What are the "pros and cons" of the Power Mac G4 models? Is one right for my needs?: EveryMac.com

Power Macintosh G4 Q&A - Revised April 30, 2009

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What are the "pros and cons" of the Power Mac G4 models? Is one right for my needs?

Please note that the Power Macintosh G4 was discontinued on June 4, 2004.

Like any other purchase, only you can make the decision whether or not the Power Mac G4 is the right Mac for you, but you can evaluate the pros and cons of the model to see if your needs are met. This "run down" may be helpful in making a decision:

Pros:

Excellent case design makes it quick and easy to upgrade the processor, memory, optical drive, and hard drives.
Internal capacity for four or five hard drives.
PCI slots make expansion and adding more capabilities easy.
Firewire "400" standard on all models.
Support for MacOS 9/Classic applications on all models booting MacOS X 10.4 "Tiger" or lower, many models can boot MacOS 9 as well. Models that do not officially support MacOS X 10.5 "Leopard" can be "hacked" to run the operating system.

Cons:

Expansion somewhat limited by three PCI slots in pre-Gigabit models (those released prior to July 19, 2000).
Small, unpopular keyboard and "hockey puck" mouse provided standard with pre-Gigabit models (those released prior to July 19, 2000).

If you need the newest and most powerful new Apple computer you can buy, you probably would be best served by a Mac Pro.

If you need an expandable Mac -- particularly with support for booting MacOS 9 or for MacOS 9/"Classic" applications -- a Power Macintosh G4 would be a good choice.

What are the default configurations of the Power Mac G4?

For the default configurations of every Power Macintosh G4, as well as details on a variety of upgrade options available at the time of purchase, please refer to the specs page for the model of interest.

Where can I buy a Power Mac G4?

There are any number of places to purchase a used Mac, although the Power Mac G4 is so old that it really only is of interest to vintage enthusiasts these days and is available on auction sites.

To purchase upgrades, please visit site sponsor Other World Computing, which sells processors, memory, hard drives, optical drives, and more for the Power Macintosh G4 and just about all other upgradable Macs.

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