 1.6, and i think the dual processor option is waaay better for me
i'm not satisfied with the power consumption
there is that issue with the powersupply making electrical noises which come thru the analog sound port
only two hdd bays
and yeah....

can anyone give me some more dirt on the powermac g4, and give me some reasons to wait for rev b.
any help is appreciated :) you can think of me as a brother, because sooner or later i'll be joining the mac community, yay :D

[alexf]

I was in the same boat as you last week... I have been waiting for the new G5s to be released since January (I too refused to buy a rev. A, especially since I thought the next generation would offer a much better value), and since it now looks like they won't be released until the end of June I decided that I had to move on a new computer (I am a freelance graphic designer so more speed means more money).

I came very close to buying a slightly used dual G4 MDD but in the end made the move on a G5 1.6 GHz on sale (I couldn't afford the dual) and must say that I am quite satisfied.

For me these are the pros and cons of the G5 1.6 GHz, as compared to the G4 DP 1.25 or 1.42 GHz:

Pros:

- Probably slightly faster (according to the tests I've seen) than the G4 DP 1.25 GHz and, when more apps become G5 optimized, will only get faster.

- Significantly quieter than the G4

- Will hold its value longer and better than the G4.

- Newer architecture.

- Will be able to take advantage of 64-bit apps when they begin to become more of a reality (in general the machine is more forward-looking).

- Lower power consumption than the G4.

Cons:

- 1st generation Macs have tradionally had problems.

- I personally like the aesthetic design of the G4 MDD better.

- Very, very large - quite a bit bigger than the G4 tower (I upgraded from a Cube and so am still in shock at the size difference!)

- Less expandible than the G4.

- Ships with only 256MB of memory.

Of course, everybody always says to spend more money and get the dual 1.8 G5, but considering the large price difference, I don't think that it's as good of a value, especially since now you can probably find the base model at a good price.

I hope this helps! :)

[thehuncamunca]

just take a look at the tech specs comparing the 1.6G5 verses the G4 much fewer bottlenecks and newer technologies like faster ram in pairs, SATA, USB2, FW800, AE, etc
not to mention things will only get better for the G5 as more and more software is optimized for it

[wdlove]

The only reason that I could see getting the G4, is that you have software that runs in 9 bootup. The G5 is the future for the Mac.

Some owners of the G5, love it and have no complaints. If you are in desperate need then go ahead now, especially with the rebate offer. Personally waiting for Rev. B. If you can wait, I thing that you will be well rewarded. My current G4 dual 450 makes noise and it doesn't bother me.

[Drew01]

I'm close to buying a refurb G4 Powermac (though probably a single, not a dual) to put in my living room as a music server, with occasionally more taxing projects like home video and picture editing. Is this thing going to be noisy enough to bug us while we are watching a movie?

Does anyone have any strong opinions or data about relative noisiness of different powermacs?

[cubist]

If you are going to have it in the living room with you, use a long cable and put it behind something. The noise of any of these machines will be distracting while watching a movie. Otherwise look for a used Cube or maybe a B&W G3. The Cube is the quietest, especially without fans, but fanless operation means shorter component life...

[wdlove]

I'm close to buying a refurb G4 Powermac (though probably a single, not a dual) to put in my living room as a music server, with occasionally more taxing projects like home video and picture editing. Is this thing going to be noisy enough to bug us while we are watching a movie?

Does anyone have any strong opinions or data about relative noisiness of different powermacs?

I've listened to movies on my G4. When you get involved in the movie, then you don't even notice that the G4 is around.