To buy/Not to buy Power Mac G4 Dual 1.2Ghz (FW800) UK?

[ironjaw]

Hi i was considering buying a Power Mac G4 Dual 1.2Ghz (FW800) model. I checked it at apple history.com and it looks great. I'm thinking of buying off ebay.

The only reason i'm after this one is because its got FW800 and obviously it dual processor. I'm in the UK.

Any advice or recommendations from owners? Is it a good model? Anything I should be aware off.

Cheers

 

[livingfortoday]

I believe that's one of the last G4 towers they made, right? It's a pretty nice computer, really expandable. YOu haven't said how much it is, but keep in mind that if you don't need anything too expandable, and space/noise is an issue, you might be better off with a refurb Core Duo Mac Mini or something like that.

 

[ironjaw]

I believe that's one of the last G4 towers they made, right? It's a pretty nice computer, really expandable. YOu haven't said how much it is, but keep in mind that if you don't need anything too expandable, and space/noise is an issue, you might be better off with a refurb Core Duo Mac Mini or something like that.

There is a coulple going for around £250. Is it really noisy? I was considering a Core Duo Mac Mini, it seems like a rarely nice mac.

 

[Keebler]

There is a coulple going for around £250. Is it really noisy? I was considering a Core Duo Mac Mini, it seems like a rarely nice mac.

oh boy...mine is a WIND TUNNEL! I can hear if it's on from upstairs.

that said, there are some fan solutions available. i think the one in germany sells for $180 USD I think.. supposed to quiet it right down.

other than that, my dually 1.25 G4 is fantastic.

 

[ironjaw]

oh boy...mine is a WIND TUNNEL! I can hear if it's on from upstairs.

that said, there are some fan solutions available. i think the one in germany sells for $180 USD I think.. supposed to quiet it right down.

other than that, my dually 1.25 G4 is fantastic.

Hmm I'm kinda worried about the noise. I love the design though its really nice. The matching Cinema Display is great but hard to find

 

[CanadaRAM]

It is noisy.
However, if you need a machine to put multiple hard drives in, run 10.2-10.4, support Classic applications, and have PCI slots, its a good choice.

 

[ironjaw]

This may not be the place to say this but... I have a PowerMac G4 1.42GHz DP, 1GB RAM, 240GB HD (2*120GB), 4-port USB 2.0 card, FW800, Bluetooth.

I can include AirPort Extreme card and even a Miglia TV tuner PCI card if you are interested. I also have some pictures if you are interested. I am based in Bristol and can arrange local collection or shipping via Parcel Force. Let me know if you are interested.

I've sent a PM to you

 

[Angrist]

The noise shouldn't be too bad.

I have an older tower (Digital Audio) with 4 hard drives and a PCI slot exhaust fan.

When the machine is awake and i'm using it, I don't notice the noise. When I put it to sleep the transition is very noticeable though. They can be loud machines, but it's a kinda white noise thats easy to block out.

 

[ironjaw]

The noise shouldn't be too bad.

I have an older tower (Digital Audio) with 4 hard drives and a PCI slot exhaust fan.

When the machine is awake and i'm using it, I don't notice the noise. When I put it to sleep the transition is very noticeable though. They can be loud machines, but it's a kinda white noise thats easy to block out.

Okay well that's good to know. There does not seem to be anything else other than the noise I think

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I also have a Digital Audio with an aftermarket CPU upgrade, 3 hard disks and a big video card (GeFroce 6800GT). It can get quite loud when all the fans are running.

The Mirrored Drive Door G4s like the FW800 one you are looking at have been referred to as the "wind tunnel" (like one poster above has mentioned) Macs for good reason.

One way to quiet them down is to buy new cooling kit or buy quieter fans to replace the existing fans. This site shows MDDs air cooled with Zalman fans or even water cooled.

But like CanadaRAM said they are good machines otherwise - very expandable and decently fast even today.