G4 upgrade

K

kiemposan

Registered
i have a power mac G4 PCI graphics, with 320RAM a 400Hz processor and a massive 10Gb hard drive. This is connected to a 15 " apple studio display via a DVIator. Basically im at a crossroads and need some advice; do i upgrade or buy second hand newer model?
As a graphic designer i have three main issues with my current set up:
1. Speed, pretty self explanitory really, can i make my applications(Photoshop, quark, cinema etc) run faster by upping the memory, will it make a diff with the processor i have.

2. Monitor Res, as i mentioned i have to connect my apple display to the G4 using a DVIator which adapts the the monitor display connector which is ADC to a DVI port on the graphics card, this adaptor restricts my display to 1204x780 and wont allow any other res, this is annoying with a 15" monitor. so do i get a new graphics card that supports adc or is it the machine that doesnt support adc??

3. Money, i dont have alot since i bought this setup of a friend at uni(reason for no knowing much about it) ive been looking about for ram and cheap monitors on ebay etc, and also the G4's on there, i just wonder whether I would be better off to buy something newer that is second hand.

so thats what im asking you guys, is it worth upgrading my system, is it capable of doing what i want from it, or do i buy 'newer' used G4.

i could do with some advice. thanks
 
Check out Sonett, for upgrade cards. You mayy be able to get more processing speed and save some $$$ on a new system.
 
ive had a look, but im not sure they do a processor upgrade for a G4 PCI, what about more ram?
what about the graphics card/display problem, can i change it
 
You'll find all the processor upgrades that are available for your machine HERE

There are only a few available, and definitely not worth it for your machine. The problem is that you have the YIKES machine, the first G4's that came out.

The next generation G4's, the AGP models, can be upgraded to dual 1.4 GHz.

You MASSIVE 10GB hard drive, today, would be considered very small.

I would buy a newer G4, nothing less than the Gigabet Ethernet models. Even if you bought a 400MHz Gigabet model, you could buy a processor dual upgrade for that.

You can keep an eye on the Apple store Refurbished to see if anything comes that you'd be interested in;

http://store.apple.com

Go down to Specials on the left side of page. Their refurbs come with a full warranty, like new machines.

You can go to ebay.com and look for machines and places like
http://www.shrevesystems.com/
http://www.sunrem.com/
http://www.smalldog.com
http://www.macresq.com
 
bobw, while it is techniclly feasible, i looked at the cost of upgrading my G4 (AGP, Gigabit, 400Mhz) to a mere dual 500, about 18 months ago, and the cost would make me think that the extra oomph from a 1.4ghz upgrade (which will still be limited to slower bus, memory, disk io, etc) will not be worth the $$, when compared to the price of a new (new to you, whether brand new or used/refurb) machine. this could simply be because i'm in aust, but even so. it was $1000+ here, which makes it $US500+. The cost seems prohibitive, especially given the limited speed boost from simply a faster cpu, with a relatively slow bus, etc.
 
I have the G4/450/AGP, before the Gigabet Ethernet model. I bought the Powerlogix 1GHz processor and an ATI 8500 card. Wish I could use the Dual Upgrade, but I'm very happy with this machine now. Jaguar ran great on it and Panther runs better.
 
That's wierd. i didnt know there was one bobw. My machine, i thought was the first AGP G4. And yet I have gigabit (or so the box, apple tech docs, etc say; cant test it)

Anyways.
 
Kiemposan, my dad purchased a dual 867 Mhz G4 for $900 after the G5's came out. It was a lemon, so he traded it for a dual 1.25 Ghz machine... you can ask him about it, his screen name is "davey".

Basically, if you can find a good machine at a fast speed and low price, it is much more worth it in terms of increased bus speed, more RAM, more hard drive space, etc. vs. having to pay more to get a bit less by upgrading all of those.
 
The fastest you can go with the G4 PCI machine right now is 500MHz. I believe there was at one time a 550 MHz upgrade, but I haven't seen it for sale anywhere in a while.

I've got a G4 PCI machine upgraded with a G4 500MHz, and it's decent for running Panther. Sonnet (http://www.sonnettech.com) is working on 700MHz and 1000MHz upgrades for our machines now, but at the current time, they're only compatible with older beige G3 machines. Same processor, just not compatible yet.
 
thanks chaps, i appreciate the input.

ElDiabloConCaca, its looks like youve super upgraded your G4, for the money couldnt you have just bought a new machine surely youll be reaching the limit of the machines expandibility(is that a word?) soon. do i do the same or save a bit and get a newer one
 
Well, yeah, I probably could have purchased a new machine by selling mine and all the upgrades with it, but I'm somehow attached to this machine... pathetic, huh? It's like that old car you just can't give up even though its slow and broken... hehe... 'cept mine's never broken!

I would hold out and save for a new machine, or a G4 that's more upgradeable than mine. The minimum I would suggest is an AGP graphics G4 machine -- as stated in this thread, you can get those up to 1.4GHz now, and the memory for them is cheap as well.

If you have the means, I would purchase a low-end G5 1.6GHz before I purchased a used G4. You'll get a lot more mileage out of it.
 
EDCC said:
If you have the means, I would purchase a low-end G5 1.6GHz before I purchased a used G4. You'll get a lot more mileage out of it.
Click to expand...
I definitely second this. I've argued in numerous places on this board that the G5 is a better investment that will go farther into the future than the G4's. However, if money is tight and you need a new computer now, then you should look for a second-hand or seriously marked-down dual G4. (Be wary on eBay, though, as some people may try to sell you a scam.)
 
What sort of money should i be paying for a marked down or second hand machine(UK) and where is a good place to look other than ebay,
 
1) It depends on what type of machine you're talking about, but in general eBay can show you a good range for intact machines.

2) Not to my knowledge.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top