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Is this one good computer?

crazysaxchris

crazysaxchris

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 24, 2005
95
0
A SMALL TOWN IN WISCONSIN
Ok well I've decided to get an older Powermac g4:

Here are my choices

Here is upgraded G3 with a Sonnet Encore 500mhz G4 Processor ,60gb 7200rpm hard rive,9gb hard rive running os9, with a DVD-r/+RW drive, Acard 66ata card for additonal storage, ATI radeon 7000 dual monitor card, 1gb ram

I probably would pay 200.00 (too much, to little ????)

2nd choice

Apple PowerMac G4 - 450mhz Tower with Dual Processors
450mhz Dual Processors
320mb SDRAM
30gb IDE Hard Drive
DVD Drive
10/100 Ethernet Onboard
USB Ports Onboard
Firewire Onboard
ATI Rage 128 AGP Video Card


I'm going to be doing a little video editing on it (JUST A LITTTLE :D ) Just a little bit of Iphoto. (Family Videos)

Would any of these computers be good for my porpouse? I would install tiger on either one of them. I probably would choose the one with the dvd drive because of video editing. Would these be slow, I don't need it to be blazing fast. I think I probably will end up with the first one, but I need your advice just to see.

I'm on a very tight budget, so money is limited~

Thanks,

CHRIS

Please post quick! :eek:
 
why post quick? whats the rush... there are always computers for sale... :rolleyes:

you need the dual g4 if you're going to use photoshop or other media editing software... the g3 isnt going to cut it

and more RAM, all the time
 
well how much is it worth. I really don't want to go over 275.00 because of all the upgrades. How much is it worth though! Will this computer last a long time? Are these powermacs good? Will tiger run on them fine?
 
They are fine machines and Tiger will run fine on them. Although the more RAM the faster it's gonna run. But I would still go for the dual setup. When you are doing a lot of things at once, with a dual you have the second cpu that can lift some work of the shoulders of the first cpu. That really makes a difference! If you have the money, buy some extra ram, os X always likes a bit of extra ram, 1 GB or more. Also, the ati 128 is a bit old and outdated, you are better off with the ati 7000. It's a though call, you have dual cpu's on one hand and more ram, a better graphics card, a faster and bigger harddrive on the other. 275 for the dual is really a bargain, here in Holland I just saw a pretty standard dual 500 for 600 Euro's (is about 700 USD). 200 USD for the single 500 mhz is also a bargain, especially with all the extra's! Here a standard costs around 300 - 400 Euro's. Compare them with other Macs that are sold secondhand on the internet and you will see for yourself. For that money, you can't go wrong with whatever choice you'll make!
 
Jaffa Cake said:
According to Apple's system requirements page for Tiger, it doesn't support processor upgrades, which would rule out the first option. Even if that wasn't the case, I'd still say to go for the dualie – just pop some more RAM in there, and maybe look at adding another hard disk, and you'll be set.
Click to expand...

That doesn't mean anything. Virtually all G4 processor upgrades are compatible with OS X.

I'd go with the second option. The dual is superior in many ways other than the processor, including faster ATA bus, AGP graphics, and the option to upgrade to 2 Ghz G4 if you want :D
 
Remember to budget for at least 512 Mb RAM additional on the Dual 450 G4 machine, and a DVD burner. You may also want a larger hard drive (120 Gb or less tho'.)

The G3 is upgraded almost as far as it can go - Is it a beige G3 or a Blue and White? If it is beige it has no USB and Firewire, so you'd need a card for that. But if it has 1 Gb RAM it is more likely the Blue and White G3 which has Firewire.
 
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