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My Turn is Low End Mac's column for reader-submitted
articles. It's your turn to share your thoughts on all things
Mac (or iPhone, iPod, etc.) and write for the Mac web. Email your
submission to Dan Knight
.
Sure, tons of 800 MHz and faster Macs have left Cupertino, but not
as many as the number of slower Macs people have bought. There are
millions of slower "New World" Macs, such as B&W
G3s and slot loading iMacs,
not to mention the countless other PCI
Power Macs and clones.
Most of these have been left behind by not only the 800 MHz G4, but
also by the now shipping dual 1.25 GHz machines.
Luckily, Sonnet and others have come up with new upgrades to keep
us from having to buy new computers. One good example is the
Sonnet
Crescendo/PCI G4 inside the 7300
I'm writing this on.
It's currently a 7300 G4/800 with 1 GB of RAM. I would call
this amount of RAM a luxury, but it does help when your running a lot
of RAM hungry applications like Photoshop, Illustrator, and
Quark.
As for the upgrade card, it comes with the 7455 variant of the G4,
which comes with L2 and L3 cashes. Everything feels really fast and a
lot smoother, even though there had been a 400 MHz G3 in the 7300
before this upgrade.
Installation was fast and simple: Just install the software and
swap out the cards.
Now that the G4 card is in there and were running hard and fast,
OS X is going to be the next step. I definitely think that this
card is worth its US$400 price. It feels as fast as a new Mac and is
cheaper.
If your shopping for a new Mac, consider this option, but keep an
eye out on the rumors - if there's a new Power Mac based on a faster
G4 or the new IBM chip coming in January, wait for them so the prices
will drop even lower on 7500s and
similar models.
This is just a hint: Baucom
Computers has great deals on PCI Macs. And don't forget to put in
at least 256 MB of RAM.
Share your perspective on the Mac by emailing with "My Turn" as your subject.
Recent My Turn articles
Using Low End Macs for Internet Radio, 08.18.
When the local public radio station moved classical music to HD radio, it was time to find another way to listen. An old iMac with iTunes solved the problem.
'That's Not a Computer', 07.30.
Salvaging a broken PowerBook by turning it into a desktop computer.
My 4 favorite PowerBooks, 05.28.
The PowerBook 150 has a big screen for a vintage PowerBook, the 165c has color, the 100 is diminutive, and Lombard has USB and a great keyboard.
Mac of the Day: SuperMac S900, Aug. 1996 - This 6-slot tower supported dual CPUs and still has a following.
List of the Day: Macintel List for discussion and support of Intel-based Macs.
October 7 in LEM history: 98: Love that PowerBook G3 - 99: Troubleshooting 101 - Love at first sight - 02: Hot rodding a Power Mac for OS X - Beefing up Windows networking - 05: Choose FireWire 800 over USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 - Faster Mac minis shipping - Speedy 100 GB 7200 rpm notebook drives
Recent Content on Low End Mac
New Apple Notebooks at Zero Minus One Week, Charles W. Moore, 'Book Value, 10.07.
It's widely anticipated that Apple will overhaul the MacBook Pro and MacBook lines next Tuesday. What should we expect?
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Whether you want to put a bigger, faster drive in your Mac or clone OS X for use in another Mac, here's the simple process.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.07.
Used 867 MHz Combo, no APX, $490; 1.33 GHz, $496; 1.5 GHz SuperDrive, $542.
Best Mac mini Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.07.
Used 1.25 GHz G4 Combo, $399; 1.42 SuperDrive, $559; 1.66 Core Duo, $499; new 1.83 Core 2 Combo, $570 after rebate; 2.0 SD, $770 a/r.
Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.07.
Used beige 300 MHz, $25; 333, $198; blue & white 300, $49; 350, $55; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15.
Use Your FileMaker Pro Databases on Your iPhone, Adam Rosen, Adam's Apple, 10.06.
Although there's no version of FileMaker Pro for the iPhone, FMTouch will let you use your data and layouts on it.
Best eMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.06.
Used 700 MHz CD, $110; CD-RW, $130; Combo, $170; 800 CD, $170; 1 GHz Combo, $250; SuperDrive, $280; 1.25 Combo, $290; SD, $360; 1.42 Combo, $359.
Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.06.
Used 1.6 HD, $1,299; refurb, $1,499; new, $1,669 after rebate; 1.8, $1,919 a/r; 1.6 SSD, $2,294 a/r; used 1.8 SSD, $1,997; refurb, $2,299; new, $2,349 a/r.
Best iPod shuffle Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.06.
Refurb 3G/1 GB, $39; 2 GB, $59; new 1 GB (3G or 4G), $47; 2 GB (3G or 4G), $67. Prices include ground shipping.
Getting the Most from Your G3 Mac, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 10.03.
Most G3 Macs can be upgraded so they can run Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' quite nicely. Here's how.
Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.03.
Used 450 MHz, $75; 500, $99; 733, $150; 800, $199; 1.25 GHz, C$349; 867 MHz dual, $225; 1 GHz, $349; 1.25, $499; 1.42, $600.
Best iBook G3 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.03.
Used 300 MHz clamshell, $150; 366, $199; 500 CD, $149; 800, $190; 600 CD-RW, $240; 800 Combo, $300; 900, $399; 14" 600, $360; 900, $469.
Best Mac OS X 10.0-10.3 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.03.
Mac OS X 10.0.3, $30; 10.1, $20; 10.2, $60; 10.3 CD, DVD, $100; CD, $119; 10.1 Server, unlimited users, $65; 10.3 Server, unlimited, $150.
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