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1 "correct" answer available (4 pts) 2 "helpful" answers available (2 pts)
9 Replies Last post: Feb 5, 2008 2:30 PM by Martian  
Click to view Jonan900's profile New Member
Jonan900
25 posts since
Dec 31, 2007
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Jan 27, 2008 2:11 PM

New Parts For Old Power Mac G4

Does anyone know of any websites that have good deals on such things as
-Processors
-Graphics Cards
-Ram
-Other Expansion Cards
-and just general upgrades for an older mac?
Reply Tags: old_mac, power_mac_g4, power, mac, g4, upgrades
Click to view jcoffey's profile New Member
jcoffey
4 posts since
Jan 5, 2008
1. Jan 27, 2008 7:36 PM in response to: Jonan900
Re: New Parts For Old Power Mac G4
Try OWC at macsales.com for new stuff.

John Coffey
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Click to view roscoe's profile New Member
roscoe
84 posts since
Jul 5, 2001
2. Jan 28, 2008 12:21 PM in response to: Jonan900
Re: New Parts For Old Power Mac G4
do you mean brand new or new to your G4? if it is the latter, then try Ebay. I totaly rebuilt my G4 using Ebay parts including ram, hard drives, super drive, cpu, usb 2, bluetooth, video and more.
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Click to view Jonan900's profile New Member
Jonan900
25 posts since
Dec 31, 2007
3. Jan 28, 2008 4:30 PM in response to: Jonan900
Re: New Parts For Old Power Mac G4
I know that ebay is a great source but i don't really trust it. Did you always get what was advertised and how long has it worked? Also, i had no idea that you can upgrade from usb 1.1 to 2 where did you find this?
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Click to view roscoe's profile New Member
roscoe
84 posts since
Jul 5, 2001
4. Jan 28, 2008 5:03 PM in response to: Jonan900
Re: New Parts For Old Power Mac G4

Over about 2 years of buying bits off Ebay I only encountered one problem and that was with the CPU upgrade, when it didn't work the guy sent a replacement straight away. I have bought bits from the USA, England and Canada, as well as from here in Australia.

the usb 2 is just a PCI card that plugs straight in and from memory it was just an ordinary PC card for a windows machine.

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Click to view Jonan900's profile New Member
Jonan900
25 posts since
Dec 31, 2007
5. Jan 29, 2008 2:00 PM in response to: Jonan900
Re: New Parts For Old Power Mac G4
So do you think that I would be able to just use a usb 2 card for a PC and it would just work?
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Click to view durandal343's profile Member
durandal343
224 posts since
Oct 18, 2005
6. Jan 29, 2008 2:05 PM in response to: Jonan900
Re: New Parts For Old Power Mac G4
As was said before, I would go with OWC first and see what you can find there. It's by far the easiest. All you have to do is select which Mac you want to upgrade and they will list for you a whole bunch of upgrade options that will, for sure, work in that mac. No guessing.
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Click to view Jonan900's profile New Member
Jonan900
25 posts since
Dec 31, 2007
7. Jan 29, 2008 4:59 PM in response to: Jonan900
Re: New Parts For Old Power Mac G4
Yeah I've bought one thing from them and when i got it it wasn't even in the box it was just wrapped in bubble wrap and packing tape. (it was a DVD Burner) and now it started making strange noise when it opens and closes
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Click to view Honu's profile New Member
Honu
60 posts since
Jan 21, 2002
8. Feb 5, 2008 12:18 PM in response to: Jonan900
Re: New Parts For Old Power Mac G4
I have a PowerMac G4 Sawtooth that I bought in 2000. Over the years, I've upgraded everything that can be upgraded. Yeah, I'd like a newer, faster computer, but my old G4 still handles the basics (web surfing, iLife, MS Office, light Photoshop work at the hobbyist level) just fine. I got my processor and video card upgrades from OWC, RAM upgrades from www.crucial.com, SuperDrive (Pioneer A105) from Fry's, and hard drives and PCI USB 2.0 card from Best Buy. The only problem I've ever had is that, after I installed the USB card, the computer won't go into sleep mode. I have to power it down if I want it to be off. I knew this before I bought the card (others had reported the problem, and it lies with the G4 Sawtooth, not any particular brand of USB card), and I decided I could live with it. For drives and PCI cards, just check the manufacterer's website (or the product box, if you're in a physical store), and make sure the product works on both PCs and Macs, and that you have the recommended amount of RAM, OS X version, etc. Also do a web search, using the keywords Mac, G4, and the product, name to find any problems other people have had. A good site for upgrade information is http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/.
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Click to view Martian's profile Enthusiast
Martian
1,321 posts since
Sep 27, 2001
9. Feb 5, 2008 2:30 PM in response to: Honu
Re: New Parts For Old Power Mac G4
With some experimentation, I found that a two port IO Gear card in a Digital Audio Power Mac would sleep when everything was unplugged from the card. Actually, a Canon photo printer could be left attached (although I am not sure whether an inkjet printer even benefits from the faster port).

Everything else I connected to USB 2 went through a single powered hub which I disconnected before sleep. Of course, keyboards, mice, speakers, etc. don't need to be connected to the Hi Speed USB.

If you can find a two port card, it should be dirt cheap and worth a try.
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