what software can i get running on a PowerMac G4 Dual 450

[DoBie_Smalls]

Hi there, i'm pretty new to Macs and i've currently got hold of an old PowerMac G4 with dual 450MHz CPU's, it can be upgraded to 2GB of RAM (which i will do shortly) and support an ATI 9800 Pro graphics card. I was wondering what software will i be able to get running on this system. I was hoping to maybe get OSX 10.4 along with iLife 06 and maybe Final Cut Pro 4 or higher. Am i likely to be able to do this or will the system be too slow even with the 2GB of RAM and new graphics card? I have checked the specs and most say between 700MHz and 1Ghz however the system has 2 450MHz CPUs. if any one has a similar system please let me know how it runs and what you are able to run.

 

[Will_3rd]

I was wondering what software will i be able to get running on this system.

I was hoping to maybe get OSX 10.4 along with iLife 06 and maybe Final Cut Pro 4 or higher.

The system requirements for the Mac OS X 10.4 upgrade are a Macintosh with:

* PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 processor
* Built-in FireWire
* At least 256 MB of physical RAM
* At least 3 GB of available space on your hard drive
* DVD drive for installation (CD media available for a fee)

iLife should run OK, but not sure about pro apps such as Final Cut.

Am I likely to be able to do this or will the system be too slow even with the 2GB of RAM and new graphics card?

With more RAM it runs much better, OSX really loves RAM and adds noticeably to system performance. As for the GPU it should add to the smoothness of the OS experience and maybe if you fancy a bit of gaming too.

 

[DoBie_Smalls]

thanks mate, I have a basic G3 ibook at the moment and that runs tiger ok, it's a little slow at times, it's also got an older version of iLife on it...05 i think. as you can imagine it's not really even worth thinking about Final Cut on that. I was hoping to maybe get final cut on this machine though. However I might just use it as an internet machine for the moment.

PS, your PC specs in you sig are almost the same as mine...I have the same hard drive and CPU and graphics card as you...mines a BFG as well...however I have a second one for SLi also...slightly freaky all the same.

 

[Will_3rd]

PS, your PC specs in you sig are almost the same as mine...I have the same hard drive and CPU and graphics card as you...mines a BFG as well...however I have a second one for SLi also...slightly freaky all the same.

Yeah the 4000+ is great, clocked it to 3Ghz awesome performance haven't tried much higher then that though.

As for the hard drive its a Maxtor unfortunately, but will probably get a Raptor for when I go home.

The graphics card is pretty good as well only really struggles on HL2 with everything on MAX.

Lol, I'm thinking of getting a second 7800GT OC at the moment from that popular auction site for a cheap price hopefully.

Freaky though

 

[DoBie_Smalls]

yeah it's a damn good CPU I still haven't felt the need to upgrade it yet. I got my second 7800GT from that very same popular auction site, have to admit it's not worth it unless your running at high resolutions, I have a BenQ 20" widescreen TFT at 1680x1050 and that's why I went SLi. CS and HL2 look damn near sexual at 1680x1050 maxed out on the 20" wide , although I do start to get some slow down in Oblivion. good tip for your hard disk upgrade, put windows on the fast raptor drive, then put your 200GB drive as a second drive, move your paging file to the 200GB and set it to something stupid like 6GB. It'll give you a performance increase when your doing intense stuff, as windows will be able to read from the paging file on one disc while reading off the main drive at the same time.

It sucks that you can't get OSX on PC's...well officially

 

[BillytheImpaler]

OS X's system reqs are pretty low. However, I doubt Final Cut would run reasonably well on dual 450 MHz.

The G4 Power Macs are socketed so if you wanted to do so you could upgrade the CPUs.

EDIT: Final Cut's reqs:
# Macintosh computer with 867MHz or faster PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5, Intel Core Duo processor, or Intel Xeon processor
# HD features require 1GHz or faster single or dual processors (authoring HD DVDs requires a PowerPC G5, Intel Core Duo processor, or Intel Xeon processor)

Photoshop should still run very well.

 

[Will_3rd]

good tip for your hard disk upgrade, put windows on the fast raptor drive, then put your 200GB drive as a second drive, move your paging file to the 200GB and set it to something stupid like 6GB. It'll give you a performance increase when your doing intense stuff, as windows will be able to read from the paging file on one disc while reading off the main drive at the same time.

Yeah on my 20" ACD I run it most of the time at 1680x1050, freaking sweet

Thanks for tip, will try that when I get home, bookmarked

 

[DoBie_Smalls]

OS X's system reqs are pretty low. However, I doubt Final Cut would run reasonably well on dual 450 MHz.

The G4 Power Macs are socketed so if you wanted to do so you could upgrade the CPUs.

EDIT: Final Cut's reqs:
# Macintosh computer with 867MHz or faster PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5, Intel Core Duo processor, or Intel Xeon processor
# HD features require 1GHz or faster single or dual processors (authoring HD DVDs requires a PowerPC G5, Intel Core Duo processor, or Intel Xeon processor)

Photoshop should still run very well.

Thanks, i'v just been on a mac site and looked at the upgrades, i can upgrade the CPU up to dual 1.8GHz G4...holy crap... that's crazy, although so's the price £350...although there are single CPU options which i might look into, i'd really just like only pay £150 ish for the CPU though.