Future Mac Owner - On a Budget! Dual G4 or No?

[Coffee1970]

Hello all and thanks for reading...mac owners are extremely pleasant to ask questions to..

Going to be in college soon ( yeah, I'm 37 too!! ). Website design and e-Business major.

Have a Windows HP 3.0GHZ Celeron, 512MB, 120GB, DVDRW, blah, blah, blah

Like to get a mac off of eBay.....???

I am on a very tight budget, using student loan money to purchase this thing

Probably would also use little bit older software, so it would run actually faster on powerpc than on intel under Rosetta I understand.

Would use for the following......Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver, MS Office , few games maybe, Safari 2, iLife suite....ya know, the usual stuff a website designer likes!
In your real world experience..........

Be ok with
G4 1.0GHZ with 1GB Ram or need to up it with
Dual 800/1.0/1.25 and 1GB Ram or just go with
Mac mini 1.42 G4 (not the intel...remember Tiiiight budget)
I could list other combinations, but you all know what I am trying to ask.
Seems like a lot of people still using B&W G3, and just maxing out memory and stuff, even though this is a last resort for a graphics guy I would think.

I like the idea of NOT having the 2.5 itty bitty HD like the mini G4
Could easily upgrade the PM G4 little at a time when money permits (and wife permits!!)

If thinking about the future....would a 1.6 G5 single be a better buy than a Dual 1GH G4 that's maxed out...as on eBay , these two are comparably priced from what I seen.

What ya all thinking? Any help and commnets would be greatly appreciated , as you are helping a future Mac owner on board! Yeah!

Thanks.

[symphonix]

Originally Posted by Coffee1970

Probably would also use little bit older software, so it would run actually faster on powerpc than on intel under Rosetta I understand.

Yes, thats fairly true, though pretty much anything Pre-CS3 Adobe should be fine. The current generation of software is actually "universal" meaning the program contains binary for both platforms, so its not too much of a worry either way.

Be ok with
G4 1.0GHZ with 1GB Ram or need to up it with
Dual 800/1.0/1.25 and 1GB Ram or just go with
Mac mini 1.42 G4 (not the intel...remember Tiiiight budget)

All of these sound pretty good, but I think the two PowerMac options would be easier to expand later.

I like the idea of NOT having the 2.5 itty bitty HD like the mini G4
Could easily upgrade the PM G4 little at a time when money permits (and wife permits!!)

Sounds like a sensible plan.

If thinking about the future....would a 1.6 G5 single be a better buy than a Dual 1GH G4 that's maxed out...as on eBay , these two are comparably priced from what I seen.

I'll be honest, I love the G5's. They are very powerful. But in your case I think plenty of RAM and hard drive space in a fairly steady old G4 will be more beneficial to you than a fast G5 with neither enough RAM or hard-drive space to be useful.

Don't forget that you will need a CD or DVD writer - this is not negotiable, you just can't get by without one.

Best of luck and welcome aboard.

[g/re/p]

Stay away from eBay - "its like a box of chocolates - you never know what your gonna get " You will have much better luck buying from resellers who specialize in used macs.

http://lowendmac.com/ppc/deals.html

Single CPU
• VERY HOT 350 AGP, $99, Baucom
• 400 PCI, $100, Mac of All Trades
• 400 AGP, $145, Baucom
• HOT 500 AGP, $150, Mac of All Trades
• 533 DA, $200, Mac of All Trades
• HOT 733 DA, $250, Mac of All Trades
• 733 QS CD-RW, $349, Baucom
• 800 QS CD-RW, $400, Mac of All Trades
• 800 QS SD, $496, MegaMacs
• 867 QS Combo, $479, Baucom
• 867 QS SD, $499, DV Warehouse
• 933 QS SD, $512/C$549, CPUsed
• 1 GHz FW800 Combo, $569, Baucom
• 1.25 GHz MDD SD, $800, MegaMacs


Dual CPU
• VERY HOT 450 dual DA, $200, Mac of All Trades
• HOT 533 dual DA, $395, DV Warehouse
• VERY HOT 800 dual QS, $500, Mac of All Trades
• 867 dual MDD $669, Baucom
• 1 GHz dual MDD, $789, DV Warehouse
• 1.25 GHz MDD Combo, $825, Baucom
• 1.25 GHz MDD SD, $880, MegaMacs
• HOT 1.42 GHz FW800 SD, $889, DV Warehouse

[fryke]

Either way: If you go above 600$, I *would* get a new Mac mini.