[jim mezz]

Thanks to everybody who offered advice on my Power Mac G4 with the busted hard drive. Here's another, kind of related, question: as the saying goes, should I quit now while I'm behind? I just bought this Mac three weeks ago for a little over six hundred bucks. It's a 2001 Quicksilver with the single 867 and super drive.

I bought this computer because I need a Mac at home to do free lance--editing books on Quark. I was originally going to buy a Mac Mini, but then I had second thoughts. No offense to any Mini fans, but it seemed too much like a toy. So, I decided to roll the dice and get a used Power Mac on ebay. Now I'm not so sure. The person who sold it to me used it as a server--is that a red flag? It sure didn't see light use. I had it running about five times before it broke. So I'm wondering, should I put in a new hard drive, sell it, and start over? Will other things go on me, too? Should I buy a Mini, or will the thing be too slow running Quark? Should I buy another used Power Mac, and be more careful about what I buy? Ebay sure seems like a crap shoot...

[MORT A POTTY]

I have a QUicksilver 2001 w/ 867Mhz G4 and I definitely think it's worth popping in an HD.

don't give up on it!

[iREZ]

Well if you're not planning on making any upgrades to the machine later on, then I'd say get a mini. If you're planning on upgrading the machine (graphics card, HD, Processor upgrade, optical bay) then stay with the machine. On a side note, just get rid of Quark all together if you can and switch to Indesign. I personally think the last usable version of Quark was Quark 4, but hey that's just me. I use the same exact machine to do pre press work so it still has enough umph in it for daily freelancing work with or without quark.

[tooki]

Server use is a very good "torture test" of the equipment, yet is one of the least-abusive ways to use a computer. You know that it works well for long periods, but you also know that it hasn't had someone whacking it when it didn't work, or being jostled every time the desk got bumped, etc. Also, some believe that the thermal expansion caused when powering up a computer that's been off for a while is harmful. A server will most likely have been left on uninterrupted.

I'd say it's worth the $ to get an HD. Bear in mind that HD failure is in no way indicative of abuse: HDs are, IMHO, the absolute most failure-prone component in computers, and one of the parts that will just randomly fail. (They are also sensitive to abuse, but that usually causes immediate failure, not delayed.) They are also one of the few mechanical parts in a computer. HDs all fail -- the question is not if, but when. (Many fail while still in use, many more are taken out of service before they have a chance to die.)

tooki