mac mini worth an update? G4 1.42GHz > Intel 1.83GHz

[dsharp7th]

i've had a look around, but please direct me to another thread i may have missed if this has been covered.

i'm debating with myself whether to upgrade my G4 1.42GHz/1GB/superdrive (tiger) mac mini to the Core Duo 1.83GHz/2GB. lacie 200GB firewire / formac 19" lcd would remain in place. can any users here comment from experience?

(from another thread i'm fairly happy that the 2GHz is not worth the extra against a 1.83 with 2GB ram)

while i would like to benefit from boot camp instead of hauling out my ropey hp notebook for BBC iPlayer and IE specific websites, mainly i would expect a pleasing speed boost for the expenditure. i'm generally happy with data processing performance but i would like to see the back of tedious delays from (in particular) large iPhoto library (with drop shadows off!), website plugins, font menus etc. as well as quicker app launches. in other words spinning wheels are more of a problem than progress bars!

any advice much appreciated.

 

[phairphan]

I just upgraded from a G4 1.5GHz Mini to a C2D 1.83GHz Mini. You'll love the upgrade. I've seen far fewer beachballs since moving to the new machine. However, this probably has as much to do with the RAM boost (from 1 to 2GB) as the faster processor. I do a fair amount of Handbraking on this machine, so the extra horsepower has been greatly appreciated.

If you're patient (and lucky), you can find the newest generation Minis on the Apple refurb site. They go fast, so check frequently. The newer Minis use Core 2 Duo processors vs Core Duo processors and the RAM ceiling has been increased to 3GB (essentially). The 1.83GHz C2D is basically as fast as a 2GHz CD.

 

[displaced]

I've been pondering the very same thing

My G4 Mac Mini's running as a media centre thing, with a terabyte-and-a-bit of hard disks hanging off its firewire and USB ports, an optical digital audio adapter and connected to a HD TV.

It's been great. It's a bit sluggish navigating Front Row and it's not really up to full-frame rate HD playback, but it's doing well. It streams media to my Xbox 360, speaks the names of callers from my bluetooth mobile... all kinds of cool stuff -- even has a USB digital terrestrial TV tuner running EyeTV.

But... the Intel Mac Mini solves quite a few little problems. It'll do real HD stuff and navigating music, video and photo libraries in Front Row would be much slicker. EyeTV recording wouldn't slow everything else down so much. Also, PowerPC Macs have horrendous USB2 implementations.

It's a difficult decision... My machine's pegged at 100% CPU usage quite often. The Intel system would give me a beefier CPU, but also it'd give better USB2 performance and also a faster architecture in general (faster RAM, faster CPU<->RAM bus speeds, etc.)

Really, I can only give advice based on what I'm thinking... Basically, balance the annoyance of the pauses and hiccups when the machine's thinking against the cost of a new mini. Personally, money's tight at the moment so I'm not seriously considering a purchase. I thought about a trade or selling the mini on eBay... but that lil' mini's got a fair bit of sentimental value I even tricked it out with a replacement dual-layer internal DVD burner If and when I do get an Intel mini, my current G4 will make a great little media box for another room!