Advice for a G4 Quicksilver User

[JJ07]

Hi Guys.

I've had this Quicksilver lying about for a while, i paid £300 for it about a year ago secondhand. My windows/OpenBSD (dual boot) machine has died so i have to use it on a constant basis. I used it before on and off but it was kind of slow.

The specs are:

- 733 Mhz
- 256 Mb Ram
- 200GB HDD

Now i know that the above is very slow! But saying that when im using it for standard WP, Web Browsing and Web Development it works like a charm, i can even produce A5 Flyers using 150DPI in Photoshop without any problems.

The questions i need to ask are:

1) Can i upgrade the processor like i can with a PC? Im guessing no but i thought i'd ask.

2) There is only 3 RAM slots, and i cannot seem to find any 1GB SDRAM Sticks, do they sell them at all? If i could add 3GB that may boost things alot.

3) Is there anything i can do to increase the speed of this machine?

4) Any way to cut down the noise? it sounds like a plane.

All im going to use it for is Software and Web Development as well as Word Processing and and some Graphic Design. Im going to get an 8 Core as soon as my student loan comes through but thats 10 months away yet.

Thanks for any advice guys.

 

[G5power]

1) Yes you can upgrade the processor. However it may not be cost effective.

2) The Quicksilver maxs out with 1.5 GB of RAM. I haven't checked recently, but I believe you can get 512MB memory for around $50-60 each. Visit a website like Crucial memory and they have a tool to show you the correct RAM.

3) More memory will help. I have an 867 MHz QS with 1.5GB of RAM and it's decent for web browsing.

4) If you want less noise then this may not be the machine for you.

The cost of additional RAM combined with what you could sell the Quicksilver would get you well on the way to a refurb Mini that would be way faster, already have a GB of RAM and would be mostly silent.

 

[jwt]

The above poster gave good advice. If you want to go the upgrade route, check http://www.macsales.com