ok thats great... But how is this possible? Is the processor on a cheap Rasberry Pi so much faster than on a g4? they have they same amount of ram memory..
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Mac Mini g4 - Use as videplayer or is it too old?
- Thread starter WoodenShoez
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ok thats great... But how is this possible? Is the processor on a cheap Rasberry Pi so much faster than on a g4? they have they same amount of ram memory..
The pi2 and pi3 are quad core where as a G4 is a single core. The pi also has hardware x264 decoding which helps with play back of x264 encoded files.
A bud of mine has been buying chinese RP clones for super cheap and doing the same thing. I want to say he has been getting them off some Chinese website for around $10 - banggood IIRC? Anyhow, I was over there last week for an election party and they work like a champ. They sure dont look like a mini although that would be a fun project - fit one of those into a mini or mini-type housing.
Do you by chance have a link to one of these?A bud of mine has been buying chinese RP clones for super cheap and doing the same thing. I want to say he has been getting them off some Chinese website for around $10 - banggood IIRC? Anyhow, I was over there last week for an election party and they work like a champ. They sure dont look like a mini although that would be a fun project - fit one of those into a mini or mini-type housing.
I think the Mac mini is an ok mac its not the fastest in the world but not the slowest its just a Meh mac Bump the ram to 1GB and they run Tiger very well and even leo runs Ok main thing against em is the lack of Core image in my opinion, then the lack of ram... they are fun macs to just fiddle with once in a while. I got my 1.42 Mac mini running nicely at 1.67Ghz and CPU wise its very close to a DLSD heh https://browser.geekbench.com/geekbench2/2601067
Bump the ram to 1GB and they run Tiger very well and even leo runs Ok main thing against em is the lack of Core image in my opinion, then the lack of ram... they are fun macs to just fiddle with once in a while. I got my 1.42 Mac mini running nicely at 1.67Ghz and CPU wise its very close to a DLSD heh https://browser.geekbench.com/geekbench2/2601067
Seems people are decrying the Mini as a concept rather than it's actual abilities - my 1.33 iBook benchmarks lower than the OP's machine and it plays 720P fine:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/youtube-options-in-2016.1986056/#post-23195872
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/youtube-options-in-2016.1986056/#post-23195872
That's my interpretation of saying it's no good as a mediaplayer - for me 720P playback is fine - I've lots of content that's 360P too...
I agree with those who say the Mini is weak... sure the CPU is on the faster end, but graphics are sub-par, only 2 USB is really limiting, wifi/BT card is proprietary to the Mini. I'd much rather take an early Intel Mini because I could run up to ML on it and upgrade the CPU, and fit more than 1GB of RAM in. I got a G4 mini last year, and I barely used it because I put two HDDs in and both died oddly enough. I then traded someone the Mini for a GigaTi... best thing I've ever done! Recently, I said I'd never get another G4 Mini unless it was free. Sure enough, a few days later, one of my friends offered me a free G4 mini with a dead HDD, with the box and PSU. I graciously accepted it, and it was a 1.42 with no wifi/bt. I put a new HDD in and decided to put Ubuntu Mate 16.04 on it. It worked well, but it was a sub-par experience since the Audio barely worked, and it was slow as heck. Meanwhile, I recently put Mate 16.10 on my ThinkPad T43 with a 1.86GHz Pentium M. This laptop was out at the same time as the last PowerBook G4s. All it has is a GMA900 and 1.5GB RAM. Compared to my Mini, the processors are about equal, the graphics on the Mini are discrete unlike the T43, and the T43 only has 512MB more RAM. Both, as I said, are running Mate. The experience on the T43 is heads-over-heels better than on the Mini. It's fully usable, fast, responsive, and EVERYTHING works. I love using the T43 because of its 14in 4:3 screen, modern OS, and great battery while using Mate (it's not even the extended battery). Now I know the PPC vs x86 plays a role, but don't forget, Mate has a native and up to date PPC-Architecture release, so it SHOULD work on PPC with no issues. The apps from the stores, however, are likely encoded for x86, which would slow them down on PPC since it has to convert from x86 to run them. Regardless, the overall experience, as I said, just feels so much better on the T43 than on the Mini, despite being current at the same time.
The OP already has his Mac Mini and the necessary software is available - I'd say try it and find out.
Running Tiger makes the non Core Image capable GPU irrelevant but I would say look up all the Tiger optimisations to help things along.
Comparing a Pentium M to a G4 is way off - the Pentium M crushed the G4 in most things, I had a 1.86 M Toughbook and it left my Powerbooks behind.
I've always found Linux sings on old X86 hardware compared to the PPC derivative and unlike the PPC mix, it installs and works within minutes.
Running Tiger makes the non Core Image capable GPU irrelevant but I would say look up all the Tiger optimisations to help things along.
Comparing a Pentium M to a G4 is way off - the Pentium M crushed the G4 in most things, I had a 1.86 M Toughbook and it left my Powerbooks behind.
I've always found Linux sings on old X86 hardware compared to the PPC derivative and unlike the PPC mix, it installs and works within minutes.
The lack of expansion on the mini certainly hurts it the older it gets (in regards to design concept) but if the op can make it work with some concessions, why not? I think most can agree it's not the best g4 offering but that doesn't mean it's unusable. Is it going to stream 1080p? Probably not, but 720p (or even 480p) would run like a champ. I mean 480p is what the netflix, Hulu+ & amazon prime playback is on my wii and it doesn't bug me one bit nor stop us from using it despite my TVs being 1080p capable. I also don't have the burning desire to upgrade it anytime soon either. I think Op ought to try some of the solid suggestions and get busy having some fun with his mini.
For the record, I still think it would be a slammin' idea to put some vintage console emulators on there
For the record, I still think it would be a slammin' idea to put some vintage console emulators on there
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I don't know about a G4 Mini as I don't have one. But what could be cool is finding a cheap trashed G4 Cube, and putting your Mini inside.
Some time back I picked up a G4 Cube for spares, and salvaged the case. Months later I saw a sweet deal on a 2009 A1283 Mac Mini (2.26GHz, 2GB Ram), and slotted it inside the Cube. Performance imho is excellent (partitioned with Snow Leopard, and Yosemite) and it makes for an interesting conversation piece. I don't use it as a videoplayer - my 1.2GHz G4 iMac performs that function admirably.
Some time back I picked up a G4 Cube for spares, and salvaged the case. Months later I saw a sweet deal on a 2009 A1283 Mac Mini (2.26GHz, 2GB Ram), and slotted it inside the Cube. Performance imho is excellent (partitioned with Snow Leopard, and Yosemite) and it makes for an interesting conversation piece. I don't use it as a videoplayer - my 1.2GHz G4 iMac performs that function admirably.
The G4 Mini was intended to be an entry level Mac. As such, it never was a screaming beast. I have the silent upgrade version with a 1.5 GHz CPU, 1 GB of RAM, and 64 MB of VRAM. I ran Leopard on it once, and it was incredibly slow. Since this Mac was low end anyway, and introduced when Tiger was the current OS, I expect that all the eye-candy of Leopard would slow it down. Now, in saying all this, I'm not telling you the Mac Mini G4 is useless. I have mine setup to use Morph OS and it flies. It boots in seconds and is incredibly responsive. But, Morph OS is a lightweight operating system, and it's far from mainstream. Anymore, all of our PPC machines are pretty much hobby computers. Some are powerful enough for current use, and others are not. Still, that doesn't mean the more limited machines are gun targets, coasters, and paperweights. To some, they are still useful. To me, they aren't really that hard to work on. As they say: to each, his or her own.
I was just looking for a cheap mediaplayer that could play the video files that I download…
So, when I download a mp4, avi, mpg, flv, video + srt file, iso…. I just open it with VLC on my c2d Macbook and it plays…
So I was hoping this g4 was powerfull enough to do just that.. A Core 2 Duo Mac Mini will work for sure, but over here they cost EUR 100,- secondhand, while this g4 only cost me EUR 30,-
For 30EUR the mini is good fun - even if it's just for music or as a fileserver or some very old stuff. But it will be definitely fun (as long as it's not your main machine...
)But to be honest: an intel c2duo is a better deal. At our home, a 2.53GHz with SSD and 8GB RAM serves as media-center and also as a file server. A whole lot of USB-ports, two display-ports, firewire800, ElCapitan, latest streaming-services (except HD). If you may get one for 100EUR go for it (and for the miniG4 too
) - it's all about happy networking! @Dannyshing27: thanks for the idea of using it for fax - I guess I'm looking for a G4 mini too now (currently it's an iBookG4 doing that job but a mini uses less space and may sit between the iMacs display and stand)
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Oh, that's easy done:
connect the miniG4 to the phone-line and the network.
Setup Fax-printer and share Fax to network.
Set Fax to receive incoming Fax-calls to print to network or local printer or even email as PDF
Send Fax via PDF-printouts with the mini's shared Fax option.
I also use "PageSender Fax Center" for sending Fax to a long "mailing"-list. It's the only really working solution for Mac/PPC and support ends with SnowLeopard (as the Apple USB-modem does too)
There's another workaround for Fax on latest OSX: Leopard-Server as a virtual machine with Fusion. Then the virtual machine is able to use the legacy Apple USB-modem and "PageSender Fax Center" for the same purpose.
Well - sending fax with WinXP/7pro and Fritz! has been smoother... - that's my only "complaint" after starting to switch from Win to Mac in 2009.
Is anyone still using fax machines these days?
Perhaps I should resurrect my telex machine, and the companies 1990's photophone.........
Is anyone still using fax machines these days?
Perhaps I should resurrect my telex machine, and the companies 1990's photophone.........
When I'm trying to remotely deal with my insurance agent(i.e. like last week when I realized I'd somehow missed my new auto insurance cards coming in the mail) the only thing they know how to do is fax them to me. I can scan and email documents to them fine, but they don't know how to do it on their end.
I also occasionally write a letter of recommendation where I have to fax it. Some of the major places like AMCAST(centralized clearing house for medical school applications) only accept electronic copies and the ones that don't often want physical letters in a sealed envelope, but I'll get an oddball one every once in a great while that needs to be faxed. My work has a fancy Xerox Workcenter that can USUALLY send and receive faxes okay, but that is a function that sometimes goes down and doesn't get a high priority for repair.
My neighbor still breaks out an old fax machine but she's 80. Otherwise, I use a giant all-in-one at work for faxing. I've honestly not ever sent a "fax" per se from a computer. I've always scan+email or used a fax function as part of an all-in-one.
I'm not adding much, but I found this interesting http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...c-mini-core-h264hd-playback-capabilities.html
Ignoring Apple's Quicktime requirements for 720P, I tried my 800Mhz G4 iMac running Tiger with 512Mb RAM - using Coreplayer, a 720P H264 file plays fine dropping 15% frames - noticeable but not obtrusive.
With that in mind, a Mini should do much better.
Must be something special in the electricity over there in Lincolnshire is all I can say.
You'd have to be a masochist to try and use a G4 as a video player in this day and age, and have infinite spare time. If you want to use a Mac, go find a 2009 Mini and install Kodi on it. Works a treat.
If you're feeling cheap, go grab an WDTV off Ebay for a tenner. Plays just about anything that isn't silly bitrate or format comes with a remote and just works.
You'd have to be a masochist to try and use a G4 as a video player in this day and age, and have infinite spare time. If you want to use a Mac, go find a 2009 Mini and install Kodi on it. Works a treat.
If you're feeling cheap, go grab an WDTV off Ebay for a tenner. Plays just about anything that isn't silly bitrate or format comes with a remote and just works.