Is a cheap Imac G4 worth it?

[DS9VOY]

Sorry for my ignorance, but I am not a mac user.

However, a person at work is offering to sell me a G4 Imac in excellent condition for $200. Apparently the specs are 800Mhz CPU, 1 Gig Ram, 60 gig hard drive. Installed with OS 10.5.

My question is - would this be a good secondary computer for the house? I am talking for general web browsing, office type use. I am not looking to put down a lot of money for anything right now, but it sounds tempting just for $200 to get a cheap secondary system.

Or is a G4 too outdated to be useful anymore?

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

No, it is a bad deal.

 

[mmntech]

This is the lamp model I assume. It's considerably outdated and I wouldn't spend more than $150 on it given that computers depreciate at roughly 30% per annum. You'd probably be better with a new MacMini or building an Atom 330 rig based on the Ion platform.

 

[DS9VOY]

Hm so if I offered $150 and he took it that would be worth it?

All I want is a little cheap side desktop system for office use. If I were to build another PC (or get a mac mini) I would also have to buy a monitor and would be looking at a couple hudred more potentially.

 

[alyarb]

talk him down to $150, but it's a piece of shit. just don't think of it as "your new computer" because it is not new and you will not want to ascribe duties it isn't capable of performing. streaming video comes to mind. stick with email and document printing.

 

[DS9VOY]

Well guys I gave him a phone call earlier to try to talk him down to $200 which he didn't do. Apparently I also misunderstood him. It is not G4, but G5. Is that any better?

 

[alyarb]

800 MHz G5? something isn't right.

 

[mmntech]

Originally posted by: DS9VOY
Well guys I gave him a phone call earlier to try to talk him down to $200 which he didn't do. Apparently I also misunderstood him. It is not G4, but G5. Is that any better?

Definitely! The G5 can still hold its own against newer systems. $200 is a vary good deal for a G5 system, even if it's the original 2004 model. Now if it's the model with the built in iSight camera, you're laughing. It should do everything you need.

 

[mmntech]

Originally posted by: alyarb
800 MHz G5? something isn't right.

He might of pulled the specs off the web as the 800mhz G4 iMac can't run OS X 10.5.

 

[philosofool]

I wouldn't do it. That computer is 5 or more years old. I don't see it doing much of anything, including running OS 10.5. If you want a cheap computer, think about a cheap new Dell and a cheap monitor from Newegg.com. That combo will cost you twice as much but it will do basic stuff for a couple years.

In general, trying to get a computer for under $400 is asking for poor performance for 1-2 years followed by worthlessness. If you want a second computer, my suggestion is to spend about $500-600 and get one with reasonable specs. People around here can tell you what to get if your interested in that.

 

[KeithP]

The G5 iMacs start at 1.6Ghz. You may want to look at http://lowendmac.com/imacs/index.shtml and try to get an accurate idea of what he is selling.

By example, you can go over to the Dell outlet store and pick up a refurb Inspiron 530 with Vista Basic, 2GB of RAM, 250GB HD, DVD burner with a Celeron 2200 for $219. It won't come with a monitor but does have a warranty. Not a speed demon to be sure but a better deal IMHO.

-KeithP

 

[mmntech]

Originally posted by: philosofool
I wouldn't do it. That computer is 5 or more years old. I don't see it doing much of anything, including running OS 10.5. If you want a cheap computer, think about a cheap new Dell and a cheap monitor from Newegg.com. That combo will cost you twice as much but it will do basic stuff for a couple years.

In general, trying to get a computer for under $400 is asking for poor performance for 1-2 years followed by worthlessness. If you want a second computer, my suggestion is to spend about $500-600 and get one with reasonable specs. People around here can tell you what to get if your interested in that.

A iMac G5 will run Leopard. I know since I have it on my 1.33ghz G4 iBook. However, it won't run OS X 10.6.

 

[Rockinacoustic]

I was considering buying an old G4 with a faulty video card for cheap, but I was told it would be a better idea to put that money towards a Mini.

 

[mmntech]

Originally posted by: Rockinacoustic
I was considering buying an old G4 with a faulty video card for cheap, but I was told it would be a better idea to put that money towards a Mini.

The G4s are a bit too outdated, especially if it has a bad video card. The MacMini is a good system. Get the base model and drop $20 into it to DIY upgrade it's RAM to 2gb.

 

[TheStu]

I have 10.5 Leopard running on a 5 year old 1GHz G4 PowerBook. It has 768MB of RAM, and handles most of what I would throw at it. It won't handle Flash content without dropping frames, but that is honestly more Adobe's fault than its, my 1.83 GHz Core Duo will stutter on Flash in OS X as well.

So all said and told, if you are using it as a secondary or kitchen machine, I think that is a good deal, if you prefer OS X. Otherwise, go for a Dell outlet deal.

 

[LtPage1]

Sure. I wouldn't go any higher than 10.3 (10.4 if you're feeling adventurous). Definitely max out the RAM, and don't expect anything crazy out of it.