Power Mac G4. What did I find?

[joethezombie]

So I found on Craigslist a Power Mac G4. I picked it up for $10. I have zero experience with PowerPC based machines, so I don't know what I am looking at. I'm away from home, so I can't turn it on just yet, but I'm hoping one of you experienced gents can let me know what I have here? I'm on mobile right now, so I haven't done a whole lot of web searching. Does this thing run Mac OS 9?

I've included some pictures.

 

[omidimo]

An old version of a ProTools system, probably 24Mix, but I do not remember that well. 

 

[TheWhiteFalcon]

Should run OS9 natively, yes. Up through 10.4.11 without software aids.

 

[Unknown_K]

Protools 24 mix system?

 

[CC_333]

If you're not interested in the audio bits (if that is indeed what they are), I'll take them!
 

And it looks like a Sawtooth, so it ought to run OS 9 just fine (it can even run 8.6 with the proper system-specific installer).

c

 

[Bunsen]

You got the sort-of rare Marathon rackmount kit, for mounting it sideways in a 19" studio rack.

Trawling the Digidesign legacy support pages might tell you more about what cards you have there.

 

[insaneboy]

Had a few of those marathon sliding rack mounts for G3/G4 macs.       Gave them away some time back.   still have the Anthro cart rolling rack that they were in.

 

[Unknown_K]

Easy enough to find the OEM plastic handles on ebay if you want the stock look.

 

[joethezombie]

Ah thanks guys!  I got home today, and fired it up.  DP500 Gigabit Ethernet model.  Yep, it's a Pro Tools system with a MIX Core and 2x MIX Farms.  I really want to get this thing running! Looks like I'll need an Audio I/O interface like a Digidesign 888.  I'm gunna need a little rollable rack.  Neat!  

 

[System6+Vista]

I'm wondering if there were any really nice interfaces for ProTools (good DACs, ADCs) on pre-OSX machines that would be available now for pennies? A lot of people say on the 2nd version of the Alesis ADAT machines, the pro 24 bit version, those converters are excellent and can be used over optical ADAT with a modern interface. Any gems made for Mac?

I had the Echo MIA PCI card in the early 2000s, I was on Windows then but I know they also made Mac drivers. I like those converters, very warm. Maybe one of their larger systems with a nice G4? What are some other better brands to search?

 

[Bunsen]

I've seen 888s and 882s going for around US$20 + shipping.

 

[CelGen]

Yeah, 888's are cheap now because they really are not all that awesome anymore.  So how many channels do you get? I'm getting conflicting information it's something between 16 and 32 channels. (wowza)