Buying A Cube

[bentuk]

I'm thinking of buying a G4 cube. I live in Melbourne, Australia and I saw one that is sold at AU$ 1400 (about US$855)
It's the 450 Mhz model with 448 Meg of RAM (combination of 64, 128 and 256 MB ... which is a bit weird), 20 Gig HD & DVD.

I've always wanted to have a Cube purely and simply for collecting it and hopefully in 20 years I could sell it for a couple of more grands. Hehehe ... And in the mean time I would maxed the RAM to 1 GB and use it for graphic design.

What do you guys think? Is it worth it to collect G4 Cube? Will it become one of collectors item in 10 years time?

 

[adamcoop]

Cool! Another Australian!

I reluctantly sold my Cube in January to fund my girlfriend's new PowerBook (I seem to mention that a lot here). Coincidently, I bought it orginally with 448Mb ram, and sold it to a Victorian.

In the time I had it, I upgraded to a 60Gb drive, upped the memory to 896Mb, upgraded the video card to a GeForce 2MX and picked up a 15" Apple LCD display.

Despite the original complaints that these machines weren't upgradable, you can see how untrue this is.
This machine would work great as a workstation, jukebox or whatever else for years to come, especially with Dual 1.2Ghz upgrade cards supposedly becoming available.
We also have one at work that's just had a Radeon 8700(?) installed, so really, the only thing holding it back is the 100Mhz bus (nothing major), unless you wanted to go Airport Extreme.

A few things to look out for. Make sure you have a very quiet hard drive installed - The 60Gb I had installed developed quite a noise over time, and really detracted from the 'silent' machine that the Cube was supposed to be.
A few early Cubes had problems with the power switch. If this is a problem, contact your local Apple dealer for a fix (it involves replacing a rubber gromit that holds the power switch board in place). This should be done free of charge.

Just out of interest, how much do the Twentieth Anniversary Mac sell for these days?

I do regret every now and again getting rid of the Cube, but this 12" PowerBook is so nice.

The Cube was very sweet though...

 

[weev]

aussie cube-athon

Heh heh

Yesterday i bought a Cube on Sydney's northern beaches.

I got a 450 mhz/ 20 gb /512 /16 video ram

I've already doubled the ram with 512 i pulled from my imac.

Interested to read the video card upgrade path experience as I'd like to get 32 mb card, and also want to get a bigger and faster hd (believe the 7200rpm are decent improvement over the standard 5400, i think they're the speeds), then after that, a processor upgrade, got it all sorted it seems. i am happy with it now, faster than my imac, but will look for a liitle more grunt eventually.

adamcoop, whats the general price of these processors and video cards; any rec aussie dealers?

Paid $A 1200, not too bad, the machine is in good condition though the apple logo on the front looks a little mottled when lights comes in behind it and there a few hairline cracks which you would not notice without deliberate inspection.

Hooked this baby up to 17" apple display - brilliant!

I was considering the new powermacs but considering I use the machine in the bedroom could not handle the drone - its as quiet as my dv imac, only a slight whine - viva the fanless computer!!!!!

A rumour - Apple will bring back the cube, of sorts, really how many people needs pci slots and more than one hd?! Methinks its a good idea and the Cube was ahead of its time!


---
weev

 

[ibookin']

Re: aussie cube-athon

Originally posted by weev
A rumour - Apple will bring back the cube, of sorts, really how many people needs pci slots and more than one hd?! Methinks its a good idea and the Cube was ahead of its time!


---
weev

People who buy a machine for as much as the Cube cost with display need PCI slots and more than one HD. Professional hardware for professional budgets.

 

[cr2sh]

Re: Buying A Cube

Originally posted by bentuk
use it for graphic design.

The 450 shows its age in osX and in general, its just slow. If you're buying to get a cube, then get a cube. If you're buying to get a machine you can do work with, buy something else.

I have a 450 cube and the "cuteness" wears off... right about you realize how damn slow it is.

 

[ibookin']

Re: Re: Buying A Cube

Originally posted by cr2sh
The 450 shows its age in osX and in general, its just slow. If you're buying to get a cube, then get a cube. If you're buying to get a machine you can do work with, buy something else.

I have a 450 cube and the "cuteness" wears off... right about you realize how damn slow it is.

You can get upgrade cards for Cubes, though. The only limitation would be the graphics card (you have to find one small enough) and the 100Mhz bus. However, this iMac I'm using now is plenty fast with its 100Mhz bus. But once you've bought the upgrade card and the Cube you've spent as much as you would spend on an iMac or G4 tower.

The only reason to buy a Cube is if you like them for being Cubes (like I do), otherwise, they're too expensive.

 

[photohead]

I hear some people talking about a dual processor for the cube? I got a 450 cube and just bought a WD 120g HD that I'm going to stuff in there and I would like any info on any Dual processors for the cube. I know powerlogix has a single 1ghz but not the dual. if anyone has any info on this matter that would be greatly appreciated. and also does anyone know what the best way to stuff that WD HD in the cube would be? (how to swap the drive since its only one drive in the cube.) thanks in advance.

 

[scem0]

Re: Re: Buying A Cube

Originally posted by cr2sh
The 450 shows its age in osX and in general, its just slow. If you're buying to get a cube, then get a cube. If you're buying to get a machine you can do work with, buy something else.

I have a 450 cube and the "cuteness" wears off... right about you realize how damn slow it is.

my exact seniments. If you want to do work on it, then get
a refurbished, newer system.

Dealmac.com might help .

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

Just thought i would mention, i have heard a lot people talk of using the geforce 3 in the cube. i dont know the modifications involved but a geforce 3 cube with higher cpu would still be very attractive even today when you consider a new 1 gig powermac only has a geforce4 mx as standard.

 

[weev]

Re: Re: Buying A Cube

Originally posted by cr2sh
The 450 shows its age in osX and in general, its just slow. If you're buying to get a cube, then get a cube. If you're buying to get a machine you can do work with, buy something else.

I have a 450 cube and the "cuteness" wears off... right about you realize how damn slow it is.

After using my newly aquired 450 Cube for the last week, for dtp, I can report that in OS 9 it's totally fast enough for graphic design, but in X it does labour a little bit.

So i find i have an OS for work, another for play. The uprade cards are an option but you loose the silence of the cube cause the new procs need a fan.

A wish: a switchable processor, 450 silent and a 1.2Ghz air cooled. You could surf the web in silence, play itunes in silence (I have a bedroom/office), and fan it up for some serious work. Heh, you could have a turbo button LOL

------
weev

 

[DarkNovaMatter]

If you are buying a cube for a cube- go for it! If you need a place, go to http://www.cubeowner.com for cubes up for sale. I'm not sure if they will have one in Australia but they deffinently have them there. People are now finding out that their ideas of the cube being un-upgradable is simply not true. while they were priced a little too high, they are good systems. Since you are buying the cube for the cube then the whole upcoming 970 won't have to be discussed. Oh and I don't know what you are doing to your cube but mine is the stock 450 with 896 of ram and it runs as fast as any other machines I have seen with X- even before the memory upgrade (upgraded with a 512 card). Also its nice to know that a 1.2 ghz card can produce the same Xbench results as a 1.2 tower!

P.S.- Welcome to the fold!

 

[Jaykay]

Originally posted by adamcoop

Just out of interest, how much do the Twentieth Anniversary Mac sell for these days?

If you find out, let me know. I still have one sitting in my back room, mmm i can sense a new thread coming on.... nah.

 

[cubist]

I've seen them go as high as $3K on eBay, but recently I've seen a couple for sale in the $800 to $1k range.

 

[Jaykay]

Originally posted by cubist
I've seen them go as high as $3K on eBay, but recently I've seen a couple for sale in the $800 to $1k range.

But there such nice machines, thats a shame. I dont really want to sell it though, its too nice. In the future they will be extremely rare especially if all the large amount of books and cds that came with tehm are still there (which i still have)....

 

[King Cobra]

>I know powerlogix has a single 1ghz but not the dual. if anyone has any info on this matter that would be greatly appreciated (photo)

There is also a dual 800MHz version available.

There was an article discussing some of the processor upgrades a while back.

http://www.powerlogix.com/press/releases/2002/020904.html

As for the 20th Anniversary Mac, a deal on it would be anything under $1000 for now.

 

[photohead]

Originally posted by King Cobra
>I know powerlogix has a single 1ghz but not the dual. if anyone has any info on this matter that would be greatly appreciated (photo)

There is also a dual 800MHz version available.

There was an article discussing some of the processor upgrades a while back.

http://www.powerlogix.com/press/releases/2002/020904.html

As for the 20th Anniversary Mac, a deal on it would be anything under $1000 for now.

KING!! thanks for the info, I'll look into it. I'm wondering if I should wait for the dual 1ghz or just go and get a tower. I'm going to get a 17pb but I'm wondering what else would be worth my money...upgrading my cube...getting a tower?/ or waiting for new processor 970? if I upgrade the cube I'll have more money to get a 23 cinema display. and do I need a 23inch? (of course you don't really need one) but will it be worth the money as opposed to a 20in.
N

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

the 970 will be a big advance to the g4 in many many ways.

 

[King Cobra]

You do realize I went through at least five different plans (A, B, C, D and E) to find evidence of dual processor upgrades for the Cube, right?

>I'm going to get a 17pb but I'm wondering what else would be worth my money...upgrading my cube...

If you are a hardcore Cube-fanatic, you could upgrade your Cube to a dual processor and use your 17 inch Powerbook as your fastest portable machine. Also, beware that future version of Mac X may not support the CPU upgrade, leading to problems.

But don't go haywire about buying the newest equipment out there whenever it comes out. My 0.5GHz Cube is my fastest machine and I'm happy with it.

The 23 inch monitor sure is a sweet component to have, but only get it if you need it. I am typing in front of a refurb. 15 inch LCD.

 

[photohead]

King!
Thanks for your help in finding the dual 800 for the cube....the reason for all the purchasing is I'm starting a new business and I need a portable (ie 17pb) and a faster desktop. I'm doing hard core Photoshop and flash and my cube just isn't cutting it. I guess I can use the 17pb for most of my work ...I think It'll be fast enough...Maybe an upgrade...but you make a good point on the non support of upgrade cards in the future... this concerns me... I don't want to pay 800.00 for an upgrade and not be able to use in later....and the 23 would be nice but I guess not that needed. maybe a older dual 1ghz and a 20" would be a better use of my money? any other thoughts.?? My business is starting to pic up and I'm going to have a guy do some work for me so I do see the need for at least one more system>..

N

 

[King Cobra]

If you are concerned about the issue about the CPU upgrade, then don't take a chance. I'm not sure if the card will work in 10.3, you are not sure, no one really is.

Primarily, though, you are always better off to buy a new machine, rather than to just upgrade an old machine. Yes, it will run faster, but not by much. You still have the same Hard Drive, the same amount of memory and the same DVD (or CD-RW) drive. If you want to make adjustments to other features of the Cube, you would have to pay for those as well. Then you have more hardware concerns...

My suggestion is to pick up an older model PowerMac, possibly a dual 800MHz. If you need something faster, you will probably want a newer model PowerMac with DDR-RAM. The setup for DDR-RAM will critically increase performance in Photoshop and Flash, as well as all of your applications. If you are tight on the budget, perhaps you could purchase an older model dual 1.25GHz (this is a different model than the one with Firewire 2), which has that particular RAM.

As for the monitor choice, for an extra $1000 or so, you can achieve a slight increase on the 20 inch model's resolution of 1680 x 1050 pixels. Think of it this way. Imagine how many stares your 20 inch monitor will get from the people you work with.

 

[daRAT]

The real reason to buy a Cube:

http://www.g4noise.com/

*grin*

I find my Cube quick under OS X, granted it is not a new tower, but I leave it on all night in the kitchen rendering and can not hear it :]

As for extra drives that someone mentioned here.. "Firewire" works great!

Over at Cubeowner.com they have all the benchmarks, from users that have done upgrades. The increase in performance is significant and the new upgrades run as cool or COOLER than the stock chip.

Yes I am a Cube Fanatic

 

[photohead]

King!
Thanks for all the great insight. You are a wize Man/woman....although I'm willing to bet Man. You make great points that will help me make a final decision... Some times I get caught up in the impusle buying mentality when there are so many cool things to buy


Darat...those are some pretty cool site's thanks.
N

I still think if I got a 23" that would be F'n cool.....and you can put a tv tuner on it.....thats right 23" of HDTV hhahaahhah <evil laugh> and apple has it for 1799 referb....nice...

 

[weev]

Originally posted by daRAT


Over at Cubeowner.com they have all the benchmarks, from users that have done upgrades. The increase in performance is significant and the new upgrades run as cool or COOLER than the stock chip.

Yes I am a Cube Fanatic

I am thinking about these processor upgrades too. From all my research and the discussion above there are 3 issues to take into account:

1. Noise - a fan is included and needed, anyone have comments about the noise (bear in mind that my Cube is totally silent especially since I put in a Barracuda IV hard drive)

2. Wake from sleep issue - some upgraders say that their cube does not wake from sleep. http://www.xlr8yourmac.com has a lot of user comment about this. a great resource for cube-aholics.

3. Compatability with future Mac OS, ie, Panther 10.3. This IS a real issue especially with Panther appearing to be only months away...

After much deliberaration the small negatives of these three indices suggests the investment cash should go towards something other than a processor upgrade.

Any comments my fellow cubophiles?

-----
weev

 

[wsteineker]

The first suggestion I'd make to anyone who is serious about keeping their Cube as their main machine (as I am currently doing) is a graphics upgrade. I cannot overstate the importance of this, especially given the obviousl performance increases incurred with QE under Jaguar. I suggest the Radeon for Cube OEM or the GeForce 3 ADC card. Both fit with no modification. The GeForce 3 is an absolute monster! It'll really help out performance. After that, I'd suggest taking your RAM as far as it can go. I'm running 1.5 GB and I am thankful everyday for the speed increase. A faster HD should be the next step. Move up to a 7200 RPM drive with a bigger cache and you'll notice an improvement right away. Then, finally, look at a processor upgrade. The market prices keep falling, so the longer you can afford to wait the more money you'll save. Good luck, man!

 

[photohead]

Hey Wsteineker good coments...I was just wondering which radeon graphics card would you get that would fit the cube. and where do you sugest I buy.?
N