Powermac G4 450MHz for $ 530. Do I get the money's worth?

Ifrit · #1 February 23rd, 2004, 03:19 AM

Currently I've saved $ 600 and thought about buying a used G4 (sawtooth?) at the local apple reseller. The powermac's internal HD was replaced with a 40GB one (7200RPM) and it also comes with 256MB RAM preinstalled. The installed stock ATI 128 Rage graphic card is the only disadvantage.
I already "played around" with it (it is still running OS9), and it seems to work without problems).

I want to use this G4 model for "low level" DVD authoring and video editing (imovie, idvd), graphic editing (Photoshop), and of course for creating music with garage band. The internal HD of my current mac (G3 700MHz ibook) is to slow for those kinds of activities and provides not enough space (although graphic editing is not a problem)

I want to hear/read your opinions about this subject, maybe someone could suggest other, cheaper solutions (but I can't think of any)

Some questions still remain:

Currently I own a G3 700MHz ibook. Basically this is the only mac I have fully experienced (speed/performace wise) How does a G4 450Mhz compare to a G3 700Mhz? (I must admit I also work on another apple reseller and have taken appart a lot of apple machines (including the new G5) but there wasn't much time to "toy" around with 'em. I am kindas new to this buisness.

)

I've read somewhere it is possible with add on cards to bump this G4 model to 1Ghz speed. Does panther support it?

Are there any critical firmware updates I have to install before installing Mac OSX 10.3?

MacMuppet · #2 February 23rd, 2004, 06:12 AM

You shouldnt need any firmware updates, and it should run Panther fine. I bought a 400Mhz (chipped to 500Mhz by the reseller for me) G4 with a DVD-RAM drive in October. Well I traded it for two beige G3s and £300. Thats Pounds Sterling, so $500 sounds pretty good to me in comparison. I actually took my Jaguar HD out of one of the beige G3s, popped it into the G4, booted and upgraded. I had backed my stuff up but in the end it wasnt necessary, and Panther seems to run fine on the upgraded chip.

andychrist · #3 February 23rd, 2004, 06:19 AM

Sorry to say, but I don't think that this Sawtooth, inexpensive as it may first appear, would be a good deal for you. While G4s do have the advantage of altivec, which boosts performance in many OS X applications, 450 MHz is certainly below the minimum system requirements for most of the programs you mentioned. Like you said, that Rage card would also have to be replaced; when you add up total costs for the Sawtooth, new processor and graphics card, you're talkin' over one grand. For that kind of cash, you could get a brand new top of the line 1GHz eMac 80GB HD, superdrive, Panther & iLIfe. (Though the eMac's HD is not 7200rps; only towers come with that. But it probably is not your iBook's HD that is too slow for iLife, but its processor.
System Requirements:
Macintosh computer with a PowerPC G3, G4 or G5 processor
600MHz G3 or faster required for GarageBand
G4 or faster required for GarageBand software instruments
733MHz G4 or faster required for iDVD
256MB of physical RAM )

You might also consider the purchase of a used QuickSilver.

The decision is yours, my friend.

http://www.macsales.com/

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/

uoba · #4 February 23rd, 2004, 06:32 AM

Yep, I'd agree... try and push for an eMac... they are great machines, and far superior than the G4 450.

MacMuppet · #5 February 23rd, 2004, 07:39 AM

I have to admit the eMac makes sense with all those extra taken into account - I forgot to mention I already had a Radeon 9000 64Mb and lots RAM, so my g4's performance is pretty good, but I already had that stuff so it wasnt an extra expense or consideration for me.
I will say I am quite happy with performance with Photoshop, Studio MX etc, once the RAM is in there....

Ifrit · #6 February 23rd, 2004, 08:35 AM

Thanks for the reply andychrist (and the other forumers), I never thought about the Mhz border. The only thing I had in mind was the "needs a G4" requirement.

Unfortunally, it will take another 5 months until I am able to buy a new machine (with the current lousy job including my 2nd job, working at the apple reseller, its only possible for me to save $ 100 per month)

Has anybody tried these applications on a 450 Mhz G4. Do they work at all? Is the "Required hardware not found!" idvd styled message the only thing which appears, if you are trying to launch one of those apps? The price of the G4 is still tempting, if I compare it to the prices of a well know online auction site, or other places.

Regarding the equipment statement, I already have enough spare parts lying around, for examble a spare Apple branded Superdrive, there is a Mac Geforce 2 MX somewhere "hiding" in my closet (I only need something which is OSX 10.3 compatible and has 32MB vram, right?)
I got most of these parts from my 2nd job, or through ebay. RAM isn't a problem eigher.

I also considered a used QuickSilver, but most of these sell for $ 1000 in Germany.

edit: Wooohaaa found a used quicksilver on ebay (buy at once option) for $ 800, maybe I'll save my money and buy one of those in ~ 2 months. (if they are still sold for this price)

(I apologize, my English writing skills aren't on par with yours)

dlloyd · #7 February 23rd, 2004, 08:43 AM

Talk to Bobw, he has a 450 MHz G4 bumped to 1GHz, and likes it.

You could also check here: http://promo.euro.apple.com/promo/refurb/de/

The US Apple Store has some good deals on the refurbished macs, so I would assume that the German one would too.

Also, I think $530 for a 450MHz G4 with 256MB of RAM and no display is a bit much, and I also agree that for what you're doing, the iBook will probably seem like a sports car compared to the G4, because there is solid evidence that the G3 and the G4 are close to equal in speed for the same MHz, as long as the application you are using isn't optimized for the G4.

andychrist · #8 February 23rd, 2004, 09:23 AM

Ifrit: The 1GHz processor upgrade goes for about $350, so even if that is all you would need to buy, you're still looking at $880 minimum, without a good display (you didn't mention having one other than the iBook.) And if you try using any of the iLife package other than iTunes on a 450 MHz G4, you will be sorely disappointed-- just forget about GarageBand and iDVD (both of which you said you wanted to use.) Please understand, those figures I lifted from Apple's iLife site are not just recommendations, they are requirements.

If you need to keep current, a cheap, outdated Mac is no bargain.

But a cheap, used QuickSilver or new eMac, is!

BTW your English is fine, I assumed you were in the States!