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PowerMac G4 good enough...?

B

Bjerre

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 20, 2006
52
0
McMahons Point, Sydney, Australia
Okay, so I want to buy my first mac. I've been looking and I don't know what it is about the PowerMac G4 MDD's but I really like them. So what I want to know a few things about it if anyone can help. To make clear I'm looking for a MDD that is a dual processor and at least 1 Ghz.

Is it powerful enough (by todays standards) to do the web, keynote, powerpoint, word, a little PS CS2 or CS3 (not wicked fast?)

Music, iTunes in excess of 100 GB's, and a little quicker than my P4 perhaps?

Dual monitors, both 1680 x 1050?

GarageBand, will it run quickly enough to make music with good proformance?

This of course with the 2 GB's of ram.

Okay, so since this would be my first mac, a PowerMac MDD, would this fit my needs and how much could I get on of these on the cheap side? Thank you kindly.
 
FJ218700

FJ218700

macrumors 68000
Mar 8, 2007
1,740
0
Blue Dot, Red State
I've used a MDD dual 867 every day for a few years now. I don't have any experience with GarageBand, but for the other tasks you mentioned, the dual 1.0 will be more than capable. Upgrading the cideo card to 128 MB (at least) will make a world of difference, especially with the dual monitor setup

Probably can find one for $ 400-500 (US) here or on eBay (especially if the Pro is updated again soon)

I forget when they went to USB II, that is a must IMO. Might need an expansion card.
 
FF_productions

FF_productions

macrumors 68030
Apr 16, 2005
2,822
0
Mt. Prospect, Illinois
Bjerre said:
Any word on how Leopard would run on the thing? Should one keep it at Tiger or would it be decent at Leopard with 2BG of ram?
Click to expand...

It should run Leopard just fine with 2 gigs of ram. You'll be surprised how these G4's keep up with OS X.

A good video card will help to make the UI smoother.

Other than that, you should be set. The G4 MDD can take up 4-5 hard drives if I remember correctly.
 
FJ218700

FJ218700

macrumors 68000
Mar 8, 2007
1,740
0
Blue Dot, Red State
Bjerre said:
By the way, what is the best video card I could get for one of these things? I'm really pumped up about this now seeing how affordable it could be.
Click to expand...

remember, unless you need the possbility of a terabyte of internal storage, after the video card upgrade it is cheaper to get a mac mini, which will blow the G4 away.

for the video card, check here for AGP and PCI options
 
B

Bjerre

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 20, 2006
52
0
McMahons Point, Sydney, Australia
Yeah, I have thought of that, but I really want dual monitors, i have two samsungs that I love. I don't need a speed demon, I have a quick gaming rig, I want a mac for music, OSX, GarageBand, and the other goodies. I'm sure a G4 will be good enough, I'm only 16 so I need to save up a couple of weeks after working and paying off crap. I really would like to have my keyboard hooked up and IMO, Garageband does everything I need it to do. Thank you for the site, it will really help. Out a mini C2D be THAT much quicker, i.e. tens of minutes saved, even with integrated video. Im sure a G4 with a video card would be quicker in that respect. Once again, thank you.
 
scottlinux

scottlinux

macrumors 6502a
Sep 21, 2005
691
1
You can buy third party CPU upgrades for those G4 machines. As fast as a 2.0Ghz G4, I think.
 
T

TyleRomeo

macrumors 6502a
Mar 22, 2002
888
0
New York
Bjerre said:
Okay, so I want to buy my first mac. I've been looking and I don't know what it is about the PowerMac G4 MDD's but I really like them. So what I want to know a few things about it if anyone can help. To make clear I'm looking for a MDD that is a dual processor and at least 1 Ghz.

Is it powerful enough (by todays standards) to do the web, keynote, powerpoint, word, a little PS CS2 or CS3 (not wicked fast?)

Music, iTunes in excess of 100 GB's, and a little quicker than my P4 perhaps?

Dual monitors, both 1680 x 1050?

GarageBand, will it run quickly enough to make music with good proformance?

This of course with the 2 GB's of ram.

Okay, so since this would be my first mac, a PowerMac MDD, would this fit my needs and how much could I get on of these on the cheap side? Thank you kindly.
Click to expand...

I've had a dual 1.25GHZ MDD since August 2002 and it is rock solid. 2GB of RAM, 2TB of hard drive space, and running 23 inch HD cinema and another 20 inch at 1600x1200. I've over 500GB in my iTunes and Photoshop CS2 is running very smooth. The machine is very upgradable. I see mine eventually becoming a file server one day but I can see it lasting me for another 5 years easy.
 
9Charms

9Charms

macrumors regular
May 19, 2006
206
0
Vancouver, BC
The G4 dual 1ghz you want is perfectly fine for what you want it to do.

However, I don't believe any stock video card will do 1680 x 1050 on both. You'd most likely have to buy an upgrade (est. $300). This would probably not be worth it. Any intel mini won't be able to do this either.

As far as performance goes, the Intel Mini will beat any stock G4 hands down, no questions. However, they're not expandable. And from what you said, you could care less for performance.

The G4 is economically not expandable either if you're planning on buying one and then upgrading it.

Also keep in mind that some MDD towers are quite noisy as their original owners might not have gotten the fans fixed. Also I used to own an MDD and I found that it's quite easy to fry the HD's if you pack it with 4 in the carriers....

Also as these machines age, their PSU's may start to fail. There is no easy replacement for MDD power supplies (unlike Sawtooths, which is incidently why I still have mine, easy to replace parts).
 
CubeHacker

CubeHacker

macrumors 65816
Apr 22, 2003
1,243
251
You can flash your own PC video card to work in most G4 Powermacs. I believe there are even a few with dual DVI out, though you'll have to check on that. Some good options are Radeon 9600/9800 or Geforce 6800 lines.
 
AlexMaximus

AlexMaximus

macrumors 65816
Aug 15, 2006
1,185
544
A400M Base
Some G4 MDD came with ad Dual Monitor Card!

Bjerre said:
Okay, so I want to buy my first mac. I've been looking and I don't know what it is about the PowerMac G4 MDD's but I really like them. So what I want to know a few things about it if anyone can help. To make clear I'm looking for a MDD that is a dual processor and at least 1 Ghz.

Is it powerful enough (by todays standards) to do the web, keynote, powerpoint, word, a little PS CS2 or CS3 (not wicked fast?)

Music, iTunes in excess of 100 GB's, and a little quicker than my P4 perhaps?

Dual monitors, both 1680 x 1050?

GarageBand, will it run quickly enough to make music with good proformance?

This of course with the 2 GB's of ram.

Okay, so since this would be my first mac, a PowerMac MDD, would this fit my needs and how much could I get on of these on the cheap side? Thank you kindly.
Click to expand...


Hi there,

just a note, the good and late G4 MDDs had a built to order option for the graphic card to use dual displays. If you want to have the best solution without the need to look for an upgrade card, look for MDD's with the Nvidia GForce 4Ti Card with 128 MB. That's a great card, its Apple only and it was the built to order option at that time for the dual display dudes.

If you cant find one, look for a system that has the Radeon 9600 card. This card was/is Apple's newest addition to use dual displays on the G4. It would be a bit better then the GForce4Ti, however it's still one of the best options around.
The Radeon 9800 is for Gamers only and does not support dual displays. Byside that, the card runs very hot. Unless you live in Alaska and you are looking to use your computer as home heating device I wouldn't go for the 9800.

Now if you have a bit time to look around for the right MDD, look for one with a Verax fan system. Seldem but best.

Good luck
:apple:
 
B

Bjerre

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 20, 2006
52
0
McMahons Point, Sydney, Australia
As much as I liked the idea, ill try to save up for a while (a lot more than I thought) to get a Mac Pro maybe, or MacBook Pro C2D for what I want. As much as I would like a G4, I feel that in the long run I'll regret. I was hoping that I would save up for one and buy it before Chanukah but working as a bus boy at a Mexican restaurant I don't make much. I think that'd be a risk buying a used G4 that old, not knowing its really condition. I would definitely buy an MDD if i could buy one (base model) for 300-350 though. So one I make my 100th post ill be sure to hit up a WTB in the Marketplace. Thanks for the help... But who knows if I can get a really good deal.
 
9Charms

9Charms

macrumors regular
May 19, 2006
206
0
Vancouver, BC
Bjerre said:
As much as I would like a G4, I feel that in the long run I'll regret.
Click to expand...

Don't wait and get a MacPro or Macbook Pro, it's a waste of money for your needs. If you want to get into a Mac right away, pickup a used dual G5. I have a dual 2 GHz G5 and it seems fast enough to last me at least another 3 years. A dual G5 is probably gonna cost you around $1000, or less, depending on specs.
 
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