From: Mark Benson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Key Question is OS X. If your are upgrading to run OS X then a G4 is a must - large areas rely on Altivec acceleration.
This is simply not true. Jaguar *and* Panther run fine on a G3.
Where I think you are getting confused is that both Jaguar and Panther both like to have a good video card -- 32MB or higher -- to take advantage of Quartz Extreme. With that, they can operate faster still because they can offload about 20% of the processor load onto the video card. Without it, the processor must do the work.
Since an upgraded G3 imac is not going to have a 32MB video card, the speed increase will not be nearly as dramatic. The G4 upgrade is damn useful if you're doing a lot of Photoshop or video-processing work, but not nearly as important for "day-to-day" stuff.
Repeat -- Panther runs great on a G3. Much faster than Jag, even on machines that don't have Quartz Extreme. The only G3 owners who are being left out in the cold come Panther are BEIGE G3 owners and others who have machines (such as Wallstreet PBs) that don't have the "new world" ROM (easy way to tell -- does the machine have built-in USB ports).Personally however, where as 18 months ago I considered a G4 wasn't compulsary now it is getting that way if you want to stay on track with Panther & the like.
_Chas_
Lee Gomes of the Wall Street Journal, 24-Jan-03 , commenting on Apple's growing arsenal of hardware, OS and software that is clearly superior to anything in the Windows world: "It's like someone forgot to send them the Resistance is Futile memo."
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