[yoesh]

I have a bunch of classic apps/doc that I need to archive and keep for a while longer. Currently they reside on some durable, but aged, vintage hardware (PM 8600, 6500). I was thinking it might make sense to move them to a slightly younger machine that is somewhat expandable and/or a dual-boot machine. Also this won't be a primary machine (have a G5 imac for that).

Suggestions as to what might be the best option (B&W, Sawtooth, Yikes, MDD, etc), all things considered (eg, price, reliability, etc)?? I know B&W towers had some motherboard issues, and some of the G4s had other issues (PS, noise, etc). But not well versed in all the different models and their pros and cons. or if I'm overlooking some other option/consideration (eMac?), that'd be good to know too. thx.

[brokecollegestudentF04]

Id look at a 700mhz eMac.. they can still boot OS 9 natively and run OS 10.4 really well

[imitchellg5]

MDD and Quicksilvers run OS 9 crazy fast. eMacs are good too.

[Langdon]

Something with a G4 dual processor. A DA G4 would be the best bang for the buck. But if you want something faster get a QS. But for sure a tower so you can use the PCI slots.

Not a Cube, iMac or eMac. Cubes are over priced still considering the performance and the CRTs in the others have a limited lifespan and may die on you rendering the rest of the computer useless.

[MichiganRich]

If you read these forums too much you'll think that every post is an actual 'issue', where they are mostly user error or isolated problems.

You don't really need to go any farther than what imitchell said (as usual). Buy any well-cared-for G4 tower that you can find, literally any one. The eMac is okay but upgrading/swapping the hard drive or the optical drive is definitely not fun, and this should be your 'fun' machine for cracking open and playing around with.

I've got a forgotten army of 500mhz G4 'graphites' at work that are quiet, fast and reliable, in 9 or X. They're all over the studio doing whatever I ask of them day in and day out.

[P]

Watch out for the later G4 Powermacs, the Mirrored Drive Doors model. Not because they're slow - they're quite speedy - but because they're noisy as hell. Since just about anything from the iMac DV and on is very snappy in OS 9, stay away from that model.

[bowwowman]

Yep, I'd go for a QS 4 sure
Actually I did just that last month and am really pleased with it, coming from a Sawtooth & all !

[chris v]

Yikes -- avoid.
Sawtooth -- mostly single-processor, but solid.
Gigabit Ethernet -- first dualies, 4 RAM slots, old, but also solid. This is the "economy" choice.
Digital Audio -- 3 RAM slots, slightly faster bus.
Quicksilver -- still 3 RAM slots, later models surpass 120 gb drive limitation. Crappy video card upgrade options. Avoid the 733 mz, as they had crippled/no L3 cache.
MDD/FW800 -- 4 RAM slots, larger ATA drives work, probably expensive compared to the above, since there are people out there who still need dual-boot machines. The Dual 1.42 is still a quite capable machine, even in OS 10. The choice of Luxury.

In any case, I'd go dual-CPU.

[imitchellg5]

I'm looking for ( as you can tell by my sig) a QS because:
1) They look so sexy
2) They are pretty speedy, save the 733MHz which was an education model
3) You can find lower end ones ( especially 867MHzs) for around $200-275 easy.
That being said, I would love a MDD, but those normally take a big hit in price, even for a lowend dual 867MHz because they are so new. The last of the MDDs are now just out of warranty, so they are fairly new. I'm probably wrong, but I don't think that the MDDs can boot OS 9 ( at least the 1.25 and 1.42GHz models). Do avoid the Yikes model. They had a lot of issues, and they aren't much faster than a Blue and White G3. The Sawtooth had 4 RAM slots too.

[galarneau]

I would get a Sawtooth for $50-100, and then pick up a dual proc G4/500 processor card on eBay for another $50, and you're good to go.

Throw in a flashed PC Radeon for $20 and you have Quartz Extreme goodness for cheap.

[DrBoar]

For those old apps a second generation G3 B&W or a AGP G4 will do, spending more than that when you have a G5 as a primary mac is pointless.

Even these low end computers will runn all OS 9 apps very fast and OS X at a resonable pace. The later boxs tend to get loud and more expensive and not even a top of the line dual G4 will be as fast as your G5 so why pay for it?