Is PowerPC Obsolete in 2016?

[Adamscomputerrepair]

Anyone care to enlighten me as to how the three PPC Macs I'm about to spend $500 each on are "inexpensive"? That's especially true in light of the fact that the same money would buy me a new better-than-base model 13" Retina(which I don't want) or a nice used Mac Pro 4,1(a reasonably current machine).

Granted I have no desire to buy a newer Intel Mac laptop since I already have what I consider to be the best portable Apple has ever made-the mid-2012 15" "Classic" MBP with a high resolution anti-glare display. These are the last and best of the breed for the pre-Retina Unibody form factor-they retain the upgradeability of older models, but don't have the GPU meltdown issues of virtually ever other 15 and 17" MBP and have USB 3. Mine has 16gb of RAM and I fitted a 1TB Samsung Evo a few weeks ago-it absolutely flies.

There is not a comparable display available on an current production portable from Apple. Matte screens were standard on laptops for years, but glossy screens took hold I think mainly for their more vibrant(not necessarily more accurate) color rendition. After using a couple of PC laptops that had screens in the same vein as the Macbooks(i.e. a glossy top surface) and then being wowed by the glass screen of my first MBP, I've now come back to loving the matte finish on my now main MBP. Aside from actually being usable outside or with my back to a window, the color rendition is more accurate to my eye(something I care about for photography)although a bit less vibrant. Of course, I calibrate all my screens, but even setting my freshly calibrate 15" next to my freshly calibrated 13" shows a difference in fidelity. I wish Apple would bring out a retina screen or at least higher resolution screen with this finish. The 17" unibodies were 1920x1200 and could be had either way.

If you're about to spend $500 on PPC, you're getting screwed. Go somewhere else, run away from your buyer, he or she is probably on something or don't know what they're selling.

 

[8692574]

I put an SSD in my iMac G4 and it was a bit snappy for a time, eventually I took it out though since I figured all the other bottlenecks (processor, bus, ram, etc,) were probably making the SSD overkill. I used an IDE to SATA adapter inside the iMac, eventually I just put a regular laptop SATA drive in there and it works just as well.

The limit is more the ide interface...my I wish I could was not an issue with physically manage to do it but rather a technical one.
The real bottleneck is the ide interface, even a slower ssd would not be used at its potential speed... If it wasn't for that I would think the update would be very worthed !!!!!

 

[Lastic]

Those Elitebooks have nice hardware. The i5 2520Ms aren't terrible, something OS X could enjoy

They might be but not when the company decides to install Windows 7 32 BIT on a 8 GB machine resulting in only 4 GB of RAM being usable .

 

[crammedberry]

The limit is more the ide interface...my I wish I could was not an issue with physically manage to do it but rather a technical one.
The real bottleneck is the ide interface, even a slower ssd would not be used at its potential speed... If it wasn't for that I would think the update would be very worthed !!!!!

That's pretty much why I just settled on an SATA laptop drive upgrade. It was more than enough to max out the IDE interface and significantly faster than the IDE drives ever were. You're right in that even slower SSDs would be bottlenecked by the interface with its theoretical maximum of 100MB/s for ATA100 of 133MB/s for ATA133.

 

[Dronecatcher]

Anyone care to enlighten me as to how the three PPC Macs I'm about to spend $500 each on are "inexpensive"?

$500 each isn't inexpensive - but that's your choice to overspend on your chosen interest - it doesn't disprove that secondhand Macs are cheap to buy at all.

 

[bunnspecial]

If you're about to spend $500 on PPC, you're getting screwed. Go somewhere else, run away from your buyer, he or she is probably on something or don't know what they're selling.

Actually I don't feel that I'm getting screwed at all-I'm quite happy at the price.

Bear in mind that I'm a collector...

 

[Adamscomputerrepair]

The limit is more the ide interface...my I wish I could was not an issue with physically manage to do it but rather a technical one.
The real bottleneck is the ide interface, even a slower ssd would not be used at its potential speed... If it wasn't for that I would think the update would be very worthed !!!!!

I just know I have to upgrade from my standard 80 gig drive. I've almost used the space. This is a secondary laptop. That's how much crap I have
[doublepost=1465649159][/doublepost]

Actually I don't feel that I'm getting screwed at all-I'm quite happy at the price.

Bear in mind that I'm a collector...

So am I. Getting started of course. I have a 1999 airport card, I have every box from each iPhone release and I'm one 3GS away from having them, I'm getting an original iPod next, you get it. But I would never pay that much unless the computer was like brand new.

 

[bunnspecial]

So am I. Getting started of course. I have a 1999 airport card, I have every box from each iPhone release and I'm one 3GS away from having them, I'm getting an original iPod next, you get it. But I would never pay that much unless the computer was like brand new.

There are PPC Macs that are easily worth that much even though the ones I'm buying are less than perfect. Since you're the one presenting himself as a PPC expert, it might not hurt you to do some research about some of these things.

BTW, if that price seems crazy to you, don't even look at 68K Macs.

 

[Adamscomputerrepair]

There are PPC Macs that are easily worth that much even though the ones I'm buying are less than perfect. Since you're the one presenting himself as a PPC expert, it might not hurt you to do some research about some of these things.

BTW, if that price seems crazy to you, don't even look at 68K Macs.

Ok #1, ouch at the expert thing. Never claimed to be an expert. Though I'd safely say I'm an expert at making unsupported hardware run nearly as good or just as good as supported does. As for your collection, best of luck with it. Personally, I don't care if it was bathed in gold and Steve Jobs himself signed his name in blood on the side. If it doesn't run modern OS X, it isn't worth $500. That's my opinion. And as for the older PowerPC's, let's be obvious for a second. This thread is about PowerPC's that can run OS X. Specifically PPC's that can run 10.4 and above. We know anything older is probably obsolete.

 

[8692574]

Ok #1, ouch at the expert thing. Never claimed to be an expert. Though I'd safely say I'm an expert at making unsupported hardware run nearly as good or just as good as supported does. As for your collection, best of luck with it. Personally, I don't care if it was bathed in gold and Steve Jobs himself signed his name in blood on the side. If it doesn't run modern OS X, it isn't worth $500. That's my opinion. And as for the older PowerPC's, let's be obvious for a second. This thread is about PowerPC's that can run OS X. Specifically PPC's that can run 10.4 and above. We know anything older is probably obsolete.

Just because something is not worth to you 500$ doesn't mean its value is not 500$.... Now if you can find me an original iPhone with box and stuff for less than 500 let me know where to get it

 

[Adamscomputerrepair]

Just because something is not worth to you 500$ doesn't mean its value is not 500$.... Now if you can find me an original iPhone with box and stuff for less than 500 let me know where to get it

That's what I just said though. To me it isn't worth $500. Maybe $499.99, but not $500. And I feel you. The original iPhone is very expensive.

 

[bunnspecial]

One of the three computers I'm buying has a processor upgrade that will allow it to run OS X Tiger out of the box.

The others can run Tiger using the modified kernel that @LightBulbFun wrote. Although he's still looking for guinea pig testers(i.e. me ) it should run on any PCI-based PPC Mac with at least 96mb of RAM. A couple of us have tested it on 604e processors, and it should run on 603s although we won't know for sure until I get off my butt and test or @LightBulbFun gets enough RAM for his 603 system.

 

[Adamscomputerrepair]

One of the three computers I'm buying has a processor upgrade that will allow it to run OS X Tiger out of the box.

The others can run Tiger using the modified kernel that @LightBulbFun wrote. Although he's still looking for guinea pig testers(i.e. me ) it should run on any PCI-based PPC Mac with at least 96mb of RAM. A couple of us have tested it on 604e processors, and it should run on 603s although we won't know for sure until I get off my butt and test or @LightBulbFun gets enough RAM for his 603 system.

Are you buying clamshell iBooks by chance?

 

[bunnspecial]

Are you buying clamshell iBooks by chance?

1. I have one and wouldn't pay that for one unless it was a 466mhz SE graphite new in box

2. All Clamshells can run at least 10.3 with no hacking, and mine can run 10.4 officially. Xpostfacto will install 10.4 on the pre-Firewire models.

3. There are no processor upgrades that I'm aware of for Clamshells-anything you did would probably require BGA soldering and the cooling system likely can't handle much beyond the 466mhz G3 the fastest one shipped with.

 

[Adamscomputerrepair]

1. I have one and wouldn't pay that for one unless it was a 466mhz SE graphite new in box

2. All Clamshells can run at least 10.3 with no hacking, and mine can run 10.4 officially. Xpostfacto will install 10.4 on the pre-Firewire models.

3. There are no processor upgrades that I'm aware of for Clamshells-anything you did would probably require BGA soldering and the cooling system likely can't handle much beyond the 466mhz G3 the fastest one shipped with.

1. Okay what are you buying?

3. (Don't have a response for 2,) there's always an upgrade, but more on that later.

 

[bunnspecial]

1. I should have given you enough information to figure it out. There's on relatively well known Mac with a 603 CPU that still brings a lot of money.

2/3. What's this "always an upgrade" for clamshells?

 

[Adamscomputerrepair]

1. I should have given you enough information to figure it out. There's on relatively well known Mac with a 603 CPU that still brings a lot of money.

2/3. What's this "always an upgrade" for clamshells?

1. Once again, IM NOT AN EXPERT. I'm a guy who makes YouTube videos about stuff I either figure out, or just make a guide to do.

2. Go google iBook G3 i7 mod. I'm doing it next.

 

[bunnspecial]

TAM

BTW, when you start shoving PC components into a Mac case, it ceases to be a Mac-much less a PPC Mac.

 

[Adamscomputerrepair]

TAM

BTW, when you start shoving PC components into a Mac case, it ceases to be a Mac-much less a PPC Mac.

The guy used a MacBook Air. Not sure how it isn't a Mac.

 

[ziggy29]

So am I. Getting started of course. I have a 1999 airport card, I have every box from each iPhone release and I'm one 3GS away from having them, I'm getting an original iPod next, you get it. But I would never pay that much unless the computer was like brand new.

If you ever get a TAM in very good condition where everything is working and all accessories are there, I will very gladly give you $500 without even thinking about it for a second, and not look back. Deal?

 

[bunnspecial]

If you ever get a TAM in very good condition where everything is working and all accessories are there, I will very gladly give you $500 without even thinking about it for a second, and not look back. Deal?

The ones I'm buying are not perfect and the full complement of accessories isn't there, but I'm quite happy for the price.

 

[MysticCow]

If you're about to spend $500 on PPC, you're getting screwed. Go somewhere else, run away from your buyer, he or she is probably on something or don't know what they're selling.

Well, if they've already done all the work (processor upgrade, SSD, maxed out RAM, top end graphics card for PPC), then it might be a bargain. I need to see how that $500 would stack up against buying all of the items needed for maxing out the system in question.

Yes, I know I just described something very rare, as someone who souped up their PPC like that isn't likely to sell it.

 

[bunnspecial]

Yes, I know I just described something very rare, as someone who souped up their PPC like that isn't likely to sell it.

I bought one such project from a guy on here who was moving and couldn't take it with him. I saw and had to have it. I forget the price, but I thought it a relative bargain(maybe $200ish)

The base computer is a Digital Audio G4 with a lot of top shelf and relatively hard to find upgrades

1. Sonnet USB 2/FW card(not super uncommon)

2. Sonnet SATA card connected to a 1TB WD Blue

3. ATI FireGl X3 flashed to an X800XT(the only one of these I've seen that actually worked in a Digital Audio)

4. PCI original Radeon, meaning that the computer supports 4 displays total

5. One of the best G4 upgrades available, esp. for single threaded applications-a Newertech single 2ghz 7448 processor. Most of the upgrades that ~1.5ghz and faster are based on 7447A CPUs-the same as used in the later Powerbooks-and have 512K of full speed on-die backside L2 cache. The 7448 ups the to 1mb L2, which makes a HUGE difference in the real world performance of the processor. By contrast, the 1 or 2mb L3 on 7455 processors that we all know and love is off-die and not full speed.
[doublepost=1465660958][/doublepost]On another note, someone gave me their beige G3 project that they'd retired a few years back from active use. I still use it somewhat regularly-it's in my office.

This one has the same Sonnet USB/FW I mentioned above, came to me with a Radeon 7000, has a Jackhammer SCSI card driving a 68 pin 15K hard drive, and a Sonnet 1ghz/1mb G4. I upgraded the video card to a Radeon 9200. It's quite a potent machine.

It's worth mentioning that the last two upgrades I mentioned-the 2ghz 7448 and the 1ghz Sonnet ZIF-can bring over $400 on Ebay.

 

[oi!]

If Apple would allow people to use OS X on ANY computer than, they would make more money, right now they probably lose more money trying to stop people from using it without Apple branded hardware, than they lose from people actually using it on non-Apple hardware.
A lot of hackintosh people would people would PAY Apple if they would allow their software to be used legally on any machine. Even if the software is free for Mac/MacBook users, non-Mac/MacBook hackintoshers would gladly pay $9.99 to be able to use it on any hardware.

Agreed! I have thought this for a while now, and I have to say that (IMHO) Apple is MASSIVELY missing out on a whole mass of money by not doing exactly this. It could still sell it's desktop hardware as the exclusive high end harrdware it is.

If you're about to spend $500 on PPC, you're getting screwed. Go somewhere else, run away from your buyer, he or she is probably on something or don't know what they're selling.

Something is worth what ever someone is willing to pay for it. The law of supply and demand has a lot to do with this too. A TAM is a very nice thing to have, but it's way out of my price range! For me $500 is a car, not a Photoshop and web surfing machine.
$1500 is an aspirational car.

The limit is more the ide interface...my I wish I could was not an issue with physically manage to do it but rather a technical one.
The real bottleneck is the ide interface, even a slower ssd would not be used at its potential speed... If it wasn't for that I would think the update would be very worthed !!!!!

The limit is more the ide interface...my I wish I could was not an issue with physically manage to do it but rather a technical one.
The real bottleneck is the ide interface, even a slower ssd would not be used at its potential speed... If it wasn't for that I would think the update would be very worthed !!!!!

I run my SSD from a STA card, (which I still need to flash to make it bootable).
I'll never forget buying a used MDD and finding the owner had fitted an HD in the empty lower optical drive bay, it was rattling around loose in there, and connected via the very conveniently placed IDE connector that was already there. Which would have been on the 33mhz bus. Genius.

 

[mzs.112000]

1. Once again, IM NOT AN EXPERT. I'm a guy who makes YouTube videos about stuff I either figure out, or just make a guide to do.

2. Go google iBook G3 i7 mod. I'm doing it next.

Guys, didn't rabidz7 talk about this a long time ago? Trying to put x86 CPU's into PPC Macs, only to realize that it would never work.