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Suggestion for a PPC Mac?
- Thread starter cambookpro
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Intell
macrumors P6
I don't use my ignore list. People have the right to say what they want, even if I don't agree with it. I like my threads to be filled with both sides of the argument. If I filter out the stuff I don't like, I could miss some cool information or become blind to my own arrogantness.
Wow so much hostility on this thread 🙄
We should have a sticky on which PPC to get, this queston has come up so many times, what about something like this :-
1. Space an issue? - Mac Mini or iMac (G4 because they are pretty and more relaible than G5 iMac's)
2. Space not an issue? - Then of course (would assume this is too obvious but then I keep seeing people say "A G4 will be enough") go with the fastest most up to date your budget can stretch to with the caveat that.....
2a. A liquid cooled Quad or Dual 2.7 could be problematic... but will give you the most 'bang' for your buck..
2b. A 2.3 Dual Core is a nice sweet spot for performance v reliability.
3. If you are not specifically after a PPC then go with an early Intel (budget allowing..) at least you can run current/more current software and it will inevitably last longer if you intend to do serious work on it.
Comments, don't worry - I have a thick skin and it's only a suggested list - Do think we should have a sticky on this though when it's 'agreed' 😉
We should have a sticky on which PPC to get, this queston has come up so many times, what about something like this :-
1. Space an issue? - Mac Mini or iMac (G4 because they are pretty and more relaible than G5 iMac's)
2. Space not an issue? - Then of course (would assume this is too obvious but then I keep seeing people say "A G4 will be enough") go with the fastest most up to date your budget can stretch to with the caveat that.....
2a. A liquid cooled Quad or Dual 2.7 could be problematic... but will give you the most 'bang' for your buck..
2b. A 2.3 Dual Core is a nice sweet spot for performance v reliability.
3. If you are not specifically after a PPC then go with an early Intel (budget allowing..) at least you can run current/more current software and it will inevitably last longer if you intend to do serious work on it.
Comments, don't worry - I have a thick skin and it's only a suggested list - Do think we should have a sticky on this though when it's 'agreed' 😉
I'd recommend a G4 mac because they are the perfect combination of power and reliability - Altivec is a bonus.
Don't wish to burst bubbles but the G4 is definately sloooooow for anything CPU heavy, I remember switching from my G4 1.25Ghz iMac (and the Mini 1.42) to my PM G5 and the difference was night and day, movie re-encodes would take FOREVER on the G4, the G4 is still good for some light CPU work but I really feel the word 'power' has no place here, they are all SDR bus (yes I know the last Powerbooks had DDR RAM but it was pointless as the bus was still SDR...)
G4 Towers have excellent expandability and pull less wattage so as a disk server they may have a place but as a workstation (with emphasis on work and not email/web only) I see no reason to get one over a G5 tower.
If you have one and it does your light tasks well then there is no reason to change but with G5's so cheap these days is there really a good reason to keep recommending G4's to people looking for a PPC mac without any regard or interest in what they will be using it for?
LeoTheLion89
macrumors 6502
true. but i learned OS X on G4s (eMacs and iBook G4s specifically) both running the Panther OS i used Tiger briefly on my eMac until i upgraded to Leopard so i am most helpful on Panther and Leopard and eMacs and iBook G4s. I just paid for my MDD G4 it has tiger (including a legit copy of Tiger) so soon i will learn the ins and outs of that.
As mentioned i pretty much skipped over Tiger on my eMac but i will not be able to install Leopard on my MDD until i find the HDD its on so is there anything thats majorly different both features and GUI between Panther and Tiger that anyone can tell me about?
stroked
Suspended
I tried using Panther on a G3 iBook, but I couldn't get wifi to work properly. It is slow with Tiger, but my brother in law uses it for email only.
Try the trial version of Superduper, to install Leopard to your MDD, from your eMac.
LeoTheLion89
macrumors 6502
i have CCC installed on my eMac however im thinking my eMac needs a reinstall of leo because its not working right Trillian is not working properly MacTubes will still error out and Last.fm still is acting up.
I meant that most G5 machines have problems so I'd go for the G4's since there the second fastest.
PowerPCMacMan
macrumors 6502a
I'd like to add something here. Yes, the G4 is more reliable, and you can do more things with it such as expand them and such, but the G5 is much more powerful for rendering and other processor intensive stuff.
The G5 I would consider would be the Dual Core 2.3 since it is the most reliable of the bunch. The Quad is nice, but the LCS could leak sometime in the near future and although the Quads don't leak as much, there is still the possibility that it could spring a leak.
The best G5 therefore I would consider for the OP: The Dual Core 2.3, or if you are still wanting a G4, the MDD 1.42 W/2MB L3 Cache(helps speed up the G4 and overall performance), otherwise if someone is selling a beefed up Sawtooth G4 go with that.
The G5 I would consider would be the Dual Core 2.3 since it is the most reliable of the bunch. The Quad is nice, but the LCS could leak sometime in the near future and although the Quads don't leak as much, there is still the possibility that it could spring a leak.
The best G5 therefore I would consider for the OP: The Dual Core 2.3, or if you are still wanting a G4, the MDD 1.42 W/2MB L3 Cache(helps speed up the G4 and overall performance), otherwise if someone is selling a beefed up Sawtooth G4 go with that.
stroked
Suspended
This thread has gone way off topic. The OP wants something to play with, that doesn't take up too much space. That rules out a Powermac. I would recommend a TiBook. He could find one here on MR (Market Place) for a fair price, and they are easy to work on, compared to an iBook.
Thanks everyone for the help... Well at least there were a few posts that were helpful 😀
I saw some bondi blue iMacs go for 99p on eBay so may have a look for one of them! Sure I could squeeze it in somewhere.
I have a MBP from last year so really don't need it to be very powerful, just want to play around with it for an hour then use it for the odd bit of word processing.
I've got a Performa 5400 in the loft, no idea if it still boots though. May get that down just to have a look!
I saw some bondi blue iMacs go for 99p on eBay so may have a look for one of them! Sure I could squeeze it in somewhere.
I have a MBP from last year so really don't need it to be very powerful, just want to play around with it for an hour then use it for the odd bit of word processing.
I've got a Performa 5400 in the loft, no idea if it still boots though. May get that down just to have a look!
PowerPCMacMan
macrumors 6502a
If you still are looking for a PPC mac, consider a PowerBook G4. I use this as my everyday system and its still very useful in many tasks. Yea, given your needs I too would rule out the PowerMac.
I've got a G4 in my cupboard downstairs actually, but it won't boot. Posted a thread here a couple of weeks ago I think and the part that needed to be replaced was horrendously expensive IIRC. (Probably means it was like $50 😛 )
I have a PowerPC G4 1.67GHz with 2GB DDR2 SDRAM and an SSD Integral 58.25GB rinning 10.5.8 it has a 17" matt screen which is a better display than my late 2009 MBP. I run TenFourFox with plugins enabled and it works great!
Intell
macrumors P6
It isn't wise to continue to use plugins on PowerPC. Not only are the extremely insecure, but to use them on TenFourFox you have to be using an older outdated version of that as well. If you do insist on using plugins, use them wisely with a click to enable extension and do so only with Webkit for Leopard.
Aargh to necro!
With that little bit out of the way, I don't have plugins engaged in TenFourFox and it works just fine. The only time I need a plugin is for Youtube and that's the only time I use Leopard Webkit.
gavinstubbs09
macrumors 65816
I notice some people use their G4 MDD/QS as a main. I tired using my MDD as a main, and it didn't last very long. Jump on my G5, and I felt that I could actually use it and not have to wait for everything (this was when the g4 had a SSD too).
So I'm one all for the big power 😎
I have a early 2005 DP2.0, and if I ever make an upgrade it will be to either a G5 Quad or a 2.5DP/2.7DP (I like the liquid cooling - just don't want to wake up one day with crap all over my floor).
So I'm one all for the big power 😎
I have a early 2005 DP2.0, and if I ever make an upgrade it will be to either a G5 Quad or a 2.5DP/2.7DP (I like the liquid cooling - just don't want to wake up one day with crap all over my floor).
jrsx
macrumors 65816
Luposian
macrumors 6502
Making more use of a G4 QS than just my iPiano box!
I am stuck in Panther because of one program. iPiano. I compose MIDI bits with it and enjoy listening to them (go to http://www.freewebs.com/luposian, to listen to several of them). I can't browse the web worth squat, because no search engines even work! Can't upgrade to Tiger because iPiano was never upgraded (and the dev just disappeared and the software fell into obsolesence) nd it doesn't work/sound right in Tiger (Panther's QuickTime is the best sounding version). Jaguar doesn't sound right either.
Anyways, I have a challenge to offer anyone willing/able to take it on... I have the source code to the last version of Camino that works in Panther. I will give the person/team every last virtual currency (coin) I have (original total purchased value $715), if they can make Camino 1.6.11 work with today's Internet (assuming there aren't bits that are required that are buried in the OS snd can't be upgraded or circumvented or worked-around). I'd trade a computer or two but would have to ship it.
Anyone interested... just let me know.
I am stuck in Panther because of one program. iPiano. I compose MIDI bits with it and enjoy listening to them (go to http://www.freewebs.com/luposian, to listen to several of them). I can't browse the web worth squat, because no search engines even work! Can't upgrade to Tiger because iPiano was never upgraded (and the dev just disappeared and the software fell into obsolesence) nd it doesn't work/sound right in Tiger (Panther's QuickTime is the best sounding version). Jaguar doesn't sound right either.
Anyways, I have a challenge to offer anyone willing/able to take it on... I have the source code to the last version of Camino that works in Panther. I will give the person/team every last virtual currency (coin) I have (original total purchased value $715), if they can make Camino 1.6.11 work with today's Internet (assuming there aren't bits that are required that are buried in the OS snd can't be upgraded or circumvented or worked-around). I'd trade a computer or two but would have to ship it.
Anyone interested... just let me know.
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stroked
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If I may sugguest something, if it is a IDE HDD, I would not partition it in two parts for two OSes. Instead use two drives, one for each OS. (The one on the second part will be slow, if it is a HDD smaller than 128GB).