[TATungseth]

I am one of the few (?) people who've had the chance to see one of the first G4's off the line, and then see a new one as of this past week. Does anyone know what (if any) kind of revisions have taken place since the product was first introduced back in November? I should note that I got the "old" 450, with 128 MB, 20 gig HD, and then the "new" 450 with 256 MB, 27 gig HD, DVD-RAM, etc.

But I've noticed the following:

1) The new one feels physically heavier. Just to make sure I wasn't crazy, my friend agrees. There is nothing that could visually account for this. Possibly a more robust power supply?
2) The old one had a Quantum (20 gig) HD, the new one ships with an IBM (27 gig) HD.
3) The plastics feel sturdier. It feels like a more solid unit overall.
4) The "first time" startup is completely different. While the old one had a little window that asked about your internet connection and registration information, the new one has a full-screen registration "process" with really nice graphics, various pictures of the G4, and so forth.
5) Of course, OS 9 now ships standard.

I was wondering if anyone knew of any other changes that may have been made to the product line since it's come out. I had problems with the first one I got, and the new one is working great. Thanks!

[Blakhawkg3]

Well, the new first time startup is due to OS 9. The new iMac DVs have a full-screen first-time startup as well.

The new one should be heavier because of the DVD-RAM, and twice the memory (not much of a difference though)

When the G4s first came out, there were three models: a 400 Mhz Yikes! model, 450 Mhz sawtooth, and 500 Mhz sawtooth. When motorola couldn't make enough G4 processors, Apple switched over to IBM for their G4s. The IBM G4s were only available in 350 Mhz, 400 Mhz, and 450 Mhz. When Apple did this, the 350 Mhz model became the Yikes! machine (yosemite motherboard). Apple recently got rid of the Yikes! model and made the 350 Mhz, 400 Mhz, and 450 Mhz models all Sawtooth models.

I'm not sure about some of the other differences you mentioned about your machines, such as the plastics being sturdier. Maybe Apple gets the plastic from other sources now.

-Blakhawkg3

Apple switched over to IBM as chip supplier???

I though motorloa was the only one who made G4;s with altivec sionce they�v got the patent for altivec. IBM haven�t yet begun shipping G4;s to Apple as far as I know.

This was an interesting question for me. I'm trying to decide between the 350 and the 400...i'll be doing video editing. . .i thought i would get the 350 with more ram and bigger hard drive. . .thanks. should i get the 400 and get more ram later?

An Almost Apple Owner

For video editing I got the new 350mHz G4 with 128Mb ram and the DVD ram. The price was just over 2K, still far below the basic 400mHz model. The DVD ram is a "must-have" in my opinion.

EdH,
Thanks. What kind of video editing do you do. I like to do short stuff right now. 3 min. things. Mostly collage of photos and video. I also want to be able to burn cds. I have my students read their poetry onto minidisc and i want to be able to put it in the computer and then make cds for them. . .and be able to put together small films. so you recommend the dvd ram? what program do you use to edit films? i like the idea of finalcut pro, but $ and wish they sold a version of imovie. . .thanks for you message.
todd

[impromp101]

DVD-RAM issue. Is it must have for video editing or just in general? I don't edit, but need a convenient backup system. The way I see it, DVD-RAM is good due to large memory (2.8 Gb/5.6 Gb) and relatively cheap media (also it's BTO). However, CD-RW drives can write to write once media faster, and can burn CDs that can be read by many other machines (as well as audio CDs). I still cannot decide between the two for backup and continue to look for people's experiences. Thanks.