EhMac.ca:

I'd like to upgrade G4(466Mhz) with:

1) Sonnet Encore/ST G4 1.8Mhz
2) ATA Serial Hard Drive 120GB
3) Extra Ram Memory
4) DL DVD-R Drive (Pioneer)

What GTA Apple Reseller would be ideal
for this upgrade?

G4Ever:confused:

To be honest, that machine isn't worth the upgrades you want to put into it.

The CPU upgrade alone would be approximately $323 (Based on macdirect.ca) - at least 4 times more than the machine is worth. The hard drive would be cheap, around $50. To max it out with RAM (2GB) would cost at least $184 (based on Canada RAM prices). The optical drive would be another $50 or so.

The total cost of these upgrades, if you do them yourself, is at the VERY LEAST $610, not including tax. If you purchase these at, and have them installed by an AASP, your bill is very likely to exceed $850 pre-tax.

To upgrade this machine is a waste of money, plain and simple. Either use it for what it is, or look into a Mac mini or iMac.

John Clay nailed it on the head. I completely agree. Please do not invest money into that kind of machine.

I agree as well. The G4 processor is just to slow for today's computing and not worth upgrading; not when you can get a brand new imac for around 1200. You would even be better off taking that money and buying a used G5 or imac instead if you didn't want to spend that much on a new system.

John Clay nailed it on the head. I completely agree. Please do not invest money into that kind of machine.
Oh really? How fast can the new Macs run OS 9? Oh that's right, they cant! :ptptptptp

Perhaps G4Ever (maybe his/her screen name is a clue) wants the fastest possible OS 9 rig around and would appreciate an answer to the question. :rolleyes: To that end, check out MacDoc.com (http://www.macdoc.com/), they still see value in the older rigs. Note: emails may go answered for a couple of days (they are very busy), but they'll take care of you. :clap:

Hmm, Very good point. New Macs can't run OS 9!! I've always
suspected the 'Apple scruffs', Enjoy changing Operating Systems,
Mhz, Ram, etc. Mac user's are creative, shame the Core Heads
at Apple leave a bad taste in the mouth!

G4Ever;)

Oh really? How fast can the new Macs run OS 9? Oh that's right, they cant!

1) Mac OS 9 is dead, plain and simple. Spending $600+ on an OS 9-based machine is a waste of money and I'm sure even you could agree.

2) There is practically no software or company that realistically supports the now ancient and outdated operating system. Secondly, Mac OS 9 runs 'quick' on a G3 processor. Why upgrade to a 1.8 GHz G4 one? That's hardly necessary. Spending $600+ dollars on all these upgrades is nearly the pre-tax price of an entry-level Mac mini 1.83 GHz C2D.

To answer his original question, MacDoc, Carbon Computing, MacDirect.ca, and just about any other Apple dealer can supply all the upgrades and parts and do the labor if required.

However, I'm trying to be helpful by not leading users (especially new users) astray by positively advocating that upgrading G4 466 machines is a cost-effective solution.

I guess you've never run a crap load of plugins in audio programs have you?
;)

it coud be 600 bucks plus a whole lotta money to upgrade to os x software and plugins.

Best to find out what he's doing first before dispensing too much quite yet.

Mac OS 9 is dead, plain and simple. Spending $600+ on an OS 9-based machine is a waste of money and I'm sure even you could agree.
I will agree, but where's your sentimentality? Some people have a lot of disposable income and tricking out the "ultimate OS 9 machine" might be one way to indulge him/herself. (Admit it, didn't you just wish Deus Ex could have run a little smoother, if only you had a more powerful OS 9 rig?)

However, I'm trying to be helpful by not leading users (especially new users) astray by positively advocating that upgrading G4 466 machines is a cost-effective solution.
I also agree, so let other readers heed this information with a grain of salt.

it coud be 600 bucks plus a whole lotta money to upgrade to os x software and plugins.

Invest in the future.

R.I.P. OS 9 - We knew you well but will never miss you.

(I have been working on a number of pre-OS X machines lately and it hurts every time I reboot. :( Every time.... ouch.)

My G4 will live for many years to come.
Almost all my 6yr old daughters games run much better in OS 9 than Classic and my son is only 5 months. My soon to be Leopard Intel Imac might run them in emulation one day, but I am not holding my breath.

And Deus Ex is still the best game I've ever played...{or re-played or re-re-played...}

I guess it doesn't hurt to upgrade enough to make it work well, not the fastest but good enough to be useful. processor upgrade, definitely not worth the money..

JC, Lars, SKD -

The problem is that Apple does not have an updated equivalent to the G4 to move to.
The MacPro is overkill for what I need and too expensive and none of the others are expandable like a G4 (or G5).
I have two hard drives in my G4, room for two more, a 250 MB ZIP drive which I still use regularly, a TV DVR PCI card and another PCI card with 5 USB 2.0 ports and three firewire ports on it.
All of that would have to go external if I moved to a iMac or MacMini - not something I really want, all these external boxes.
I upgraded the processor about a year ago, but I was patient in doing it. For a few hundred dollars I bought an upgraded G4 off ebay - it had a 1.3 GHz Sonnet upgrade in it, a meg of RAM I could use, an upgraded video card which I use and also a hard drive.
I now also have either a backup if my main G4 ever gives me problems (my old 450 MHz processor, old video card, minimal RAM, small hard drive) and/or I have some spare parts like a power supply, video card etc.

I must agree that the processor upgrade from 450 MHz to 1.3 GHz didn't speed up the Mac nearly as much as I thought it would. For day-to-day computing it was plenty fast with the old processor. The only difference I really see is when I do major video conversions. But at a few hundred dollars for the whole package a year back, I think I already got value for my money.
The other benefit (I just came across) is that I now should be able to install Leopard which with the original 450 MHz unit would not have been possible.

If Apple ever comes out with a reasonably priced mini tower, I would definitely switch - after all, my basic unit is going to be 8 years old come December - ancient in Computer years. Every other Mac in the family is much newer, just bought a new MacBookPro for my son that was delivered last week.

BTW: Shipping for the ebay G4 was free because the seller travelled almost past my house every few weeks and was kind enough to drop the G4 off

If Apple ever comes out with a reasonably priced mini tower, I would definitely switch

Time for a new version of the Cube! :)

Lars,SKD:

Yes, I agree the G4 is expandable but not as modern as OPS X, etc.
Although I admire the G5, it would indeed be 'Over Kill', for my use
I'm not a fan of external hard drives, the new imac's have
screen issues that need to be improved. Other brands are
just as good, aside from the overpriced Cinema Displays!

Earlier Quicksilver Towers, could be an alternate choice. Are their
any issues with these models? OPS, design faults, etc?

G4Ever


:cool:

Lars,SKD:

Yes, I agree the G4 is expandable but not as modern as OPS X, etc.
Although I admire the G5, it would indeed be 'Over Kill', for my use
I'm not a fan of external hard drives, the new imac's have
screen issues that need to be improved. Other brands are
just as good, aside from the overpriced Cinema Displays!

Earlier Quicksilver Towers, could be an alternate choice. Are their
any issues with these models? OPS, design faults, etc?

G4Ever


:cool:

Apple just recently acknowledged the screen issues with the new 20" imac (2007) and has promised fixes :)

Invest in the future.

R.I.P. OS 9 - We knew you well but will never miss you.

(I have been working on a number of pre-OS X machines lately and it hurts every time I reboot. :( Every time.... ouch.)

hey I whole heartedly agree with you :)

although there are some instances where money is super tight, that a few items can make enough of a difference to run for a while.

I dislike OS 9 too ;)

Hey G4ever you may want to try getting a G5. That's what I have and I'm in no rush to run out and buy an Intel. I've worked on Intel machine and I don't really see much of a speed difference to my G5.

As far as OS9 goes that operating system has gone the way of the do do.

Here's a comparison between G4, accelerated G4, G5, and Intel Macs. It'll give you an idea of what bang you can expect for your buck.

G4 MAXPower 7448 upgrade for Power Macs (http://www.barefeats.com/g4up2.html)

From the comments:

INSIGHTS & OBSERVATIONS
If you have a G4 "Sawtooth" or "QuickSilver" or "Digital Audio" Power Mac, the 7448 upgrade will add speed to existing versions of your applications, thereby extending the life of your faithful tower. It will put you on par with most G5 based Macs, as you can see from the graphs above.

It won't, however, pull you very close to the power of the Intel based Macs.

...

However, if you want a Mac that takes full advantage of the newest Universal software, then maybe it's time to sell the old G4 and buy an Intel Mac. Even the iMac 2GHz Core Duo we tested "smokes" the "hopped up" G4 towers when running the Intel optimized Photoshop CS3. But don't forget that your cost will include not only the new Mac but the new UB upgrades -- which can be pricey in the case of Adobe's Creative Suite 3 and Apple's Final Cut Studio.