OSX86 Power Supply 1

Video about my first OSX86 machine. Causal agency Supply - Acbel API4FS06 550w Land Supply. If you square measure planning on building a modern machine into a G3/G4 human I powerfully suggest this land supply. It design fit with no teenager or hacks. Some sites sell this for hundred+ dollars! I got it for some 40 so do some research! I do suggest the Zalman Fan Mate II to quiet down the fan if noise is an issue. Thanks for watching..

Picking Up a Used Power Mac G3 or G4: Is It Worth It?

One of my interesting jobs at Depressed End Mackintosh is collecting our value trackers, which have evolved quite a bit over the period. We do set trackers for all Macs that are nourished by around version of Raincoat OS X, from chromatic G3 Knowledge Macs and WallStreet PowerBooks through today's Intel-based Macs. We likewise track the value of memory upgrades for these Macs, and we lately added calculable shipping outlay (based on our position in Newmarket).

That same, Craigslist prices vary wide from realm to knowledge domain. And eBay, being an auction locate, tends to command high prices, so it's not the first place I'd look.

Righteous bet upgrades include upgrading RAM and putting in a quicker IDE disc drive (at least 5400 rpm, and 7200 rpm is change surface better), specially if you already have one force when upgrading another computer. Video poster upgrades are harder to justify; if you require to go that way and cerebrate on exploitation OS X, the $35 Fashion 128 is a good, first outgo option. (For the Classical Raincoat OS, the $15 ixMicro Similitude Turbo is very dainty.)

As a Mackintosh OS X computer, the chromatic G3 stool be decent. Look for 300 Megacycle per second and quicker models. The crippling factors are the ATI Do Pro video and the slow IDE bus. On that point are close to Radeon PCI cards, simply it's hard to justify the expenditure, and the same goes for adding a quicker IDE somebody. I would not put in a new double of OS X for a light brown G3, merely it's a good place to use an old textual matter from a Mackintosh you've updated to a newer version.

Twenty-four hours I'm impermanent on the Powerfulness Mackintosh G3 cost tracker. The absolute cheapest is a used 300 Megacycle per second chromatic G3 - $25 from Beta Macs. Plus astir $35 for ground shipping. That makes it a $60 computer. Attain RAM to 768 MB, and you've spent $90.

• Pros: Runs Waterproof OS 8 through 10.4 (officially buttressed to 10.2). Past Mogul Raincoat with a built-in lax drive. Worst Mightiness Macintosh in a traditional upper side configuration. ADB port. Weight unit State Raincoat with AppleTalk ports. Accepts ZIF G3 and G4 CPU upgrades. 3 PCI slots for video cards, USB, etc. Built-in PORT. Built-in 10Base-T ethernet. Supports up to 768 MB of RAM (near $30 these chance). Relatively available to overclock. May include a built-in 100 MB Zip drive. 300-366 Megacycle models with Rev. 2 motherboard give up to 4 IDE drives.
• Cons: Issues with IDE drives over 8 GB in size. National IDE bus limited to 128 GB hard drives. Slow IDE bus. Awfully outdated ATI Angriness Pro GPU truly struggles with Mack OS X. No built-in USB or FireWire. Posterior only boot OS X from one IDE device, which must be set to "master". Video patronise limited to 1280 x 1024. Ending Waterproof to use Apple video port alternatively of VGA.

The final exam version of the Cognition Waterproof G4 looks regard the MDD model and is the only G4 Knowledge Waterproof that can't boot into the Artist Macintosh OS. The "FireWire 800" model adds FireWire 800 and came with a separate 1 GHz CPU, two 1.25 GHz CPUs, or two 1.42 GHz CPUs. The 1 GHz model uses a 133 Mc system bus, so on that point are mickle of rank options. The 1.25 GHz and 1.42 GHz models use the quicker 167 Rate system bus.

• Pros: FireWire 800. Fastest G4 Exponent Macintosh ever (1.42 GHz). 4 PCI slots. 2 GB RAM height. RAM is active fractional the cost - $14 for a 512 MB module vs. $25 for PC133.
• Cons: Cannot boot into Mack OS 9. Limited meliorate options for 1.25 and 1.42 GHz versions. And it calm down uses USB 1.1.

As a Waterproof OS X computer, dual processors unleash holding, room for 2 GB of RAM is a genuine plus for body politic users, and that fourth PCI slot tush be utile (you fundament add USB 2.0, 802.11g/n WiFi, a SMALL COMPUTER SYSTEM INTERFACE visiting card, a quicker IDE individual, a SATA control, FireWire 800, etc.).

Conclusion: Used Raincoat dealers typically libidinal energy $400 an up for these - run over twice what you'd invite a Sawtooth at the same CPU go. All matter being soul, these power be deserving a 50-75% premium over Sawtooth, so they are currently expensive - no matter of shipping issues.

Thither were basketball team different configurations: 466 Mc, 533 Rate, 667 Megacycle, and 733 Megahertz unwedded CPU models and a 533 Mc dual central processor one. These were the first Causal agent Macs to use an nVidia visual communication tease: The GeForce2 MX was capacity unit on virtually the entry-level 466 Mc model.

• Pros: AGP 4x video. 133 Megacycle per second system bus.
• Cons: 1.5 GB RAM cap. 128 GB drive limitation. USB 1.1 is slow. 512 MB modules are a bit more pricey than PC100, virtually $8 more to max to 1.5 GB.

On that point is a bit more risk purchasing privately, and Craigslist is a great tool for finding local sellers. Sellers tend to list on the high side, remembering what they originally paid, just you should be able to use our terms trackers to show them what dealers are charging with a store warranty.

Living with low-end Macs is something of an art. You seek to use a computer that's comfortably sufficient for your tasks and avoid unnecessary and valuable upgrades. It's a simple fact of life that any version of Raincoat OS X is far more demanding of hardware than any version of the Artist Waterproof OS. It's equally a fact of life that the most up-to-date software is generally available only for recent versions of the Macintosh OS.

As a Creative person Raincoat OS computer, everything same near the blue & white G3 applies, just in that respect are no motherboard revision issues.

If you've got an old G3 Raincoat, by all means try to get the most out of it at minimal hurt, only if you're picking up a secondhand Mackintosh, jump right to G4 if possible. (Quicker G3 iBooks aren't bad.) Fit in approximately RAM, use that spare textual matter of Panther or Tiger you have (I same to buy the 5-user family edition, since I have so many Macs).

Anyhow, I've noticed that for close to older Macs, shipping crapper call for more than the computer. That raises the question, Is it valuable it?

Light brown G3

The Yikes model is relatively uncommon, and AGP Exponent Macs are often available for all but the same cost, making them the better buy.

Cognition Mack G4 'Sawtooth'

Introduced at the same time as the Yikes model, the "Sawtooth" Major power Mack G4 has a more efficient memory bus and supports AGP artwork, and low-end configurations (350-400 Mc) are often available for under $100. Shipping outlay are the same as for the blue & white G3 or Yikes G4, making Sawtooth Physical phenomenon Macs a great choice for those on a budget.

Good bet upgrades include topping out RAM and putting in a 7200 rpm drive. The video placard is descent, and it would be hard to justify the necessitate of installing a Radeon assure in an $80 computer.

Apple refreshed the look of the State Mackintosh G4 with the August 2002 introduction of the "Mirror Drive Door" (MDD) models - all of which had dual processors. The entry-level machine ran at 867 Megacycle per second, the middle World power Mack at 1 GHz, and the top dog at an impressive 1.25 GHz. Apple likewise brought back confirm for 2 GB of RAM and included 4 PCI slots in addition to the AGP 4x slot.

Conclusion: Shipping is a big factor for computers indefinite quantity less than $100, so try to buy locally.

Great power Raincoat G4 'Mystic'

Introduced at the July 2000 Macworld Expo with the phrase "Two brains are better than one", the 450 Megacycle per second and 500 Megacycle per second 'Mystic' Nation Macs had two CPUs - the first dual-processor Macs since the PowerPC 604e era. Unfortunately the Creation Waterproof OS couldn't take advantage of the second business concern, and very few Standard apps used it. Fortunately every version of Mackintosh OS X buns take full advantage of the second CPU, and Standard Mode on a dual-processor Macintosh is a treat - it buns be quicker than running the Classical Mackintosh OS natively!

Recent prices include $200 for a dual 867 Mc (a steal!), $300 for dual 1 GHz (lower than Quicksilver), and $450 for 1.25 GHz (a little high). It's worthy $35-50 shipping to get one of these from a dealer who has carefully refurbished it and packed it for shipping, simply look on the local market as well.

Might Waterproof G4 'FireWire 800'

The other distinguishing feature of this model is gigabit ethernet. It uses the same drives and RAM as Sawtooth.

• Pros: Two CPUs. Gigabit ethernet. Supports up to 2 GB of RAM. Arse run Leopard (unsupported). Wad of CPU rise options, including dual 1.8 GHz G4s.
• Cons: 128 GB IDE winchester drive limitation. Incompatible with both later AGP video cards. USB 1.1 is slow.

These were the first Country Macs to represent hard drives over 128 GB without a special control or software. The 867 Rate, 933 Megacycle per second, and dual 1 GHz models are fully braced by Leopard, and reader reports indicate that the other Quicksilver models run it comfortably - peculiarly the dual 800 Megacycle per second one.

• Pros: Big drive operation. Oldest State Macs with official Leopard stand (3 of 6 configurations).
• Cons: 1.5 GB RAM cap. USB 1.1 is slow.

G3s buoy be great for writing, basic spreadsheet work, email clients, and basic image editing. Where they show their age is thing corresponding Flash on the Internet. Sites such as YouTube take everything a low-end G3 Mack (233 Megacycle to 450 Rate) has to offer.

Living with Low-end Macs

As a Mack OS X computer, the G4 is a big advantage over the G3. The lack of permit for AGP artwork is a bottleneck and a rattling obstacle to hacking OS X 10.5 to run on this model.

Purchasing from a dealer usually means the machine has been inspected and tested and includes a 60- or 90-day warranty. It toilet too mean $35 or more in shipping outgo, so it makes sense to look locally.

The blue & white G3 started at 300 Megacycle and topped out at 450 Mc, and it's not hard to overclock. It has a 50% quicker system bus, one more expansion slot, and one more RAM slot. It retains the traditional ADB port while adding USB and FireWire, although you cannot boot from its FireWire port.

As a Standard Mackintosh OS computer, the blue & white is a solid performer. The Cult 128 visual communication supports 1600 x 1200 resolution displays and is considerably quicker than the Ire Pro in the ecru G3. The quicker memory bus, quicker IDE bus (with the Rev. 2 motherboard), and built-in FireWire and USB ports give you batch of options.

This is strictly a Macintosh OS X computer, and as courteous as being able in addition into Mack OS 9 may sound, I give the sack count on the one hand the number of times I've done it this year.

Conclusion: The FireWire 800 Strength Mack tends to command a premium toll ($600 for the top model is the charitable we've seen), when in reality 1.42 GHz is less than 15% quicker than 1.25 GHz. Avoid the 1.42 GHz model unless you get a in truth mass - that conclusion little bit of performance won't make much of a difference and will price you dearly.

Exam Recommendations

The G3 Raincoat market is on its antepenultimate legs because in that respect just isn't much money to be made selling $25-50 computers. Most G3 models sack run Tiger, which provides access to most current browsers, and those that can't run Tiger dismiss run Waterproof OS X 10.3 "Panther", which is competent, although dated. If you pic have a Creative person Macintosh OS workflow, however, flat a G3 is plenty powerful - the big drawback on that point being no true options in an up-to-date browser.

Apple updated the appearance of the Top executive Macintosh G4 with the "Quicksilver" model, introduced in July 2001. In that location were three configurations: a 733 Mc entry-level model, an 867 Megacycle per second midrange machine, and a dual 800 Megacycle per second top-end powerhouse. The line was updated the following year, and the "Quicksilver 2002" was plane quicker - 800 Mc at the bottom, 933 Megahertz in the middle, and 1 GHz dual business at the top. First, 7200 rpm drives were normative across the line.

As a Creative person Waterproof OS computer, it's a powerhouse.

As a Mack OS X computer, that was the first to unleash the potential of the G4. It may be overkill to install 2 GB of RAM, just 1 GB for $40 isn't hard to justify. That ATA-66 drive bus is excellent, although it does limit you to 128 GB and smaller hard drives. These tooshie run Mack OS X 10.4 "Tiger" quite comfortably, merely you will search a better video bill, at least 1 GB of RAM, and a 7200 rpm winchester drive if you need to work with Raincoat OS X 10.5 "Leopard".

Field reports indicate that these all handle Tiger beautifully and Leopard adequately. Shipping is less of a factor at these prices, only $45 on a $200 purchase is nevertheless significant, so you power lack to check up on local deals before ordering online.

Commonwealth Macintosh G4 'Quicksilver' and 'Quicksilver 2002'

The G4 CPU adds the AltiVec "velocity engine" to the exponent of the G3 design, and that magnate is unleashed when running with video, later versions of Photoshop, and all versions of Mackintosh OS X. The 'PCI Graphics' Business leader Waterproof G4 has a less efficient memory bus than other G4 Superpower Macs, does not let AGP visual communication, and is not verified in Macintosh OS X 10.5 "Leopard", although it prat run it with a better video calling card.

• Pros: In comparison to other G4 Mathematical notation Macs, none. In comparison to the blue & white G3, the G4 CPU.
• Cons: Less efficient memory bus than other G4 Mogul Macs. No bread and butter for AGP art. Not soft to use with Leopard - probably not valuable the disbursal and effort. First State Mack without an ADB port. Cannot boot from FireWire or USB. One USB mortal handles both USB ports.

More than anything, low-end G4 Index Macs are coming in cheaper, which should drive prices down.

Office Mack G4 'Yikes'

Take the blue & white G3, remove the ADB port, and replace the G3 CPU with a 350 Megacycle per second or 400 Megacycle per second G4, and you've got Apple's original low-end Man of affairs Macintosh G4, code named Yikes. A 5400 rpm drive was accepted, although drives were relatively small in 1999.

Prices start at $80 for the 300 Megacycle per second model, and shipping bum add $30 to it. Reach RAM to 1 GB for $40, and you've spent $150.

• Pros: Runs Raincoat OS 8.6 through 10.4. Terminal Ply Mack with ADB. USB and FireWire built in. First Mathematical notation Waterproof with 10/100 ethernet. 66 Rate bus for ATI Violence 128 video batting order, which has a VGA port. 3 33 Mc PCI slots with 32-bit affirm. Quicker IDE bus than ecru G3, no 8 GB partition issue (although same 128 GB limitation). Relatively elementary to overclock. Accepts ZIF G3 and G4 CPU upgrades. Rev. 2 motherboard supports UDMA-33.
• Cons: Cannot boot from FireWire or USB. No AppleTalk. No built-in magnetic disk, so no access to 800 KB diskettes. INTERFACE not canonical, although it was a fairly common addition for legacy drives and scanners. 128 GB maximum for IDE hard drives. USB 1.1 is slow. The Rev. 1 motherboard does not check UDMA and may be unstable with modern hard drives.

Conclusion: Quicksilver models tend to be fairly priced we found one vendor with an 800 Megacycle QS 2002 for $200 and the dual 1 GHz model for $340. (These are a steal compared with Digital Audio prices.)

Superpower Waterproof G4 'Mirror Drive Door'

There's a lot of life left in PowerPC Macs, specially the G4 and G5 models. All of them lav run Tiger, and most will run Leopard nicely. They have sufficient top executive for most of what you'd use a computer for, the big exceptions being functional with video and high-end gaming, where you rattling deprivation a modern Intel-based Macintosh.

In general, I can't recommend the G3 Office Raincoat unless you're getting a serious bargain on them, and the same goes for the Yikes G4. Sawtooth tends to be reasonably priced, Mystic expensive, Digital Audio and Quicksilver a bit high, MDD quite reasonably, and FireWire 800 steep, specially the 1.42 GHz configuration.

As a Standard Raincoat OS computer, location are no drawbacks.

As a Waterproof OS X computer, big drive digest is a huge thing - it's getting hard to find drives below 160 GB. And topping out RAM for just $42 is another need benefit vs. earlier Index Macs, where 1.5 GB bottom need $70-75.

To round abstract out, we too track prices for the Creation Raincoat OS, earlier versions of OS X, and Leopard. And Time Machine and AirPort hardware and Apple TV and iPods.

As a Standard Raincoat OS computer, the chromatic G3 is a great performer. The ATI Desire Pro video is fine, 768 MB of RAM is plenty, and it's a great bridge between old Raincoat standards and new ones: It body part read 800 KB floppies, it has AppleTalk and ADB ports, it uses both PORT and IDE drives, and it has 3 PCI slots for adding FireWire, USB, a fast IDE human, better graphic art, etc.

Conclusion: If you poverty the fastest State Raincoat G4 with upgrades, look at the 867 Mc model with its 133 Mc system bus. Upgrades leave office at 2.0 GHz for a unmated CPU, 1.8 GHz for two G4s. These are reliable tanks - we've been victimization a dual 1 GHz one at Abject End Macintosh for year (maxed out with 2 GB of RAM, and it likewise has two USB 2.0 cards, a PORT correspondence, and two 400 GB 7200 rpm hard drives).

The dual 533 Mc Digital Audio goes for $350 and up, which is expensive in comparison to the divorced c.p.u. models. I'd peg top value at $300 unless it's been upgraded significantly.

Conclusion: The oldest Major power Raincoat fully based through OS X 10.3 and 10.4, this hindquarters be a good microcomputer or work well as a network server, particularly with its many drive bays and ability to use FireWire drives. Be sure to buy one with a Rev. 2 motherboard. Shipping value are a big factor, so purchasing locally is probably your healthy bet.

Conclusion: A effective bridge computer for legacy peripherals and bridging ethernet to LocalTalk victimization the Creative person Mack OS. Specially multipurpose for 800 KB floppies, which USB lax drives do not reenforcement. Hard to justify shipping outlay, so look for one locally. With no official backup beyond OS X 10.2, these 10-year-old Mogul Macs should be cheap.

Blue & White G3 'Yosemite'

RAM tops out at 2 GB, although the Classical Raincoat OS only sees 1.5 GB of that, and these are the oldest Businessman Macs than derriere boot from FireWire. Attain RAM for $90 - or go to 1 GB for $40.

• Pros: AGP 2x art. Oldest Mackintosh to endure 2 GB of RAM. More efficient memory bus than earlier Exponent Macs. ATA-66 drive bus, twice as fast as Yosemite and Yikes. DVD-ROM is common. Mickle of CPU rate options. Nates boot from FireWire and USB. Two separate USB controllers. AirPort slot. Prat run Leopard, although Apple does not funding it.
• Cons: 128 GB IDE disk drive limitation. Incompatible with whatever later AGP video cards. USB 1.1 is slow.

Conclusion: The 466 Mc model is a good value for as little as $169, 533 Megahertz would be at under $190 - which is rare. The 667 Rate model itself is quite rare, and the 733 Mc Quality Mackintosh often command prices from $200 to $400. It's a steal below $250.

The 1.25 GHz MDD is the fastest Macintosh that crapper boot into the Standard Mack OS.

As a Mack OS X computer, the blue & white is a good performer thanks to a quicker memory bus, a tenor RAM altitude, and a quicker IDE bus. USB means access to a host of modern mice, keyboards, printers, and other peripherals. It's a very competent performer right through Mack OS X 10.4 "Tiger", although again it's hard to justify the cost of a new make of OS X.

If you seat pick up a 450 Mc Mystic for under $225 or a 500 Megahertz one for under $250, it's meriting considering.

Magnate Mackintosh G4 'Digital Audio'

Apple took three steps forward and two steps back with the "Digital Audio" Man of affairs Macintosh G4. On the plus side, Apple moved to a 133 Mc system bus, adopted AGP 4x, and finally broke past the 500 Rate mark - the top-end model ran at 733 Megacycle. On the minus side, maximum RAM is 1.5 GB on these, down from 2 GB in Sawtooth and Mystic, and there's no longer an analog sound-in port. That meant you needed a USB adapter to use a microphone or line-out from your stereo.

As a Creative person Raincoat OS computer, this truly has no advantage over Sawtooth.

As a Raincoat OS X computer, the second business organisation makes a huge difference.

The quicker models run on a 167 Mc system bus and use PC2700 RAM, while the slower ones use PC2100 RAM on a 133 Rate system bus. A quicker memory bus is over-nice, just very few CPU upgrades run on the quicker bus. These were the fashionable Office Macs capable of booting into the Classical Waterproof OS. A individual 1.25 GHz CPU model was added in June 2003.

• Pros: Fastest Exponent Macs in addition into Mack OS 9. 2 GB RAM cap. Quicker memory bus (1.0 and 1.25 GHz models). 4 PCI slots. Fully based on by Leopard.
• Cons: 167 Megacycle system bus limits software options. Solace uses USB 1.1. Requires a special build of Waterproof OS 9.2.2 that's hard to find, so try to get it with the computer.

As a Creation Waterproof OS computer, the Digital Audio Tycoon Macs have no drawbacks.

As a Macintosh OS X computer, AGP 4x plus quicker CPUs on a quicker bus gives it a leg up on earlier G4 Tycoon Macs. The 466 Mc and 533 Megacycle models tend to be reasonably priced, while the top-end 533 Mc dual and 733 Mc models command a premium.

It's something of a balancing act, and in general Tiger is optimized to the point that it will run better on a low-end G3 Raincoat with sufficient RAM (at least 512 MB, and more if you container do it) than Panther. You plumbing fixture view YouTube videos on a 400 Mc Mack, merely they'll be choppy.

Conclusion: Basically a blue & white G3 with the benefit of a G4 CPU, simply without the AGP and memory bus advantages of other G4 World power Macs. A descent pc or network server, only AGP Commonwealth Macs are a better bet. Again, shipping expenditure are a big factor, so look locally.

Have realistic expectations, and you may find happiness with your PowerPC Waterproof for year to come.