Older G4's best one to upgrade?? and Ethernet questions

[Kraniac]

Hi all,

(Older meaning pre mirror drive door)

I want to buy an older G4. I've seen a lot of these for sale on Craigs for 2-3 hundred dollars.

1) Are there any of the older G4's that are NOT wise to buy if you are going to upgrade the processor?

2) Any that have particular advantages in terms of processor upgradeability?

3) What does "AGP" or "non AGP" mean?

Most of the ones I find are in the 400-450 megahertz range...good prices, sometimes $150 or $200...

4) Anyone have a source for 200 feet of CAT 6 ethernet cable with ends(jacks?)

Thanks...

[blusubaru]

For the Cat, I'd watch CL for that. I missed out on a deal of 500' for $20 (though it was cat5). Ends and crimper can be purchased at Lowe's.

[Ken Sp.]

Cruse the OWC site to see which are the best processor upgradeable
Stay away from the early "Yikes" machines that had PCI video--Sawtooths had AGP (it is the connector for the video card)
Go here and happy reading
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/po...index.html
I have a Giga G4/400 coming up and a friend has a QuickSilver 800 destined for eBay soon also.

[davester]

IMHO it seldom makes sense to upgrade unless you already own a machine that has a bunch of options you want to keep. It makes much more sense (and is much cheaper) to figure out the specs for the machine you want to end up with and buy that instead.

[mattkime]

what do you want to use the machine for?

[JTman]

Most folks recommend the models that had Digital Audio at the very least - check everymac.com for a rundown of the G$ tower models and specs.

Also, seems like I've heard that the 733 was a dog - the cache was crippled or something like that.

Good luck,

JT

[Kraniac]

hmm,

Well, I have a G5 that i use for imaging and some light sound and video stuff. this machine will be used primarily for biz paerwork, internet...some larger downloads, scanning and perhaps trnsferring older sound files from a roland digi workstation to computer based recording programs..I have to essentially re-record onto the comp because the Roland files are proprietary...lots of different stuff.

the thing is is that in the immediate sense, I will be using this for biz paperwork and internet stuff...in the furure I would consider taking some of the duties of the G% over to this one so I can multi task a bit more.

Im replacing a Beige G3 which is actually running smooth as hell for basic paperwork and internet...I want to get something a bit more up to date with Firewire & such plus be able to run OS 10 nicely. Classic on this has reached its limit, especially after being on OS 10...thats about it. the older G4 strains get very confusing and occasionally I see warnings about certain machines...

It is ver difficult to identify which of these machines is on sale when you see them listed because lots of folk dont know what they have and Im not tecched up macwise enough to know by straight specs..

Sorry for the long ass post...

thanks

[mattkime]

I'd seriously consider a MacMini. If you care to wait around for refurbs, they can be had for $400.

[Guitarman]

Unless you have some sort of pci cards you need to install, why not just get a refurb mini for around $350 or whatever they go for.


Otherwise, supposedly the digital audio ones are the best lowest machines, although they still are very upgradeable from the sawtooth on up.

[jdc]

and another vote for a mini -- really sound perfect for you

and if you dont mind making your own cable, try lowes or home depot for bulk stuff

of course, $20 for 250 feet

http://www.pccables.com/cgi-bin/orders6....n=Showitem&id=ID1165637&partno=02800&search=NETWORK&rsite=pccables.com&rcode=