iMac G4 as a main computer? Thoughts?

[ClassicHasClass]

I find Facebook to be a massive CPU and RAM pig on older hardware, especially with more than one FB tab open.

That's all the JavaScript. I don't use FB personally, but Google+ is certainly manageable on my 1.33GHz iBook G4, and I'm working on method compilation for TenFourFox which will make that even faster.

Otherwise, there are always the mobile sites.

 

[highlandcattle]

My main system is a a G4 867 single core powermac. I can use it for all my needs. But my needs are pretty plain (Tenfourfox, divx downloads,warcraft 3 and eclipse java coding, the occasional scanning and printing.) ANything flash related or other online webcontent is horrible.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

I thought I had replied to this thread, I guess not. Huh.

Anyway, my daughter used to use a 12" PowerBook G4 - 867 MHz, 640 MB RAM, GeForce4 420 Go w/ 32 MB RAM, 10.4. It worked "adequately" for her. Now she's on a 17" iMac G4 - 800 MHz, 768 MB RAM, GeForce4 MX w/ 32 MB RAM, 10.5. It works equally well for nearly everything she does. The bigger screen is the good thing, the slight bump in RAM and slightly slower CPU seem to balance each other out.

Yeah, Flash websites can be a little slow, but they work.

 

[wardsenatorfe92]

Here's my $0.02, hope it can help you out.

I've recently acquired an iMac G4 (17", 1GHz, 512MB RAM, 80 GB HDD, 10.4.11). I use it as my secondary computer, since my desktop PC is on its last legs. For what I've used it for, the machine does alright. I've surfed facebook, browsed forums/ web, listen to music, iChat, wireless printing, etc... I'm sure adding additional RAM would help but its usable. Youtube isn't the best, but it works. The fan in the top of unit isn't too loud, but its noticeable if you don't have something else going on to drown out the noise (doesn't bother me though). It still seems like a pretty capable machine, but then again, I haven't tried to do anything CPU-intensive on it. I plan on utilizing it more after I get an external HDD and more RAM.

 

[ClassicHasClass]

That's interesting -- my 15" 1GHz (note different model) is virtually silent. Since this model is later than yours, I would think it would have the fan as well. Perhaps they did something different with the cooling.

 

[Forrest]

If I heard the fan on my 15 inch G4, that was usually a sign of dust build-up inside the unit. I removed the bottom metal plate and used a can of compressed air from the top and bottom sides to clean out those dust bunnies. I repeated this practice every two or three years.

 

[Hrududu]

Unfortunately the iMac G4 never really got fast enough before being upgraded to the G5. By that I mean if the G4 chip in the iMac had lasted long enough to reach 1.5 or 1.67GHz like the PowerBooks, then it would probably still be somewhat useful today. There is a HUGE difference in performance between my 1GHz 17" iMac G4 and my 1.5GHz PowerBook. The iMac with Leopard is really pokey while the Powerbook actually feels pretty smooth. The later 1.25Ghz models with USB 2.0 may be somewhat better than my older 1GHz model, but I still wouldn't put myself through that every day all the time. My primary setup is a dual 2.0 G5 and thats probably about as slow as I would want for every day use. Now I'll still use my TiBooks and G4 cube when Im just lounging about, but having a computer with some power when you need it is a must. Sometimes you can't wait all day for that page to load on Safari, or deal with iPhoto and iTunes running at a snails pace. Moral of the story, if you MUST get an iMac G4, then get a 1.25GHz model (or better yet, get yourself an eMac 1.42 for half the price). Either way, a G4 in late 2011 is really not something I would ever recommend and your main setup.

 

[ClassicHasClass]

The iMac with Leopard

Well, there's your problem. I'm only half kidding. But I don't really think most G4s do well with Leopard in my experience.

My 1GHz 15" iMac G4 with Tiger feels zippier than my iBook G4/1.33, probably because the iMac has a 167MHz bus.

I still agree it's no speed demon, and it's not my daily desktop, but it is a good backup workstation. Then again, my bedroom workstation is now the Spartacus, so I don't have terribly high requirements of my computers.

 

[wardsenatorfe92]

That might be the reason my fan is noisy. I mean its not real loud but you can hear it revolving. I've only had this iMac for a few months and I haven't done anything except open up the user accessible slot on the bottom to install an airport card. The only thing I know is if you do open it all the way up you have to reapply thermal paste, which sounds like a mess. I guess eventually I'll need to open it up and clean it out good but it does alright right now.

The only real problem I had on this machine was when I used a USB wifi dongle (before my airport card shipped) and there was times that the system would slow to a crawl or freeze. Never had that problem since I got rid of it. Websites seem to load pretty decent, I haven't had any real problems with that. I think if I bump up the RAM to 1.5GB it'll probably help things out considerably as well.

 

[Bunsen]

a certain budget (say, "less than $400") that can't be achieved with modern Mac hardware

Sure it can - OK, not "fresh out of the Apple Store" modern, but used Core2 Minis and iMacs ...

 

[kem554991]

My current "daily driver" is a PowerMac G4 "Mirrored Drive Doors" with a 1.25GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, and the stock 64MB graphics card. It actually does okay, even on YouTube, but what you have to remember is that my machine was the "top of the line" at the same time as the higher end iMac G4's, and it's currently "maxed out" with the exception of the graphics card. I could see where an iMac G4 could leave a lot to be desired as a daily driver, although if you want to go somewhat vintage, you could pick up a machine similar to mine for around the same price as a high end iMac G4. Even though I intend to get an early Core 2 Duo Macbook after Christmas, I doubt very highly if it will completely replace the PowerMac.

 

[Bunsen]

a couple hundred bucks... I don't need anything particularly high-end. Just something that works.

Used Mac Mini, all the way.

It'll run rings around a G5, it'll run the newest OS X and apps. And unlike a netbook (which it'll probably run rings around too) you can drop a faster CPU in it later.

 

[mcdermd]

The original Core Solo and Core Duo minis need hackery to run 10.7. Even with a Core 2 Duo processor upgrade.

 

[Bunsen]

What kind of hackery?

 

[mcdermd]

Nothing hardware-wise. You need to modify Apple's (logic) board ID checks or else the installer will refuse to run.

First you need to copy the Lion Installer to a bootable USB stick. There's instructions to do this on the web. Next you need to add your machine's board ID to the /System/Library/CoreServices/InstallableMachines.plist and PlatformSupport.plist. Next you need to expand (xar) the Packages/OSInstall.mpkg and add your board ID to the "platformSupportValues" or just modify the checkSupportedMachine to always return "true". If you are using a 32-bit processor, you'll want to modify the "is64bit" function to always return "is64bit". Re-archive the Distribution and Resources back into OSInstall.mpkg again and you should be set to install from the USB stick.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Wow, I didn't know the final release of Lion could be hacked to run on Core Duo machines, I thought the final release required Core 2+ machines!

Do you know if this works for the original MacBook Pro? (which, like the mini and iMac, is essentially hardware-identical to the first generation of Core 2 MBP, only the CPU is different.) My wife would really like to have Lion.

 

[mcdermd]

I can't tell you if Lion will actually run on 32bit (64bit Finder? iTunes?) but you can make the installer go by bypassing is64bit in the OSInstall.mpkg. I haven't tried it on a 32 bit system. Maybe iMac600 knows.

You can easily find your board id with ioreg:

ioreg -lp IOService | grep board-id

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Hrm, I have a Lion NetBoot image prepped, I'll have to hack that image to see if I can get it to NetBoot my Core Duo MacBook.

 

[mcdermd]

Well, go dog go! Let us know what you find.

 

[mcdermd]

If I can dig out an old Core Duo or Core Solo tonight, I'll see if I can pop it into my hacked mini here tomorrow and figure out if it will run.