Are the non-INtel Mac Mini's worth buying used?

[SAWYER]

Looking to buy one for my kid, he will use it for general internet use

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

I wouldn't. Those G4s aren't really worth it, but it does depend on the price.

 

[VinylxScratches]

If you can get one for under 200 I'd say it might be worth it although they can't use Snow Leopard.

 

[MotionMan]

If you can get one for under 200 I'd say it might be worth it although they can't use Snow Leopard.

...or run Windows (which I need all my Macs to be able to do).

MotionMan

 

[TheStu]

If you are looking at a G4 then you can safely remove any ability to handle flash from the equation, past that, you aren't going to be able to do a whole lot.

Even a low end early dual core Mini (like the 1.83 GHz Core Duo) will be terrific, and you might be able to get one on the cheap.

 

[Tegeril]

Just say no to anything G4 based.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Just say no to anything G4 based.

What about G5 based?

 

[Tegeril]

Questionable at best. They provide significant performance improvements over the G4 but still pale incredibly in comparison to the Intel processors and still cannot begin to handle Flash content capably. That and still no Snow Leopard.

And there are no G5 Mac Minis

 

[Eug]

For $100 yes.

Otherwise no.

 

[mmntech]

If you are looking at a G4 then you can safely remove any ability to handle flash from the equation, past that, you aren't going to be able to do a whole lot.

Even a low end early dual core Mini (like the 1.83 GHz Core Duo) will be terrific, and you might be able to get one on the cheap.

Well, that's a little unfair.
The 1.42ghz model will run flash as long as it's not the high res stuff. The key with the slower G4s is sticking to Tiger and throwing as much RAM in them as possible.

I agree the lower end Intels would be better suited for a surfing box though. The G4s right now are better suited as servers.

 

[TheStu]

Well, that's a little unfair.
The 1.42ghz model will run flash as long as it's not the high res stuff. The key with the slower G4s is sticking to Tiger and throwing as much RAM in them as possible.

I agree the lower end Intels would be better suited for a surfing box though. The G4s right now are better suited as servers.

My 1.33 GHz G4 PowerBook cannot handle flash. I am not sure how an extra 90 MHz is going to make much difference. And this isn't the high res stuff, this is the crappy youtube stuff that everyone uses. And yes, I am running Leopard, but the RAM is maxed out, and I have used ~1GHz PowerBooks on Leopard and Tiger in the past and I found little performance difference.

 

[Eug]

Standard rez flash will sometimes work if you kill all flash ads on the same webpage. However, if you don't, the G4 can't keep up.

Plus, why would you want to stick with Tiger anyway? It's not as if it's really much faster. It should be noted that some apps don't even support Tiger anymore.

P.S. I have five G4 Macs. I keep them mainly for nostalgia than anything else (as I like the aesthetics), and as guest machines or for light file editing/storage, with a bit of surfing thrown in, avoiding flash whenever possible.

My main work machines are a Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro and a Core i7 iMac.

I'm hoping Flash 10.1 speeds up performances on G4 Macs, but I wouldn't necessarily count on it.

 

[umrigar]

if you can find a Quicksilver dual 1.0 GHz or faster tower, get that instead. MDD 1.25 or 1.42, even better.

yeah it's big & loud, but also much easier to get into, holds more RAM (2 GB max), has better video cards, etc.

 

[Eug]

Just get an old Intel Core Solo or Core Duo Mac mini for cheap and be happy you avoided all the G4 headaches.

 

[ultimatebob]

I had a 1.42 GHz G4 Mac Mini, and it was painfully slow for anything but basic web surfing. It was much slower than the Pentium 4 gaming rig that I built a year and a half earlier, and was downright pathetic compared to the Core 2 Duo rig that replaced it. I gave it to my Mom who just uses it just for Facebook and e-mail, and even she complains how slow it is!

That said, it's about on par performance wise with an Intel Atom powered netbook. If you can stand using one of those, perhaps it won't be so bad for ya.

 

[u3laptoper]

I think today's children are lacking souls.

By that I mean every single one of them plays Shoot-them-up-and-die games and drink the same Coca-Cola, Gatorade and so on.

Back in the early days of Apple computer, we had the choices of Mac Plus, Amiga and such unique machines that dares to defy the mainstream IBM/Microsoft. Today, Apple is no different than Microsoft and other greed heads who seeks to maximize market shares.

I recommend your kids to enjoy hobbies that no other kids have. Say outdoor activities and play with animals. Don't make them into stupid robots and staring at computer screen all day.

 

[MotionMan]

I think today's children are lacking souls.

By that I mean every single one of them plays Shoot-them-up-and-die games and drink the same Coca-Cola, Gatorade and so on.

Back in the early days of Apple computer, we had the choices of Mac Plus, Amiga and such unique machines that dares to defy the mainstream IBM/Microsoft. Today, Apple is no different than Microsoft and other greed heads who seeks to maximize market shares.

I recommend your kids to enjoy hobbies that no other kids have. Say outdoor activities and play with animals. Don't make them into stupid robots and staring at computer screen all day.

You forgot to tell them to get off your lawn.

MotionMan

 

[umrigar]

I think today's children are lacking souls.

By that I mean every single one of them plays Shoot-them-up-and-die games and drink the same Coca-Cola, Gatorade and so on.

I recommend your kids to enjoy hobbies that no other kids have. Say outdoor activities and play with animals. Don't make them into stupid robots and staring at computer screen all day.

My daughter doesn't drink much soda or Gatorade, but she does add some drops to water when she is in swim practice, which she attends 4 times per week. She has limited time on the Wii and in front of the boob tube.

She's creative and loves to make art; she's also extremely polite and her teachers rave about her helpfulness. She struggles with dyslexia and does not spell well, but has great math skills. We tell her not to worry about the spelling, everyone uses spell-check nowadays (or SHOULD), and math is more important in the long run.

Also she rarely uses the computer - mostly it's for Tux Paint. We don't allow her on the internet - she's only 10.