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Considering a iMac G4 but Have questions

M

mikeyrko

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 3, 2009
67
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Hi I am looking at a iMac G4 700 not sure on the ram but I would probably upgrade the ram to the max.
My question is what can this machine do as far as video's? Hulu? youtube? Slingbox???
I know netflix is out from what I read, Just curious what I can do with it.:apple:
 
Those first 700 and 800MHz G4 iMacs were a far cry from the later models in a lot of ways. A 700MHz model only uses PC133 RAM which means 1GB is the max it supports. 2 512MB sticks of that can be pretty pricy too if it doesn't include them or you don't already have some. Its 32mb GeForce MX video card is pretty weak too. You're also running a 100MHz system bus and no USB 2.0 ports & 802.11b Airport. If you want a G4 imac, don't settle for less. Just buy a newer one @ at least 1GHz and everything about it is far better. More and faster RAM, better video card, faster wireless, and almost 2x faster system bus.
 
Hrududu said:
Those first 700 and 800MHz G4 iMacs were a far cry from the later models in a lot of ways. A 700MHz model only uses PC133 RAM which means 1GB is the max it supports. 2 512MB sticks of that can be pretty pricy too if it doesn't include them or you don't already have some. Its 32mb GeForce MX video card is pretty weak too. You're also running a 100MHz system bus and no USB 2.0 ports & 802.11b Airport. If you want a G4 imac, don't settle for less. Just buy a newer one @ at least 1GHz and everything about it is far better. More and faster RAM, better video card, faster wireless, and almost 2x faster system bus.
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Thanks a lot for your input, You deffiantly have given me more info than anybody.

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Plymouthbreezer said:
Check out this excellent thread by zen.state for loads of information.

Should be stinky'd IMO.
Click to expand...

Thanks good info I can use this for my iBook also
 
The Geekbench score for those iMacs is in teh triple digits. A modern low end iMac scores in the 7000-8000.

I have a G4. It runs legacy programs, but embedded video on the web brings it to its knees. I'd spend your money elsewhere for what you say you want to do with a computer.
 
I had a 17" iMac G4 800MHz for almost a year and other than basic web browsing and word processing the computer couldn't really do much. It's unfortunate because it was such a beautiful machine. I ended up selling it only because there was really no use I could find for it.
 
eawmp1 said:
The Geekbench score for those iMacs is in teh triple digits. A modern low end iMac scores in the 7000-8000.

I have a G4. It runs legacy programs, but embedded video on the web brings it to its knees. I'd spend your money elsewhere for what you say you want to do with a computer.
Click to expand...

QFT, they are nice computers, really they are, But for most web based stuff they will struggle, it would be better to gets used cheap MacBook, a 1,1 will stream fine and you can get them really quite cheap. :)

But buy all means get one, but be warned that they don't like the web that much, fine for browsing/email, but flash/streaming sucks. However using MacTubes ect, you can still see the videos.
 
Just bought an eMac (1,25GHz, 1GB) for my parents and finished the installation (10.5.8).

It is horrible on any site that has a lots of flah, fine, but not fast for browsing, all right for wordprocessing, and perfect for emails.
 
Well here is the deal I'm not really looking for a daily use computer I have a current macbook pro for that. I'm more looking at one of these as a collectible, cool looking piece I was curios about its limitations. I guess its a lot like my iBook clamshell.
 
pistooli said:
Just bought an eMac (1,25GHz, 1GB) for my parents and finished the installation (10.5.8).

It is horrible on any site that has a lots of flah, fine, but not fast for browsing, all right for wordprocessing, and perfect for emails.
Click to expand...
Check out this link, it might solve the flash issues and make your web browsing more enjoyable.
 
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miles01110 said:
G4s are a waste of money for anything past word processing.
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Really? Anything that is 1.5ghz and above is fine for light computer usage, which is more than enough than most people need. The only thing PPC processors suck at is flash but flash is garbage anyway.
 
mikeyrko said:
Well here is the deal I'm not really looking for a daily use computer I have a current macbook pro for that. I'm more looking at one of these as a collectible, cool looking piece I was curios about its limitations. I guess its a lot like my iBook clamshell.
Click to expand...

Then, by all means, get one! They're among the most beautiful computers ever made. I'd suggest getting a 1.25GHz model, though. You'd get more actual use out of it and it'll run Leopard smoothly. Also, they have USB 2.0.

I've been flirting with the idea of getting one for my kitchen for use as a video player (from local drives, not from Flash). I'm not usually a big fan of all-in-ones, but they are just soooooooo beautiful.
 
I bought a 15" 800MHz iMac G4 a few weeks back for use in my bedroom as a music player and have been pleasantly surprised with video playback.

I dropped in 1GB of RAM (which cost $39 from eBay) and a 160GB 7200RPM drive. Alas, my Leopard install had wake from sleep issues and I reverted to Tiger. However, my observations are:

- VLC will play SD Divx over my network without issue (except in the first second or two)
- Mactubes plays SD Youtube without a hiccup provided it is set to Quicktime player
- DVD plays flawlessly
- Perian works well in Quicktime
- Activate Front Row does what it says on the tin. Front Row works well with a Keyspan remote bought off eBay
- Flash 10 video is ****, and I'm yet to find a resolution

No Netflix, because Silverlight 2 is Intel-only, and I can't say I've tried Hulu (although its Flash-base means I suspect it'd be rubbish).

My only problem is that the unexpected versatility of the iMac G4 for video means I'm now eying off later widescreen models on eBay so the video can be bigger...

(Also, annoyingly, the original Airport card in the pre-extreme models does not support my WPA2-encrypted network...)
 
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I'm still in College, and used an iMac G4 1.25GHz up until this past January. Very capable machine, HD video playback (720p on the built in screen) and basic web browsing tasks are very tolerable. Plus, they look awesome!
 
Great Machine!

Hi! I'm actually writing this from a 700MHz iMac G4! Fully maxed specs (1GB RAM, 160GB HD), it runs Leopard (unsupported, mind you) beautifully. I have Safari 5, iTunes 10, and iWork '09, iLife '09, Skype, CleanMyMac, and TONS of other Universal/PPC apps. Even games! World of Goo runs amazing, Harry Potters 1 & 2, Indiana Jones, and if you run Tiger, any number of OS 9 apps/games as well! Great machine, it's my main one, I even recorded/mixed music on it! (GarageBand '09). Beautiful machine, the bright display, it runs quiet if you have a new HD, had AirPort capability, 1GB RAM max, and an overall sweet Mac.

Hope it encourages a new iMac G4 owner! :D:apple:
Noah Budgor
 
I have a 20" 1.25ghz that I bought for my partner to use as the kitchen computer. She loves it. Yes it can bog down a bit but she even uses youtube for recipes ect. I upgraded the HDD to a 250 for her music and the ram to 2gb. Fantastic computer if you can get it at the right price.

I bought mine for £100! Bargain!

I wouldn't suggest anything under 1ghz due to the USB1 and overall lack of power. Ultimately its up to you and what you will use it for.
 
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