Power Mac G4 "Yikes!"

[iMac600]

Yikes indeed! It has a few problems I can't quite isolate. Has 512mb RAM installed of which only 448 is working, a 20gb HD and a 400mhz processor.

I decided to give it to my brother, but a question comes up... what would be faster, the Yikes G4 400/66 or the iMac G3 600/100? It's a little hard to tell but they do seem to be the same in terms of speed, QT video included which does utilize AltiVec.

Currently wondering if I should return the iMac to it's place and finding another task for the G4 or if I should let him keep it.

 

[MacMan]

Sounds like you have a bad 64MB DIMM in the machine. Try re-seating them all too see if it makes a difference. Fortunately PC100/133 DIMMs are a penny a dozen these days, except perhaps 512MB ones.

 

[iMac600]

Yep, although swapping RAM around seems to cause strange behaviour. I swapped all 4 sticks and still no go, except now the card in slot 2 wasn't working. Swapped a known good one into slot 2, and now slot 4 isn't working right!

Sounds like a lemon, but it boots, it runs and it runs pretty decently sans 64mb of RAM. Still, i'm curious to know if the iMac G3 would outperform this system as my brother (it's his machine) can't really notice much difference between the two, except about three times the desk footprint and twice the power connections. If the G3 ends up being faster, then it may be worth switching back and making the Yikes into a server or something.

 

[Bolle]

teh yikes has 100mhz fsb... not 66

 

[mac2geezer]

Hmmm, System Profiler says my G3 400 iMac has a 100 MHz bus.