Questions about the single processor PowerMac G4

lblindstrom18

I am doing a project for school and I need to answer a few questions about the PowerMac G4 and I cannot seem to find the answers, any help is much appreciated thanks!



1. Will this computer be computer be upgradeable? Expandable?



2. What kind of after sale service will be provided?



3. What kind of guarantee do you get?



I can answer the rest of the questions I have. Like I said, any help you can offer on these topics is much appreciated. I realize that the after sale service probably depends where I buy from, but I'm wondering if Apple offers any kinds of service. Or guarantees for that matter, for number 3. THANKS!

photoeditor

Upgradability? In theory, yes -- but no one has actually gotten around to producing a processor upgrade for the 133 motherboard used since January 2001. I have a Digital Audio G4 (spring 2001) 466; if I'd have known it would be this long, I would have probably gone for a 533 dual processor at the time. Sonnet, the biggest upgrade vendor for the Mac, says they have not "yet" released an upgrade for this motherboard. But with the 933 or dual 1GHz, I doubt it will be an issue anyway; both are tremendously fast with the graphics software and very good even with everything else; besides, when the next generation 64-bit processors come out, I doubt they will work with the current mobo.



Warranty is a standard one year parts and labor/90 day toll free phone support; for an extra $229 to $249 with the PowerMac G4 depending on how much you shop around, parts, labor and toll-free support are extended to three years from the day you first register your new computer with Apple.



Repairability and after sales -- pretty good. I strongly recommend getting the three year warranty; Apple technical support in my experience is very responsive and doesn't mess around in terms of getting a solution, also you rarely have to wait more than a couple of minutes on hold for them when calling in; besides, everything on the G4 except the motherboard, power supply, modem and processor module is listed as "user-installable" which means you get the choice of either having an Apple tech change the part for you, or them sending you the part and letting you do it yourself, then using the postage paid mailer to send it back.



Bear in mind though that to get on-site service you need to be more than 50 miles from an Apple authorized service provider. Otherwise it's telephone, FedEx, or bring-it-in-yourself.



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alcimedes

um, in question to #1, i think the poster is asking about IDE cards and the like.



in that case, yes, there are plenty of IDE slots inside this machine. you can add all sorts of stuff, extra ram, internal drives, and a wide variety of IDE cards.



the other two were answered pretty well.