Powermac G4 867 DP MDD upgrade

[Majikthese42]

I have an older Powermac G4 867 DP MDD, bus speed 133MHZ, 256 MB SDRAM and a CD-RW/DVD-ROM. It works fine for me, but it's getting old, and I'm starting to work from home so it's critical that I have a working computer at all times.

I'm planning to buy a new Mac, and use the 867 as a backup computer, but I also want to upgrade it.

1.) Will OSX Tiger work well with the 867MHZ processor?

2.) As for memory expansion, I moticed that the price difference between a 256 stick and a 512 stick is just $25. So why would someone buy a 256? And can I mix and match the 256 with a 512? Or would I be asking for trouble?

If this is dumb to ask, or has been asked about a bazillion times before, I apologise, but I tried using the "search" function first. I've been using Macs since 1989, but I just use 'em, I don't know what makes 'em tick! Thanks!

 

[wdlove]

Yes, Tiger will work on your Mac with no problem. I would recommend more RAM, purchase what you can afford. I have 1.25 GB of RAM on a older PM than yours. The Crucial RAM link above would be a good place to check for your needs.

What new Mac do you plan to purchase?

 

[Mord]

you can mix and match anything, i'd just get a 512MB stick, 768MB is a decent amount.

 

[Sweetfeld28]

As stated you can mix the diffrent sizes of RAM sticks, as long as ther are what ever you need to in your machine. i.e. i have 1.25 GB of RAM (256+256+256+512MB).


Also, another good site for looking for memory is OWC (MacSales). Once there you can select your model of computer and get a list of all the available upgrades for your computer.

 

[Majikthese42]

Thank you! I will do that!

 

[leekohler]

Wow- do you really need a new computer? Depending on what you do, sounds to me like you should be fine with a DP 867, just stuff it full of RAM and you'll see a huge difference. I have an old 350 MHz Sawtooth that I upgraded to a 1 GHz single processor and 1.5 Gb RAM and it's great. I work a lot at home too and it suits me just fine. Oh- and Tiger runs great on it.

 

[ITASOR]

Just to help you out:

I have a Quicksilver 933Mhz single processor 768MB RAM with Tiger. It runs it extremely well and I do a lot of iMovie and the rest of iLife. I constantly have tons of apps open and hardly ever notice a slow down. It's great. I'd imagine a dual 867 would be quite faster than the single 933, so you should be good well into the intel macs and maybe farther!

 

[briangig]

I have a digital audio powermac running tiger, upgraded it to the dual 867, and it is very fast, runs awesome. I was at 768mb of ram, just bumped it to 1152 today, i figure it does more good in the machine than in a drawer. You will notice a HUGE speed increase with the ram alone, boot time, app launching, anything really..I would not hesitate going to 1.5gigs at all..os x will use it, and use it right. What about the video card? Right now I only have a Rage 128 Pro...fine for browsing and standard apps, but it might be something you need to upgrade.

Another upgrade option would be HD controllers..(the mdd has ata/66 right?) ata/100 or serial ata would make a difference.

Also, what new mac were you thinking of? For a fraction of the cost, you could totaly pimp out that mdd. Unless you will be doing primarily video..I dont see what the g4 dp couldnt do..

edit: just checked the specs, max 2gb ram comes with ata 100 drive, so i assume the controller is ata/100..put in as much ram as you can afford, at least 1gb.

 

[Majikthese42]

Wow- do you really need a new computer? Depending on what you do, sounds to me like you should be fine with a DP 867, just stuff it full of RAM and you'll see a huge difference. I have an old 350 MHz Sawtooth that I upgraded to a 1 GHz single processor and 1.5 Gb RAM and it's great. I work a lot at home too and it suits me just fine. Oh- and Tiger runs great on it.

No, I don't really "need" a new computer. In fact the 867 DP was overkill when I bought it, I just went for it because it was expandable. But I DO really need a backup computer, 'else I'm "scrod" if it breaks. (The 6-year old iMac my kid left me while taking the laptop back to college just won't cut it for 200 page files.) And I don't want to buy a new Power Book if they're going to introduce the NEW Power Books just as soon as I break the carton seal!

My thought is to upgrade the 866 DP's memory, upgrade to Tiger, but buy a Mac-mini as a backup computer (and for home entertainment use). Then maybe a 15" PB under the Christmas tree.

Thanks!