Should I upgrade to a G5 from a G4 867 MDD?

Question

Should I upgrade to a G5 from a G4 867 MDD?

New Mac user here. I bought the Mac Mini when they first came out, and got a tremendous deal last week when I found a used G4 MDD 867 dual with 1.5 gigs of ram for $280.00!

This G4 is great, so good that my Mac Mini is on eBay now. I just added a 120 gig hard drive and a USB 2.0 card to the PowerMac.

I mostly just do web browsing and a little bit of photo work, both still and video pictures.

My question is, should I upgrade to a G5 PowerMac? While this machine is working great, I figure with the money I'll get on eBay for both of these, I can add a little and get a G5, along with my government employee discount.

Is it worth it, will going from a dual 867 to say a dual 2 gig make a significant difference? I know that web browsing will be the same, but what about the overall speed of the o/s?

Posted on Sep 24, 2005 2:17 PM

Reply

Answer 1

myhighway

Level 5

7,270 points

Sep 24, 2005 7:53 PM in response to Sebastian-Miami

Sebastian,
Congratulations on making the deal of the century!

While the G4 MDD has the advantages of flexibility and expansion potential, if Tiger will be the OS, then the G5 PowerMac, with its awesome power and RAM potential, would be my preference. The G4 is limited to 2GB of RAM, which is enough for now, but the future has historically pointed towards a need for more RAM.

Reply

Answer 2

osxmusic

Level 1

0 points

Sep 25, 2005 10:59 AM in response to Sebastian-Miami

Absolutely. Also, a good rule of thumb is: RAM is cheap - buy tons.

Reply

Answer 3

Sep 29, 2005 5:01 PM in response to Sebastian-Miami

I would keep the G4 MDD to be honest. If it's fast enough for your needs and working well that is. Your MDD should be fine for doing video/photo work.

I bumped my 867 up to a 1.42 with a dual processor upgrade last year and expect to keep my MDD until the new Mac/intels are out and have gone through a few revisions. So I may be skipping the G5 experience altogether. 😉

Basically it sounds like you're impressed with your find (as you should be). Unless you're planning on doing some real heavy pro-level work and pushing your system to the limits you may not even be taking advantage of what a G5 has to offer.

I like to upgrade when my needs dictate it. WHich seems to be about every 3 to four years for me.

Reply

Answer 4

Sep 29, 2005 8:06 PM in response to Jolly Blackburn1

I really didn't know you could upgrade an 867 to a 1.42. Is it ok for you to tell me what company does this, how much it costs, and are there any drivers or special software necessary. I would love it if I could just order an upgrade like that, open my case, put it in and away I go!

I've had my MDD now for a couple of weeks, and am reading about all the rumors about new G5s, but I still can't get over how good this 'old' machine is running.

Reply

Answer 5

Douggo

Level 4

2,740 points

Oct 1, 2005 11:44 PM in response to Sebastian-Miami

GigaDesigns was doing the Dual G4 upgrade cards for the MDD's, but they're out of production now and nothing definite is in the offering soon. You could try searching eBay or similar places for one.

-Douggo

Reply

Answer 6

Oct 20, 2005 7:27 AM in response to Sebastian-Miami

Keep your 867 and upgrade your video card. What OS are you running 10.4 runs very well on the DP 867.
What brand name USB 2 card did you use? Any problems?

Reply

Answer 7

ziggy29

Level 2

290 points

Oct 20, 2005 7:36 AM in response to Sebastian-Miami

I'd hold off, personally. You say that the G4 is still "working great," so presumably it's meeting your needs. Given that computers always get faster and cheaper over time, why not wait until you need a new one and get even more for your money?

Sounds like you're pretty good on RAM, but doing work with images, you may want to consider a new video card.

Reply

Answer 8

Oct 23, 2005 7:15 AM in response to Sebastian-Miami

Hey Sebastian,
For what you paid for your system and your needs, I say stick with what you have. I work in the creative department of a entertainment company and most of designers have a dual 1.25 with a gig of ram. We work on major projects and even video at times with no real problems. We get upgraded about every 3 years and that would be mid year in 2006 for us.

Use what you have, upgrade it when you need. Save your money for that killer system when you really need it.

Reply

Answer 9

Oct 24, 2005 10:32 AM in response to Sebastian-Miami

Stick with your G4 for now if it's working for you. I have a Dual 1gz MDD with 2gb RAM and I just put a new video card in it - an ATI 9600Pro Radeon, now it's really fast! I'm going to hold off on the G5s for awhile.

Reply