[asmack]

There are a few single processor 1 GHz (FW800) PowerMac G4s still available near where I live. Here are the specs:

Single processor 1 GHz (FW800) PowerMac G4:
133MHz system bus
256MB of PC2100 (266MHz) DDR SDRAM
Nvidia GeForce4 MX
60GB Ultra ATA hard drive
Combo drive
Airport Extreme, Bluetooth capable, FireWire 800
Price: $1599 (Canadian dollars)

Compare this to Apple's current entry level PowerMac G4:

Single processor 1.25 GHz (dual boot) PowerMac G4:
167MHz system bus
256MB PC2700 (333MHz) DDR SDRAM
ATI Radeon 9000 Pro
80GB Ultra ATA hard drive
Combo drive
Price: $1799 (Canadian dollars)

My requirements: web browsing, e-mail and light duty digital photography and web authoring. OS 9 bootability is nice but not critical.

1) Which one is the better deal?
2) Which one would be quieter?
3) Is the difference in system bus speed significant?
4) Which one has the better video card?
5) Which one would you get if faced with the same choice? [Please don't say G5--I can't afford that! ]

[awcopus]

1. The dual is a better deal.
2. They both make same noise. Don't sweat this.
3. The bus speed is the Achilles Heel of the G4 systems. Still, every little bit counts.
4. The Radeon 9000 with the dual processors is an excellent combo. The other machine won't run new games (like UT2003) as smoothly at same resolutions.
5. Get the dual. No-brainer. You'll be happy.

[AssassyN]

1. Definitely the 1.25Ghz machine...250Mhz can make a difference.
2. Both will be about the same.
3. FSB strangles the G4's, however, 167Mhz is a large improvement percentage wise over 133Mhz.
4. The Radeon 9000 is *far* superior...the GF4MX won't even handle today's latest games very well, escp. not future games.
5. I'd go 1.25Ghz all the way, and if possible, save for the Dual 1.25Ghz.

And the previous poster assumed you meant the Dual 1.25Ghz machine, however, I still agree w/ his points.

[G-mac]

Definitely the 1.25. Hands down a better deal and will last you longer. I've got the G4 1.25 Dual Boot and absolutely love it! Good luck deciding!

[awcopus]

Oops.

Go to http://www.smalldog.com/ and check out the G4 options. Not sure what the currency exchange is with Canada, but ANY of the dual configs would be superior to your proposed single-boot systems if you can get one close to the price you want.

Good luck.

[asmack]

Thanks to everyone who responded.

I decided to go with the SP 1.25 GHz PowerMac G4. It is great! It's actually no louder than my old 192 MB 266 MHz Beige G3 desktop, and I'm running OS 9 as I write this. In fact, the G3 is actually noisier when it comes to hearing the hard drive; I can hardly hear it with the PowerMac G4.

The speed is great. I upgraded to 1.25 GB of RAM even before I turned on the computer. The only thing I don't like is the power button no longer being on the keyboard, but that's about it. I'm even beginning to really like OS X, although I wish they'd give us the option to turn off the anti-aliased fonts.

What are some good books for learning OS X?

Also, what essential utilities should I buy? Norton's? Disk Warrior?

Thanks again for all the advice...

[saturnbill]

I too bought the 1.25 single. I love it since I am upgrading from a 600MHZ iMac. I just signed up at www.lynda.com where you can view online tutorials for $25.00/month. They were great, since I have only used OS 9.2 before this. Actually cheaper than most books out there. I seem to learn much faster with a video that, unlike a book, shows you all the steps involved in any process. You can look at anything they have for the time you pay for. Great site! A lot of people use Nortons, but I have used DiskWarrior with great success. Also have heard great things about Drive 10 from Micromat.

[derekn]

Congrats Asmack, I grabbed the 1.2 last month and love it. Seems quieter than the dual 867 it replaced, only complaint is the DVD door squeaks. LOL

Bookwise, if you want a step by step guide to everything including the supported command line commands grab MacOS X in a Nutshell from O'Reilly. I'm reading through that now and it's a great little book, they also recommend The Missing MacOS X manual as an accesory to Nutshell.

A couple of online places you can check are:
http://www.macosxhints.com

http://radio.weblogs.com/0100676/

That's Ken Bereskins blog (OS X product Manager at Apple), it hasn't been updated since April. But if you go back to last August and the next couple of months, he covers most of the new features in Jag in each entry.