Upgrade G4 400mhz Sawtooth or cut to G5

[element8]

Hello any advice is appreciated!

I have a trusty 400 mhz sawtooth that is long in the tooth. I was thinking of doing an overhaul that may look like this:

1) Processor upgrade: 1.2 ghz or more (dual option) $250-450
2) Graphics upgrade: ATI 9000 64 mb $120 (from 16mb ATI Rage)
3) Add another 512 Ram: $70
4) Add DVD burner: $60

Total: $530-700

-or-

Get a new dual core 2 ghz G5 or referb 2 ghz for $1,500-1,800. I need to do this soon to complete a DVD authoring project.

Thanks.

 

[doucy2]

dude here is an option
sell you powermac
and buy my tricked out udgraded sawtooth
1ghz w/ L3 cache
1gb
120gb
ati 9000 pro 128mb
zip
dvd
tiger

also have a g4 quicksilver
1.467 w/ L3 cache
1.25gb
120gb
GeForce 3 or Ati 9000
dual layer 16x burner
airport
tiger

ohh yea

or if you wanna upgrade your existing g4 i have tons of parts for you

 

[element8]

dayum

You got a store or something? Well, how much for the ati 9000 128 mb card? Is it 2x AGP? What're asking for the first set-up?

 

[doucy2]

You got a store or something? Well, how much for the ati 9000 128 mb card? Is it 2x AGP? What're asking for the first set-up?

nope i just love g4's and like to tinker
that why i have tons of parts

for the ati 9000 pro 128mb 2x (it will working in all g4 agp and up)
wont work in the pic graphics one $95 shipped

PM me about the 1st powermac
i probally looking in the $600 range for those spec, but i can adjust spec to your needs
lmk

 

[ghostee]

You could always get a Mac mini for less than the cost of upgrading the sawtooth. Video card would only be 32mb, but 1.4ghz processor would be better than the 1.2 you'd be upgrading to.

Or just grab a new Powermac.

 

[element8]

thanks ghostee and doucy2.

I guess I'll need to think it over. For me it's a kinda big decision since I'll most likely stick to it for at least a few years. But a dual g5 sure sounds juicy.

 

[Chrispy]

You could always get a Mac mini for less than the cost of upgrading the sawtooth. Video card would only be 32mb, but 1.4ghz processor would be better than the 1.2 you'd be upgrading to.

Or just grab a new Powermac.

I second this advice. You can get a mini for about what you would pay for the upgrade and if you get one of the updated ones (I would think those are becoming fairly standard now) then you will have a 64MB Graphics card. I have to sell my Dual 1.8 due to financial reasons but after Christmas I should have more money. I will be considering a mini (if they get updated to the Intel chips) or a dual core 2.0 PowerMac I would go with a mini if I was you if you NEED a new computer now.

 

[element8]

Thanks Chrispy, never really gave the mini a look. Kinda looks...mini. Hard to believe that'll kick the arse outta what I'm using now. (Well a new scientific calculator can probably do that).

 

[Chrispy]

Thanks Chrispy, never really gave the mini a look. Kinda looks...mini. Hard to believe that'll kick the arse outta what I'm using now. (Well a new scientific calculator can probably do that).

Its amazing what a faster processor, more memory and a faster FSB can do for you Minis really are great computer thanks to their compact size and great reliability.

 

[eXan]

2) Graphics upgrade: ATI 9000 64 mb $120 (from 16mb ATI Rage)

If u plan to upgrade, dont buy Radeon 9000, buy 9600 instead. R9000 doesnt support CoreImage, so 9600 will be more useful in the future

If DVDs is your job, get G5. However if u can afford to let Mac render overnight, G4 will be just fine (I made DVDs on my eMac in sig, just left it render overnight)

1.4ghz processor would be better than the 1.2 you'd be upgrading to.

1) Processor upgrade: 1.2 ghz or more (dual option)

He said he'll be getting dual 1.2

 

[za9ra22]

Thanks Chrispy, never really gave the mini a look. Kinda looks...mini. Hard to believe that'll kick the arse outta what I'm using now. (Well a new scientific calculator can probably do that).

I have a mini on my desk, right next to an upgraded Sawtooth, now with a 1GHz processor. Of the two systems, my preference is by far for the upgraded Sawtooth. The mini is a good system without doubt, but the Sawtooth has far greater flexibility - there's not much you can do in the way of upgrading a mini, but you can pretty much tailor a Sawtooth to your own specific needs. Mine has a 1GHz processor, a DVD burner, 2Gb RAM, 3 hard drives and two video cards so I can drive 2 or 3 displays. It makes an awesome system for video work, and while the mini's processor is faster, the 2 120Gb 7200rpm drives I added to the Sawtooth make it faster at handling file-intensive tasks.

Overall, I'd say if you have sufficient funds to stretch to a G5, that would be the most sensible option given you likely anticipate you'll not be investing in a replacement system for a while. But if cost is a crucial issue, upgrading your Sawtooth is the cheapest way to get the performance gains you need, and target the features you need the most.

 

[element8]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I'm planning on getting a referb. iMac 2ghz. 20" for $1,300. That a good price? I figure after I finish my project that I'll sell it and hopefully get most of my money back.