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PowerPC Macs, Which one is best?
- Thread starter Theodore loves apple
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It won't be legit unless all the options are there? I'm not sure you can lump PowerBook G3 into one category, when they are vastly different. Same for iMac G3, or Power Macintosh?
'Best' is subjective.
What are you basing best on? Best performance? Best utility? Best looks? Best all around? Best for a specific purpose?
What I think is best, based on any definition you come up with, others will disagree.
How are you going to overcome bias? Some people, myself included, think a particular model is the best because that's the one they had access to when young or that attracted them to Mac or whatever.
For example, I think the Quad G5 is one of the 'best' Macs because it is the most powerful. But to me, it's not the best in looks. I find it ugly. I always have.
I know there are others on this forum that will vehemently disagree with my opinion. To them the G5 is one of the most beautiful Macs ever made. So how can it be best?
What are you basing best on? Best performance? Best utility? Best looks? Best all around? Best for a specific purpose?
What I think is best, based on any definition you come up with, others will disagree.
How are you going to overcome bias? Some people, myself included, think a particular model is the best because that's the one they had access to when young or that attracted them to Mac or whatever.
For example, I think the Quad G5 is one of the 'best' Macs because it is the most powerful. But to me, it's not the best in looks. I find it ugly. I always have.
I know there are others on this forum that will vehemently disagree with my opinion. To them the G5 is one of the most beautiful Macs ever made. So how can it be best?
This is the “objectively correct” answer and should be included in the poll.
And the Mac mini G4. And the Power Macintosh G3.
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Gigabit Ethernet PowerMac G4 with a Sonnet upgrade and a Sonnet PCI-SATA card.
Capable of running OS9/Leopard with Gigabit ethernet. 2GB ram with cache and the ability to use any size SATA drive. Install a higher end GPU and you can drive a 30" Cinema Display and/or an HDTV. Add in a USB/FW card and you can get USB 2.0 and FW800. Additionally, you can get Bluetooth 2.0 with a USB BT adapter.
You won't get the raw power of a G5, but G5s can't run OS9, only Classic and only under Tiger.
A PowerPC Mac I don’t have — and wish I did:
A 2.3GHz Dual Core A1117 Power Mac G5, equipped with a GeForce 7800 GT and a pair of Sonnet Tempo E4i SATA cards.
It isn’t the Quad Core, but it would be a step up in speed from my ailing mid-2004 2.0 DP. It would run much cooler, handle 16GB RAM, accommodate several internal SATA II drives (with help from some Icy Dock adapters), and being air-cooled, would generally be one less thing I’d need to worry about.
The GeForce card would let me run dual-link DVI monitors like the 30-inch aluminium Cinema Display (which would be a massive step up from the 20-inch acrylic display running on my A1047). It would also be hardware-supported by the Clouded Leopard builds.
Unfortunately, the A1117s don’t turn up locally very often, or else I’d probably have one by now.
A 2.3GHz Dual Core A1117 Power Mac G5, equipped with a GeForce 7800 GT and a pair of Sonnet Tempo E4i SATA cards.
It isn’t the Quad Core, but it would be a step up in speed from my ailing mid-2004 2.0 DP. It would run much cooler, handle 16GB RAM, accommodate several internal SATA II drives (with help from some Icy Dock adapters), and being air-cooled, would generally be one less thing I’d need to worry about.
The GeForce card would let me run dual-link DVI monitors like the 30-inch aluminium Cinema Display (which would be a massive step up from the 20-inch acrylic display running on my A1047). It would also be hardware-supported by the Clouded Leopard builds.
Unfortunately, the A1117s don’t turn up locally very often, or else I’d probably have one by now.
For real though; use case, personal preference all matter.
There is no “best”. We could probably pick the best of certain categories; but even then it’s subjective and differs by opinion and usecase.
For example; one person might say the later iBook G3 is the best because all they use it for is typing word documents and spreadsheets or something and they don’t want a large PowerBook (or a small one that doubles as a loud lap heater) and its small enough, modern enough looking and has a decent keyboard (mine don’t smell 🤷🏼♂️)
For me personally I find myself using one of my 12” 1.5GHz PowerBook G4s. Fan noise and how hot my lap gets while using it isn’t a factor for me because I don’t care. I love its keyboard, it’s plenty fast and the GPU is okay enough to play the occasional 3D game (though many other Macs are better suited for that). Its also able to connect to my modern wireless network.
Do I think its the best PowerBook? Not really.. sometimes depending on the day. I use a 15” a lot too. If I feel like sitting at a table I’ll use my 17”.
This will be a never ending discussion. Much like cars. My favorite car is the 1990-1993 Toyota Celica Alltrac (GT-Four) ST185. Someone else’s favorite car is gonna be a 69’ Camaro, or a 2022 GT500. We really can’t say what is best.
Wiith PowerPC Macs, everyone’s a winner.
You know there’s no Mac mini G5, right?
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I know many here use PM G5s, and by virtue of them being the most powerful PPC Macs, you could argue they are the best.
But with that logic, if power is a priority, then the Mac Pro 1,1 or even 5,1 is better.
I think the best PPC Mac is the one you find yourself using most. And for everyone’s use-case, that completely varies.
Some people absolutely need OS 9- others just need power.
But with that logic, if power is a priority, then the Mac Pro 1,1 or even 5,1 is better.
I think the best PPC Mac is the one you find yourself using most. And for everyone’s use-case, that completely varies.
Some people absolutely need OS 9- others just need power.
I could probably write a whole article (again) on which PPC Mac is "the best" and only come to the conclusions outlined in this thread. Each Mac is unique just like those who use them.
Being in the lowest end of the budget bracket, I personally care a lot not just about performance per watt (which helps my power bill) but performance per dollar. And considering those, I don't think anything beats the Six Dollar eMac in that category.
Being in the lowest end of the budget bracket, I personally care a lot not just about performance per watt (which helps my power bill) but performance per dollar. And considering those, I don't think anything beats the Six Dollar eMac in that category.
I think the OPs intent was just to have people choose which one they think is the best using whatever criteria is important to them. They didn't even ask for the reason so I think it is just a fun exercise with no expectation of finding the one true "best" PowerPC Mac.
I don't think anything beats the Six Dollar eMac in that category.
Sounds of the Six-Dollar eMac, in action:
You're all wrong. The iBook Clamshell PVT Prototype is clearly the best. Any idiot can see that!
Well ok then, it's any PowerPC Mac with an L3 cache. Because as we all know, PPC Macs without L3 cache all suck.
That better? I'm just trying to help
The liquid helium cooled one ? You lucky...