[nimbus123]

With new Intel Macs on the market (or in the pipeline), I would hope some older G5 or G4 Macs being sold second hand via ebay at a decent price eventually. I'd like to prepared and ask whether there are any particular models are recommended because of their price/performance ratio, upgradeability or other issues. On the other hand, there seem to be some models one should avoid at all cost (like the Yikes G4, some later - MDD? – models because of cooling/fan noise issues, Rev. A G4 iMacs both 17" and 20").

[zacharydz]

Originally Posted by nimbus123

With new Intel Macs on the market (or in the pipeline), I would hope some older G5 or G4 Macs being sold second hand via ebay at a decent price eventually. I'd like to prepared and ask whether there are any particular models are recommended because of their price/performance ratio, upgradeability or other issues. On the other hand, there seem to be some models one should avoid at all cost (like the Yikes G4, some later - MDD? – models because of cooling/fan noise issues, Rev. A G4 iMacs both 17" and 20").

I'm assuming that if you get a G4, you'd be planning on upgrading the CPU. It seems like most people here prefer the DAs over the Quicksilvers (most or all of the same specs other than CPU and much cheaper). The DAs (and I think Quicksilvers) have 4 pci slots and teh Sawtooths have 3 pci slots. The MDDs are really loud.

I don't know much about the details of each generation of the G5s.

What are you planning to do with the computer?

[bowwowman]

Depends on your needs & what you want to do with the machine, how long you plan to keep it, and of course, how much moolah you wanna spend......

the older the machine, the cheaper it should be, but also with limited upgrades & compatibility with current & future software demands......and vice versa with newer ones.

If you want a reasonable mix of cost, usability, upgradability, and longevity,
get something in the middle range like the Quicksilver or MDD's.........(preferably the dual processor models)

If you want a low-budget-but still-solid machine, go for a Sawtooth, on the other end a refurb Quad G5

[chris v]

Prices on the faster G4's are inflated, if you ask me. You can get a refurb. dual 1.8 G5 for about what you'd pay for a used dual QS or MDD. Plus, you'll get a warranty.

[mountainash]

Prices vary, so price/performance estimates vary.

Early MDD are bad. check out mactracker or everymac.com or lowendmac.com for specs.

It is a matter of budget. If you don't have much money (right now) then a cheap digital audio or quicksilver. They are very upgradable (when you get the money) and have a faster bus.

The 2002 Quicksilvers (800MHz and 933MHz single or 1GHz dual) support large hard drives, so you can save yourself 50-60USD on a separate ATA controller.

If you have the money now then a 1.42GHz MDD will out perform pretty much any upgraded digital audio. Plus you can whack in 2Gb of (cheaper) DDR. Avoid the older and slower MDDs. CPU upgrades for MDD are also hard to come by, so you will want to go straight to a dual 1.2 or faster.

A dual G5 is even better if you have the money now. You can upgrade to 8GiB RAM, large SATA drives, and faster graphics later. G5s should be under 1000USD soon.

I personally don't like the iMac/eMac or Mac Minis because they are less upgradable. But having said that, I think used mac mini g4s are underpriced at the moment. They make nice little servers/NAS boxes, attach a firewire drive and you have some serious stuff.