Upgrade suggestions??

mazz72 · October 31, 2006 11:20PM

Hi all. I hope this is the right spot for this. This is my first post, and I'll be honest with you...I'm not a Mac guy. I don't know much about them at all (I've always been a PC guy. Don't hate me, please.

), and that's why I need some help.

My girlfriend has a Mac, and I want to do some upgrades to it for her for Xmas. Now, I can't afford a whole new machine. I'm just looking to upgrade harddrive, memory, put a dvd burner in, and if a processor upgrade is possible without a new motherboard, then great.

Here are the specs I have via "about this mac" on her system:

PowerMac G4 (11.2)

533 mhz, 1 mb L2 cache

133 mhz bus speed

512 mb SDRAM, PC133-333

20 GB ATA Harddrive

The OS is Mac OS X 10.3.9

She's a graphic designer, so she runs a lot of heavy load programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, etc, and always has problems with freezing; so I really want to beef it up for her, and make things run smoothly. I'd like to keep the cost below $500, because as much as I know she'll love this, I don't want it to be the ONLY Xmas gift I get her.

Well, if there's any more info you guys need, let me know. Any help is greatly appreciated as far as what I should get, and where the best place is to get it.

Thanks so much in advance.

Matt

lundy · November 1, 2006 12:01AM

You're a PC guy, so naturally you think of adding parts. But upgrading the processor on these is not the same as on a PC. It's way more expensive. So I would suggest that you look for a used dual 1.25 gHz G4, called the "MDD" for Mirrored Drive Doors. If that is too expensive, look for a dual 1.0 gHz G4, called a "QuickSilver 2002".

I am not entirely sure which model you have, as Mactracker does not show a 533 G4 with a 20 GB drive.

benzene · November 1, 2006 1:32AM

Although I agree with lundy, considering how much your graphics work your gf does a slightly newer machine does make sense. A G4 MDD like lundy suggests is going to be around $400-500 from eBay. However, there are competitive CPU upgrade paths out there for her computer. A good place to start is the XLR8yourmac.com G4 upgrade review page. A quick browse shows that the GigaDesigns dual 1.7GHz is $459, for example.

A much cheaper alternative is just to dump a lot of RAM into it. Half a gig is bare bones anyway for OS X, and based upon what you've specified, your girlfriend has the G4 digital audio which supports up to 1.5G RAM. PC100 RAM is dirt cheap these days.

I'd also look into reinstalling the OS, as there's likely a lot of cruft there. (Just suggesting).

Let us know how things work out.

sdw2001 · November 1, 2006 5:41PM

Yeah, me three. That machine is really too old for heavy use. Upgrading the processor would be expensive and not really worth it. I mean, you could get a PowerMac g5 for the money you'd spend on a good upgraded processor, hard drive and RAM.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-Powermac-G...QQcmdZViewItem

Just a thought. Actually, this may sound like a plug, but I have an iMac G5 I'm going to sell: 2.0GHZ/250GB HD/1.5GB RAM/128MB graphics. That would be an awesome upgrade for your chick. I want $1250 for it. Let me know.

lundy · November 1, 2006 10:55PM

LOL the dude said under $500.

allinone · November 2, 2006 10:16AM

If I had up to $500 to spend on this machine I'd do it as follows:

Additional 1 Gig RAM: $130.

http://dealnews.com/memory/prices/sy...M/2/512MB.html

Processor upgrades are available (new, not ebay) for as little as $179.

http://eshop.macsales.com/MyOWC/Upgr...=Show+Upgrades

I'd do the OWC 1.5 Ghz for $259.

Then a new 120GB hard drive for $60.

http://dealmac.com/deals/Seagate-120...50/138394.html

Total $449 give or take.

Then save up for when Leopard comes out and do the OS upgrade for Valentine's day you big geek! Will probably be around $125

:-)

Be sure to check your specs carefully. I don't know for sure that the components linked above are compatible with yours.

Hope this helps.

sdw2001 · November 2, 2006 6:13PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllInOne

If I had up to $500 to spend on this machine I'd do it as follows:

Additional 1 Gig RAM: $130.

http://dealnews.com/memory/prices/sy...M/2/512MB.html

Processor upgrades are available (new, not ebay) for as little as $179.

http://eshop.macsales.com/MyOWC/Upgr...=Show+Upgrades

I'd do the OWC 1.5 Ghz for $259.

Then a new 120GB hard drive for $60.

http://dealmac.com/deals/Seagate-120...50/138394.html

Total $449 give or take.

Then save up for when Leopard comes out and do the OS upgrade for Valentine's day you big geek! Will probably be around $125

:-)

Be sure to check your specs carefully. I don't know for sure that the components linked above are compatible with yours.

Hope this helps.

Well that's dumb. Sorry, but it is. You're going to spend that kind of money and get a 1.5GHZ PPC machine, a technology that's at least two years old. He'd be better financing the remaining $500 and buying a new macbook or used powerma g5.

benzene · November 2, 2006 6:38PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDW2001

Well that's dumb. Sorry, but it is. You're going to spend that kind of money and get a 1.5GHZ PPC machine, a technology that's at least two years old. He'd be better financing the remaining $500 and buying a new macbook or used powerma g5.

Chill, it's just a parts breakdown. If the man says he has $500, then let's assume he has $500 to spend. I think Allinone's list of upgrades is pretty useful. It'll take what mazz's gf has and make it a lot faster than her current setup. Not all of us have disposable incomes to throw at even slightly outdated tech.

Hell, I'm using my old G4/400 as a server, and Allinone's got me thinking about the proc upgrade myself.

aquamac · November 4, 2006 2:19PM

Up grading the RAM will get you the most bang for the buck.

I have a 500Mhz G4 with 1Gig of ram. 9 months ago I up graded from 640Meg ram to the 1Gig and I was really impressed how much better the whole Mac was working.

I hope she has System OS X 10.4.8 then should not be freezing as you say. I would pay for the system upgrade if she does not have it. If she does then it is a hardware problem and you or her should have a tech check it out. System OS X is rock solid I think my system has only froze 3 times in the last 2 years.

Well you sound like a swell guy for caring for your gf. Good luck and let us know if you have more questions or what you decided to do. OK eh?

k_munic · November 5, 2006 4:55AM

don't update the system... stay with 10.3.

install 1 - 2 GB RAM.... that improves overvall speed dramatically (I'm using a CubeG4 450MHz... from 512 to 1GB ... wooshsh!!)

install one or two 120gigs harddrives...

OsX as any UNIX needs a few GBs for "breathing" = temp files... going under some benchmark slows down machine, til full halt... 5 - 10GB free disk space=mucho faster/reliable..

≤ ~200$

oldcodger73 · November 5, 2006 4:46PM

I'd forget the processor upgrade and add RAM to bring it to 1.5GB. Also add an 120GB internal hard drive. Make the extra hard drive the scratch disk for Photoshop. The RAM and hard drive should speed things up or at least prevent the freezes, hopefully.

mazz72 · November 6, 2006 12:43AM

Hey, thanks for all the suggestions, everyone!

I think I'm going to go with filling up the RAM slots, and getting her a 120gb hd, and I'm also getting her a dvd burner. if that's not enough, then i'll look further into a processor upgrade. and i'll be getting her "Leopard" when it's available.

Of course, there's still plenty of time til Xmas, so if anyone has any more suggestions/opinions, feel free to throw your 2 cents in.

Thanks again, all!!

Upgrade suggestions??

Comments