Project Computer

[BigMac81]

Hello Everyone,

For starters, I'm new to the forum. I look forward to being here and learning all I can from experienced Mac users. I am kind of new to the Mac world, with minimal experience with Macs. I have built my own bare bones tower before that runs Ubuntu Linux on it, but have never had an opportunity to "save" an old Mac. Basically, a woman approached my wife with a Power Mac G4 that she was going to throw in the dumpster, so my wife brought it home. I know that I want to increase the memory and upgrade the OS, but I'm kind of lost as to where to begin with this one. Here are the specs on this old computer.

Mac OS X Version 10.2.8
Memory: 256 MB (two other open ports)
Processor: 733 MHz Power PC G4
Machine Model: Power Mac G4 (version=2.1)

I think this computer is still OK to upgrade, but I really don't know where to begin on this one. I've never upgraded any Mac OS, or opened up a Mac to put in more memory. Pretty much, I want to spend minimal money on this, and just have something to play with on the internet and do few other tasks, nothing fancy. This is just a project computer, so if it ends up never happening, it was free. Any suggestions and/or comments are welcome, and I will try to reply to everyone. Thank you in advance for the help and suggestions/comments. I also look forward to getting to know everyone.

 

[RavingMac]

Hello Everyone,

For starters, I'm new to the forum. I look forward to being here and learning all I can from experienced Mac users. I am kind of new to the Mac world, with minimal experience with Macs. I have built my own bare bones tower before that runs Ubuntu Linux on it, but have never had an opportunity to "save" an old Mac. Basically, a woman approached my wife with a Power Mac G4 that she was going to throw in the dumpster, so my wife brought it home. I know that I want to increase the memory and upgrade the OS, but I'm kind of lost as to where to begin with this one. Here are the specs on this old computer.

Mac OS X Version 10.2.8
Memory: 256 MB (two other open ports)
Processor: 733 MHz Power PC G4
Machine Model: Power Mac G4 (version=2.1)

I think this computer is still OK to upgrade, but I really don't know where to begin on this one. I've never upgraded any Mac OS, or opened up a Mac to put in more memory. Pretty much, I want to spend minimal money on this, and just have something to play with on the internet and do few other tasks, nothing fancy. This is just a project computer, so if it ends up never happening, it was free. Any suggestions and/or comments are welcome, and I will try to reply to everyone. Thank you in advance for the help and suggestions/comments. I also look forward to getting to know everyone.

We have a number of guys on this forum who have a lot of experience with older Macs, but I'm not oneof them.
I would recommend as a good starting point, MacTracker APP. This has a lot of basic info on different Mac models. Also may want to take a look at ifixit.com for general repair and teardown info.

 

[pigoo3]

I think this computer is still OK to upgrade, but I really don't know where to begin on this one.

Well...maybe...maybe not!

Pretty much, I want to spend minimal money on this...

This pretty much seals the deal on the "maybe not" part.

Old/older Mac's are pretty much financially not worth upgrading...and this Powermac G4 you got NEEDS A LOT...even to get it into shape for internet usage (basically more ram)...256meg is LOW...(and an updated OS)...probably OS 10.4.

You could easily spend $150 on what I mentioned...and still have a SLOW POKE computer.

Sorry. The only real way to use obtain/use an older Mac like this...is to get one that has already been upgraded...and is just "plug in & play".

If you didn't care about the $$$...and just wanted to resurrect and old Mac..heck...I say go for it. But the $150-$200 you could spend on this old Powermac G4...you could get a MUCH NICER & faster dual-processor Powermac G5.

Good thing you stopped here first before starting to spend $$$!

- Nick

 

[cwa107]

I've moved your post to a more proper forum; please be sure to check the forum descriptions to find the best place to post.

By posting in the right forum you help people not only find your question faster, but it helps others looking for the same information in the future.

Thanks for understanding!

 

[BigMac81]

Sorry about posting this in the wrong place. I'm still new and trying to find my way around. Also, I appreciate all the comments so far. The jury is still out on whether or not I'm going to try to save this old computer, but it would be a great learning experience if I can get used parts for it for cheap.

 

[MacDude121]

If you can find parts for it for cheap, I'd say by all means go for it. Upgrading a computer like this can be a neat little project, and a learning experience, just don't expect it to even nearly rival anything that's made today. With everything maxed out on this machine, it's still going to be outdated, old, and slow!

You can start looking for some memory here: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/apple/memory/
And here's one of the cheapest OS X 10.4 Tiger disks I could find: Amazon.com: Used and New: Apple Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger [OLD VERSION]

As you can pretty much tell, this is already an expensive upgrade!

 

[BigMac81]

Thanks for the links. This actually doesn't seem too bad. I was looking to spend under $200 and I think this computer would be OK with that. I know this wont be a speed demon, I just want something I can go on the internet and just use when my wife is on my primary computer (Linux). Plus I've never messed with Mac before, and am looking forward to the learning experience. I would love to go buy a new Mac, but that kind of money is not there. I am new to the Mac world, and so far impressed with what I see except for the prices.