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Help in Buying a new Powermac g4

shadowmoses

shadowmoses

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Hey guys,

I am looking into buying a powermac G4 Second hand as a second computer i have been looking at getting the powermac g4 PCI version of 2000 or the powermac g4 AGP version from later that year.

I have seen the Powermac g4 PCI version going on ebay for some tempting prices and have a few questions....

I will use the MAC for the following and no more:
1. I want to run OSX
2.I want to store and play music on Itunes.
3.I want to burn DVD's
4.Browse the internet.
5.Use some mac software like Pages and Keynote and even Microsoft office OSX.
6. I would also like quite a big amount of storage for movies, ISO images etc


Taking this inot consideration what would you go for saying my budget is around $500

My second question, will a Powermac G4 PCI slot be able to have a DVD writer and extra 100gb hardrive hooked up internally or will i have to connect them via firewire?


Thanks for your time,

Shadow
 
You can swap out the CD for a DVD/RW without a problem.

With the AGP, you have room for up to four hard drives.

I'd recommend 450MHz or above. I used to work on one of the at work, its a good machine for what you want to do, just make sure you have sufficient RAM.
 
Ok thanks as for the PCI version does it have the appropriate IDE conectors inside so i can just insert an extra Hard drive or would i have to get a PCI IDE card? Also would the G4 400mhz processor be adaquete for doing the jobs i want to do with the computer? I am planning to put 1gb of RAm in so that should not be a problem,

Thanks
 
shadowmoses said:
Ok thanks as for the PCI version does it have the appropriate IDE conectors inside so i can just insert an extra Hard drive or would i have to get a PCI IDE card? Also would the G4 400mhz processor be adaquete for doing the jobs i want to do with the computer? I am planning to put 1gb of RAm in so that should not be a problem,

Thanks
Click to expand...

The PCI model has 2 IDE cables at 2 drives per cable. One Cable is reserved for The CD drive and the ZIP drive, and the other cable can take 2 Hard Drives at up to 128GB per Hard Drive.
 
An early AGP model however is a better machine overall, if you can find one near the price of the PCI machines.
 
Hey, I got one for sale. It is an AGP model. Here are the specs:

PowerMac G4 500MHz
Radeon 8500 Pro (64MB DDR RAM in AGP Slot)
768MB RAM
(2) IBM 32GB Hard Drives
SuperDrive (swapped from a DVD drive)
Iomega Zip Drive (Built-In)

The machine is in great condition. It has quite a few nice extras (SuperDrive, Radeon 8500 Pro, RAM). Let me know if you are interested. Email is jcarian@gmail.com
 
Here is how the internals are on the PowerMac I am selling. The SuperDrive and Zip Drive (both built-in) are hooked up on one IDE cable. I have 2 32GB Hard Drives hooked up on another cable.

You can go to eBay, and for $40-$50, buy an ATA/133 PCI Card. Then, get yourself some big hard drives, and they will be pretty damn fast too.
 
I would make you an offer but the problem is that i am absed in the UK so its not an option, i am looking at buying the following off ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4607&item=5171338995&rd=1

Please tell me what you think of this item, if its a good buy it equals to about $400, the only thing is that the seller does not make it clear if its the AGP or PCI model when i mailed him he said its the AGP but it looks like the PCI to me.

Your verdict would be helpful,

Thanks
 
Thanks for the replies i decided to buy the machine off ebay. One last question from you guys...

Which dvd writer would you reccomend i install i was thinking a pioneer dvr-907, also is it true if i install this i would not be able to boot from it?


Many Thanks,
 
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