[blackstar]

Hello,
After 3 years of hard work, my Powerbook (Rev.A 12" 867mhz g4 1GBmem 100GB HD) is starting to become painfully slow, and I want to give him a little support in the form of a desktop!

At first I was looking at an older eMac, only to realize that most of them are about 800mhz anyhow which wouldnt really be a speed kick from my PB.

Then I looked at the Mac Mini, well the duo core is awfully expensive, and well single core sounds slow. Then I looked at the G4 Mini, only to realize that there must be a very high demand, as prices are just close to a new one.

Well then I came with the idea to go with an old Powermac G4, demand is usually low for Powermacs, and well they are the best desktops out there! I was thinking about a dual 500mhz with 1 gb of memory, would you think this would be a good upgrade from my powerbook.

I would mostly used for photoshop, web, and web developping (html, php), and as a web server just for testing purposes! Apache+php+mysql...

what do you think? any recommendations, i am looking to not spend more then 500$

[EasyMac]

I don't think 500MHZ would top your PowerBook. Dual Core 500MHZ doesn't mean that your computer has 1GHZ, it means that you have two 500MHZ processors that just simply work together to run heavy applications. I guess in a sense it would be alright, depending on what you run.

Mac Minis aren't that expensive. They aren't old either, they were announced in January 2005. The slowest mini you can get is 1.25 GHZ, which does hold a good value. eMacs also go up to 1.42GHZ(i think?). Personally, I would get a mini. Prices certainly aren't bad, mainly because its only a year old computer.

Get a mini, you wouldn't regret it.

[harrisjamieh]

I would say go with the Core Solo mini, if you cannot go to the Duo mini. Even the solo should be better than a dual 500 PowerMac....

So long as you need no graphics power, I suggest a Core Solo mini with 1 GB of RAM

[UNTeMac]

Originally Posted by blackstar

Hello,
After 3 years of hard work, my Powerbook (Rev.A 12" 867mhz g4 1GBmem 100GB HD) is starting to become painfully slow,

<snip>

i am looking to not spend more then 500$

If you only want to spend $500, then you should wait until your current computer drops below that value before getting a new one right now that'll be worth less than your current machine. $500 is not much to spend on a Mac anyway. A computer should be a long term purchase so save a little more and get yourself something that'll last awhile. An iMac is an excellent investment if you can save the money.

[TheoCryst]

Originally Posted by harrisjamieh

I would say go with the Core Solo mini, if you cannot go to the Duo mini. Even the solo should be better than a dual 500 PowerMac....

So long as you need no graphics power, I suggest a Core Solo mini with 1 GB of RAM

Seconded. The Minis are surprisingly powerful for their price range, assuming you aren't running heavy 3D apps.

[gnomexp]

I actually traded my 12in 867MHz PB with battery issues for a 1.25GHz mini with 1GB of RAM installed and a crappy old 19in monitor. I'm thinking about turning it around for a quick buck and getting a MacBook.

The minis are solid and very capable. If you post or search on Craigslist in your area, you might find a steal. Sadly, the Quicksilver G4 PowerMacs are overvalued right now, because they are honestly one of the best Macs ever made. I just don't believe they should still sell for over a grand.

[blackstar]

well the problem iis that i cant be a long term computer... no matter what ill have to sell it iin 2 years...
so the mini dual core is worth 200$ more then the single core?