G4 cube still feasible for today's ordinary tasks?

Hi,

I'm a college student but don't really use a computer for very intensive tasks; what I need to do is type the occasional paper, browse the web, play streaming videos, do email, and run a proprietary remote desktop connection application. The g4 cube, aside from having a small footprint and attractive design, also has a great price ($150-200 on eBay) but I don't know if the processor would be fast enough. I already have all necessary peripherals - monitor, mouse, keyboard, 500GB external drive, etc...

I don't know how it would handle all the flash and video and mutimedia content that has come to dominate the web, nor do I know if it would get very bogged down running multiple firefox tabs (I am a "tabaholic" having 10-20 tabs open, not that I really need them but it's out of habit) as well as, say, running mail in the background/general 3-4 program multitasking. Maxing out the RAM would be a must.

So what do you think would a g4 cube be fast enough for today's basic tasks? Or should I look at a slightly faster machine like an older iMac or mini? (I am looking at older macs because I love the OS and general mac quality but don't really need a whole lot of power and think I can save money by not going overkill)

that cube will easily run web, itunes, check mail, instant message, etc...

i recommend maxing out the RAM though. i recently fixed up one of these for a friend. we added a larger hard drive, added all the ram it could handle and attached an external DVD/CD burner and installed 10.4.11.

i was impressed on how well it ran. he is very similar to you and wants to surf, email, keep his itunes, and burn cd/dvd's and this little cbe seemed to handle all of that no problem.

not a lot of fun to get into like replacing the hard drive but the ram is right there when you slide the cover off.

hope that helps

good luck

I agree with what Fletch said for the basics and basic usage.

One thing you asked for though, is Flash video like say on You Tube. My Power Mac G4 500Mhz with an upgraded Radeon 7000 Video Card strains on Flash videos. It's fine for most everything else. You can upgrade the CPU in the Cube. I did it on the Power Mac G4 and then You Tube videos were pretty smooth.

If you do go with the Cube, max out the RAM for sure.

If you are really into multimedia on the net, a Intel Mini would serve you better. It's dead smooth with any video on the net and does 1080p HD without any strain here in my Front Room system.

I love the CUBE but for some of what you want to do, it might be asking a bit much. Like I said, you can upgrade the CPU but that costs a lot.

i have a cube, its not too bad. i only upgraded the ram and it runs ok. I've had a few mac's and what i would advise you is search for a mac mini on craigslist. the cube has 2 usb drives on the bottom of it, which can be a pain to keep turning over to connect and disconnect, where as my mini had 4 and its was pretty cheap and bluetooth ready. my logic is get something slightly newer and it will last longer. just my 2 cents

Thanks for all your replies, really great advice and insight!