Looking at G4 867 Dual for 1st Mac

Hey all,

Noob here. Staunch PC guy crossing over. I am looking to try out a Mac for the first time. Here is what I am looking at purchasing locally as a test to see if I like them. Will this be ok for ichat, websurfing and the basics?

$300

G4 Dual Processor 867 mhz
Running OS 10.2 Jaguar
120 Gig hardrive
Superdrive
1.25 gig of RAM
Apple Pro Keyboard
Apple Pro Mouse
Software restore disks
DVI to VGA adapter
HK Speakers

Except for 10.2, that will do just fine. Most apps these days require 10.4 or atleast 10.3.9. It should handle 10.5 when it comes out. Apple makes weird requirements for new OS's so I can't say I am 100% positive it is compatible but it's not that old of a machine.
One thing to watch out for is it is USB 1.1. You could buy a USB 2.0 PCI card if you need USB 2.0. $300 sounds like a decent price too but it won't hurt to talk him down to $250.
Good luck.
-Peace

Should be ok, particularly if upgraded to 10.4. My dual 533 (see sig) is basically acceptable unless you get more than say, firefox, aim and msn going (with a few windows each) at once.

Dual is definitely the way to go though; I saw a significant increase in usability going from a cacheless 733 overclocked & overvolted to 933 to the dual 533 (which I haven't bothered to overclock yet).

The only caveat to consider is that there are far fewer MDD CPU upgrades than there are for the st/gig-e/da/qs G4s. On the flip side, they support 2 gigs of RAM and they take DDR, which is cheaper than the SD that the older machines use.

Also some of the MDD machines got bashed for having excessively loud power supplies. I have no idea if the one you're looking at is affected or if they were even that loud, but it's something to be aware of).

In short, it's not a bad machine and as long as you don't mind the relative lack of CPU upgrade options, there's no reason not to get it.