Power Mac question

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little a

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hello all,

as a PC user i find Mac models a bit difficult to compare, both with each other and with PCs. i'm looking at getting a used Power Mac but don't really have the frame of comparison to make an educated purchase. basically, i'm interested in two computing tasks: 1) very light video editing 2) ripping CDs.

i'm looking at two different Power Mac models:

a) G4 733 mhz, 512 RAM, 60 GB HD

b) G4 dual 533 mhz, 512 RAM, 30 GB

basically i'm looking for a point of comparison (say ripping speed for music CDs using itunes) one similar systems. i know speed will vary according to how much stuff is on the HD, etc. but at the moment i have no way of knowing how this compares to similarly priced PCs, or how the dual processors stack up against the single CPU set-up for Macs.

also, i'm interested in the 'upgradeability' of these sort of units 1) can the drives be upgraded? 30HD is not much space 2) is it possible to run dual HDs on these? 3) is burning DVDs too much for these systems?

i know that's a lot of questions- i'd appreciate any help with this, thanks!

a
 
Uhh why not just go with a certifed used Apple PPC computer. I'm afraid both of those computers are weak and may offer limited upgrade ability.

While the iMac offers no upgrade ability (as of now ...), it comes with parts that probably won't need to be upgraded.
 
Brtnboarder495 said:
Uhh why not just go with a certifed used Apple PPC computer. I'm afraid both of those computers are weak and may offer limited upgrade ability.

While the iMac offers no upgrade ability (as of now ...), it comes with parts that probably won't need to be upgraded.

these are on sale (with one with a 17" CRT monitor, the other with an LCD screen) for $395.

what are the prices for certified used Apple PPCs? also, who sells them? i found refurbished stuff but not used and nothing on the Apple website about certified used. thanks

a
 
little a said:
hello all,

as a PC user i find Mac models a bit difficult to compare, both with each other and with PCs. i'm looking at getting a used Power Mac but don't really have the frame of comparison to make an educated purchase. basically, i'm interested in two computing tasks: 1) very light video editing 2) ripping CDs.

i'm looking at two different Power Mac models:

a) G4 733 mhz, 512 RAM, 60 GB HD

b) G4 dual 533 mhz, 512 RAM, 30 GB

basically i'm looking for a point of comparison (say ripping speed for music CDs using itunes) one similar systems. i know speed will vary according to how much stuff is on the HD, etc. but at the moment i have no way of knowing how this compares to similarly priced PCs, or how the dual processors stack up against the single CPU set-up for Macs.

also, i'm interested in the 'upgradeability' of these sort of units 1) can the drives be upgraded? 30HD is not much space 2) is it possible to run dual HDs on these? 3) is burning DVDs too much for these systems?

i know that's a lot of questions- i'd appreciate any help with this, thanks!

a

I would definitely go for the Dual Processor model if you plan on doing any sort of video editing. If I'm not mistaken, the dual 533 model was made specifically for this purpose. Since the processors on both machines are the same (albiet the 200mhz clock difference) the system bus speeds are the same. With dual processors, you'll be running multi-threaded applications (like video editing software) much faster.

As for upgradeability...
Here are the basics for both models:
slots: 4 - 64-bit 33mhz PCI, 1 - 4x AGP
Hard Drive Bus: Ultra ATA/66
Expansion Bays: 4 - internal 3.5" ATA drive bays, 1 - Zip 250 bay
Each computer can hold up to 1.5gb of RAM

You can pretty much upgrade it with any Mac-Ready PCI or AGP hardware. :)

I think you will be much more satisfied with the Dual Processor model.
 
Brtnboarder495 said:
Uhh why not just go with a certifed used Apple PPC computer. I'm afraid both of those computers are weak and may offer limited upgrade ability.

While the iMac offers no upgrade ability (as of now ...), it comes with parts that probably won't need to be upgraded.

iMacs are not upgradeable aside from increasing the RAM. They are also not good for video editing because their processors have always been watered down for sales purposes.

Case in point:
Last Generation G3 PowerMac 450mhz G3 @ 100mhz FSB
Same year G3 CRT iMac 333mhz G3 @ 66mhz FSB

Last Generation G4 PowerMac Dual 1.25ghz @ 167mhz FSB
Same year G4 iMac 1ghz @ 133mhz FSB

Apple has always dumbed-down the iMacs so that the PowerMacs would sell better.
With the PowerMac you get much more expandability and usability. :)
 
Re: Re: Power Mac question

mac_mogul said:
I think you will be much more satisfied with the Dual Processor model. [/B]

thanks for the detailed posts (to everyone)

i guess i should clarify that i'm mostly interested in ripping CDs and mundane tasks like web surfing and word processing and am only going to use whatever machine i get for video editing on the rarest occassion. it would be nice though to be able to copy DVDs.

i have a few other q's that have come up in doing my own research elsewhere:

how can one tell the difference between the sawtooth, yikes, and quicksilver models?

also, you mentioned dual processors make a difference for video editing, is the same valid for ripping? what sorts of speeds can i expect? this is critical because i have *lots* of CDs and, if necessary, i would consider spending a bit more for more processing speed to cut down the labor-hours it's going to take to digitalize my collection.

a
 
Re: Re: Re: Power Mac question

little a said:
how can one tell the difference between the sawtooth, yikes, and quicksilver models?

also, you mentioned dual processors make a difference for video editing, is the same valid for ripping? what sorts of speeds can i expect? this is critical because i have *lots* of CDs and, if necessary, i would consider spending a bit more for more processing speed to cut down the labor-hours it's going to take to digitalize my collection.

a
Sawtooth and Yikes! can be distinguished by the proc speeds, RAM, etc. The Quicksilver models are, well, silver, but they don't have the "mirrored" drive doors.

Compared to my dad's old rig (a Duron, 700mhz), just about everything runs smoother and faster, because OS X can take advantage of two procs quite well.
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Power Mac question

macdude425 said:
Sawtooth and Yikes! can be distinguished by the proc speeds, RAM, etc. The Quicksilver models are, well, silver, but they don't have the "mirrored" drive doors.

where can i find that info to cross reference with the specs that i listed? or do you already have an idea as to which is which?


Compared to my dad's old rig (a Duron, 700mhz), just about everything runs smoother and faster, because OS X can take advantage of two procs quite well.

i should clarify that for the same money i can get a dell GX240 P4, 256 RAM, 20GB HD, 19" monitor so i hope these macs can do quite a bit more than a 700mhz duron.

a
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Power Mac question

little a said:
where can i find that info to cross reference with the specs that i listed? or do you already have an idea as to which is which?



i should clarify that for the same money i can get a dell GX240 P4, 256 RAM, 20GB HD, 19" monitor so i hope these macs can do quite a bit more than a 700mhz duron.

a
http://lowendmac.com/ppc/index.shtml

For the record, I'd rather shoot myself in the head than buy a Dell (I emphasize this especially for the desktops.)
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Power Mac question

macdude425 said:
http://lowendmac.com/ppc/index.shtml

For the record, I'd rather shoot myself in the head than buy a Dell (I emphasize this especially for the desktops.)

as far as i can tell these are both Digital Audios which narrows things down somewhat. i've noticed on several websites that folks talk about upgrading processors on these, what's the limit (both in speed and in cost)?

is it worth it to buy a dual 533 and stretch the CPUs ($395 with 17" monitor) or should i buy a new mac mini (at $679 + tax it costs a little more but i already have a spare monitor)?

a
 
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