Bought a Power Mac G4 DA for €20!!!

[headsh0t95]

UPDATED 11-17:

Today was the big day, to buy the Power Mac!

In the morning I grabbed the box of my main PC (Cooler Master case box), took the train and was there pretty quick.
The seller was very nice. It was sold from a movie production / media experience company. They were clearing up on old computer stuff.
He had the system set up and connected to a monitor, keyboard and mouse. He turned it on to show me it, confirming it was the 733 MHz model.

I paid the €20 and I got the Pro keyboard that he used there for free with it. The keyboard is not in great shape but after a thorough cleaning it will at least look a lot better than it is now.



The machine itself looks great, and is fully functional. This are the definitive specs:

Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio)
733 MHz PowerPC G4 processor
512 MB of PC-133 SDRAM
120 GB Western Digital Hard Drive
32 MB NVIDIA GeForce 2 MX Graphics Card
DVD / CD-ROM drive (cannot burn - the original SuperDrive had died in the past and was replaced by this "Combo Drive")
No AirPort card, Zip drive and SCSI card installed (but not needed by me)
Only missing the PCI slots port covers (but those are easy to add).

Then came the journey back to home. The machine was HEAVY. It was a very tough and long walk from the seller to the station, but with multiple stops, and a nice construction worker helping me get it on the stairs, it came into the train. The train trips went well as well as the final walk to home, since I could put the box on the back of my bike.

I have un-boxed the machine and turned it on. It survived the long trip!




Since then, I updated all the software on it (it had a clean Retail 10.4 install on it and now runs 10.4.11).



Surprisingly, it runs pretty fast and supports my modern led display's native resolution of 1920x1080 at VGA. The image is very, very crisp and there is almost no difference to my main PC (hdmi). The DVD drive works, as well do the USB and the Ethernet ports. Only "issue" is that the fans are VERY noisy, but I am going to clean them out in the next couple days.
All in all a great buy for €20, I hope it will last for a long time!




Arjan

 

[weckart]

I am debating getting one for £10 but only because it is capable of running Mac OS X Server 1.x, which I want to play with.

Here in the UK €20 will often get you a Quicksilver or an MDD if you are prepared to collect. If you want to run classic Mac OS I would go for one of the PM G4s but if OSX is your aim then maybe hold out for one of the later QSes or MDDs. Either way, €20 is not expensive, especially if you can get a dual cpu or that 733Mhz model.

 

[headsh0t95]

I wish they were so cheap here in the Netherlands... For €20 you usually get a 400mhz one...

 

[gavinstubbs09]

For $10 I bought a 466MHz DA earlier this year off CL. Locally I found a dual 1GHz Quicksilver that I spent $25 on. Then once I spent $81 to buy a dual 1GHz MDD back in February

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose!

 

[CYB3RBYTE]

Hi guys,

I have seen an ad for a lot of 6 PowerMac G4s that go for €80 together, if you pick one it sells for €20. These models are sold:

PowerMac 3,1 (400 MHz, 2x)
PowerMac 3,3 (400 MHz, 3x)
PowerMac 3,4 (733 MHz, 1x)

View attachment 512942
The machines come without monitor / keyboard / mouse but I do have a screen supporting VGA and DVI.
I also have USB capable keyboard and mouse. Since they show up as 12 and 1,5 mbps on my hackintosh (which this will replace) in System Profiler, they are USB 1.1 capable?

I'd like to use it for some light DV video editing. I will be using iMovie.
Also, I'd like to use it to record MIDI audio (will also be a USB adapter - do I need a 2.0 card?) from a keyboard / electrical piano using GarageBand.

How well will these machines perform? Are there issues with these (like overheating, bad caps, bad power supplies etc.?)

I have responded that I want the 3,4 733MHz. I am currently awaiting a response from the seller.
Is this a good deal?

So all in all, should I buy one of these (given the low price) or skip this?

Thanks, Arjan
The Netherlands

I think you should go for the 733MHZ Model! It sounds like a decent deal, and these machines can be heavily upgraded. As far as I know, the Graphite G4's don't have any real downfalls, other than the ones that any older computer can suffer from, like hard drive failure or other simple issues.

I record using MIDI from time to time on my MDD G4, and to be honest it all depends on the MIDI device. Older ones work with USB 1.1 just fine, while the newer ones don't. I would go with a USB 2.0 Card, it's much faster and will allow you to transfer files at a decent speed.

Good luck on your purchase and let us know how it goes!

 

[headsh0t95]

I think you should go for the 733MHZ Model! It sounds like a decent deal, and these machines can be heavily upgraded. As far as I know, the Graphite G4's don't have any real downfalls, other than the ones that any older computer can suffer from, like hard drive failure or other simple issues.

I record using MIDI from time to time on my MDD G4, and to be honest it all depends on the MIDI device. Older ones work with USB 1.1 just fine, while the newer ones don't. I would go with a USB 2.0 Card, it's much faster and will allow you to transfer files at a decent speed.

Good luck on your purchase and let us know how it goes!

Status update:
I have gotten a response from the seller: He said that someone else would be buying all 6 of them, but if that person did not pick them up tomorrow, that the 733mhz one is mine. It makes me believe that the other person responded multiple days ago and never showed up to collect the machiines ...

Just now, i have sent an email with some questions, like if the power cord, an os x dvd are included and what size of HDD, type of DVD drive and graphics card are installed. I am awaiting a response and tomorrow will be the day of confirmation (or not...)
One thing i'm wondiering is, if this thing is really 30.0 lbs or 13.7 kgs heavy...

 

[128keaton]

Status update:
I have gotten a response from the seller: He said that someone else would be buying all 6 of them, but if that person did not pick them up tomorrow, that the 733mhz one is mine. It makes me believe that the other person responded multiple days ago and never showed up to collect the machiines ...

Just now, i have sent an email with some questions, like if the power cord, an os x dvd are included and what size of HDD, type of DVD drive and graphics card are installed. I am awaiting a response and tomorrow will be the day of confirmation (or not...)
One thing i'm wondiering is, if this thing is really 30.0 lbs or 13.7 kgs heavy...

Yes, its that heavy. My Performa is 50 lbs so you got lucky haha.

 

[headsh0t95]

Yes, its that heavy. My Performa is 50 lbs so you got lucky haha.

I hope the seller lives near the train station, it will be a heavy walk then...

 

[128keaton]

I hope the seller lives near the train station, it will be a heavy walk then...

I remember when I got an Compaq desktop. Had to ride the bus, then walk a mile home.

 

[weckart]

I hope the seller lives near the train station, it will be a heavy walk then...

It's not too bad. I can carry my Quicksilvers in one hand and they are heavier, I think.

Just be grateful it is not a G5. Heavy and awkward to carry.

 

[tevion5]

I got my Dual Processor 1GHz Quicksilver Power Mac G4 earlier this year when I saw it being thrown out from my universities' computer science department where I study.

It came with the original 17" Studio Display as well. Everything is in mint condition and it was already maxed out with 1.5GB of RAM. I gave it an Airport card, USB 2.0, Bluetooth and OS X Tiger.

All I had to do was ask at the office to see if I could claim it!

I don't think I'll ever beat that haul...

 

[headsh0t95]

I got my Dual Processor 1GHz Quicksilver Power Mac G4 earlier this year when I saw it being thrown out from my universities' computer science department where I study.

It came with the original 17" Studio Display as well. Everything is in mint condition and it was already maxed out with 1.5GB of RAM. I gave it an Airport card, USB 2.0, Bluetooth and OS X Tiger.

All I had to do was ask at the office to see if I could claim it!

I don't think I'll ever beat that haul...

Lol no thats indeed a lucky take.

I have now more information available:
Airport: ? Don't think so... Should also have asked...
Ram: forgotten to ask, but now done. Will come tomorrow.
HD: 120 GB (upgraded! Thus newer and more reliable too!)
DVD-ROM (would that mean a SuperDrive???)
Video Card: GeForce 2MX (Yess supports Quartz Extreme!)

I am also confirmed that the other person did not respond in time so it's mine. I only need to find a moment when I have time to pick it up. Not within this week as I do have an exam to study for. Next week a new course for my IT Study starts (Android Development), but I might have one day with a lot of free time to pick it up. I have also mailed this to the seller so he kowns the reason why I might be late (and it won't pass to someone else again). The machine can only be picked up at office times so it must be from a company that used them. That's why I can't get it in the weekend.

 

[Zotaccian]

PowerMac G4 computers of that class sometimes are donated for free or thrown in to electronic waste. Sometimes you see people asking several dozen euros for them. Personally I think that 20€ is not a disaster, if you want a machine to tinker with, but when CPU power and general usability plus space & electrical consuming is considered, that's too much for that kind of machine

 

[headsh0t95]

PowerMac G4 computers of that class sometimes are donated for free or thrown in to electronic waste. Sometimes you see people asking several dozen euros for them. Personally I think that 20€ is not a disaster, if you want a machine to tinker with, but when CPU power and general usability plus space & electrical consuming is considered, that's too much for that kind of machine

Here in my town it is not allowed to take stuff from electronical waste and I don't wanna run into problems just to pick out some old Power Mac...

 

[MysticCow]

Get them all, keep the one you like best and sell the others for 15 or 20 a piece. You'll either break even or only wind up paying 5 for the one you keep.

 

[Zotaccian]

Here in my town it is not allowed to take stuff from electronical waste and I don't wanna run into problems just to pick out some old Power Mac...

Well yeah I only meant that for some people those are waste and they don't even consider advertising them to be worth it, they just throw them away... and some people ask money for those, so there is variety on how valuable those old computers are seen.

 

[headsh0t95]

Well yeah I only meant that for some people those are waste and they don't even consider advertising them to be worth it, they just throw them away... and some people ask money for those, so there is variety on how valuable those old computers are seen.

I don't care much about the value as it is only meant to replace a buggy hackintosh system for some light DV movie editing and MIDI audio recording.
I like Apples tools but not want to spend $ 1000 for another new computer if I have a good gaming pc and a decent laptop for my study.

It will also almost never be connected to the Internet (only once to install all the updates for the software) since the piano is in the living room. I might even need a dummy network to use the iPad i am using now as a monitor and keyboards there using screen sharing.
In my room (for the movie editing) there is my vga screen and a keyboard/mouse set.

 

[flyinmac]

Keep in mind that your "Hackintosh" system is likely an Intel based Mac system. Running modern OS X versions and software.

The ones you are considering are PowerPC systems. Therefore, while they will run older versions of PowerPC OS X, they will not run the software that you are likely used to using.

You will need to have versions of the software that you want for PowerPC systems.

 

[headsh0t95]

Yep, I know that (why else am I posting in PowerPC Macs forum??) but still thanks for notiing it.
Got a response saying that the machine has 512 MB Ram installed I only need to make an appointment to pick it up (sometimes next week, possibly monday).
I am planning to use iLife '06 on it, this are the system requirements:

iLife '06: System Requirements
iLife ’06 requires the following:

Dit artikel is gearchiveerd en wordt niet meer bijgewerkt door Apple.
Hardware
Macintosh computer with a PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5, or Intel Core processor.
733 MHz or faster for iDVD.
High definition video requires 1 GHz G4 or faster and 512 MB of RAM.
256 MB of RAM required (512 MB recommended).
High definition video requires 1 GHz G4 or faster and 512 MB of RAM.
1024 x 768 display resolution
iMovie HD 6 requires Quartz Extreme-compatible graphics cards
Software
Mac OS X 10.3.9
Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later (Mac OS X 10.4.4 recommended). Note: If you have Mac OS X 10.4 - 10.4.2 you must update to 10.4.3 or later before installing iLife '06. Click here to learn how to update your software.
Mac OS X 10.4.4 required for iMovie HD themes, iPhoto photocasts, and iChat recording in GarageBand.
QuickTime 7.0.4 (included)
DVD drive required for installation.
Burning DVDs requires an Apple SuperDrive or compatible third-party DVD burner.

Legend:
Green is known for sure to work
Orange is currently unknown (don't know if it has superdrive)
Red is not supported (but in this case does not matter).

 

[redhatcode29]

I wish they were so cheap here in the Netherlands... For €20 you usually get a 400mhz one...

Locally at my place, these beauties are way more expensive. I managed to get this for rm200 (~usd65.00).
Most sellers here, do not realise that PPC's are world apart from current intel models, thus they hike up the price like anythg,,

To get this, i had to negociate for a week, for the seller to let it go ! Its a 400mhz AGP. Runs smooth.

How is yours doing...

 

[headsh0t95]

How is yours doing...

I will know next week... I can't pick it up this week because that takes a lot of time (it's not in my town and I need to use public transportation) and I have an exam on Friday to study for.

 

[redhatcode29]

I will know next week... I can't pick it up this week because that takes a lot of time (it's not in my town and I need to use public transportation) and I have an exam on Friday to study for.

Hah, really! I lunged mine with a public transport too, a bullet train... Everyone was staring at me and e mac.... Most of em' would have never known that such a Mac exsists!
.....i'm studying too, part-time! So i know how crazy it can get! Good luck with your exam....

 

[HereBeMonsters]

Hah, really! I lunged mine with a public transport too, a bullet train... Everyone was staring at me and e mac.... Most of em' would have never known that such a Mac exsists!
.....i'm studying too, part-time! So i know how crazy it can get! Good luck with your exam....

I once saw someone using a G3 iMac on a train. All set up, plugged into the plugs under the table...he was writing a paper for Uni and didn't have a laptop!

 

[headsh0t95]

All exams went well, I know that I have already passed one with a very good result (8.6 out of 10). The appointment is next Monday at 10.30 AM local time! It's only a twelve minute walk from the destination station to the seller, is that feasible??

 

[headsh0t95]

It's now mine! See the updated First Post!