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Taking a Gamble...

Gamer9430

Gamer9430

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 22, 2014
2,248
1,405
USA
So I was browsing eBay for some cheap Macs (type in mac, do lowest prices first ;) ) and I came across a first gen Mac Mini for $12 and $14 shipping. It said that it wasn't working, but boots to an icon. I was kinda curious, so i asked my friends in my MR PPC iMessage group chat, and they said go for it. So I went for it and bought it. I also bought a power cord for $20 because it didn't come with one. The computer doesn't have a HDD, but it does have 512mb of RAM, the disk drive (unknown if it works), ATI Radeon 9200 with 32MB, and a 1.25GHz G4, which is equivalent to my trusty iBook G4. It doesn't have a keyboard or mouse, no software or manuals, and it's unknown if there is an Airport card. I'm probably going to use it as a storage/media server for my plethora of Macs :D if it works, and if it doesn't, i'll part it out and sell the stuff i can't make use out of. I've never taken a gamble with a computer off of eBay, so this will be interesting for me. I'll keep everyone updated as to if it works and whatnot. Should be here early next week.

Here is the listing for both the power supply and the computer incase anyone was curious; (MODS: not my auctions!)

PWR Supply: http://www.ebay.com/itm/131559034737
Mac Mini: http://www.ebay.com/itm/141685938797

EDIT: I was looking over the listing again and I noticed that it said it was tested to boot to the Flashing Drive icon, so now I'm pretty happy i bought it because it's very likely that it works and it just needs a working HDD!
 
Not a bad deal, even for a G4 mini. I recall getting a similarly excellent deal on mine (same model) over a year ago, and it even came with a Leopard install disk in the optical drive! However, I have a couple newer Mac minis, so it doesn't get much use.

One thing to keep in mind is that you'll be limited by 10/100 ethernet on a Mac mini G4. This will make it slower as a media/file server, although you could speed it up by getting a USB Ethernet or Wi-Fi dongle.
 
redheeler said:
Not a bad deal, even for a G4 mini. I recall getting a similarly excellent deal on mine (same model) over a year ago, and it even came with a Leopard install disk in the optical drive! However, I have a couple newer Mac minis, so it doesn't get much use.

One thing to keep in mind is that you'll be limited by 10/100 ethernet on a Mac mini G4. This will make it slower as a media/file server, although you could speed it up by getting a USB Ethernet or Wi-Fi dongle.
Click to expand...

Yeah, not a bad deal at all. It's in pretty good condition as far as these older Minis go. Very happy I took it, now hopefully it works fine ;).

I will definitely keep that in mind. Will having the AirPort Extreme card in it help any, or will I need the USB Ethernet/WiFi dongle?
 
Gamer9430 said:
Yeah, not a bad deal at all. It's in pretty good condition as far as these older Minis go. Very happy I took it, now hopefully it works fine ;).

I will definitely keep that in mind. Will having the AirPort Extreme card in it help any, or will I need the USB Ethernet/WiFi dongle?
Click to expand...
No, AirPort Extreme won't help any.
 
Very nice find! I hope it works out for you. :)

About two years ago, a co-worker sold me a first gen 20" Intel CD iMac with the graphics card issues for $35. ( He assumed it was broken, but I simply disabled the graphics drivers and got about a year out of use of the thing streaming Netflix until one day it decided to no longer power on) he then started boasting about a "fast" Mac mini he had for sale as well, but he said he didn't know the exact specs. I went over and took a look at it, and saw that it was a 1.25 G4 mini like yours. He asked what I would pay, and I smirked a bit and told him I wouldn't pay anything over $60. He was quite taken aback, and insisted he was gonna ask $200 and take no less than $175. I told him good luck. :D
 
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SkyBell said:
Very nice find! I hope it works out for you. :)

About two years ago, a co-worker sold me a first gen 20" Intel CD iMac with the graphics card issues for $35. ( He assumed it was broken, but I simply disabled the graphics drivers and got about a year out of use of the thing streaming Netflix until one day it decided to no longer power on) he then started boasting about a "fast" Mac mini he had for sale as well, but he said he didn't know the exact specs. I went over and took a look at it, and saw that it was a 1.25 G4 mini like yours. He asked what I would pay, and I smirked a bit and told him I wouldn't pay anything over $60. He was quite taken aback, and insisted he was gonna ask $200 and take no less than $175. I told him good luck. :D
Click to expand...

Thanks!

Yeah, I've heard that the original Intel iMacs were troublesome. At least you got a good year of usage out of it. I'm amazed at the fact that he was going to sell you the Mini for more than the iMac even in 2012~2013. I would have passed on the offer as well. It's pretty steep for a PowerPC Mac, or even an early Mac Mini in general. I'm going to be very happy if it works, because without shipping, I would have really spend $40 on a perfectly fine and working computer that I can get a lot of use out of.
 
Gamer9430 said:
Thanks!

Yeah, I've heard that the original Intel iMacs were troublesome. At least you got a good year of usage out of it. I'm amazed at the fact that he was going to sell you the Mini for more than the iMac even in 2012~2013. I would have passed on the offer as well. It's pretty steep for a PowerPC Mac, or even an early Mac Mini in general. I'm going to be very happy if it works, because without shipping, I would have really spend $40 on a perfectly fine and working computer that I can get a lot of use out of.
Click to expand...
He knew next to nothing about Macs; he had a second job at the time, and they were disposing of these machines and he opted to take them and try and sell them. Guess he figured since the mini actually booted up with no issues that it was worth more.
 
MacCubed said:
What if you connect the mini to the G5 and run it headless
Click to expand...

I could do that, but the G5 doesn't have an Airport card. I have to tether it to my MBP via Ethernet. My plan is to put the Mini behind the TV downstairs along with the Optiplex 360 and have it hardwired to the router. I'll run it headless and access it through Screen Sharing if I need to. By having it hardwired to the router, I will get the highest speed it's capable of as opposed to it being slowed down by my sub-par WiFi. I wish I could relocate the router so the signal throughout the house is improved, but there are a limited amount of coax cable (for the cable modem) locations in my house. I can just get a USB to Ethernet adapter and it should be fine.
 
I've got an idea for you but it all depends on whether or not you have a box that controls your phone jacks. It could be in your basement but in my case it's in my laundry room. But what you need is a crimper for cat5e cables, the Ethernet heads for cat5e, and presumably 2 outlets. What you do is unplug 2 of the cables from the box that lead to your desired room that you want to have Ethernet in. Once you find the cable, crimp an Ethernet head onto it. Then plug it into the router, then the rooms phone jack will be an Ethernet port. You could also set up more routers over the house using this method. Then the G5 could have independent Internet. You could also put a network switch in to maximize Ethernet ports so you could run other computers through faster internet.
 
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MacCubed said:
I've got an idea for you but it all depends on whether or not you have a box that controls your phone jacks. It could be in your basement but in my case it's in my laundry room. But what you need is a crimper for cat5e cables, the Ethernet heads for cat5e, and presumably 2 outlets. What you do is unplug 2 of the cables from the box that lead to your desired room that you want to have Ethernet in. Once you find the cable, crimp an Ethernet head onto it. Then plug it into the router, then the rooms phone jack will be an Ethernet port. You could also set up more routers over the house using this method. Then the G5 could have independent Internet. You could also put a network switch in to maximize Ethernet ports so you could run other computers through faster internet.
Click to expand...

I kinda get what your saying, but at the same time, not really. What my understanding is that you want me to take off the phone plate covers at the box and at the desired location, (I.E my room) and I replace them with Ethernet covers. I connect the wires on the phone line to the equivalent ones on a Cat5e cable, and plug the Cat5e cable to the router. At the destination, which I'll say is my room, I have to connect the wires from the phone line to their equivalent in the Ethernet plug plate. Then I can attach an Ethernet cable from the wall to my computer of choice, or an Ethernet splitter

I think it would be easier to describe in a diagram, but this is the best I can do from my my phone while I'm out, lol.
 
MacCubed said:
But the phone jacks in the wall should accommodate an Ethernet cable since it is cat5e
Click to expand...

They aren't shaped like Ethernet, so I'm not sure. My house is 20-something years old, so I'm not sure if they are cat5e.

I probably have no clue what I'm talking about, since I'm not too familiar with networking.
 
Mini is coming today, the PSU hasn't even shipped yet, so hopefully it does. I'll be sure to take some pictures :D
 
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