Semi-decent mac for 500 dollars?

[proc]

Thanks I'm looking forward to testing it out.

Bah, that figures =/. Well, looks like it'll be awhile before I upgrade the ram in it. I just hope laptop memory isn't a lot more expensive.

Thanks for the info.

You can buy 2 2GB SO-DIMMs for a total of approx. $83 and have 3GB available on your Mac Mini. The matched modules for dual-channel capability on this link are compatible with your Mac Mini (Kingston KVR667D2S5K2/4G)

Just to be clear: you will only need one set (which consists of 2 modules) of the SO-DIMMs I linked to.

Good luck!

 

[Alacres]

You can buy 2 2GB SO-DIMMs for a total of approx. $83 and have 3GB available on your Mac Mini. The matched modules for dual-channel capability on this link are compatible with your Mac Mini (Kingston KVR667D2S5K2/4G)

Just to be clear: you will only need one set (which consists of 2 modules) of the SO-DIMMs I linked to.

Good luck!

Wow, that's not nearly as much as I figured it would cost.

And I think I understand the dual-channel thing, but I want to make sure I've got it down completely. The set comes with two sticks, each of which are 2 gigs, and I'm guessing the reason it only adds up to 3 gigs is because of a 3 gig cap limit for the mini I bought? Or did I completely confuse something here? I tend to do that a lot when it comes to anything computer related heh .

Edit: Hmm, I just noticed this when looking at the technical specs for my mini - "1 GB DDR2 SDRAM (expandable to 2 GB)" I guess that means I can't go over two?

 

[ethernet76]

And a 1.83 C2D mini is bound to be faster than a 1.42 PowerMac on most applications. Especially since most pro apps don't actually use the graphic card.

Considering the graphics card is a concern, I'd still go with the G4 mac.

My powerbook 1.25 and macbook 2.0 get about the same FPS in WoW.

Gameplay would be better with a better GPU. CPU doesn't matter nearly as much as GPU.

 

[Alacres]

Considering the graphics card is a concern, I'd still go with the G4 mac.

My powerbook 1.25 and macbook 2.0 get about the same FPS in WoW.

Gameplay would be better with a better GPU. CPU doesn't matter nearly as much as GPU.

Normally I'd agree with that, but I think it depends on the game too. Everyone that I've talked to about it said that EQ was more CPU intensive than GPU. In fact, a majority of the people play with shared graphics at full settings - as long as you have a decent CPU and around 1 gig of Ram, it runs about flawlessly, or so I've heard.

 

[proc]

Wow, that's not nearly as much as I figured it would cost.

And I think I understand the dual-channel thing, but I want to make sure I've got it down completely. The set comes with two sticks, each of which are 2 gigs, and I'm guessing the reason it only adds up to 3 gigs is because of a 3 gig cap limit for the mini I bought? Or did I completely confuse something here? I tend to do that a lot when it comes to anything computer related heh .

Edit: Hmm, I just noticed this when looking at the technical specs for my mini - "1 GB DDR2 SDRAM (expandable to 2 GB)" I guess that means I can't go over two?

Apple specifies the Mini can only go up to 2GB, but I have seen numerous reports of people who have tried 2 2GB modules and have 3GB usable memory as seen in Activity monitor. I have 2 2GB modules in my iMac and I also have 3GB usable memory with dualchannel capability. So you can install 2 2GB modules, but you will have 3GB usable memory. Don't bother with a G4 Mini:you would lock yourself in an obsolete CPU platform. Have a look here to see what I mean.