Ive never owned a MAC before, but i use them and want to purchase one. I dont have tons of cash and was interested in purchasing a pbg4. All i do is web, youtube, email, SOME web editing, light graphics work, and school work. Ive actually used a emac g4 at school all the time with a 1ghz g4 and 512mb of ram running 10.4. It doesnt seem sluggish to me at all. Though, I would install 10.5 if I were to purchase one. Can I please have some honest yet reasonable opinions? Thanks!
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Terridbly BAD idea to buy a G4?
- Thread starter dWeBB18
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i use my 12" powerbook as my main computer even though i have a mbp. i think it would be fine for what you need it for.
If you use an intel mac a lot and then go to a G4 then yeah you'll feel the pain a little bit, but by no means is it out of the question. I just sold my PBG4 12" and I'm bitter I did, buy one.
What kind of PowerBook? If you are on a budget...a PB is fine. Great computer if you get a 12". However, at that price for a 12" or 15", you could get a MacBook on eBay. How much you willing to spend?
Hmm... I have a 15" PowerBook that's running great, just make sure you check their feedback before buying off of them.
$400 is too low to get a 15" PowerBook. However, I found a 1GHz 12" for I think it was $425. If you spend an extra hundred you could get much better. Here is the link..http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-PowerBook-G4-12-1GHz-640MB-60GB-BT-WiFi-Combo_W0QQitemZ220260229127QQihZ012QQcategoryZ111422QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
A G4 will be great UNLESS you are one of these people who complain about speed. Don't even think about buying it if you're going to freak out when it's slow. Be warned. Otherwise, it's a great computer. If you use Tiger instead of Leopard, it will be even faster.
My recommendation is for you to continue saving money. Double that $400 for a usable machine. Are you a bettin' man, Mr. dWeBB18?
I still use my TiBook G4 every day and although a bit sluggish, it does what I want just fine (surfin web, mail, ichat, word processing). I think a 1GHz or greater PBG4 will work fine for what you want to do on it.
I, too, use a TiBook G4 and I wouldn't recommend getting anything less than 1Ghz. I hear Leopard is a little sluggish on slower machines. It won't even install on mine. Also, full screen YouTube (or any fullscreen Flash video) won't work on my computer.
Something else to consider is the RAM. The RAM for the older computers isn't made in large quantities anymore, a little harder to find and therefore more expensive than RAM for the latest laptops. The best deal might be to get a PBG4 with as much RAM as you will need in it.
Another thing you'll probably want to find out is when the backlit keyboards debuted. Mine doesn't have one and I wish it did because sometimes I use the computer in the dark.
Something else to consider is the RAM. The RAM for the older computers isn't made in large quantities anymore, a little harder to find and therefore more expensive than RAM for the latest laptops. The best deal might be to get a PBG4 with as much RAM as you will need in it.
Another thing you'll probably want to find out is when the backlit keyboards debuted. Mine doesn't have one and I wish it did because sometimes I use the computer in the dark.
I'm totally, sickly addicted to my 15" G4 Powerbook. Only thing I don't understand is why people on here keep saying it's sluggish. I mean I guess not everything happens instantly but pretty darn instantly and I have lots of crap saved on this thing so...? Should mine be running slowly (I'm asking, honestly.)? Maybe it just seems fast cause I have high-speed internet and in the old days, didn't.
Let's see here...going into "about this mac"...it says mine is a 1.67 GHz PowerPC G4 and that I have 1.5 GB DDR2 SDRAM for memory. I seem to recall having the factory install whatever it took to make it as powerful as I could make it at the time (computer-illiterate here so I don't remember what that is...more speed I think?
It also says bus speed is 167 MHz and L2 Cache (per CPU) is 512 KB (also says # of CPU's is 1).
Let's see here...going into "about this mac"...it says mine is a 1.67 GHz PowerPC G4 and that I have 1.5 GB DDR2 SDRAM for memory. I seem to recall having the factory install whatever it took to make it as powerful as I could make it at the time (computer-illiterate here so I don't remember what that is...more speed I think?
It also says bus speed is 167 MHz and L2 Cache (per CPU) is 512 KB (also says # of CPU's is 1).
Lol yes me too i have a emac 1ghz dual monitors 768mb ram 40gb + 250gb harddrive(s) and running Leopard and i think its pretty damn fast i find it comparable to my Macbook which is pretty much stock besides the 768mb ram. and i use it everyday as my main and my macbook as my secondary. it photoshops very well with flash and even has ilife 08... I think its a great computer that i love
I think everyone feels the G4s were a great chip for their time. By no means are 1 Ghz+ G4s too slow to run the minimum software to fully utilize the "Mac Experience". That being said, I would think LONG and HARD about investing in the PPC architecture especially with ramblings that Snow Leopard will not be supporting PPC. If that rumor is true, PPC machines (although will still be useable) will be boat anchors like most SUVs are today. Granted, there are going to be the tech illiterate new Mac users who will still be suckered into buying them but that will be few and far between. If 10.6 does indeed not support PPC then you'll see the market flooded with these machines -- just a little thing to think about.
I have an older 1.0Ghz Ti PBG4, and it ran tiger very well. I upgraded to Leopard, and it is sluggish now. My suggestion is stick with Tiger unless your PBG4 is one of the faster ones (1.5Ghz or more)...
I still have an use my PowerBook G4 15 inch. Works great.
However, due to my job, I was carrying two laptops (PB and PC). So I decided to get a MacBook Pro and now only carry one computer which is handy.
But by no means is my 5 year old PowerBook retired and I still use it at home.
However, due to my job, I was carrying two laptops (PB and PC). So I decided to get a MacBook Pro and now only carry one computer which is handy.
But by no means is my 5 year old PowerBook retired and I still use it at home.