G4: the bottom line
Written: Jun 22 '00
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Pros: solid value, well made, fast
Cons: uh. . .
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| rloren's Full Review: Apple Power Macintosh G4 Base |
Having worked once for an Apple Competitor (back when the Mac OS was fair game), I bring what may be something of a different perspective to the party. But first, a preface: I'm guessing that you've already done some homework on the G4 boxes. In fact, you probably already know the specs and stats, and have been exposed to the Apple party line via their swell website. If not, then go and have a look. They've done a good job of collecting the useful information in a readable and eye-pleasing layout.
Okay, on with the "review".
PowerMacintosh G4/400
This is my sixth computer. I now have two: one is an Apple Lombard Laptop G3/333; the other is a G4/400. I can say without reservation that the G4 is probably the best bargain that I'm aware of, with regard to computer hardware. There are a couple of reasons for that, not the least of which being the processor's delusions of grandeur. Although the clock speed of the chip doesn't reflect the same high numbers of the Wintel counterparts, it still manages to get things done very, very quickly. In fact, PowerPC chips are generally faster than the Intel and AMD flavors.
If you don't think that's important, then you may want to reflect on any one of several points: for one thing, there are new "enabling" technologies popping-up daily that require more horsepower. Voice dictation, for example, is an application that benefits from having more oomph. Graphic design work (PhotoShop, Illustrator, etc.) has always required more juice; and even some web-based technologies are placing higher demands on the brains of the box. I mention this because there are still people that believe their computers are "plenty fast". Truth is, if you haven't used a G4, you are using an abacus.
The G4 is built around a case that's so easy to open and tweak that it's setting something of a trend within the industry. Stuffing RAM and Video Cards and Hard Drives and small, furry animals into your computer doesn't have to be an all-day affair. Just pop open the case, toss the chips into the box, and close the case. Something like that.
FireWire, in case you haven't heard, is about to change things in the high tech area. The ability to connect fast devices via a fast port in the same manner in which USB stuff gets cabled up is a cinch. But unlike USB, FireWire (which comes standard on all G4 computers) doesn't top out easily. Long story short: your storage and video devices will have plenty of bandwidth. If you don't know how cool that is, don't worry about it. Just trust me on this one: you want FireWire. I purchased a Sony Spressa CD burner with a FireWire port, and it took all of about six minutes to attach and begin burning coasters. But that's another review.
I suppose that I could go on ranting about the G4, but again, you've already been exposed to the hype. My function here is to give some degree of real world-osity to the marketing spin to which we are normally exposed.
I like the G4. It's a fast computer, it's reliable, it's a reasonably good value, and it's unusually cool-looking. Again, read the propaganda elsewhere for the nuts and bolts info, but remember: the G4 screams! Can you say "velocity engine"?
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1600
Operating System: Macintosh
Processor: PowerPC G4
Processor speed: 301-400
RAM: 128
Internal Storage: CD-ROM
Hard Drive (GB): 9-12
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Epinions.com ID:
rloren
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Reviews written: 4
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