Apple Power Mac G4 Quicksilver 2002 User Manualdwnloadblock



Introduced: January 2002
Terminated: August 2002

Apple Power Mac G5 A1093 1.8 GHz, 1.25GB RAM, 80+250GB HDDs, Radeon 9600XT 128MB C $267.30 17' Inch Screen Power Mac Not Pro Macbook! 1.67ghz 2GB Ram 80 GB HD10.5 mint. The Power Macintosh G4 (Quicksilver 2002) series is very similar to the 'Quicksilver' series that it replaced - both share an identical case design, for example - but the Power Macintosh G4/933 (Quicksilver 2002) and Power Macintosh G4/1.0 DP (Quicksilver 2002)- have faster processors with faster DDR SDRAM level 3 caches. Additionally, all.

Power mac g4 (quicksilver 2002)

Description

There were three configurations available for the Power Mac G4 QuickSilver 2002. The low-end configuration ran at 800Mhz, had a 40Gb hard drive and 256Mb of RAM. It was equipped with a CD-RW drive. The mid-range configuration ran at 933Mhz, had a 60 GB hard drive and had 256Mb of RAM. It had a SuperDrive. The high-end model ran dual 1.0Ghz processors, had an 80Gb hard drive and had 512Mb of RAM. It also had a SuperDrive.

History

The latest edition of the Power Mac G4 line, the QuickSilver 2002, was the first Mac to get a processor speed up to a Gigahertz. It also added a DDR SDRAM L2 cache to the mid-range and high-end configurations. Apart from that, there were few changes from earlier models.

Photos

Specifications

Processor: PowerPC 7450 v2.1 or 7455 v2.1 (G4)
Number of Cores: 1
Processor Speed: 733 (education only), 800, 933 MHz, or dual 1.0 GHz
Benchmarks: 733 MHz: 368, 800 MHz: 419, 933 MHz: 510, dual 1.0 GHz: 833
Cache: 64 KB L1, 256 KB (1:1) L2, 2 MB DDR L3 (933 /dual 1.0 GHz)
System Bus: 133 MHz
Hard Drive: 40GB 7200-rpm, 60GB 7200-rpm, or 80GB 7200-rpm
Media: 24x10x32x CD-RW, or 8x/12x/8x/32x DVD/CD-RW, or 2x/6x/8x/4x/24x DVD/CD-RW (2x SuperDrive)
Peripherals: Apple Pro Keyboard, Apple Pro Mouse
Weight and Dimensions (US): 30 lbs., 17” H x 8.9” W x 18.4” D
Weight and Dimensions (Metric): 13.6 kg, 43.2 cm H x 22.6 cm W x 46.7 cm D
Original Mac OS: Mac OS 9.2.2 (Mac OS ROM 9.0.1) and Mac OS X 10.1.2 (5P63)
Later Mac OS: Mac OS 9.2.2 and Mac OS X 10.1.3, 10.1.5, or 10.2
Maximum Mac OS: Latest release of Mac OS X
Hardware Test: AHT (Power Mac) 1.2.4, 1.2.5, 1.2.6 1.2.7
Firmware: Open Firmware
Firmware Update: None
Logicboard RAM: None
Maximum RAM: 1.5 GB
Type of RAM Slots: 3 - PC133 3.3v, unbuffered, 8-byte, non-parity 168-pin SDRAM
Minimum RAM Speed: 125 MHz (8 ns)
Interleaving Support: No
Graphics Card: ATI Radeon 7500, NVIDIA GeForce4 MX, or GeForce4 Ti
ATI Card Model: ATY,RV200 (Radeon 7500)
Graphics Memory: 32 MB (Radeon), 64 MB (GeForce4 MX), or 128 MB (GeForce4 Ti)
Built-in Display: None
Display Modes: Dual display extended and video mirroring
Display Connection: 1 - VGA, 1 - ADC (Radeon and GeForce4 MX) or 1 - DVI, 1 - ADC (GeForce4 Ti)
Expansion Slots: 4 - 64-bit 33 MHz PCI, 1 - 4x AGP
Expansion Bays: 4 - internal 3.5” ATA drive bays, 1 - optical drive bay, 1 - Zip 250 bay
Hard Drive Bus: Ultra ATA/66 (ATA-5)
Large Drive Support: Yes (128 GB or larger per drive)
Optical Drive Bus: EIDE (ATA-3)
Backup Battery: 3.6 V 850 mAh Lithium (922-4028)
Max Watts: 360 W
Line Voltage: 115V AC (90V to 132V AC) or 230V AC (180V to 264V AC)
Liquid Cooling: None
AirPort: Optional AirPort card (802.11b)
Bluetooth: None
Ethernet: 10/100/1000BASE-T (RJ-45)
Modem: Optional 56k
ADB: None
Serial: None
SCSI: None
USB: 2 - 12 MBit/s
FireWire: 2 - 400 MBit/s (15W total power)
Audio In: None
Audio Out: 1 - 3.5-mm analog output jack, 1 - 2.5-mm Apple Pro Speaker minijack, Built-in speaker (16-bit 44.1 kHz sample rate)

Timeline

Introduced in January 2002, the Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2002) was discontinued in August 2002.

Videos

MacMusings

Daniel Knight - 2008.12.18 -

One of my interesting jobs at Low End Mac is compiling our price trackers, which have evolved quite a bitover the years. We do price trackers for all Macs that are supported bysome version of Mac OS X, from beige G3 Power Macs and WallStreetPowerBooks through today's Intel-based Macs. We also track the price ofmemory upgrades for these Macs, and we recently added estimatedshipping costs (based on our location in Michigan). Counterstrike mac download.

To round things out, we also track prices for the Classic Mac OS,earlier versions of OS X, and Leopard. And Time Machine andAirPort hardware and Apple TV and iPods.

Anyhow, I've noticed that for some older Macs, shipping can costmore than the computer. That raises the question, Is it worthit?

Beige G3

Today I'm working on the Power Mac G3 price tracker.The absolute cheapest is a used 300 MHz beige G3 - $25 fromBeta Macs. Plus about $35 for ground shipping. That makes it a $60computer. Max out RAM to 768 MB, and you've spent $90.

  • Pros: Runs Mac OS 8 through 10.4 (officially supported to 10.2).Last Power Mac with a built-in floppy drive. Last Power Mac in atraditional desktop configuration. ADB port. Last Power Mac withAppleTalk ports. Accepts ZIF G3 and G4 CPU upgrades. 3 PCI slots forvideo cards, USB, etc. Built-in SCSI. Built-in 10Base-T ethernet.Supports up to 768 MB of RAM (about $30 these days). Relatively easy tooverclock. May include a built-in 100 MB Zip drive. 300-366 MHz modelswith Rev. 2 motherboard support up to 4 IDE drives.
  • Cons: Issues with IDE drives over 8 GB in size. Internal IDE buslimited to 128 GB hard drives. Slow IDE bus. Horribly outdated ATI RagePro GPU really struggles with Mac OS X. No built-in USB orFireWire. Can only boot OS X from one IDE device, which must beset to 'master'. Video support limited to 1280 x 1024. Last Mac to useApple video port instead of VGA.

Best bet upgrades include upgrading RAM and putting in a faster IDEhard drive (at least 5400 rpm, and 7200 rpm is even better), especiallyif you already have one pulled when upgrading another computer. Videocard upgrades are harder to justify; if you want to go that route andplan on using OS X, the $35 Rage 128 is a good, low cost option.(For the Classic Mac OS, the $15 ixMicro Twin Turbo is very nice.)

As a Classic Mac OS computer, the beige G3 is a great performer. TheATI Rage Pro video is fine, 768 MB of RAM is plenty, and it's a greatbridge between old Mac standards and new ones: It can read 800 KBfloppies, it has AppleTalk and ADB ports, it uses both SCSI and IDEdrives, and it has 3 PCI slots for adding FireWire, USB, a fast IDEcontroller, better graphics, etc.

As a Mac OS X computer, the beige G3 can be adequate. Look for 300MHz and faster models. The crippling factors are the ATI Rage Pro videoand the slow IDE bus. There are some Radeon PCI cards, but it's hard tojustify the expense, and the same goes for adding a faster IDEcontroller. I would not invest in a new copy of OS X for a beigeG3, but it's a good place to use an old copy from a Mac you've updatedto a newer version.

Apple Power Mac G4 Quicksilver 2002 User Manualdwnloadblock

Conclusion: A useful bridge computer for legacy peripherals andbridging ethernet to LocalTalk using the Classic Mac OS. Especiallyuseful for 800 KB floppies, which USB floppy drives do not support.Hard to justify shipping costs, so look for one locally. With noofficial support beyond OS X 10.2, these 10-year-old Power Macsshould be cheap.

Blue & White G3 'Yosemite'

The blue & whiteG3 started at 300 MHz and topped out at 450 MHz, and it's not hardto overclock. It has a 50% faster system bus, one more expansion slot,and one more RAM slot. It retains the traditional ADB port while addingUSB and FireWire, although you cannot boot from its FireWire port.

Prices start at $80 for the 300 MHz model, and shipping can add $30to that. Max out RAM to 1 GB for $40, and you've spent $150.

  • Pros: Runs Mac OS 8.6 through 10.4. Last Power Mac with ADB. USBand FireWire built in. First Power Mac with 10/100 ethernet. 66 MHz busfor ATI Rage 128 video card, which has a VGA port. 3 33 MHz PCI slotswith 32-bit support. Faster IDE bus than beige G3, no 8 GBpartition issue (although same 128 GB limitation). Relatively easy tooverclock. Accepts ZIF G3 and G4 CPU upgrades. Rev. 2 motherboardsupports UDMA-33.
  • Cons: Cannot boot from FireWire or USB. No AppleTalk. No built-infloppy, so no access to 800 KB diskettes. SCSI not standard, althoughit was a fairly common addition for legacy drives and scanners. 128 GBmaximum for IDE hard drives. USB 1.1 is slow. The Rev. 1 motherboarddoes not support UDMA and may be unstable with modern hard drives.

Best bet upgrades include topping out RAM and putting in a 7200 rpmhard drive. The video card is descent, and it would be hard to justifythe cost of installing a Radeon card in an $80 computer.

As aClassic Mac OS computer, the blue & white is a solid performer. TheRage 128 graphics supports 1600 x 1200 resolution displays and isconsiderably faster than the Rage Pro in the beige G3. The fastermemory bus, faster IDE bus (with the Rev. 2 motherboard), and built-inFireWire and USB ports give you lots of options.

As a Mac OS X computer, the blue & white is a good performerthanks to a faster memory bus, a higher RAM ceiling, and a faster IDEbus. USB means access to a host of modern mice, keyboards, printers,and other peripherals. It's a very competent performer right throughMac OS X 10.4 'Tiger', although again it's hard to justify theexpense of a new copy of OS X.

Conclusion: The oldest Power Mac fully supported through OS X 10.3and 10.4, this can be a good personal computer or work well as anetwork server, especially with its many drive bays and ability to useFireWire drives. Be sure to buy one with a Rev. 2 motherboard. Shippingcosts are a big factor, so buying locally is probably your bestbet.

More than anything, low-end G4 Power Macs are coming in cheaper,which should drive prices down.

Update: A reader just informed me of a very hot deal from Wegener Media - a 300 MHzblue & white with 64 MB of RAM, CD-ROM, and no hard drive for $9.99plus shipping (about $30). If you've got a spare hard drive and Mac OS8.5 or 8.6 handy, this could be an incredible value!

Power Mac G4 'Yikes'

Take the blue & white G3, remove the ADB port, and replace theG3 CPU with a 350 MHz or 400 MHz G4, and you've got Apple's original low-end Power Mac G4,code named Yikes. A 5400 rpm drive was standard, although drives wererelatively small in 1999.

The G4 CPU adds the AltiVec 'velocity engine' to the power of the G3design, and that power is unleashed when working with video, laterversions of Photoshop, and all versions of Mac OS X. The 'PCIGraphics' Power Mac G4 has a less efficient memory bus than other G4Power Macs, does not support AGP graphics, and is not supported in MacOS X 10.5 'Leopard', although it can run it with a better videocard.

  • Pros: In comparison to other G4 Power Macs, none. In comparison tothe blue & white G3, the G4 CPU.
  • Cons: Less efficient memory bus than other G4 Power Macs. Nosupport for AGP graphics. Not easy to use with Leopard - probably notworth the expense and effort. First Power Mac without an ADB port.Cannot boot from FireWire or USB. One USB controller handles both USBports.

As a ClassicMac OS computer, everything said about the blue & white G3 applies,but there are no motherboard revision issues.

As a Mac OS X computer, the G4 is a big advantage over the G3. Thelack of support for AGP graphics is a bottleneck and a real obstacle tohacking OS X 10.5 to run on this model.

Conclusion: Basically a blue & white G3 with the benefit of a G4CPU, but without the AGP and memory bus advantages of other G4 PowerMacs. A descent personal computer or network server, but AGP Power Macsare a better bet. Again, shipping costs are a big factor, so looklocally.

The Yikes model is relatively uncommon, and AGP Power Macs are oftenavailable for about the same price, making them the better buy.

Power Mac G4 'Sawtooth'

Introduced at the same time as the Yikes model, the Sawtooth Power Mac G4 has amore efficient memory bus and supports AGP graphics, and low-endconfigurations (350-400 MHz) are often available for under $100.Shipping costs are the same as for the blue & white G3 or Yikes G4,making Sawtooth Power Macs a great choice for those on a budget.

RAM tops out at 2 GB, although the Classic Mac OS only sees 1.5 GBof that, and these are the oldest Power Macs than can boot fromFireWire. Max out RAM for $90 - or go to 1 GB for $40.

  • Pros: AGP 2x graphics. Oldest Mac to support 2 GB of RAM. Moreefficient memory bus than earlier Power Macs. ATA-66 drive bus, twiceas fast as Yosemite and Yikes. DVD-ROM is common. Lots of CPU upgradeoptions. Can boot from FireWire and USB. Two separate USB controllers.AirPort slot. Can run Leopard, although Apple does not support it.
  • Cons: 128 GB IDE hard drive limitation. Incompatible with somelater AGP video cards. USB 1.1 is slow.

As a Classic Mac OS computer, it's a powerhouse.

As a Mac OS X computer, that was the first to unleash the potentialof the G4. It may be overkill to install 2 GB of RAM, but1 GB for $40 isn't hard to justify. That ATA-66 drive bus isexcellent, although it does limit you to 128 GB and smaller harddrives. These can run Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' quite comfortably, butyou will want a better video card, at least 1 GB of RAM, and a7200 rpm hard drive if you want to work with Mac OS X 10.5'Leopard'.

Conclusion: Shipping is a big factor for computers worth less than$100, so try to buy locally.

Power Mac G4 'Mystic'

Introduced at the July 2000 Macworld Expo with the phrase 'Twobrains are better than one', the 450 MHz and 500 MHz 'Mystic' Power Macs had twoCPUs - the first dual-processor Macs since the PowerPC 604e era.Unfortunately the Classic Mac OS couldn't take advantage of the secondprocessor, and very few Classic apps used it. Fortunately every versionof Mac OS X can take full advantage of the second CPU, and ClassicMode on a dual-processor Mac is a treat - it can be faster than runningthe Classic Mac OS natively!

The other distinguishing feature of this model is gigabit ethernet.It uses the same drives and RAM as Sawtooth.

  • Pros: Two CPUs. Gigabit ethernet. Supports up to 2 GB of RAM. Canrun Leopard (unsupported). Lots of CPU upgrade options, including dual1.8 GHz G4s.
  • Cons: 128 GB IDE hard drive limitation. Incompatible with somelater AGP video cards. USB 1.1 is slow.

As a Classic Mac OS computer, this really has no advantage overSawtooth.

As a Mac OS X computer, the second processor makes a hugedifference.

Conclusion: Used Mac dealers typically charge $400 an up for these -well over twice what you'd pay for a Sawtooth at the same CPU speed.All things being equal, these might be worth a 50-75% premium overSawtooth, so they are currently overpriced - regardless of shippingissues.

If you can pick up a 450 MHz Mystic for under $225 or a 500 MHz onefor under $250, it's worth considering.

Power Mac G4 'Digital Audio'

Apple took three steps forward and two steps back with the Digital Audio Power MacG4. On the plus side, Apple moved to a 133 MHz system bus, adoptedAGP 4x, and finally broke past the 500 MHz mark - the top-end model ranat 733 MHz. On the minus side, maximum RAM is 1.5 GB on these, downfrom 2 GB in Sawtooth and Mystic, and there's no longer an analogsound-in port. That meant you needed a USB adapter to use a microphoneor line-out from your stereo.

There were five different configurations: 466 MHz, 533 MHz, 667 MHz,and 733 MHz single CPU models and a 533 MHz dual processor one. Thesewere the first Power Macs to use an Nvidia graphics card: The GeForce 2MX was standard on all but the entry-level 466 MHz model.

  • Pros: AGP 4x video. 133 MHz system bus.
  • Cons: 1.5 GB RAM ceiling. 128 GB hard drive limitation. USB 1.1 isslow. 512 MB modules are a bit more expensive than PC100, about $8 moreto max to 1.5 GB.

As a Classic Mac OS computer, the Digital Audio Power Macs have nodrawbacks.

As a Mac OS X computer, AGP 4x plus faster CPUs on a faster busgives it a leg up on earlier G4 Power Macs. The 466 MHz and 533 MHzmodels tend to be reasonably priced, while the top-end 533 MHz dual and733 MHz models command a premium.

Conclusion: The 466 MHz model is a good value for as little as $169,533 MHz would be at under $190 - which is rare. The 667 MHz modelitself is quite rare, and the 733 MHz Power Mac often command pricesfrom $200 to $400. It's a steal below $250.

The dual 533 MHz Digital Audio goes for $350 and up, which isoverpriced in comparison to the single processor models. I'd peg topvalue at $300 unless it's been upgraded significantly.

Field reports indicate that these all handle Tiger beautifully andLeopard adequately. Shipping is less of a factor at these prices, but$45 on a $200 purchase is still significant, so you might want to checkout local deals before ordering online.

Power Mac G4 'Quicksilver' and 'Quicksilver 2002'

Apple updated the appearance of the Power MacG4 with the Quicksilvermodel, introduced in July 2001. There were three configurations: a733 MHz entry-level model, an 867 MHz midrange machine, and a dual 800MHz top-end powerhouse. The line was updated the following year, andthe 'Quicksilver2002' was even faster - 800 MHz at the bottom, 933 MHz in themiddle, and 1 GHz dual processor at the top. For the first time, 7200rpm drives were standard across the line.

These were the first Power Macs to support hard drives over 128 GBwithout a special card or software. The 867 MHz, 933 MHz, and dual1 GHz models are fully supported by Leopard, and reader reportsindicate that the other Quicksilver models run it comfortably -especially the dual 800 MHz one.

  • Pros: Big drive support. Oldest Power Macs with official Leopardsupport (3 of 6 configurations).
  • Cons: 1.5 GB RAM ceiling. USB 1.1 is slow.

As a Classic Mac OS computer, there are no drawbacks.

As a Mac OS X computer, big drive support is a huge thing - it'sgetting hard to find drives below 160 GB. And topping out RAM for just$42 is another cost benefit vs. earlier Power Macs, where 1.5 GB cancost $70-75.

Conclusion: Quicksilver models tend to be fairly priced we found onevendor with an 800 MHz QS 2002 for $200 and the dual 1 GHz modelfor $340. (These are a steal compared with Digital Audio prices.)

Power Mac G4 'Mirrored Drive Doors'

Applerefreshed the look of the Power Mac G4 with the August 2002introduction of the 'MirrorDrive Door' (MDD) models - all of which had dual processors. Theentry-level machine ran at 867 MHz, the middle Power Mac at 1 GHz,and the top dog at an impressive 1.25 GHz. Apple also brought backsupport for 2 GB of RAM and included 4 PCI slots in addition tothe AGP 4x slot.

The faster models run on a 167 MHz system bus and use PC2700 RAM,while the slower ones use PC2100 RAM on a 133 MHz system bus. A fastermemory bus is nice, but very few CPU upgrades run on the faster bus.These were the last Power Macs capable of booting into the Classic MacOS. A single 1.25 GHz CPU model was added in June 2003.

  • Pros: Fastest Power Macs to boot into Mac OS 9. 2 GB RAM ceiling.Faster memory bus (1.0 and 1.25 GHz models). 4 PCI slots. Fullysupported by Leopard.
  • Cons: 167 MHz system bus limits upgrade options. Still uses USB1.1. Requires a special build of Mac OS 9.2.2 that's hard to find, sotry to get it with the computer.

The 1.25 GHz MDD is the fastest Mac that can boot into the ClassicMac OS.

As a Mac OS X computer, dual processors unleash things, room for2 GB of RAM is a real plus for power users, and that fourth PCIslot can be useful (you can add USB 2.0, 802.11g/n WiFi, a SCSI card, afaster IDE controller, a SATA card, FireWire 800, etc.).

Power Mac G4 (quicksilver 2002)

Conclusion: If you want the fastest Power Mac G4 with upgrades, lookat the 867 MHz model with its 133 MHz system bus. Upgrades top out at2.0 GHz for a single CPU, 1.8 GHz for two G4s. These are reliable tanks- we've been using a dual 1 GHz one at Low End Mac for years(maxed out with 2 GB of RAM, and it also has two USB 2.0 cards, aSCSI card, and two 400 GB 7200 rpm hard drives).

Recent prices include $200 for a dual 867 MHz (a steal!), $300 fordual 1 GHz (lower than Quicksilver), and $450 for 1.25 GHz (alittle high). It's worth $35-50 shipping to get one of these from adealer who has carefully refurbished it and packed it for shipping, butlook on the local market as well.

Power Mac G4 'FireWire 800'

The final version of the Power Mac G4 looks like the MDD model andis the only G4 Power Mac that can't boot into the Classic Mac OS. TheFireWire 800 model adds FireWire 800 and came with a single1 GHz CPU, two 1.25 GHz CPUs, or two 1.42 GHz CPUs. The 1 GHzmodel uses a 133 MHz system bus, so there are lots of upgrade options.The 1.25 GHz and 1.42 GHz models use the faster 167 MHz system bus.

  • Pros: FireWire 800. Fastest G4 Power Mac ever (1.42 GHz). 4 PCIslots. 2 GB RAM ceiling. RAM is about half the price - $14 for a512 MB module vs. $25 for PC133.
  • Cons: Cannot boot into Mac OS 9. Limited upgrade options for 1.25and 1.42 GHz versions. And it still uses USB 1.1.

This is strictly a Mac OS X computer, and as nice as being able toboot into Mac OS 9 may sound, I can count on one hand the numberof times I've done it this year.

Apple Power Mac G4 Quicksilver 2002 User Manualdwnloadblock

Conclusion: The FireWire 800 Power Mac tends to command a premiumprice ($600 for the top model is the best we've seen), when in reality1.42 GHz is less than 15% faster than 1.25 GHz. Avoid the 1.42 GHzmodel unless you get a really good deal - that last little bit ofperformance won't make much of a difference and will cost youdearly.

Final Recommendations

Buying from a dealer usually means the machine has been inspectedand tested and includes a 60- or 90-day warranty. It can also mean $35or more in shipping costs, so it makes sense to look locally.

There is a bit more risk buying privately, and Craigslist is a great tool for findinglocal sellers. Sellers tend to list on the high side, remembering whatthey originally paid, but you should be able to use our price trackersto show them what dealers are charging with a store warranty.

That said, Craigslist prices vary widely from region to region. AndeBay, being an auction site, tends to command higher prices, soit's not the first place I'd look.

In general, I can't recommend the G3 Power Mac unless you're gettinga real bargain on them, and the same goes for the Yikes G4. Sawtoothtends to be reasonably priced, Mystic overpriced, Digital Audio andQuicksilver a bit high, MDD quite reasonably, and FireWire 800 steep,especially the 1.42 GHz configuration. (For a quick overview of thevarious Power Mac G4 models, see our Power Macintosh G4 Guide.)

There's a lot of life left in PowerPC Macs, especially the G4 and G5models. All of them can run Tiger, and most will run Leopard nicely.They have sufficient power for most of what you'd use a computer for,the big exceptions being working with video and high-end gaming, whereyou really want a modern Intel-based Mac.

The G3 Mac market is on its last legs because there just isn't muchmoney to be made selling $25-50 computers. Most G3 models can runTiger, which provides access to most current browsers, and those thatcan't run Tiger can run Mac OS X 10.3 'Panther', which iscompetent, although dated. If you still have a Classic Mac OS workflow,however, even a G3 is plenty powerful - the big drawback there being noreal options in an up-to-date browser.

G3s can be great for writing, basic spreadsheet work, email clients,and basic image editing. Where they show their age is things like Flashon the Internet. Sites such as YouTube take everything a low-end G3 Mac(233 MHz to 450 MHz) has to offer.

Living with Low-end Macs

Living with low-end Macs is something of an art. You want to use acomputer that's comfortably adequate for your tasks and avoidunnecessary and expensive upgrades. It's a simple fact of life that anyversion of Mac OS X is far more demanding of hardware than anyversion of the Classic Mac OS. It's equally a fact of life that themost up-to-date software is generally available only for recentversions of the Mac OS.

It's something of a balancing act, and in general Tiger is optimizedto the point that it will run better on a low-end G3 Mac withsufficient RAM (at least 512 MB, and more if you can do it) thanPanther. You can view YouTube videos on a 400 MHz Mac, but they'll bechoppy.

If you've got an old G3 Mac, by all means try to get the most out ofit at minimal expense, but if you're picking up a secondhand Mac, jumpright to G4 if possible. (Faster G3 iBooks aren't bad.) Invest in someRAM, use that spare copy of Panther or Tiger you have (I like to buythe 5-user family edition, since I have so many Macs).

Have realistic expectations, and you may find happiness with yourPowerPC Mac for years to come.

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Dan Knight has been using Macs since 1986,sold Macs for several years, supported them for many more years, andhas been publishing Low End Mac since April 1997. If you find Dan's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.

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