OS X Tiger vs. Powermac G3

[Karmaniac]

Hey!
OK, I've been using PC's since I was five and recently I decided to get a Mac because I lot of the jobs I've been applying for require Mac experience which I have none of; so I obtained a nice Powermac G3 (yeah, yeah, not the newest model, but it was free and I'm not made of money, haha). Well, it's still running on OS 9.2 (well, actually not it's running on 9.0 because I had to reboot the OS to wipe the harddrive) and I've been looking into buying a new OS X. Throughout my research, I've already checked off Leopard as "no go" because everyone says nothing before G4 has the required specs and considering I know nothing about Macs, I kinda have to go off of what I see, you know? However, I've seen mixed reviews about OS X Tiger and G3. Some say it runs great, some say it runs super slow, and some say it won't run at all. Well, I don't want to get anything before that because I'm doing this for job training and I need the newest possible software I can have because I doubt too many business are running on Panther or Jaguire.

I already have Powerpoint, Illustrator, and Go Live installed. I have Final Cut Studio and iMovie waiting in their boxes (I can't install them on anything less than OS X).

I need help because I need to be able to run these programs you know, but I need Tiger :\

I'm not sure what I'm doing and specifically I'm not sure what my question is....

I guess, how well, really, can Tiger run on a Powermac G3 along with other programs?

And any other advice would be MOST splendid.... THANKS!




Also, I'd like to get it online. I have Hughes satellite and I need to get one of those little deals that hook into the CPU so computers without built in Wifi can connect to satellite (my PC has one). I'm wondering if the thing my PC has (sorry I can't for the life of me remember the name of this little router, reciever thingie) is compatible with Macs or if I need to find a Mac specified one and if so where can I buy one and what do I need?

I found this on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/WIRELESS-USB-Ad...ryZ80060QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Would that work?

 

[11800506]

Tiger should be fine on that G3, I would just add as much RAM as you can (You don't say what revision the Powermac is so I dont know the maximum RAM, but Tiger runs best with >1 GB) but just note that the latest Final Cut Studio can't run on anything below a 1.25 Ghz G4, which I wouldn't recommend since it would be practically unusable. Therefore you won't be able to run FCS. Illustrator CS4 (although you said you already had it installed, so it must be an older version) also can't run on a G3, so if you're planning on trying to run those programs then you'll have to get a faster Mac.

 

[Karmaniac]

Oh yeah, it's Illustrater 8.0. And it's FCS Pro I think... It's all older versions of everything, you know?

Um, I'm not sure about the ram, lol... I'd have to check and I'm currently not at home with the Mac.

latest Final Cut Studio can't run on anything below a 1.25 Ghz G4, which I wouldn't recommend since it would be practically unusable.

What do you mean by this though? What would be practically unusable?

 

[hughvane]

I obtained a nice Powermac G3 ... it's running on 9.0 ... I've been looking into buying a new OS X ... I've seen mixed reviews about OS X Tiger and G3. I guess, how well, really, can Tiger run on a Powermac G3 along with other programs?

Always post the specs of your machine, never mind how old.

You can see from my specs that I run a G3 b/w 350. It has 768 Mb RAM, It's running Panther and I wouldn't dream of putting Tiger on it. I could put in all the RAM it would take, but the processor just won't cope with the demanding tasks of modern software in anything like acceptably quick time. So, my vote goes firmly to Panther.

I've just bought a G3 iMac 600 MHZ - even with nearly twice the processor speed, I will not be taking it beyond Panther.

 

[Karmaniac]

Well, I've decided I'm going to pop for a PowerMac G4 on eBay. Most of them seem to be going for around $100 so it isn't horrible.

I would've posted the specs but I wasn't at home when I posted that message.

My PowerMac has OS 9.0, 193 MB HD space, 300MHz, and as silly as this sounds I can't find out where to view the RAM. I mean, I've only been searching for a few minutes but still... it's not under "About this Mac" or "System Profiler"

 

[hughvane]

Well, I've decided I'm going to pop for a PowerMac G4 on eBay. Most of them seem to be going for around $100 so it isn't horrible.

I think you'll find that a G4 will handle Tiger a good deal better than any G3. However, not all G4's were created equal and there were 12 models produced. I'd like to recommend that you download and study Mactracker http://www.mactracker.ca/ in order to make yourself familiar with what you intend buying.

My PowerMac has OS 9.0, 193 MB HD space, 300MHz, and as silly as this sounds I can't find out where to view the RAM ... it's not under "About this Mac" or "System Profiler"

Now that is odd. Both of those avenues should show how much RAM is installed. Obviously the Mac is working or you couldn't tell us the other details. In any event, as a general and handy rule, always put as much RAM as permissible into any Mac you ever own - you won't regret it.

Keep us posted on any progress.

 

[madog]

Download the free MacTracker application via macupdate.com or versiontracker.com (might be OS X only now that I think about it...?). I would check mine now but am not at home. It contains every Mac model with every bit of info in it including the max amount of RAM it can take and what OS it can go up to.

 

[Karmaniac]

Hey I actually posted this on another post and I didn't even think to post it here, but I found a cheap G4 on eBay but the guy lists SO MUCH information I'm just so overwhelmed!

Will the Mac tacker thing help me figure out if it's a good buy?
This is the link: http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-Power-Mac...3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66:2|65:1|39:1|240:1318

in case anyone wants to check it out anyway.

 

[Karmaniac]

Are the e Macs any good?
I found one with this discription: Apple eMac G4 Desktop with 17" M9835LL/A (1.42 GHz PowerPC G4, 512 MB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive)

Is it better than the Powermac G5?

I mean... OK, I need the Adobe suite and FCS ..... would that suffice?

Sorry to keep being needy... I'm just a little lost.

 

[hughvane]

Are the e Macs any good? I found one with this description: Apple eMac G4 Desktop with 17" M9835LL/A (1.42 GHz PowerPC G4, 512 MB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive)
Is it better than the Powermac G5?

In short, for that eMac, go-go-go! The 1.42 GHz model was the top of the line, and it did NOT have the notorious eMac capacitor problem of previous models. You can take the RAM in that model of eMac to 2 Gb.

The eMac, in my slanted opinion, seeing I've operated one for the past 3 years without serious problems, is a darned good computer.

A PowerMac G5? [or did you mean G3?] Without knowing the specs, hard to say if it would be better than a G4 eMac. It'd be more powerful, probably faster, like 1.6 or 1.8 GHz, but I don't know that you'd notice a big difference over a 1.42 eMac. It would most certainly be better and faster than a PM G3.

Mactracker? An essential piece of software if you want to know about which Mac does what, and how. Yes, it will tell you all the specs of the different machines you're considering, but it won't tell you if it's a good machine. Reading the History section of each model helps in that regard. Other good resources are http://www.everymac.com, and http://www.lowendmac.com/.