I appreciate your input, I think I saw a dual 533 for around 500 somewhere. I guess its time to go bargain hunting!
-----"G-List" <[email protected]> wrote: ----- To: "G-List" <[email protected]> From: Stephen Jonke <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent by: "G-List" <[email protected]> Date: 01/27/2005 23:34 Subject: Re: Mac convert - wondering which desktop is right for me. I have a PowerMac G4 Dual-533 (Digital Audio) model with 1 GB of RAM and it is quite capable, even for digital video. I paid $623 for it shipped (bought from ebay) on 8/25/04. Probably can get them a bit cheaper now. If and when I ever have any more money :) I plan to upgrade it with a dual 1.7 GHz or some such upgrade card, but really it's quite fast right now. I use it for iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, Photoshop Elements, Gimp.app, MacMAME, etc. It does great with all those except perhaps not so great with iDVD - iDVD seems to require a lot of horsepower. Still iDVD is more or less usable with it. Maybe iDVD 5 does better - I haven't gotten it yet. You'll probably want to get a ATA-133 or SATA PCI card for this Mac at some point as the stock ATA is ATA/66 and can't fully utilize larger hard drives. I have Sonnet's ATA-133 card - it works great and it supports "deep sleep". I also installed a Pioneer DVR-107 DVD+/-RW in it which also works great! I just hooked it up and it worked 100% with finder burning, iDVD, etc. The video card in mine is a NVidia GeForce 2 MX, but there were other options. I *think* the dual processor model came stock with the 2 MX, but I'm not sure of that. A GeForce 3 was an option. Oh, and don't forget to budget for a copy of OS X 10.3 as it almost certainly won't have it. But then there's the Tiger issue - 10.4 is suppose to be out in the first quarter of this year, so you may want to wait for that. For a display, if you are on the cheap and thus looking at CRTs, I highly recommend an Apple 17" Studio Display (CRT). You can find them in either blue and white or graphite cases. Mine is graphite. These are really fantastic 17" CRT displays. Unlike any new 17" CRT that I could find, this one does 1280x1024 at a very usable 75 Hz. Every new 17" CRT I was able to find only did 1024x768 at 75 Hz or greater. Most do 1280x1024, but only at a very flickery 60 Hz, which is unusable IMHO. I got mine on ebay for $60 shipped and it arrived in fantastic shape. Your deals may vary. :) A handy (and free) program you should get is MacTracker. It has information on every model of Macintosh and other Apple hardware ever made, right up to the present (well, I don't think it includes the Apple II, but anyway...): http://www.mactracker.ca/ Steve -- G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[email protected]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> iPod Accessories for Less at 1-800-iPOD.COM Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal www.1800ipod.com
