Q: Should I upgrade a Powermac G4?
Hi!
My dad recently purchased two Powermac G4s and a monitor at a college auction. The hard drives were removed.
I love older Apple computers and want to get them working just for the sake of entertainment, but that's not really practical as we have nowhere to keep them running.
My dad is currently using a Dell he bought about four years ago (I think), but finally wants to try Apple products, deciding "they're a whole different ball game" (something I tried to tell him before he bought the Dell).
My question is: is the G4 (mirrored drive doors) still a usable computer? Is it worth putting a little bit of money into it to get it going again? (My dad basically only does email and eBay on the computer, with occasional Craigslist browsing And a video here and there. Nothing too earth shattering.)
I've found a 500GB hard drive with Leopard already installed and the RAM is at half capacity. I'd think his current USB keyboard and mouse would work with it, but I also already have both from my old iMac project as a backup. I just love the older Macs.
Posted on Sep 13, 2014 2:03 AM
Well, the M5183 PCI Macs were far more reliable, but also far far slower, not likely usable for Internet video today.
Biggest problem with the MDDs was for some reason Apple thought heat didn't rise... lets suck air in at the top & exhaust it at the bottom... LOL.
They were the noisiest also, often called Wind Tunnels or Quad Nostril Beasts, that may not be a problem with age though.
My 3 MDDs all died premature deaths, Some of my Macs 10-20 years older than them are still running.
Posted on Sep 13, 2014 1:14 PM