05-26-2005, 05:11 PM

I picked up a G4 Digital Audio 533Mhz with 1GB of RAM, CD/RW, and a 120GB Seagate IDE hard Drive running OSX 10.3 Panther. I am aware of Sonnet and other CPU upgrades. Beside those, what other upgrades are possible on a G4 Digital Audio? For example, is DVD/RW possible? What about video cards? It currently has an older 32MB Nvidia AGP card in it. I've read that the 9800 Pro 128 for MAC is a good choice. Would it run in this machine? Can I add any other drives? How many and what configuration? Thanks for your help.

05-26-2005, 08:35 PM

Originally Posted by Harryc

I picked up a G4 Digital Audio 533Mhz with 1GB of RAM, CD/RW, and a 120GB Seagate IDE hard Drive running OSX 10.3 Panther. I am aware of Sonnet and other CPU upgrades. Beside those, what other upgrades are possible on a G4 Digital Audio? For example, is DVD/RW possible? What about video cards? It currently has an older 32MB Nvidia AGP card in it. I've read that the 9800 Pro 128 for MAC is a good choice. Would it run in this machine? Can I add any other drives? How many and what configuration? Thanks for your help.

Yes you can upgrade to DVD-RW there is a compatibility database on www.xlr8yourmac.com. There is room in the case for 3 to 5 HDs, but there are only 1 to 2 extra IDE connection(s). of course You can add as many drives as you want with ATA PCI cards. The Radeon 9800 is a great Vid card. I have the 9000 and it works well for my needs and is a little cheaper. When shopping for upgrades I usually check www.macsales.com they have nearly every mac upgrade you could want. Oh and congrats on your new mac!

05-26-2005, 11:06 PM

Thanks for the details jhelm007, I appreciate it. The linked drive looks like it should work, and is fairly cheap. I also saw some Pioneer dual layer DVD/RW drives for Mac G4 on EBay. Might be a good first upgrade.

http://eshop.macsales.com/Item_XLR8Y...em=APL6780465B

05-27-2005, 09:28 AM

I have a question about optical drive upgrades and G4's that I can't really find a good answer to anywhere. What is it about a particular DVD-RW drive (say a Pioneer DVR-109) that makes it suitable for a Mac vs. say any other DVD-RW drive out there? Is it a firmware thing? I noticed that on the macsales website that they only recommend four different DVD-RW drives for a Powermac AGP. Why only four...there has to be hundreds of models out there?

05-27-2005, 10:45 AM

Originally Posted by Harryc

I have a question about optical drive upgrades and G4's that I can't really find a good answer to anywhere. What is it about a particular DVD-RW drive (say a Pioneer DVR-109) that makes it suitable for a Mac vs. say any other DVD-RW drive out there? Is it a firmware thing? I noticed that on the macsales website that they only recommend four different DVD-RW drives for a Powermac AGP. Why only four...there has to be hundreds of models out there?

Technically, you can put any optical drive in your Mac, and it will work. The only problem is that Apple's iApps (iTunes, iDVD etc.) will only burn on a drive that is recognised as "Apple supported/shipped". That, unfortunately, is only true for the models that Apple has in fact used as Superdrive (like the DVR-109, for example). They will be recognised as "Apple supported" and therefore it will be just plug n'play. Any third party burning software (like Roxio's Toast) doesn't care about the drive being recognised as Apple-supported, and will work with any drive (including Dual Layer drives).
There is a little tool called Patchburnern, which will allow burning with the iApps on a non Apple-supported drive.
That's why lots of vendors recommend only a few drives, as they are Apple-supported. To avoid customer complains...

It doesn't seem to be the firmware version which decides if it is Apple-supported or not, I've bought an aftermarket DVR-106 (Apple used them as Superdrives on the G4 MDD, and some e/iMacs G4), flashed it to the most recent firmware (including the removal of the DVD-Video Zone limits) and it is still recognised as a Superdrive by the OS.

05-27-2005, 11:26 AM

Avalon, that's interesting that you don't think it's firmware. If it is not, it must be that OSX only recognizes certain models as being 'Apple' compatible. I can't think of any other explanation. I've since found out that my NEC drive works with patchburn on Panther, so I am going to try it.

05-27-2005, 11:54 AM

Originally Posted by Avalon

There is a little tool called Patchburnern, which will allow burning with the iApps on a non Apple-supported drive.
That's why lots of vendors recommend only a few drives, as they are Apple-supported. To avoid customer complains...

Patchburn is a great thing for getting really cheap or free (ie old pc pulled) drives to work on your mac, but if your going to buy a good drive IMO you should just bite the bullet and get one that is supported/shipped like the Pioneer 109. You won't spend that much more and you know even if the next OS update breaks patchburn your drive will still work. You can use web searches like froogle or pricegraber etc. to find the best price once you figure out which models work. I have to say though that OWC has competitive prices and they have really good cust. serv.

A burner is an excelent first upgrade since it gives you added function and not just faster performance. If I were to prioritize... I would say the optical drive, then memory (if nec.), then the processor (1 GHz upgrades are less than $200!). If you play games maybe a video card otherwise don't bother. They are expensive upgrades and most programs don't improve much (games and video editing software being the big exceptions). Hard drives are hard to prioritize since storage needs are varried. If you have enough space I guess that is last on the list.

05-27-2005, 12:08 PM

Originally Posted by Harryc

Avalon, that's interesting that you don't think it's firmware. If it is not, it must be that OSX only recognizes certain models as being 'Apple' compatible. I can't think of any other explanation. I've since found out that my NEC drive works with patchburn on Panther, so I am going to try it.

I'm not sure what the issue is either. It maybe just a matter of them not devoloping and bundling drivers which would explain why patchburn and toast work so well. system updates play a big role in drives being recognized. With my optical 10.2.7 = no dice. 10.2.8+ = fully supported DVD burner. WTF?

BTW that's awsome that you already have a drive that works with patchburn. Now you can blow that $$ on a different toy!

05-27-2005, 09:54 PM

Originally Posted by jhelm007

I'm not sure what the issue is either. It maybe just a matter of them not devoloping and bundling drivers which would explain why patchburn and toast work so well. system updates play a big role in drives being recognized. With my optical 10.2.7 = no dice. 10.2.8+ = fully supported DVD burner. WTF?

BTW that's awsome that you already have a drive that works with patchburn. Now you can blow that $$ on a different toy!

I agree with you that Patchburn is just, well, a patch...it's not a permanent fix. Any major update in the OS might break Patchburn, and you need to wait for the developpers to bring out a new Patchburn (which, in general, happens very fast though).
I've recently read an article somewhere that OS X is checking the brand and modell of the drive (information that is stored in the drive) and compares it to an existing list of drive names, then sets it to "supported" or not, and if the "supported" flag is not set, iApps can't use the burner. As it is not a driver issue (you don't need a specific driver for a specific burner, not on any OS), 3rd party apps can easily use the burner's full capabilities.
It is actually an unnecessary and useless "blockade" from Apple's side, as buying the same type of drive as an aftermarket part instead of the original Apple part is much cheaper than Apple-original, yet no big difference compared to others. The DVR-109 is normal priced (for it's capabilities, and compared to others) and it is a fully Apple supported drive, just like an "original" Superdrive.

05-28-2005, 09:37 AM

Good information, thanks to you both. The fact that the OS is checking a list of supported drives makes sense to me. In case anyone is looking for one of those aftermarket DVR-109's. Newegg has them for $47 (black) and a buck shipping in the US. That is an outstanding deal IMHO. Shipping deal good until 5/31.

05-28-2005, 11:03 AM

I am new to Macs, but I think this means that I am good to go. Is that right? Is shows up in Itunes, so I'd also assume that it is now a superdrive as well?

Panther System Profiler -

_NEC DVD_RW ND-3500AG:

Manufacturer: _NEC
Model: _NEC DVD_RW ND-3500AG
Revision: 2.19
Serial Number:
Drive Type: CD-RW/DVD-RW
Disc Burning: Vendor Supported
Removable Media: Yes
Detachable Drive: No
Protocol: ATAPI
Unit Number: 0
Socket Type: Internal

05-28-2005, 12:16 PM

Originally Posted by Harryc

Disc Burning: Vendor Supported

I think it should say Supported/Shipped in the Disc Burning line if it were to function completely with iApps. If you installed Patchburn you should be good to go though. The best way to find out is to try burning something.

05-30-2005, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by jhelm007

I think it should say Supported/Shipped in the Disc Burning line if it were to function completely with iApps. If you installed Patchburn you should be good to go though. The best way to find out is to try burning something.

Thanks jhelm007, once again. This upgrade worked out fine. I was able to burn a DVD and a CD in Toast. Oh, and I can watch DVD's now in iMovie too. Sometimes it's the simple pleasures.... :mac:

05-30-2005, 06:31 PM

Originally Posted by Harryc

Thanks jhelm007, once again. This upgrade worked out fine. I was able to burn a DVD and a CD in Toast. Oh, and I can watch DVD's now in iMovie too. Sometimes it's the simple pleasures.... :mac:

Toast works also with non-Apple-shipped/supported drives.
And why do you watch DVDs with iMovie?! Just curious, because watching DVDs is the purpose of the DVD Player app, iMovie is for movie editing.

05-30-2005, 07:26 PM

Originally Posted by Avalon

And why do you watch DVDs with iMovie?! Just curious, because watching DVDs is the purpose of the DVD Player app, iMovie is for movie editing.

Avalon, thanks for pointing the DVD player out. I didn't know it existed until now. It's been what...3 days that I have been using a mac desktop. .