Hi all, I have to start by saying I have a limited knowledge and level of experience with macs. I am a long time pc user. I was given a g4 powerbook 667mhz with 768mb ram by a friend. I love the screen and figured it would be good to web surf and watch videos. problem is it is terribly slow. is this model too underpowered to watch videos on youtube? I can't believe that. it came with 10.1. I thought that was the problem and read here that 10.3 was the best version of mac os for it. so I installed panther and opera, firefox and IE. well the unit is still slow. not at all robust even in normal operation. I'm not trying to start a war here but I have a 400mhz laptop (read:craptop) with xp that is MUCH faster. I don't want to get into a debate about what hardware is better or faster, that is silly. I'm just saying that I think the g4 should be considerably faster than the xp unit. latest version of flash installed btw. I'm thiniking there is some tweak or something I dont know about or maybe there is something wrong with this unit. I am able to watch a dvd and that is ok. the unit will read discs I have with data that I have made on the windows unit. however, I have discs I have made with videos(avi) files that I intended to watch using VLC in this unit and when I insert the disc, it spits them back out (mac doesn't like the taste, lol) I can't figure why. but since all I want to do with it is watch vides and surf the net I'm kinda screwed. I would really like to get this going as I can't afford a new one. any advice appreciated and thanks in advance.
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help with slow g4
- Thread starter profondorosso75
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For a G4 667MHz Powerbook the best OS is 10.4. It will run faster than 10.3 and much faster than 10.1.
And yes a 667 G4 should be a good amount faster than a 400Mhz (P3 I assume). If performing properly it should be at least as fast as a 1GHz P3.
You are running a VERY outdated OS and need to upgrade.
About video playback.. a 667 isn't enough for youtube but will play divx etc. I used to play divx on my former G4 500 all the time.
And yes a 667 G4 should be a good amount faster than a 400Mhz (P3 I assume). If performing properly it should be at least as fast as a 1GHz P3.
You are running a VERY outdated OS and need to upgrade.
About video playback.. a 667 isn't enough for youtube but will play divx etc. I used to play divx on my former G4 500 all the time.
Yes. PPC processors (G3, G4, G5) are notoriously bad with Flash. Intel Macs aren't the best either, but they're a lot better. Flash is optimized for Intel.
IE is the devil. Well, not really, but it's not worth installing. Microsoft stopped development years ago on IE for Mac.
This is part of your problem. Install Flashplayer 9 and it will work a little better.
Most likely this is because those discs are DVD+R, which your Mac's drive can't read (but the system can if you get an external drive).
A 667 MHz PBG4 is very slow... I have a 1.5 GHz PBG4 which has issues watching YouTube. If you bump up the RAM you'll get considerably more performance.
Wow, you are correct sir. you are the first person to suggest it was the plus dvd instead if the minus. I did NOT see that coming. I have a mix of both and just happen to have only tried the plus. tried minus now and ok. I can't believe that. I have never run across a drive that will not read both. just lucky I guess cause i have been using pc's since the early 90's. do you or does anyone know of a slot load drive that is compatible with this unit that will read both? a burner even better. rather not use external as that is more cumbersome. man, that pissed me off. I could live without the youtube...
someome else suggested 10.1 beta to be better, but I will try the 9 and see. this machine has 768 ram, will I really see much improvement with more and how much is suggested? I don't want to spend a lot here, if I was then I would just get aused netbook or something cheap. it's just that I really do love this screen large 16x9 format on a laptop is nice for video(if I could get them to work, lol).
agree about IE, it's the devil on PC also. just did it to be thorough to see if issues would cross all browsers. thanks for solving the disc mystery. I should have thought of that and now I feel retarded
10.4 will run much faster than 10.1. Trust me. Unlike winblows the Mac OS actually gets faster with each release because Apple has full control over hardware and software. The newest OS you can run on it is 10.4 and I highly suggest that. Running OS9 will render it almost useless for your needs as you seem to want to play avi/divx files and such. It was not untill OS X that the Mac had readily availible video codecs and playback apps. With OS9 you will find it hard to play anything but .mov files. Also, any OS 9 web browser won't even support many sites today.
I am speaking from 16 years of Mac experience here and the very best thing you can do for your Powerbook is install 10.4.
As for RAM you should upgrade it to the 1GB max. I assume with 768 currently you have 1x 256MB stick and 1x 512MB. Buy another 512MB which should be not more than $40.
oh I I totally trust what you are saying and I'm upgrading it the OS now. actually I was talking about adobe flash with the 10.1 vs. the 9. the other user suggested I install flash player 9. in another forum a different user suggested I install the 10.1 beta flash player for improved performance. I figured I would try the 9 first and see it it got any better. I would get some more ram if I can find it affordably. the thing i'm pissed about now is the dvd drive not playing the +r's. thanks for your input
My bad.. when I see things like 9 and 10.1 I automatically think of those OS versions.
The no +R thing is unfortunate. I never knew that about them. It's a shame because it's been proven many times that +R is superior to -R. I only buy Verbatim +R myself.
My bad.. when I see things like 9 and 10.1 I automatically think of those OS versions.
The no +R thing is unfortunate. I never knew that about them. It's a shame because it's been proven many times that +R is superior to -R. I only buy Verbatim +R myself.
heh, I know what you mean, it can be confusing. I'm partial to sony's myself bc they seem to work in everything and usually a good price at kmart or staples. I installed tiger and flash player 9. youtube was much improved. not great but watchable. dropping frames but still in sync which is cool. I like to watch music videos and when out of sync drive me nuts. if I could find a dual format burner for it cheap I would pick it up and maybe some ram. IDK, then a larger hard drive, lol, might as well get a used machine that is faster etc. I would at least consider it usable now and I thank everyone for their help.