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Thanks I shoulda googled.

But I am still stumped by the SDRAM to DDR2 RAM equivalence?

How can that be.

As I've said, if it starts with DDR, it is a form of SDRAM.

Apple never specified which type of SDRAM, and I had a stick of DDR2 from an old Dell, so I put it in to see what would happen. It hasn't killed the thing, and it increased performance.
 
just got my hands on a 400MHz g4 mac as well. missing RAM and a HD which I can probably get for free at work. few questions.

HD connectors look like ATA, is that true or is it SCSI? i'm in IT and we have a pile of "bad" SCSI drives at work i can try out.

and will it run OS X 10.5.7? don't care if it's slow, will OS X install on it or did Apple put a hardware checker and it will refuse to install?

i thought it was at least a 1GHz model, but it doesn't matter since i got it for free. now i'm thinking whether it's worth keeping
 
just got my hands on a 400MHz g4 mac as well. missing RAM and a HD which I can probably get for free at work. few questions.

HD connectors look like ATA, is that true or is it SCSI? i'm in IT and we have a pile of "bad" SCSI drives at work i can try out.

and will it run OS X 10.5.7? don't care if it's slow, will OS X install on it or did Apple put a hardware checker and it will refuse to install?

i thought it was at least a 1GHz model, but it doesn't matter since i got it for free. now i'm thinking whether it's worth keeping

1. ATA aka, IDE. Some had an SCSI card, but that optional, so go with ATA.

2. No, Tiger, max and that will probably be mad slow.
 
Good news,


Got the original keyboard and mouse for $20 bucks, sanitized and cleaned on ebay.

Next step, 2 GB's of RAM!
 
just got my hands on a 400MHz g4 mac as well. missing RAM and a HD which I can probably get for free at work. few questions.

HD connectors look like ATA, is that true or is it SCSI? i'm in IT and we have a pile of "bad" SCSI drives at work i can try out.

and will it run OS X 10.5.7? don't care if it's slow, will OS X install on it or did Apple put a hardware checker and it will refuse to install?

i thought it was at least a 1GHz model, but it doesn't matter since i got it for free. now i'm thinking whether it's worth keeping

You can install Leopard with a hacked install...but 400 MHz is really, really pushing it in terms of usability. I would expect a lot of freeze-ups and slow downs if you did install it.
 
Let me ask a question about leopard.


If my G4 would be running a 1.6 on 2gb or ram, would Leopard run ok? Or no due to other restrictions like BUS speed?
 
1.6 GHz upgrade card with 2 GB RAM should work just fine, but don't expect blazing speeds.

Upgrade cards are really expensive and not worth it, IMO.
 
As I've said, if it starts with DDR, it is a form of SDRAM.

Apple never specified which type of SDRAM, and I had a stick of DDR2 from an old Dell, so I put it in to see what would happen. It hasn't killed the thing, and it increased performance.

Haha!!! So funny. You do know thats not how that works eh?

DDR2 does not fit in DDR1 slots, and DDR1 does not fit in SDRAM slots. Though based on the same technology, completely different beasts and not compatible. When Apple says SDRAM, they mean it. This means, pc100/133 kindof stuff, NOT DDR1 or 2 or 3, none of that stuff will work, ever.
 
1.6 GHz upgrade card with 2 GB RAM should work just fine, but don't expect blazing speeds.

Upgrade cards are really expensive and not worth it, IMO.

I've seen the prices and I agree. Well for the meantime I'll stick to upgrading the RAM and maybe the GPU (I would love at least 128mb). The CPU will have to be last on my list.

Also, what speakers do you recommend. Are the small Harmon Kardon worth it?
 
Haha!!! So funny. You do know thats not how that works eh?

DDR2 does not fit in DDR1 slots, and DDR1 does not fit in SDRAM slots. Though based on the same technology, completely different beasts and not compatible. When Apple says SDRAM, they mean it. This means, pc100/133 kindof stuff, NOT DDR1 or 2 or 3, none of that stuff will work, ever.

I beg to differ. I got 256 MB for a Dell Dimension 4300S and AFAIK, DDR2.

I've seen the prices and I agree. Well for the meantime I'll stick to upgrading the RAM and maybe the GPU (I would love at least 128mb). The CPU will have to be last on my list.

Also, what speakers do you recommend. Are the small Harmon Kardon worth it?

If you like the look. I have some really huge Scott Omni 3.3s. You won't find them in stores as they are from the '80s. I really need to fix them up though.
 
I beg to differ. I got 256 MB for a Dell Dimension 4300S and AFAIK, DDR2.



If you like the look. I have some really huge Scott Omni 3.3s. You won't find them in stores as they are from the '80s. I really need to fix them up though.
AFAYK, wrong. That machine is pc133. DDR2 and PC133 have different pin counts, and notches in the sticks, they wont ever fit. The only PPC macs to support DDR2 ram were the 2005 PowerMac G5 towers.
 
AFAYK, wrong. That machine is pc133. DDR2 and PC133 have different pin counts, and notches in the sticks, they wont ever fit. The only PPC macs to support DDR2 ram were the 2005 PowerMac G5 towers.

I'm sure you checked the manual :rolleyes:. I did and it is just plain SDRAM. I thought it was DDR2.

Oh, and you forgot the iMac G5 iSight, and the dual-layer SuperDrive models of 15'' and 17'' PB. :p
 
I'm sure you checked the manual :rolleyes:. I did and it is just plain SDRAM. I thought it was DDR2.

Oh, and you forgot the iMac G5 iSight, and the dual-layer SuperDrive models of 15'' and 17'' PB. :p

Lawl. You would be surprised what I know.

You are correct on the second one, sorry, long day repairing a cluster, and I had lots to drink on the train home. :D
 
You can install Leopard with a hacked install...but 400 MHz is really, really pushing it in terms of usability. I would expect a lot of freeze-ups and slow downs if you did install it.

how would i know what kind of upgrades it takes? Ebay is full of cheapo parts i can try. I saw a dual 867MHz CPU upgrade card for $25 today.

not looking for a screamer, but i wouldn't mind investing $200 max into a used CPU, RAM and OS X 10.5.7 so i could run the iphone dev kit. had an idea for a few simple apps that i think i could make some money on.
 
Semi-correction--if you work solely in code, you can use XCode (or a code editor, like BBedit) to program for an iphone, but you won't be able to test it without having an iphone or an intel mac. To use the developer's tools designed for the iphone, you definitely need an intel mac.

Not trying to be anal, but I've done some minor code work on iphone apps on a G5 and it worked but I couldn't test it until my friend brought in her iphone and laptop...
 
********Update********

Got the speakers, Bose Companion 2 series II.

My God, ELP sounds perfect.

Next stop.....RAM
 
RAM is going to be hard. It will either be expensive or really hard to find or both. Your best bet is to find an old computer, Mac or PC.
 
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