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 If you are reading this story chances are good that you own a Mac. But I wanted to know just what kind of Mac everyone is using. I happen to be typing this on a G3 700 MHz snow iBook. It's my baby and I love it dearly. At home I have a 600 Mhz G4 tower and of course both machines run OS X 10.3.8.
Now, if you are a Windoze user you might be a little confused. In fact, the following thought might be running through your head: "He is running the latest OS on hardware that is 4 to 6 years old. How? I bet the preformance is really bad."
Now, that is a perfectly normal thing to think if you have been force-fed Windows all your life. Everyone who runs Windows is very aware that if you aren't running some very recent hardware then you can forget about XP. Say hello to 2000 or 98. XP is such a resource hog that all of your older hardware is quickly made obsolete. What to do, what to do? Upgrade of course! Throw the old stuff out and order a new Dell. But, of course you will have to buy another PC when Longhorn comes out. But that's ok, you really weren't getting too attached to that Dell anyway. Time to upgrade again!
I find plenty of PC users who think that the previous paragraph was completely normal. They think that needing a new computer with every OS release is just something you do.
If you are using a Mac, its a little different. My 600 MHz G4 was originally a 400 MHz G4 untill I upgraded its processor. Now, when it was only running at 400 MHz I didn't have OS 8.5 loaded on there I was running 10.3.8. Do you know how many problems I had with it? Zero. It ran OS X, Safari, Word, Photoshop, iTunes, iMovie, Quicken, Civillization III and the rest of my apps without much problem. In fact, when I eventually buy a G5, I will end up keeping this one around as a file server or something. Why? Because it will be years before it completely outlives its usefulness. Same thing goes for my iBook. Why should I upgrade when it handles everything I want to do?
Let me try and put it into perspective for you.
My 400 MHz G4 runs 10.3.8.
A brand new Dual 2.5 Ghz G5 runs 10.3.8.
[400 MHz] vs [2 x 2,500 MHz]
So, OS X will run on a machine running anywhere from 400 to 2,500 MHz
without a problem.
If this doesn't impress you try running XP on a 400 MHz machine and let me know how it turns out. My machine at work barely runs XP and its a 1.7 GHz Pentium 4. Now, before you Windows fans start going too nuts let me clarify one point. When I said try running XP on a older machine I didn't mean install XP, get it running once and then say "Ha! I did it - you don't know what you are talking about!" I mean actually use it. Surf the web, open some files, use Word, you know, work on your computer. Once you have attempted that let me know how it goes. Oh, what's that you say? You can't open more than one application at a time with out it crashing? :( So sad.
This is a facet of Mac that most people miss. Most Mac users keep their computers almost twice as long as Windows users. The main reason being is that a Mac is useful for a longer period of time than a Wintel machine.
So, let me hear from you readers, what type of Mac do you have and
what are you running on it?
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March 29 2005, 8:38 AM EDT, by |
Comments:
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| matty |
3/29/05, 10:04 AM EDT |
G4 800mhz iBook, 640mB RAM, 30G HD, 40G iPod
10.3.8 soon to become 10.4
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| nhmacusr |
3/29/05, 10:04 AM EDT |
I am running a PowerBook 1.67 GHz with 1 GB of RAM.
You are correct that Apple takes great care to optimize update releases for the older hardware. It is rare that when an update comes out, your hardware runs slower. The norm is for it to run faster.
To be fare, your PC at work is probably RAM starved. You need a lot of RAM to run XP effectively. It is true that Microsoft bloats each release. It is in there benefit to sell hardware with all of their OEM deals.
To be fair, your 600 MHz G4 will 'feel' pretty close to your Pentium 4 1.7 GHz.
A pretty good look at these comparisons can be found here:
http://www.systemshootouts.org/processors.html
He also has some really good machine vs machine price comparisons. Most times they come out dead even after you bulk up the PCs to equivelant specs with the mac.
In the end, I think most people do not look at the value added to the Mac by the longevity of its usefulness.
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| Ryan |
3/29/05, 10:06 AM EDT |
I use an 800Mhz G4 iBook at work and it gives me no grief whatsoever. I use it for browsing, Photoshopping, emailing, using Office apps etc. on 10.3.8
My home hardware is a 700MHz G4 iMac and that does all of the same with no problem either.
My other hardware at work is a Compaq P4 2.0Ghz and it is a dog. I turn it on and have to wait literally 5 minutes for it to settle down before I can even attempt to do anything useful with it.....then it crashes.....A LOT!
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| Moe |
3/29/05, 12:06 PM EDT |
I am running on a 1.25GHz Mac mini w/ 512MB RAM. No problems as of yet (2 months.) Use for web, mail, word processing, Keynote presentations, iPhoto editing, without a skip of a glitch.
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| SteinAuf |
3/29/05, 12:17 PM EDT |
I'm running a PB G4 1GHz with 10.3.8 with no problems whatsoever. I've had it a year and half and it has given me no problems whatsoever. I use it for everything.
My Mom's Wintel machine however requires my attention every two weeks or so to fix some major problem that has randomly appeared from nowhere.
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| wicked82 |
3/29/05, 12:44 PM EDT |
im kickin it on a 900 MHz G3 ibook...his name....bookie
im running 10.3.8
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| herato |
3/29/05, 2:17 PM EDT |
400Mhz PB G3 pismo
and 1.8Ghz 20"iMac G5
both running 10.3.8
still using the pismo most
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| DJLC |
3/29/05, 2:59 PM EDT |
Blue & White G3 (600MHz G4 upgrade) - 10.3.8
Beige Minitower G3 (400MHz G4 upgrade) - 10.2.8 - soon to be 10.2 Server
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| schizzylogic |
3/29/05, 4:02 PM EDT |
400MHz Blue&White G3 and a 1GHz iBook G4, both running 10.3.8
G3 acts as a web, file and print server and as my temporary system while my ibook is busy with CPU intensive things such as ripping DVDs... :D
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| apple_templar |
3/29/05, 4:08 PM EDT |
Blue & White Power Mac G3 all the way!
upgraded with Powerlogix 1.1 ghz G3 ZIF
does basically everything except run Doom 3, of course
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| jstoup |
3/29/05, 4:22 PM EDT |
4 iBooks
4 G3s
2 Powerbooks
plus some change
And it seems that everyone is running 10.3.8
If this was a windows forum you would see 98, 2000,(hopefully not Me) and XP at the least.
But here, even with older hardware everyone is running the newest OS fully updated.
I can't imagine doing anything else.
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| iTom |
3/29/05, 6:03 PM EDT |
G4 466, 1.12 GB RAM, 60 GB HD, OS X 10.3.8
G3 266, 256 MB RAM, 6 GB SCSI HD, OS X 10.2.8
I'm mostly using the G4 for nearly anyhing you can do with a computer. Even Soldier of Fortune 2 (since updating the game and the system) and Warcraft 3 are very well playable with mid/high quality settings.
I love my Macs and will never sell or trash them!
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| elepimp |
3/29/05, 6:41 PM EDT |
iMac G4, 800MHz, 512MB, 60G HD, 10.3.8
I use it for everything!
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| Ains |
3/29/05, 7:11 PM EDT |
I win! My baby is a real winner- one of the old graphite clamshell iBooks, 466 MHz G3, and all that jazz. Running 10.3.8, 'cept for the hockey tape holding the crack between the keyboard and trackpad together... it's still kicking. Great thing, ebay is.
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| curlyman |
3/29/05, 10:31 PM EDT |
Power Mac Dual 867MHz G4 512MB 120GB HD
10.3.8
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| Big James |
3/29/05, 11:13 PM EDT |
I love my 400 MHz tangerine iMac running 10.3.8. It is the only thing that keeps me sane after working with wintel machines all day.
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| Robert Sarabia |
3/29/05, 11:25 PM EDT |
iMac G3, 512RAM, 600MHz, 40GB HD, OS 10.3.8, since 18 May, 2002. And everything is fine. I love it!
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|
3/29/05, 11:42 PM EDT |
let's see - 4 year old runs on a 5500 all in one beauty painted pink for her OS 8.6 Plays games, Types with claris, and has managed to find old files of mine from my grad work.
7 year old runs with a pismo on OS 9.x, begging for an OS upgrade! Surfs, plays, emails, loves iTunes
Wife is on a new powerbook that work gave her, still in OS 10.2.x - I keep asking her if I can upgrade that!
Me?, well I love my titanium PB - runs wonderful on 10.3.8 Keeps up with most of my wintel friends, plus I can always hook up to hot spots faster then they can!
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| Jeepersjeff |
3/30/05, 8:38 AM EDT |
I am running with iBook G3 900MHz with 640 ram 40 GB HD Airport and no problems with OS 10.3.8
also
iMac Indigo G3 450 DV+384 ram running 10.3.8
Blue & White 300 768 ram running 10.3.8
Beige G3 333 220 ram running 10.3.8
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| cAtraXx |
3/30/05, 10:20 AM EDT |
Powermac G4 800mhz dual processor, 1,2 gig ram, MacOS X 10.3.8 runs lightningfast.
We also got a iBook here, but it needs to be upgraded to the latest version of X.
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|
3/30/05, 11:26 AM EDT |
I've got an 700MHz G3 iBook with 30GB HD running OS 10.3.8 too, but it's only 2.5 years old.
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| Shawn |
3/30/05, 11:30 AM EDT |
I had a 450MHz Blue/White G3 running OS X 10.3.8. I'm "prosumer" photographer and have been running Photoshop CS on it. It's a bit slow when it runs big filters, of course, but my system was completely usable. I recently upgraded its processor to a 500MHz G4, which runs everything quite a bit faster. I was going to buy a new G5 this year, but I think my 500MHz G4 is running well enough for me. I'll wait for the PowerMac CELL.
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| Robert |
3/30/05, 12:44 PM EDT |
Marketing here is still running QuarkX, Photoshop etc... on two 4 years old G4 and one G4 Cube, all happily running 10.3.8. We are not worry about virus as the rest of the 400 surrounding windozes but we do worry about people running away with that amazing piece of hardware design that is the cube; except very few recognize its value
Writing this on a 2+ yr old PowerBook G4 Titanium
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| Chris Leiker |
3/30/05, 5:02 PM EDT |
Just Monday I managed (by the grace of the leet ones above) to get a computer from a friend of mine, lo and behold a g3 600mhz graphite iMac, with burner, 40gig HD and 512megs of ram (airport to be bought later)
after updating that nasty firmware, runs 10.3.8 smoooth as silk.
sick thing about it all? I paid 30 (count 'em, thirty) dollars (USD) for it.
also have a g4 800mhz ibook, 40gig HD, cd-rw/dvd-rom (which I guess now is relegated to when i'm not at home... how strange)
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| WrigleyVillain |
3/30/05, 5:35 PM EDT |
10.3.8 Server on a 400 Mhz AGP Graphics Graphite G4. Yes, it runs well enough, but the 1.25 GB of RAM certainly helps.
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| WrigleyVillain |
3/30/05, 5:37 PM EDT |
Oh, have an 867 12" AlBook too but it belongs to work. That's runing 10.0.4. (j/k)
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| MacEnvy |
3/31/05, 2:02 PM EDT |
I agree, 1991 Mac Classic here, runs as good as the day I bought it!
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| badhawk |
3/31/05, 5:49 PM EDT |
G3 all-in-on2 266Mhz OS 10.2.8
G3 400Mhz Power Book OS 10.2.8
G4 800Mhz Quicksilver OS 10.3.8
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| phobos |
4/3/05, 3:05 AM EDT |
I've got a PB G4 1Ghz 10.3.8 (soon Tiger ;-))
I use it for web surfing, word processing, Keynote presentations, the whole iLife stuff, iChat, mail, etc.
I have since August '04 and it is grrreat!!
But the other wintel P4 (my mom's) ... yuck, i have to fix it every two weeks because weird problems appear from everywhere...
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| Johnny |
4/3/05, 7:47 PM EDT |
Powermac G4 1ghz Dual Processors 1 gb ram 10.3.8
Powermac G4 400mhz 386mb ram 10.3.8
14 " iBook G4 1ghz 256mb ram 10.3.8
333mhz G3 Blueberry iMac 288mb ram 10.3.8
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| seb |
4/5/05, 3:04 AM EDT |
400Mhz PB G3 Pismo, 384MB Ram, OSX 10.2.8, 30 GB HD
the batteries are dying... but apart from that I am still pretty happy with it since early 2000
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| dab2 |
4/5/05, 9:08 AM EDT |
2 - SE/30 16Mhz 68030 32MB RAM System 6.0.8
Mac IIfx 40Mhz 68030 128MB RAM System 7.5.3
Mac IIvx 64Mhz 68040 68MB RAM System 7.5.3 (Sonnet Presto 040)
Quarda 610DOS 66Mhz 68040 74MB RAM Mac OS 8.1 (Sonnet QuadDoubler)
Performa 6200/200 200Mhz 603e 128MB RAM Mac OS 8.6
292Mhz Wallstreet Powerbook 340MB RAM OS X 10.2.8
400Mhz Biege G3 368MB RAM OS X 10.2.8
600Mhz Orange iBook G3 368MB RAM 10.3.8
600Mhz Blueberry iMac G3 288MB Ram OS X 10.3.8
800Mhz iMac G4 768MB RAM OS X 10.3.8
800Mhz eMac G4 512MB RAM OS X 10.3.8
Dual 867Mhz MDD G4 1.25GB RAM 10.3.8
All working great! The SE/30s are used mostly as conversation peices and occasionally for MacSoft's Monopoly. The five newest machines get the bulk of the use.
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| Jack |
4/5/05, 9:19 AM EDT |
PB G3 Wallstreet (Rev 1). Shipped w/OS 8 cd and 12in dual scan screen. 233mhz/192mb RAM/10gig HD. Ran OS 9.1 till last month. Added 256mb RAM. Added OS X 10.2 (w/.8 update added) DSL. GREAT! At same time got PB 1400c (active matrix YUM!) 48mb/2gig. OS 9.1. ClarisWorks 4.0. 11b pcmcia cards for both arriving 5/6/2005 YIPPEE!
Waiting for Newton 2000 to ship!
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| Zew |
4/6/05, 11:58 PM EDT |
1 ghz emac 640 mb ram running 10.3.8
Soon to be complemented by a 1.67 ghz 15" powerbook (after tiger is release for the reduced price upgrade hopefully) with video upgrade to power my lonely 30' cinema display extra 512 stick is waiting too.
Minor video editing and audio recording have run fine on emac, but now need portability and screen space. Emac has and will still do what every computer should do web, email, chat, word processing, and gaming.
My 2000 athlon running XP pro (homebuilt) can only handle some games and some windows only software I haven't got for a mac yet and it has lost it's internet privileges. (too many things sneaking on to my system through every firewall I can find ;-))
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| MACTISTIC |
4/7/05, 10:39 AM EDT |
OS 10.3.8 runs great on a 366mhz graphite ibook with a 6gigHD and 320mbRAM.
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| Ahmed |
4/7/05, 12:56 PM EDT |
700Mhz G3 iMac SE, Graphite
1 Gig RAM
10.3.8
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| Drew |
4/7/05, 2:50 PM EDT |
Mac Mini 1.25 GHz, 512 MB Ram, Combo Drive - This new machine runs great. I bought it to replace my PowerMac G4 Cube and its so much better. Very fast and totally silent. I run it with a 120 GB 7200 RPM firewire hard drive so that I get good hard drive performance. I am never been happier about my Mac. I also have one of the first Macs, a Mac 512K made in September 1984, a Mac TV (very rare), and an Apple IIc. They all still work and are great conversation pieces.
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| JeffW |
4/8/05, 8:08 PM EDT |
All running 10.3.8
iBook G4/800
eMac 1.25
Sawtooth G4/400
Beige G3MT with G4/400 upgrade
My new 1.25/512 mini will be here Monday :-)
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| James |
4/9/05, 1:33 AM EDT |
Cube 450. OS 10.3.8 and looking forward to Tiger.
My cube has outlasted my marriage.
Gave away a 200MHz 6400 (beige tower) to a friend but sadly two years later, she passed away.
Are they jinxed?--if I want love & friendship, I'll never by macs again!!!
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| Douglas |
4/11/05, 9:51 AM EDT |
Between my fiance and myself we have 3 macs (two mine one hers.)
Me:
G4 1Ghz FW800 Desktop 768MB ram OS 10.2.8
Dual monitors, many extra toys....
G3 466Mhz Graphite iBook 192MB ram OS 10.3.8
Her:
15" 1.5 Ghz PowerBook 512 MB ram OS 10.3.8
My clamshell is great. I use it for web and email mostly, Not enough ram to keep the thing moving very fast with graphics apps, plus the screen res isn't high enough to see much of what you're working on. Enter Power Mac.
They are all great. Before I had my PowerMac, I was using windows machines. really they were ok. I always kept the OS paired down so that I could run my graphics apps. Since I've gotten the Mac, I will never return. It is truely amazing how much more svelt they are, and truely sexy.
Tiger will probably be cool, but I don't see my self at the begining of the line at the apple store when it comes out. I'll probably wait a few months.
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