Recycled Computing

Choosing My Next Low-end Desktop Mac

- 2009.05.19

Popularity:

Now that my daughter's iBook G4 bit the dust, I must consider my options for replacing the desktop computer position that the iBook was going to take. After much hair pulling and nostalgia, I have narrowed down my choices in the used Mac field. They include:

17" iMac G4 I guess my mind does wander a bit among the faded flowers of yesterday's Mac computers. But I have my reasons for each choice - or perhaps weird aesthetic reasons.

The flat panel iMac has one of those weird nobody-but-Apple-would-design-this thing going for it. Not only that, but it offers an incredible range of monitor adjustment. This is something that only appeals to a bifocal wearing dweeb like me, but trust me, my neck would love me if I choose this option. But the major reason for using this sort of iMac is that it is just flat out cool looking. Power Mac G5

A Power Mac G5 would satisfy my lust for power - power that a G5 processor could give me at a much lower price than an Intel box. I could load up the G5 with several hard drives and gewgaws and feel like Mr. Power User. As far as buying the maximum pre-Intel Mac computer, the G5 is the way to go. It could be expensive if I wanted a dual processor model over 2 GHz, though.

Mirror Drive Door Power Mac G4 A cheaper direction would be to pick up a Mirrored Door FW800 G4. The G4 might not be as fast as a G5, but do I really need that much processing power? Yes, I could pretend to get a G5 tower and look like I need to move huge files and process fractals or something, but realistically, a G4 Mirror Drive Door could probably do what I wanted at a much lower price.

A PowerBook is not a desktop computer, you might say - and you'd be right! But I think that I have argued in the past that using a laptop as a desktop makes a certain sort of sense. No one would pretend that you can use a desktop as a portable computer, but a 17" PowerBook G4 17" PowerBook gives you a big enough screen (1440 x 900 resolution) and enough power (1.0 to 1.67 GHz) and connectivity to pass as an adequate desktop.

Besides, when I someday score that digital SLR, I will need a laptop with a big screen to edit images. I also have a 160 GB notebook drive that remains unused at this time.

Of course, all of this requires funding. I feel that the time has come for me to try out Leopard and see if the push feature of MobileMe is up to the task of keeping my iPod and a Leopard computer in sync all the time.

Decisions, decisions.

Recent Price Information

Join us on Facebook!, follow us on Twitter, use our Google+ page, or read our RSS news feed

Recent Recycled Computing Columns

Mountain Lion Obsoletes the MacBook I Just Bought, 2012.02.24. John Hatchett just got his first Intel Mac, a preowned MacBook, in December, and now it looks like it won't be able to run OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.
Improving Tablets: Why Not a Slider Keyboard?, 2012.02.20. Perhaps the biggest drawback of the iPad and other tablets is lack of a buil-in physical keyboard. Many phones have slider keyboards....
Which Apple TV Is Right for You?, 2012.02.15. If you own an older TV set, the original Apple TV may be a better choice than Apple's current unit.
More in the Recycled Computing index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: PowerBook 500 Series, introduced 1994.05.16. 'Blackbird' includes a 25 to 33 MHz 68040 along with smart batteries and grayscale or color displays.
May 16 in LEM history: 98: iMac reconsidered - 01: The exclusivist Mac - Cubed - Troubleshooting - 02: SE/30 catharsis - Microsoft free - 03: SCSI and OS X on a beige G3 - 05: Failures: Apple III and Lisa - Bigger, faster, more - 06: MacBook - PowerBook 3400 still useful - 07: 3 GB in a MacBook - 08: Mac Pro beats HP and Dell - Limited USB power in Santa Rosa Macs
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2012 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Low End Mac, LowEndMac, and lowendmac.com are trademarks of Cobweb Publishing Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPad iPhone, iMac, iPod, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.
Advice is presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Email may be published at our discretion unless marked "not for publication"; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.

Custom Search

Follow Low End Mac on Twitter
Join Low End Mac on Facebook

Low End Mac Reader Specials

Macsales.com SuperSpeed SSDs from $58. Transform your Mac with an SSD Solution of up to 960GB! You won't believe it's the same machine! Once you experience an OWC SSD, no going back! - Macsales.com

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Macpokeronline.com will show you how to download and play Poker on a Mac natively on your Mac in just minutes.

Affiliates

Amazon.com
The iTunes Store
PC Connection Express
Parallels Desktop for Mac
eBay