Help me upgrade my power mac

[charlieroberts]

Hey, Im currently using a powermac g4 867Mhz (quicksilver?). It runs Leopard okay and is generally a great machine for the simple office life it leads.

Recently I started thinking about upgrading to a G5. Seeing as prices continue to drop, I have started looking around.

I know ANY G5 would be an upgrade, but my question is, which model is most worth it in respect to bang for buck.

So my options:

• Upgrade current G4
  
• Buy a G5
  (Which one? quads are crazy expensive, I've seen them for over 700... for that money id rather buy a macbook air and hook it up to my existing display!)

Any help or insight you could give me would be great!
Appreciate your time

 

[tayloralmond]

Hey, Im currently using a powermac g4 867Mhz (quicksilver?). It runs Leopard okay and is generally a great machine for the simple office life it leads.

Recently I started thinking about upgrading to a G5. Seeing as prices continue to drop, I have started looking around.

I know ANY G5 would be an upgrade, but my question is, which model is most worth it in respect to bang for buck.

So my options:

• Upgrade current G4
  
• Buy a G5
  (Which one? quads are crazy expensive, I've seen them for over 700... for that money id rather buy a macbook air and hook it up to my existing display!)

Any help or insight you could give me would be great!
Appreciate your time

I bought my G5 Quad on eBay for $450US (included 4GB RAM and 7800GT graphics card). I know the PPC architecture is starting to have compatibility problems, but the Quad is by far the most powerful PowerPC Macintosh one can buy. If you don't want to buy a PowerPC computer, you might want to look into a Core2Duo Mac Mini (so you can install Lion)...but I prefer my Quad lol. Best of luck with your search.

 

[Nameci]

Even a dual core PowerPC mac kicks *ss, see my sig, rippin' DVD's without a hiccup.

 

[SmurfBoxMasta]

The ONLY real, solidly-justifiable reasons to buy a PPC nowadays is if you have lots of expensive/paid legacy software that wont run or is not available on the intel macs..... or that you just have a nostalgic clingyness for the old machines.......

otherwise buy a mini or iMac & be happy

 

[charlieroberts]

The ONLY real, solidly-justifiable reasons to buy a PPC nowadays is if you have lots of expensive/paid legacy software that wont run or is not available on the intel macs..... or that you just have a nostalgic clingyness for the old machines.......

otherwise buy a mini or iMac & be happy

I woud agree with you, but I think buying an iMac is more of a gamble than buying a Power Mac. I have nothing to support my claims, but I just feel like the iMac or mac mini can crap out a month after I buy them. Powermacs feel a lot more durable! After all, mine has been running for close to 10 years now!!!


How much would you pay for a dual 2.3 with apple cinema display 20'' 4.5GB RAM Nvidia 6600?

 

[SmurfBoxMasta]

I woud agree with you, but I think buying an iMac is more of a gamble than buying a Power Mac. I have nothing to support my claims, but I just feel like the iMac or mac mini can crap out a month after I buy them. Powermacs feel a lot more durable! After all, mine has been running for close to 10 years now!!!


How much would you pay for a dual 2.3 with apple cinema display 20'' 4.5GB RAM Nvidia 6600?

Yes I agree with you about the older towers....Until recently, I had both a B&W G3 & and a QS that were running just as well (with some upgrades along the way) as they did when I took them out of the boxes the very 1st time. They were, without question, the absolute most reliable & durable computers I have ever owned, period (& I've owned a ton since the 70's !

However, the future of Apple (apparently) seems tied to the likes of Intel, AMD/ATI/nVidia and so forth, so thats why I finally moved on to a current generation MPB and if/when the towers ever get refreshed, I will also be buying one of them, since I have already updated/replaced all of my software to run on the new machines.......

I have not kept up with the prices of G5's, but I have heard that they have been dropping somewhat recently. I would suggest you look on everymac.com and some other places that sell used macs to get an idea of the RETAIL prices nowadays

 

[ghett0tech]

i have MacBook Air and a MDD g4. i have to say i loooooove my MDD g4, it runs leopard PERFECT. i'm actually posting on it right now. it's main purpose is my media server but it has handled other tasks i've thrown at it.

specs:
dual 1.8
1.5 GB RAM
200 GB HDD

running 10.5 with dashboard disabled...

 

[goMac]

I woud agree with you, but I think buying an iMac is more of a gamble than buying a Power Mac. I have nothing to support my claims, but I just feel like the iMac or mac mini can crap out a month after I buy them. Powermacs feel a lot more durable! After all, mine has been running for close to 10 years now!!!


How much would you pay for a dual 2.3 with apple cinema display 20'' 4.5GB RAM Nvidia 6600?

Honestly, your risk of an old Power Mac crapping out (especially a liquid cooled one) is much higher than that of a newer iMac.

I don't care what kind of machine it is, an older machine is a ticking time bomb. The electrical components are only rated for a certain number of hours of life and then they die.

And I say this as someone who has a MDD G4 and a G4 Cube on my desk next to my Mac Pro.

 

[Dane D.]

Honestly, your risk of an old Power Mac crapping out (especially a liquid cooled one) is much higher than that of a newer iMac.

I don't care what kind of machine it is, an older machine is a ticking time bomb. The electrical components are only rated for a certain number of hours of life and then they die.

And I say this as someone who has a MDD G4 and a G4 Cube on my desk next to my Mac Pro.

I disagree, I have two 8500/120 (home use), an 8600/200 (at work), two Beige G3's (home use), two B/W G3 (home use), two G4 450s (at work), an dual G4 500 (at work), a G4 dual 867 MDD (at work) and a titanium G4 667 (at work). Of those listed, the only problem I had was a bad power supply for MDD. All the others listed still boot and work just fine. They are good machines that will last a long time. They may not run the most advanced stuff, but they run the software of its time period.

 

[charlieroberts]

Yes I agree with you about the older towers....Until recently, I had both a B&W G3 & and a QS that were running just as well (with some upgrades along the way) as they did when I took them out of the boxes the very 1st time. They were, without question, the absolute most reliable & durable computers I have ever owned, period (& I've owned a ton since the 70's !

However, the future of Apple (apparently) seems tied to the likes of Intel, AMD/ATI/nVidia and so forth, so thats why I finally moved on to a current generation MPB and if/when the towers ever get refreshed, I will also be buying one of them, since I have already updated/replaced all of my software to run on the new machines.......

I have not kept up with the prices of G5's, but I have heard that they have been dropping somewhat recently. I would suggest you look on everymac.com and some other places that sell used macs to get an idea of the RETAIL prices nowadays

Wow, everymac.com is EXPENSIVE (well their partner powermax) Powermac G4 runs almost 900 usd!!!!!!!! crazy

Honestly, your risk of an old Power Mac crapping out (especially a liquid cooled one) is much higher than that of a newer iMac.

I don't care what kind of machine it is, an older machine is a ticking time bomb. The electrical components are only rated for a certain number of hours of life and then they die.

And I say this as someone who has a MDD G4 and a G4 Cube on my desk next to my Mac Pro.

Yeah, but lets say my budget is 4-600 dlls. The iMac that I could buy is pretty old as well so its also going to be "a ticking time bomb"... whats going to be more expensive and difficult to repair? iMac or powermac. I think the iMac.

 

[goMac]

I disagree, I have two 8500/120 (home use), an 8600/200 (at work), two Beige G3's (home use), two B/W G3 (home use), two G4 450s (at work), an dual G4 500 (at work), a G4 dual 867 MDD (at work) and a titanium G4 667 (at work). Of those listed, the only problem I had was a bad power supply for MDD. All the others listed still boot and work just fine. They are good machines that will last a long time. They may not run the most advanced stuff, but they run the software of its time period.

Oh, no doubt computers CAN run that long. My G4 cube is still working great. But I wouldn't actually rely on it for serious work.

It's just a fact of life. Electrical components are only rated for a certain amount of hours on. Past that they're at risk. Maybe you're paying $500 for a machine that will last for years. But there's also a significant change it'll last for a few months. The older the machine is the higher the chance it'll die in the near future. Especially on more complicated machines like the G5.

My Mac Pro is at 4 years and I'm already getting jittery about it.

 

[Dane D.]

Oh, no doubt computers CAN run that long. My G4 cube is still working great. But I wouldn't actually rely on it for serious work.

It's just a fact of life. Electrical components are only rated for a certain amount of hours on. Past that they're at risk. Maybe you're paying $500 for a machine that will last for years. But there's also a significant change it'll last for a few months. The older the machine is the higher the chance it'll die in the near future. Especially on more complicated machines like the G5.

My Mac Pro is at 4 years and I'm already getting jittery about it.

The 8500 and 8600 are running great. I didn't mention I still have a Performa 630CD, a LC III, a 6100/60, a Performa 550 still running. All my Macs work except my Mac IICX, which needs a battery. You have no idea about the longevity of Macs. Treat them right and they last. You're Cube will last a long time too, if you don't mess with it and try to do things it was not might to do.

The build quality of the old Macs were outstanding.

 

[goMac]

The build quality of the old Macs were outstanding.

It's not the overall build quality. It's the transistors and capacitors. Those are off the shelf parts, and again, they're only rated from the factory for a certain number of hours for the machine being on.

There are cheaper and more expensive parts, but they all have a rated lifespan on them.

Like I said, I've got a G4 cube on my desk and it still runs. But if I actually was using it full time as a main machine, it probably wouldn't last long because I'd be wearing down those electronic's rated lifespans real fast.

Having a Power Mac 8500 sitting around that you turn on every so often isn't really a comparison to buying an old machine to use as your main machine.

 

[pistooli]

I completely agree the above mentioned facts. But I still use the iBook - in my signiture (previously owned two Intel Macs).

The reason is simple. I love the iBook design, and it runs perfectly the two software I purchased and use every day, FinalDraft, and MS Office.

So, being on topics, I would not upgrade to a G5 either.

 

[charlieroberts]

It's not the overall build quality. It's the transistors and capacitors. Those are off the shelf parts, and again, they're only rated from the factory for a certain number of hours for the machine being on.

There are cheaper and more expensive parts, but they all have a rated lifespan on them.

Like I said, I've got a G4 cube on my desk and it still runs. But if I actually was using it full time as a main machine, it probably wouldn't last long because I'd be wearing down those electronic's rated lifespans real fast.

Having a Power Mac 8500 sitting around that you turn on every so often isn't really a comparison to buying an old machine to use as your main machine.

In my office I have a Powermac G4 bought in 2002. It has been turned on for the last 10 years AT LEAST for 8 hours a day.
it still even has the original HDD... I hope I'm not jinxing it by saying this, but that machine is ROCK solid. Capacitor rating is important, but a cool running powermac thats properly cleaned and taken care of will last a LONG time...
At least a lot longer than an iMac

 

[DrakkenWar]

Here is my chime in!!

As some will now from many of my posts here. I not only find the best hardware to get the job done. I still look for the best bang for my buck.

I say this as I have run the gamut from from my first LC/II on up to my 6400/180 that got me through a move to Turkey. From there it was in 8600/300 running 9.1 to a G3/300 tower running 10.2. All of those computers did wonders for me that my Windoz machines could never do. And while I will admit that linux is a viable alternative for those willing to venture: ( I have spent many years mucking about with linux. Still have fluxbox in the house resurrected when my wife's POS AMD computer bought the farm.)

It is all about circumstance, money, allocations and what you are willing to do with it all. If you are mac die-hard like me? You will find away to use the hardware and platform you love no matter what. As I still rock my first gen iPhone, type away on this G4 lappy and yet still enjoy my 2011 mac mini in the home office when the interest sparks.

Are PPC's still viable? Still worth the investment? While I am mucking out the purchase of this new to me PPC, that should have came with 10.5, only to show up with 10.4? I do not regret in the least. Indeed, my wife's MacBook's screen is a sexy thing to look at. But does what I have now marvel anything else the winders types put out in 2005? Beyond a doubt.

I will happily use this feet of engineering for as long as I possibly can. As it serves every purpose that I see or need to see fit for it.

On that note, to the nay-sayers. It would not muck out to be my primary mac. Being such things as Youtube, Hulu and what not are abysmal under 10.4. Though I do hope the seller will honer the ageerment of 10.5 to fix the issues.

A properly kitted out G4 will honestly do most casual mac users fine for the foreseeable future as long as you can run 10.5.

Which in your case? Seems to be a viable choice.

YMVV.

~Drake