[Jay Silverhawk]

Hi all: i'm finally retiring my biege G3 266 MT (can't believe i've waited so long!!) and am in the market for a 'new' machine (close to $1,000) and have narrowed down my options to either the:

G4 Digital Audio 533 640RAM, 40GB HD w/CD-ROM = $680

-OR-

G4 Digital Audio 733 256MB/80GB w/SuperDrive = $1069

-OR-

G4 Digital Audio 800 512MB/40GB w/ComboDrive = $1089

I will use the machine for web development and photo editing and I need to be able to run OS 9.1 (initially) due to older applications that i can't afford to upgrade now (photoshop 7, dreamweaver + fireworks 4, illustrator 10). I plan to upgrade to OS X in the next 6 months and want a machine that has sufficient expansion options to keep me happy for the next couple of years.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!!

Thanks!
JS

[Lateralus]

Honestly, I don't think any of those machines are worth getting at those prices. But if I had tp pick, I'd say the 533 is the better deal.

[Luca Rescigno]

Yes, you should be paying about 2/3 that much for any of those machines, at MOST.

[Jay Silverhawk]

Originally posted by Luca Rescigno:
Yes, you should be paying about 2/3 that much for any of those machines, at MOST.

Yes, you're right. The prices are a bit steep since they are from a local independent mac shop which pushes up the prices a fair amount.

Aside from the price issue, are there significant advantages to going with the 733 or 800? After reviewing all of the specs my head is spinning. It seems to me that the 1MB of L2 cache and the addtion of L3 cache on the 733 is significant and makes that machine a much more serious contender, though from some posts seem to indicate that there is little actual performance difference between the 533 and 733, so is it worth the extra $200+ for this alone?

[Jay Silverhawk]

Originally posted by PowerMacMan:
Honestly, I don't think any of those machines are worth getting at those prices. But if I had tp pick, I'd say the 533 is the better deal.

Thanks! I found the following on Macofalltrades.com
___
G4/733MHz Digital Audio 512/60GB SuperDrive ZIP Pro Keyboard/Mouse = $799.00

Seems like a good price....Is Macofalltrades a reputable dealer?

(Guess I was willing to pay more so I could avoid any potential hassles should i have to return the machine for some reason.)

Also, just reading about the 7450 chip not being such a leap over the 7410 chip - will this be significant when i add a processor upgrade to the 733?

Thanks for your input!!
JS

[TheDeathman]

Well if you're looking for someting around 1000 those new iMacs came out. Of course I don't know how well they perform, but they look nice Since you probably won't be doing any 'power' gaming it looks like it would be a good buy at 1,200 USD. A G5 Processor, 533mhz system bus, built in widescreen monitor, and a nice little stand. If you were willing to spend a lttle more money another 256 ram stick wouldn't hurt.

Just my 2 cents.

[Scotttheking]

G4 533 + CPU upgrade.

[Jay Silverhawk]

Originally posted by Scotttheking:
G4 533 + CPU upgrade.

Thanks, Scott. I think that might be the best route. After looking thru a number of posts it seems that regardless of price, and all things being equal (same RAM, HD, optical drive) the 733 is not a significantly better machine than the 533 to justify spending extra $$.

I mainly wanted to get into the Digital Audio class of machines with the faster 133Mhz bus and extra PCI slot, so the 533 seems to be a choice with plently of room to upgrade CPU, graphics card.and RAM.

Thank you all!

JS

[SafariX]

Those prices are insane. A 1.6 G5 refurb was 1200 on the Apple Store recently. Even after you dumb 700 into the 533+200 or more for the CPU upgrade, and then add ram, a decent size HD and so forth, you might as well have bought a base g5.

700 for the g4
200 for the CPU upgrade
100 for the RAM
100 for the HD
150 for a GPU

....

1250 total for a machine that wont touch a 1.6 G5. Don't buy it.

[Detrius]

buy an iMac for 1299 and put some RAM in it. At least for 1299 you are getting a 17" flat panel.

[rocky2]

I have a pre-QuickSilver 733 DA that I tried to upgrade with two known good Giga Designs' 1.46 GHz CPU upgrades. The firmware was/is up to date (4.2.8f1) but neither board would boot the Mac without giving a very loud RAM chime (normal sound just 5 times too loud) and an immediate kernel panic. I sent one board back and Giga said it had no problems. The other I put in a 466 MHz AGP G4 where it has worked fine ever since. Giga's tech support was excellent and responsive but never solved the problem and believe me we tried swapping out everything other than the main board. The 733 DA continues to work like a champ with a 9800 Pro GPU and modified cooling to cut the hair dryer noise levels and I am now thinking of trying a Sonnet upgrade instead.
FWIW, the 733 DA might have problems with Giga CPU upgrades or it might be just my particular main board.

[Jay Silverhawk]

Originally posted by SafariX:
Those prices are insane. A 1.6 G5 refurb was 1200 on the Apple Store recently.

SafariX,
You're absolutely correct. However, i need to run OS 9 because i can't afford to upgrade all of my apps at this time - photoshop, fireworks, illustrator, and dreamweaver being the most critical.

So, unfortunately, that leaves me few options. I realize that going the G4 route is not the best long term solution, but it will get me thru the next year until i can afford the upgrade I deserve! ;-)

js

[Jay Silverhawk]

Originally posted by Detrius:
buy an iMac for 1299 and put some RAM in it. At least for 1299 you are getting a 17" flat panel.

True, but I need a sharp picture for photographic work and the LCDs all seem a little soft with less than stellar color. + I'm still running OS 9 apps that i can't afford to upgrade right now.

[Lateralus]

ThomasBier has a G4 533 for sale at a great price in the Marketplace.