powermac G4: anybody using one?

I have been considering buying a MBP but the finances don't allow me to take the step right now.
So... back to the 'ol Powermac G4.
It is Dual, 867mghz, 512 RAM, 60GB, external HD 160gb.
Does anyone use a G4 or remember using one not too long ago?
I would love to see what would be the minimum upgrade I should do.
The computer's painfully slow. Even Word or Safari are sssssslllllloooowwwww.
Forget about Handbraking or exporting QT, or rendering....

thx for the inputs

i use a powermac g4 dual 1ghz with 1.5 ram at home and use fcp 514 quite happily. It'll just about handle hdv ok though i tend to stick with dv if i can. It takes a while with rendering after colour grading and magic bullet but that gives me time to do the hoovering and play ps2.
Oh and i'm on 10.5.2 but would advise staying on tiger if you can to avoid potential headaches.

I know the specs and uses are different but i hope that helps, i too hope to join the land of mbp in the next year, i use one at work but i do love my trusty quicksilver at home!

I would stay on Panther rather than instal Tiger if you have an old G4, you may have done so and it is Hunky Dory but I've had a couple of friends who tried to instal Tiger and it was a disaster beyond all expectations. I kept my old G4 because it was like an old overcoat and never let me down. I upgraded RAM et al but stayed on Panther. Call me a romantic fool but there you go, it still works fine. What a machine and such memories to. Cheers Phil.

FindonChrispy Wrote:
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> i use a powermac g4 dual 1ghz with 1.5 ram >

Mine is only 867mghz. Upgrading it would cost way too much.
I need to max the ram maybe...

Thanks for your input.

Phil UK Wrote:
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> I would stay on Panther rather than instal Tiger

Too late.....

It's good to know that some people are still using the G4.
Thanks for your input.

Hey if Tiger works great...on my Mac Pro (intel) I won't instal Leopard, the machine sings on Tiger...Good luck, Phil UK

I still use my G4 TiBook for lots of portable editing.

i use my 17" g4 1.0ghz, 2 gigs ram powerbook for dvcproHD capture and basic edits in the field an dit works just great (osx 10.4.11 and fcp 6) also runs the adobe suite just fine.

however all render/export tasks are ridiculously SLLLLLLLOOOOWWWWWWW

I still have a G4 Quicksilver (Duel 1.Ghz) fine for basic editing and more but painful once you start grading or doing any compositing... and a big no for serious aftereffects (as i found out sleeping on the sofa for several days while a project rendered out)

... if i were you id start saving the pennies for an upgrade, an imac is going to feel like @#$%& of a burning shovel in comparison, let alone a macpro. and in my experience definitely stick with 10.4!

I still have my Powerbook G4 1.67Ghz and use it all the time for DVCPRO HD editing when I am on the go. Or I media manage to a smaller file size and store footage on my internal drive.

Still going strong.

And running Leopard. But I have 2GB RAM and a faster processor than you.


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

I finally upgraded to Mac Pro, but the G4 has not been retired. I upgraded mine at one point to a Sonnet Dual 1.8GHz processor and shoved almost 2GB of RAM in there, which made it sing. Still an amazing computer. Mine works fine with Panther, but I'd upgrade to Leopard if I didn't have so many old projects archived on it. Apple really takes care of its machines, whether they're old or new. Really, the only thing that limits the G4 is the BUS size. That limits your Mb/sec rate, but if you had a RAID connected to it, you'd still get close to 720p resolution editing.

I wish Apple had put a heftier power box on the G4 because, if not for the lack in wattage, you could run a 256Mb graphics card on it and successfully run all the Final Cut Studio apps. I actually tried to do it and, after sputtering along for a month, it fried. Luckily, after replacing it and putting in a less power-intensive graphics card, it was good as new.

these postings make me feel like my G4 isn't ready for retirement. My only concern is that all of you have more than 867mghz.
Upgrading to 1.0 ghz or more us very expensive.
I guess I'll try to bump the ram and what happens.
Thx all

[Does anyone use a G4 or remember using one not too long ago? ]

My Dual 800 chugs along pretty well under Tiger 10.4.8, running FC Studio 1, except for Motion. Just not expandable enough-- the max RAM is 1.5 and they rceommended keeping RAM below that. Definitely an aging beast and from the looks of this list the slowest, yet I edit, tweak audio with STP and author DVD's with DVDSP. Of course Compressor 2 took 14 hours to encode 70 minutes-- but using highest quality it came out beautiful. I won't really retire this baby, I'll move it to my producer's station or add it as a render cluster, or both.

It will not run FCS 2. Which is why I'm not upping it to Leopard. Shopping for an octopus.

- Loren
Today's FCP keytip:
Adjust video or audio gain with Command-Option-L !

Final Cut Studio 2 KeyGuide? Power Pack.
Now available at KeyGuide Central.
www.neotrondesign.com

I started with a dual 800 Quicksilver. I wanted to upgrade to Leopard, so I installed a Sonnet dual 1.8 Ghz processor. The only problem I had was getting the old heat sink free of the old processor. I was immediately up and running after rebooting, and Leopard installed without a hitch.

Then discovered my old video card wouldn't run FCS2, so I replaced that with a Radeon 9800. Now THAT was a joy. I'm now running FCS2 with no trouble at all. It's not the fastest system around, but it's been a lot more stable than FCP and DVDSP running on 10.4...by far. I couldn't be more pleased, and for my purposes (as a high end hobbyist) it just plain works.

Probably the biggest pleasure is having a version of Compressor that's trouble-free...

I'm also running a couple of external drives off a Firewire 800 PCI card, including a big Western Digital for Time Machine.

The bottom line is that I'm running the latest versions of all the software I need on an seven year old box, and it's all rock solid. FWIW...

xavpil Wrote:
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>
> Mine is only 867mghz. Upgrading it would cost way
> too much.
> I need to max the ram maybe...
>
> Thanks for your input.

Hi,

I think if you shop carefully on your purchase and do a nice Ebay or CraigsList add when selling you can sell the G4 for and buy a Dual G5 come close to breaking even or even make a small profit.

When the second generation G5's came out I purchased a refurbed G5 DP 1.8 for $1,800 and sold my G4 for $1,400. I think right now if I still had the G4 I could break even or make a profit on a similar upgrade to a Dual G5.

Best Wishes!

Mitch

Hey Mitch,

I considered this option for a while and I tried to sell my G4: eBay and Craigslist. I was selling it with a 15"LCD monitor, an Airport Base and a printer.
The best offer was in the $350!!!!

X_

Hi,

our G4 dual 1gig (10.4.10) with Decklink SP has been running loud and nonstop for 5 years since OS 10.1. we just finished a feature shot in 35mm and a super16 documentary, with edl/film list export for DI and all. Rendering TC- burnin and DVD's with dailys is an overnight job but 99% of the time it gets done. couldn't think of a reason to give up this offline suite, although we just got the octo 2.8. Great machine and investment at the time, it made us lots of $$$..

thomas

Hi,

First look for a bargain on a G5. If you are patient you can find a better than average deal on a G5. The key is to patiently keep looking and jump on a bargain. Even if you don't do that its not hard to find a Power Mac Dual G5 for about $650 on Ebay. Here is the list of completed auctions (need an account to view this list):
[computers.attr-search.ebay.com]

Second do a good job of selling your G4. Start with a nice add. I sold a DP 533 for $375. I needed a system while my G5 was being repaired. I bought it for under $300 and sold it when I was done a week or two later for a small profit.

Before selling it I throughly tested the hardware with Techtool and added a used Super Drive which cost me about $20. I told callers it was throughly tested and in good condition. You can my add here (minus the pictures):
[home.comcast.net]

So I think if you do it right you can upgrade to a Dual G5 Powermac for under $200. Worst case it will be about $300 to upgrade. IMO even if you spend $300 that is better than spending money to try to improve the G4.

Best Wishes,

Mitch

Thanks for the link.
As a matter of fact I've been watching eBay these last few days.
I don't see too many G5 being sold for less than $1,000 though...
I also put an add on Craigslits and found a few people intersted in my G4 for $400.
So yes, there is hope for a cheap upgrade.
However I found this auction with only 1 bidder, a few hours left.
Why so few people interested? Is there something I am missing? Do you want to review the posting and give me your input? (know mouse-keyboard, no software - but I have Tiger's CDs...)

"This is a used Apple Power Mac G5 with Dual 1.8GHz processors. It was is in good working condition when recently taken out of service at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.

Specifications:

Processor: DUAL 1.8GHz PowerPC G5
Memory: 512MB DDR SDRAM (2x256)
Graphics: 64MB GeForce FX5200 AGP Video Card,(Nvidea model a146)
Hard Drive: 80GB Hard Drive
Optical Drive: Super Drive
System Software: none
Accessories: power cord only, no mouse or keyboard

thanks!