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Need Advice on a Power Mac

R

RDM3

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 15, 2009
234
0
Concordville PA
I am looking at a Mac Pro for a 2nd computer, it is at $199.00 on ebay, what is it worth?

Can it be upgraded much more, I see the RAM can go to 8gb, how about the HD's? I know it is not an Intel Machine, but overall can you give me some of your expert opinions?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-Mac-Pro-1...ms=65:1|66:2|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:6|294:50

The basic specs of the computer are as follows:
1.8GHz PowerPC Processor
4GB DDR SDRAM RAM (expandable to 8 gigs)
250GB Hard Drive (2 hard drive bays total)
ATI 9800 Radeon Pro Graphics Card
SuperDrive
Running OS X Leopard 10.5.6
Comes installed with Adobe Photoshop CS2, Adobe Illustrator CS2, and iLife '06

I have included several pics and screenshots that detail the specs in more detail, so please have a look at them. The screenshots show the hardware specs and a recent TechTool test showing that all the components are in working order. Another shows all the applications installed.

In addition to the Mac Pro tower, the machine also comes with the following peripherals:

Apple Full-Sized White Wired Keyboard
Apple Optical Wired Mighty Mouse
Apple Airport External Antenna (enables wireless internet connection of tower)
Apple DVI to VGA adapter
Original packaging for tower

What is NOT included in this sale: any software CDs or DVDs. I lost them all at some point during various moves, so I do not have any of the software media. There is also no monitor included with the computer.

Even though this computer isn't brand new (2003), it is still plenty powerful, especially with the upgraded graphics card and RAM, and it can be upgraded even further. Windows and applications open quickly, and the Airport antenna is really handy if you don't have wired internet nearby. The software alone on this machine is worth several hundred dollars. I have never had any trouble with this computer the entire time I've owned it -- it used to be my powerhouse Photoshop machine until I recently bought a more powerful computer recently. There are a total of 5 fans in this thing, so it is not the quietest tower, but it is well cooled.
 
This isn't a Mac Pro but a Power Mac. You can expand HD to 4 TB without problems because they fit the newest SATA interface and go to 2 TB per HD.

Your expansion cards are PCI and not PCIe as with the Mac Pros. The single CPU isn't upgradable to two CPUs. A dual processor model may give you a lot more oomph. Be aware that you buy a shiny good looking machine but rather from the low end of the spectrum of G5s. Only the 1,6 single CPU would be slower.

If you can live with the somewhat restricted grafics options 199$ seems ok.

This machine will not run on Snow Leopard.

If you are buying this for pictures and music you will be ok. Video and gaming will suck on this machine. Ripping a DVD will take very long and running h.264 video in 1080p will not be fluent due to lack of CPU capacity.
 
The machine will not run windows very well at all, it'll have to be done via emulation, not native
 
gugucom said:
This isn't a Mac Pro but a Power Mac. You can expand HD to 4 TB without problems because they fit the newest SATA interface and go to 2 TB per HD.

Your expansion cards are PCI and not PCIe as with the Mac Pros. The single CPU isn't upgradable to two CPUs. A dual processor model may give you a lot more oomph. Be aware that you buy a shiny good looking machine but rather from the low end of the spectrum of G5s. Only the 1,6 single CPU would be slower.

If you can live with the somewhat restricted grafics options 199$ seems ok.

This machine will not run on Snow Leopard.

If you are buying this for pictures and music you will be ok. Video and gaming will suck on this machine. Ripping a DVD will take very long and running h.264 video in 1080p will not be fluent due to lack of CPU capacity.
Click to expand...

Thanks, and I stand corrected you are right Power Mac, but I am not a gamer and if I had to rip a DVD, which I almost never do, I would use my Macbook.

It would be mostly for photoshop and going on the Internet, nothing too intense.

I would probably upgrade the RAM and max it out at 8gb in hopes I would see a big difference. As for the HD, i would probably leave them how they are for now.

I am fine with just Leopard, it is a good OS.
 
Maxing out RAM would not make an improvement where you want it to.

For what you want to use it for, I would advise against buying this particular computer. A new Mac Mini would outperform that computer by a longshot for Internet and Photoshop needs, in addition to being able to run Windows natively, plus Snow Leopard support (and retroactive speed up as a result of the forthcoming refined OS), plus the added bonus of just feeling "snappier" than the most-likely-sluggish aging tower.
 
You ...

... really gain nothing by using a power hungry machine just for some photoshopping and internet browsing. You can´t update the graphics to somewhat recent standards other than using hacked PC cards. It consumes too much electricity for the tasks you presumably throw at it- and believe it: It´s slow by todays consumer standards, even regarding webbrowsing.

A Mac Mini, well, even a Power PC based one, would be more than sufficient for this (especially the G4 versions them are sold cheap on eBay nowadays).

This powermac would only make sense, if you use it to utilize some old important PCI based hardware, like professional audio tools or similar.
 
Thanks for all the replies, you guys are great!!! I am going to steer clear of this one and look at other options, maybe a Mini.
 
RDM3 said:
Thanks for all the replies, you guys are great!!! I am going to steer clear of this one and look at other options, maybe a Mini.
Click to expand...

Honestly the mini will outperform what you were looking at before, i know it's not as cool or imperssive but in in terms of clock power you'll be better off
 
TK2K said:
Honestly the mini will outperform what you were looking at before, i know it's not as cool or imperssive but in in terms of clock power you'll be better off
Click to expand...

I am actually looking on ebay now, most have 1gb RAM and I want more RAM, I would upgrade it myself but I am not sure how I feel about cracking it open and doing it myself.
 
200 isn't too bad, but I would try to stay away from ppc as a machine machine this late in the game. I just sold my 2.0 with 6GB of ram for 500 and bought an iMac.
 
I think that the original poster is getting a great deal with this machine if his needs are modest, like myself and it is the dual processor model.

Just pack it with the full 8Gb of Ram and add a second Photoshop scratch disk hard drive. That will make a noticeable improvement in performance.

If you think of function, look at what you are getting; a machine that has some great programs installed that you don't have to pay for. If you can exist within those limitations and you don't need to edit huge images, I think you have a very useful machine. I have the dual 2.0 G5, Tiger, and have now purchased CS4, however, I worked productively within CS2 with success. If the files start to get too large that things might become a problem.

Here is a link to a site that offers great advice to maximizing performance on your Mac, including a 1.8 G5.

http://macperformanceguide.com/

You need to take stock of your own real needs. Of course the new machines are much faster and more powerful. The question is - do you need it? After all, in this economy, it doesn't make sense to spend more money than you have to - and if you bought a new machine, you also have to factor in the cost of software.

Mike
 
RDM3 said:
I am actually looking on ebay now, most have 1gb RAM and I want more RAM, I would upgrade it myself but I am not sure how I feel about cracking it open and doing it myself.
Click to expand...

well the mini's upgrades are fairly easy, additionally you could bring it to the apple store, mine doesn't charge any install fee but you gotta buy apple ram. It's gone down in price a lot for the mac mini, check on their site and see
 
TK2K said:
well the mini's upgrades are fairly easy, additionally you could bring it to the apple store, mine doesn't charge any install fee but you gotta buy apple ram. It's gone down in price a lot for the mac mini, check on their site and see
Click to expand...

The Apple site does not show the mini under the memory upgrade section, am I missing it?
 
RDM3 said:
Thanks for all the replies, you guys are great!!! I am going to steer clear of this one and look at other options, maybe a Mini.
Click to expand...

NOOOOOOOOOOO! This is so cheap because the guy messed up the names and doesn't come with the install disks. It is a great deal!

PPC support will continue for a few more years.
 
RDM3 said:
I am not too sure about that, while it has a lot of software, being it is a PowerPC chipset it brings it down as it is now limited to what you can do withit, obviously if it had an Intel chip it would be great.
Click to expand...

Those things usually go for $1000 on eBay. But still, you're getting a steal with it at $200.

According to Mac2Sell.net, it is worth $340, without the software. I think that that site underestimates the value of most computers though.
 
This is a single CPU, single core machine. Only 1,6 GHz would be slower. But the price is ok for the machine. You just have to be aware that it is one of the slowest G5 and you cannot upgrade it. Those machines do go by 300-400 € on ebay here in Europe. But you can sell an empty Power Mac enclosure here for more than 100 €. People are really hot for the looks and the is a scene that fits Hackintosh kits into Mac enclosures. So the tread starter would do a good deal but for a slow machine as I have said all along.
 
Ok, so now I am getting the feeling that it is a good deal, it does have limitations, but overall for web browsing, photoshop, MS Office, it would be fine, it is just limited to Leopard forever, because it is not an Intel machine.
 
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