Scored a room full of PowerMac G4's for free!

[catzilla]

I ordered a Yikes G4 when they were announced, after the speed "dump" I cancelled and bought the top B&W G3. 450mhz with the UW SCSI card and a 9GB hdd. That was a great machine. I maxed it out with a 29160n and a couple of server drives with some kind of flashed PC video card. I sold it when I got my MDD.

 

[redhatcode29]

If a man speaks out deep in the forest, and there is no woman there to hear him, is he still wrong?.

i know that this has nothing to do with PPC....but dude, i saw your quote once and i forgot whose quote it was, i was goin through all of the threads to find it, now i found it..ha ha.

I am stealing your quote !! I simply love it man.

 

[eyoungren]

I'm talking about the OP's OP...

He never said they were blue and white in the OP. 😛

He only said the original models were blue and white, referring to the G3, in a seperate post.

He never used the term G3, that is true.

But among this community if you use the words blue, white, or blue & white it doesn't autmatically follow with the term G4. Even if the OP described these Macs as G4s.

Until now, I have never heard that the front panel of the early G4s could be described as a deep navy blue. I see it, because of the pictures, but I also wouldn't describe Graphite as white.

Every G4 I've ever dealt with has been in the real physical world and not a single one of them has ever had a navy blue front panel - stock.

----------

While the G5 Power Macs are gorgeous, I think the G4's are the most practical design Apple has ever made. They're simple to open, fiddle with, upgrade, fix, etc. That's impossible to say about anything they make anymore. I'm surprised a third party case designer never did a case that opens like that. Taking the door off a case isn't hard but it's never going to be as convenient as just pulling the side open. If Apple introduced a case like that today there would be tons of companies copying them, but these were still back in the day Apple wasn't "cool" with mainstream users. Heck, you can buy a 2014 Power Mac style imitation case already.

I have to agree with almost everything you said here, except the G5s being gorgeous. 😀

In 2003 when they were announced I thought the front looked like a cheese grater. I still do. I've never cared for the design. I very much respect the power and features, having worked on a G5 since February 2005, but I've never considered it gorgeous.

That's just my opinion though. The best looking Mac ever made was the Quicksilver so I'm biased. 😀

 

[cocacolakid]

A quick google search turns up many hits for fake 2014 Mac Pro cases, but none for fake Power Mac 2014 style cases.

You know what I meant.

 

[weckart]

I ordered a Yikes G4 when they were announced, after the speed "dump" I cancelled and bought the top B&W G3. 450mhz with the UW SCSI card and a 9GB hdd. That was a great machine. I maxed it out with a 29160n and a couple of server drives with some kind of flashed PC video card. I sold it when I got my MDD.

Noise and weightwise how does the B&W compare with the MDD?

 

[bunnspecial]

Noise and weightwise how does the B&W compare with the MDD?

MDDs are quite a bit heavier than MDDs.

As per Wikipedia, B&Ws are 27.8lbs and MDDs are 42lbs.

Of course, individual configurations can change this, especially hard drives. Each hard drive can add 1-2lbs, and I'm guessing the specs on Wikipedia are for 1 HDD. Many B&Ws in their default configuration can only take one hard drive, while MDDs can take 4. I know that the one MDD I have with 4 HDDs is a beast to move-it's a lot heavier than you would expect.

I've been known to "two fist" G3 and pre-MDD G4 towers-i.e. carry one in each hand when I'm trying to move a bunch at a time. I generally won't try this with MDDs.

As far as noise-the B&W has one big(and relatively slow) case fan on the back wall and one in the power supply. The MDD has a big fan down low in the case that blows directly across the heatsink(a lot of turbulence), one in the door that seals to the optical cage with foam rubber, and two in the PSU. I think that the "Wind Tunnel" moniker is probably a bit overblow, but they are at least louder in my experience than G3s or the graphite case G4s(the CPU fan on Quicksilvers does make them a bit louder).

Also, don't discount the hard drives. The stock HDD in many B&Ws is a Quantum Fireball. These have a very distinctive sound during spin-up and access, although I personally find it quite nostalgic as I used a lot of computers through the 90s(PCs primarily) with these hard drives. MDDs often have newer drives that are somewhat quieter.

 

[catzilla]

MDDs are quite a bit heavier than MDDs

Naaa, they are the same....😎
I had the quieter version of the MDD, still louder than a B&W.

 

[jbarley]

You know what I meant.

I might have, but think of the possibly thousands of other readers you could be misleading.

 

[Gamer9430]

Why is it that every post I make on here turns controversial? Anyway, when I said white, the lights in the room made the case look very light. The front are all blue, accept for the one MDD. I will take pictures on Monday when I speak to him again.

 

[bunnspecial]

Why is it that every post I make on here turns controversial? Anyway, when I said white, the lights in the room made the case look very light. The front are all blue, accept for the one MDD. I will take pictures on Monday when I speak to him again.

Whatever they are, I'm happy to see you getting that many computers to play with.

Assuming they are G4s, you should know that there are 4 major variations, all with their relative merits and downfalls. The collector will want all of them 🙂.

1. The Yikes! uses a ZIF-socketed G4 and PCI graphics card. It's more-or-less a Yosemite(B&W G3) upgraded to a G4 processor.

2. Sawtooth(AKA AGP Graphics). These use an AGP graphics card, have 4 RAM slots for a max of 2gb, and have the CPU mounted on a daughter card like later G4 Macs. Another interesting thing about these is that they have a 3rd USB port mounted directly on the logic board.

3. Gigabit ethernet. As the name would suggest, these have on-board gigabit ethernet. The other major internal change is that-with the correct graphics card-these can power an ADC display.

4. Digital Audio. Internally, these are more like a Quicksilver. They have 3 RAM sockets for a maximum of 1.5gb, although a 133mhz system bus, and 4 PCI slots(plus AGP). They also contain an onboard amplifier to output to the Apple Pro Speakers(hence the Digital Audio name).

The Yikes! and Sawtooth have a green LED behind the power button. The GigE and DA have a white LED.

Once you get them, let us know which version(s) you have!

 

[Gamer9430]

Whatever they are, I'm happy to see you getting that many computers to play with.

Assuming they are G4s, you should know that there are 4 major variations, all with their relative merits and downfalls. The collector will want all of them 🙂.

1. The Yikes! uses a ZIF-socketed G4 and PCI graphics card. It's more-or-less a Yosemite(B&W G3) upgraded to a G4 processor.

2. Sawtooth(AKA AGP Graphics). These use an AGP graphics card, have 4 RAM slots for a max of 2gb, and have the CPU mounted on a daughter card like later G4 Macs. Another interesting thing about these is that they have a 3rd USB port mounted directly on the logic board.

3. Gigabit ethernet. As the name would suggest, these have on-board gigabit ethernet. The other major internal change is that-with the correct graphics card-these can power an ADC display.

4. Digital Audio. Internally, these are more like a Quicksilver. They have 3 RAM sockets for a maximum of 1.5gb, although a 133mhz system bus, and 4 PCI slots(plus AGP). They also contain an onboard amplifier to output to the Apple Pro Speakers(hence the Digital Audio name).

The Yikes! and Sawtooth have a green LED behind the power button. The GigE and DA have a white LED.

Once you get them, let us know which version(s) you have!

Is the MDD the same as the digital audio? Or is it completely separate? Also, I will definitely let everyone know what models they are. Idk when I'll get them, let alone if I will (it's 99.9% definitely happening, lol).

 

[bunnspecial]

Is the MDD the same as the digital audio? Or is it completely separate? Also, I will definitely let everyone know what models they are. Idk when I'll get them, let alone if I will (it's 99.9% definitely happening, lol).

MDDs and Digital Audios are quite different.

As you probably know, there were three major case revisions for the G4 series towers-the original Graphite, the Quicksilver, and the Mirrored Drive Door.

As I said, the Digital Audio is in a graphite case(like the earlier models) but the logic board has more in common with the Quicksilver than the Gigabit Ethernet model that preceeded it. Sawtooth and GigE G4s have 4 RAM sockets mounted along the top edge of the logic board. The processor is mounted on the front edge of the board, sort of in front of the AGP slot. There are 3 PCI slots and 1 AGP slot on the board. They have a front side bus speed of 100mhz. The Digital Audio moves the processor to the top edge of the logic board, and the RAM sockets(now 3 rather than 4) are between the processor and AGP socket. These have 4 PCI slots and 1 AGP slot. The FSB is 133mhz.

The MDD logic board is totally different from any of the above. The expansion slots(1 AGP and 4 PCI) are now mounted along the top edge of the logic board, and the processor along the bottom edge. They have 4 slots that accept DDR ram(either PC-2100 or PC-2700 depending on the original processor). The FSB is either 133mhz(dual 867 and single 1ghz) or 167mhz(all other processors). There are also two main versions of the MDD. The second revision adds a Firewire 800 socket, and accepts an Airport Extreme card(the original took an Airport card). There's also the MDD 2003 model, which-as best as I can tell-only differs from the original MDD(not FW800) in the processor options offered.

 

[cocacolakid]

Why is it that every post I make on here turns controversial? Anyway, when I said white, the lights in the room made the case look very light. The front are all blue, accept for the one MDD. I will take pictures on Monday when I speak to him again.

Other than one particular person arguing over whether something is blue, I don't think anyone else is making this controversial. Nice find.

I've seen some of the G3's white pieces get darker with age, so I'm surprised JBarley isn't arguing the white half of the description too. lol

And I have a G4 GE and I consider it to be a dark blue and graphite or gray. The quicksilvers and even the MDD's really standout more than the other versions of the G4's IMO. I still want a clean G3 B+W but I have no idea what I would do with it at this point.

----------

MDDs and Digital Audios are quite different.

As you probably know, there were three major case revisions for the G4 series towers-the original Graphite, the Quicksilver, and the Mirrored Drive Door.

As I said, the Digital Audio is in a graphite case(like the earlier models) but the logic board has more in common with the Quicksilver than the Gigabit Ethernet model that preceeded it. Sawtooth and GigE G4s have 4 RAM sockets mounted along the top edge of the logic board. The processor is mounted on the front edge of the board, sort of in front of the AGP slot. There are 3 PCI slots and 1 AGP slot on the board. They have a front side bus speed of 100mhz. The Digital Audio moves the processor to the top edge of the logic board, and the RAM sockets(now 3 rather than 4) are between the processor and AGP socket. These have 4 PCI slots and 1 AGP slot. The FSB is 133mhz.

The MDD logic board is totally different from any of the above. The expansion slots(1 AGP and 4 PCI) are now mounted along the top edge of the logic board, and the processor along the bottom edge. They have 4 slots that accept DDR ram(either PC-2100 or PC-2700 depending on the original processor). The FSB is either 133mhz(dual 867 and single 1ghz) or 167mhz(all other processors). There are also two main versions of the MDD. The second revision adds a Firewire 800 socket, and accepts an Airport Extreme card(the original took an Airport card). There's also the MDD 2003 model, which-as best as I can tell-only differs from the original MDD(not FW800) in the processor options offered.

I have a dual 1.42 MDD that I had loaned to my brother for a couple of years and got back about a year ago when it died for the 2nd time. Both times came right after a power outage in his home. The first time I replaced the power supply, what an annoying feat that is. I didn't do that the second time although I'm pretty sure that's the problem. I had just picked up a dual G5 Power Mac and loaned him that. In the back of my mind I hope to one day make a MDD hackintosh, although time and money have kept that from happening so far. I'd probably rather have a quicksilver case instead but I already have the MDD. And whomever said the MDD's are much heavier than the earlier G4's, you're spot on. Much heavier.

 

[DZ/015]

After the beige boxes were discontinued, the first model released was the PowerMac G3. It was known as the blue & white. The case was frosted white and a blue that matched the blueberry iMacs of the time. Also visible on the sides of the case was "G3".

The PowerMac G4 that replaced it was called graphite. More grey, less blue looking. Handles were clear and case had a shine that the G3 did not. There were several models of G4 that had the same case. They were the yikes, sawtooth (agp), gigabit ethernet, and digital audio.

Next up was the PowerMac G4 Quicksilver. Very different looking. More silver looking than grey.

Lastly was the PowerMac G4 mirror drive door model. Named for the mirror finish on the drive doors. There were 3 distinct variations of this before being discontinued.

I'm not mentioning the cube as it was rather distinct and not easily confused with other models.

Hope this clears things up a bit. Check the wikipedia articles linked for more info on them. Or check lowendmac or everymac.

 

[redhatcode29]

After the beige boxes were discontinued, the first model released was the PowerMac G3. It was known as the blue & white. The case was frosted white and a blue that matched the blueberry iMacs of the time. Also visible on the sides of the case was "G3".

The PowerMac G4 that replaced it was called graphite. More grey, less blue looking. Handles were clear and case had a shine that the G3 did not. There were several models of G4 that had the same case. They were the yikes, sawtooth (agp), gigabit ethernet, and digital audio.

Next up was the PowerMac G4 Quicksilver. Very different looking. More silver looking than grey.

Lastly was the PowerMac G4 mirror drive door model. Named for the mirror finish on the drive doors. There were 3 distinct variations of this before being discontinued.

I'm not mentioning the cube as it was rather distinct and not easily confused with other models.

Hope this clears things up a bit. Check the wikipedia articles linked for more info on them. Or check lowendmac or everymac.

I think your post pretty much says it. This is the choronoly of the power macs g3 & g4 which is known recognised over my side of the planet...

 

[Gamer9430]

Ok so here is a little update... I counted and there are 9 G4s, all of which are the original whatever color. I thought there was a MDD or a QuickSilver, but there isn't 🙁. I can't tell if they are the Digital Audio models or the GigE, because they are locked... I'll shall find out more on Tuesday/Wednesday

 

[bunnspecial]

If you can look at the back panel, you can differentiate things a bit more.

Look expansion slots on the back-a DA will have 5 slots(including the GFX card) while the GigE and earlier will have four(including GFX). The DA will also have the digital audio out port, which is at the very top.

There are some differences in port placement between the Yikes! and the Sawtooth/GigE...there's a photo floating around on the internet that shows the differences in them.

Also, if the graphics card has an ADC out, it's almost certainly a GigE or DA(refer to the above differences to determine which) whereas if it's only VGA it's probably a Sawtooth or Yikes!

Don't forget about the color of the power LED either...green on the Sawtooth and Yikes!, white on the later ones.

Or just wait until you can open up the computers 🙂

 

[Hrududu]

Here's how you identify the G4 models from the back.
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT3082

 

[eyoungren]

Other than one particular person arguing over whether something is blue, I don't think anyone else is making this controversial.

That would be me.

Sorry, I didn't mean to make it controversial. It's just that the only time I have ever heard the word blue used in reference to Mac towers is with the Blue and White G3s.

I don't mean to be a jerk about it, but I work in Graphic Design where being less than precise about color can cost you.

I'm also the same guy arguing in the iPhone forums that gray is not black. So, take that as you will.

 

[redhatcode29]

Also, if the graphics card has an ADC out, it's almost certainly a GigE or DA(refer to the above differences to determine which) whereas if it's only VGA it's probably a Sawtooth or Yikes!

Don't forget about the color of the power LED either...green on the Sawtooth and Yikes!, white on the later ones.

Hi bunns, gigE and DA are older models right ? I am assuming since it has adc out. Sawtooth and Yikes are to be later models...assuming from the vga out. So arent the Sawtooth and Yikes suppose to have the white led..... I might be missing something ! 😱

 

[Gamer9430]

That would be me.

Sorry, I didn't mean to make it controversial. It's just that the only time I have ever heard the word blue used in reference to Mac towers is with the Blue and White G3s.

I don't mean to be a jerk about it, but I work in Graphic Design where being less than precise about color can cost you.

I'm also the same guy arguing in the iPhone forums that gray is not black. So, take that as you will.

its fine... I was wrong in saying that it was white, but it is definately blue, lol

 

[bunnspecial]

Hi bunns, gigE and DA are older models right ? I am assuming since it has adc out. Sawtooth and Yikes are to be later models...assuming from the vga out. So arent the Sawtooth and Yikes suppose to have the white led..... I might be missing something ! 😱

The first G4s introduced were the Yikes! and Sawtooth model. The GigE came after those, and then the Digital Audio. So, yes, the Sawtooth and Yikes! should have the green LED, and the GigE and DA the white LED.

The standard video card for the Yikes! and Sawtooth will have a single VGA out, although upgraded video cards do exist for both that can change this.

The stock video cards for the GigE and DA have both ADC and VGA, although the stock card(Rage 128) can only drive one monitor at a time. Most factory video cards that will fit these have 1 ADC and one VGA, although some cards have 1 ADC and 1 DVI and some(the Radeon 8500 comes to mind) have 1 VGA and 1 DVI.

 

[Gamer9430]

The first G4s introduced were the Yikes! and Sawtooth model. The GigE came after those, and then the Digital Audio. So, yes, the Sawtooth and Yikes! should have the green LED, and the GigE and DA the white LED.

The standard video card for the Yikes! and Sawtooth will have a single VGA out, although upgraded video cards do exist for both that can change this.

The stock video cards for the GigE and DA have both ADC and VGA, although the stock card(Rage 128) can only drive one monitor at a time. Most factory video cards that will fit these have 1 ADC and one VGA, although some cards have 1 ADC and 1 DVI and some(the Radeon 8500 comes to mind) have 1 VGA and 1 DVI.

I think the power LED was white on all of them, but I couldn't tell fully with them being off. Also, on a side note, the keyboards are the iMac G3's keyboard and the mice are the white Pro Mice. Lastly, the monitors are the 21inch Bondi Blue Apple Studio Displays, and there are LOADS of extra monitors. So in conclusion, the computers are either the GigE or DA because they appear to have white LEDs.

 

[cocacolakid]

That would be me.

Sorry, I didn't mean to make it controversial. It's just that the only time I have ever heard the word blue used in reference to Mac towers is with the Blue and White G3s.

I don't mean to be a jerk about it, but I work in Graphic Design where being less than precise about color can cost you.

I'm also the same guy arguing in the iPhone forums that gray is not black. So, take that as you will.

I didn't mean you, I thought someone else was being critical, someone who also was very specific when I mistyped Power Mac for Mac Pro and has been a little cranky towards others lately. You're never rude or mean so if I saw you say that I wouldn't have thought twice, especially with you being a designer where colors have specific meanings, so I could see that.

 

[jbarley]

I didn't mean you, I thought someone else was being critical, someone who also was very specific when I mistyped Power Mac for Mac Pro and has been a little cranky towards others lately. You're never rude or mean so if I saw you say that I wouldn't have thought twice, especially with you being a designer where colors have specific meanings, so I could see that.

You're off the hook Eric, he's referring to me...🙄

Other than one particular person arguing over whether something is blue, I don't think anyone else is making this controversial. Nice find.

I've seen some of the G3's white pieces get darker with age, so I'm surprised JBarley isn't arguing the white half of the description too. lol

And true to form the cocacolakid has it wrong again, I never once questioned the 'blue' bit but did make a comment earlier about the lack of 'white'.
Read the thread, it's all there.