Max operating system.

Hi there, Hopefuly I'm posting in the correct part of the forum. I'm considering buying a Mac G4 tower, and I was just wondering what the maximum operationg system it could handle.

The spec of the mac is Mac G4 Tower, 2GHz power PC, 1.5Gb ram, 170Gb HD.

Thanks in advanced

cheers,
Si

Misfits-138 said:

Hi there, Hopefuly I'm posting in the correct part of the forum. I'm considering buying a Mac G4 tower, and I was just wondering what the maximum operationg system it could handle.

The spec of the mac is Mac G4 Tower, 2GHz power PC, 1.5Gb ram, 170Gb HD.

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Unless this "Mac G4 Tower" has had some sort of processor upgrade...Apple never made a "Mac G4 Tower" with a 2ghz cpu. Do you possibly mean a Powermac G5?

- Nick

It's definitely a G4 tower, It may have had an upgrade she hasn't said. I'll ask her.

2GHz native are G5 and as Nick says the only way to get a 2GHz G4 is with a third party CPU upgrade such as PowerLogix.

Regardless if the 2GHz is correct, it will run OS X.5 Leopard as the final operating system. Available from auction sites such as eBay but make sure you purchase a full retail instalL DVD which is black and NOT one of the silver grey model specific discs as this will never install.

Misfits-138 said:

It's definitely a G4 tower, It may have had an upgrade she hasn't said. I'll ask her.

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The fastest stock configuration "G4 Tower" (more properly/commonly called a Powermac G4)...was a 1.42ghz version.

There were aftermarket cpu upgrade cards...but these were very expensive...and not many folks bought them. I think that a 1.6ghz and 1.8ghz were common speeds for the upgrade cards...I don't remember if there was a 2.0ghz card.

In any case (Powermac G4 or Powermac G5)...as long as the cpu is faster than 867mhz...it can be upgraded to OS 10.5.8 (assuming the minimum ram requirements are met as well).

- Nick

The other minimum requirements are met, so it looks like a good deal as I found out that there were 3rd party 2Ghz upgrades as Harryb2448 said.

Thank you everyone

Misfits-138 said:

The other minimum requirements are met, so it looks like a good deal as I found out that there were 3rd party 2Ghz upgrades as Harryb2448 said.

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Maybe there were 2ghz upgrades for Powermac G4's...but I'm not sure you verified if this particular Powermac G4 you're considering actually has this upgrade installed (at least it doesn't sound like it from your last post).

- Nick

Whilst talking to her earlier she sent me a message stating that it has got a 2Ghz Processor installed and running. I'm going to take a look at it next week and find out what it is running, hoping she hasn't just rounded up lol

Misfits-138 said:

Whilst talking to her earlier she sent me a message stating that it has got a 2Ghz Processor installed and running. I'm going to take a look at it next week and find out what it is running, hoping she hasn't just rounded up lol

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I see!

Things must move pretty slowly where you're from. If something like this computer was available in my area (at a decent price)...it wouldn't last until next week!

Yes...and like you said. Hopefully the seller isn't rounding 1.8ghz up to 2.0ghz.

Good luck,

- Nick

p.s. By the way...if you happen to have a photo of this computer (from the for sale post or elsewhere)...or can get one from the seller...we could probably clear any model confusion up very quickly.

Here is the add on facebook. Photos of CAMBORNE, REDRUTH, POOL, ILLOGAN AND SURROUNDING AREAS ...... Buy and Sale | Facebook
Hopefully that link works.

Misfits-138 said:

Here is the add on facebook. Photos of CAMBORNE, REDRUTH, POOL, ILLOGAN AND SURROUNDING AREAS ...... Buy and Sale | Facebook
Hopefully that link works.

Click to expand...

Yupp...if the computer in question is the same one pictured on the box...than that is definitely a Powermac G4.

In fact it is known as a "Quicksilver" Powermac G4...and depending on the exact model it is/was...could originally have had anywhere from a 733mhz cpu up to a 1.0ghz dual-processor (there were 6 different Quicksilver models over a 1-2 year period).

Again good luck,

- Nick

Well I finally got a Mac G4 tower, not the one i listed here, but an upgraded Quicksilver. 2Gig processor, 1.5 gig RAM and 170 Gig hdd. currently running 10.4.11, but will be upgrading to leopard. Thank you for your help guys.