Power Mac G4

Power Mac G4/1 GHz, 1.25 GHz, 1.42 GHz

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Overview

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This was the first Power Mac to require OS X and also the first with FireWire 800 ports. A good rule of thumb: If it has FireWire 800, it won't boot OS 9.

Apple hit the 1 GHz mark in January 2002, 1.25 GHz in August 2002, and 1.42 GHz in January 2003. At the bottom of the new series, Apple has dispensed with dual processors to keep the price down - the single 1.0 GHz CPU model retails for just $1,499.

Still, Motorola remains "behind the curve" with G4 processor speeds, which should increase roughly 25% every six months. Instead, we have a decidedly overhyped 14% jump in processor speed. On the other hand, the price is also 18% lower, further improving the value of the Power Mac G4.

These are the first Power Macs with a Bluetooth socket and support for AirPort Extreme.

As with the last revision, the two faster models have a 167 MHz system bus. All models have two media drives bays (so you can have a SuperDrive and a fast CD burner), four RAM sockets, and three independent drive buses that each support two devices. An ATA/33 bus is used for the media drives, an ATA/100 bus that connects to the stock hard drive, and an unused ATA/66 bus. There are four hard drive bays inside the new G4.

Watch out for Apple's claim of "four USB ports" - there are two on the computer and two on the keyboard, just like the old G4s.

The fastest pair of new G4s have faster video cards, the ATI Radeon 9000. The dual 1.42 GHz model includes 2 MB of level 3 cache per processor, twice as much as the slower models.

You should have the most recent firmware installed in your Power Mac G4. The newest version for Mirror Drive Door models is Power Mac G4 Firmware Update 4.4.8, which is only for Mirror Drive Door Power Mac. To install this firmware update, you must boot into Mac OS 9.2.2 from a writable partition (not a CD).

Details

G4/1.0 GHz 256/60/Combo/GeForce4x introduced 2003.01.28 at $1,499; reduced to $1,149 on 2003.06.23
G4/1.25 GHz dual 256/80/Combo/Radeon 9000 introduced 2003.01.28 at $1,999; reduced to $1,699 on 2003.06.23
G4/1.42 GHz dual 512/120/SuperDrive/Radeon 9000 introduced 2003.01.28.13 at $2,699; reduced to $2,399 on 2003.06.23
requires Mac OS X 10.2 or later
CPU: 1.0/1.25/1.42 GHz PowerPC 7455
bus: 133 MHz on 1.0 GHz model, 167 MHz on faster ones
performance:

Geekbench 2 (Leopard): unknown (1.42 GHz dual), 1047 (1.25 GHz dual), 576 (1.0 GHz single)
Geekbench 2 (Tiger): 1165 (1.42 GHz dual), 1048 (1.25 GHz dual), 570 (1.0 GHz single)

RAM: 256/512 MB standard, expandable to 2 GB using PC2100 memory in 4 DIMM slots in 1.0 GHz model, PC2700 memory in faster models
Video: nVidia GeForce 4 on 1.0 GHz model, ATI Radeon 9000 Pro on faster models; DVI and ADC ports, includes DVI-to-VGA adapter
VRAM: 64 MB
L2 cache: 256 KB on-chip L2 cache
L3 cache: 1 MB on 1 GHz model, 1 MB per CPU on 1.25 GHz model, 2 MB per CPU on 1.42 GHz model
hard drive: 60/80/120 GB 7200 rpm ATA/100
Combo (CD-RW/DVD) on 1.0 and 1.25 GHz models; SuperDrive standard on 1.42 GHz model, optional on others
internal Zip 250 drive (optional)
4 64-bit PCI slots
modem: internal 56k v.92
microphone: standard 3.5mm minijack, compatible with line-level input, not compatible with Apple's PlainTalk microphone
FireWire 400 ports: 2
FireWire 800 ports: 1
USB 1.1 ports: 2
USB 2.0 ports: none
ethernet: 10/100/gigabit
WiFi: antenna and connector for 802.11g AirPort Extreme card
size (HxWxD): 17.0" x 8.9" x 18.4"
weight: 42.0 lb.
Gestalt ID: n/a
PRAM battery: 3.6V half-AA
upgrade path: none yet, although CPU upgrades are likely
Part no.: M8689 (1 GHz), M8840 (1.25 GHz), M8841 (1.42 GHz)

Accelerators & Upgrades

8x SuperDrive DVD±RW upgrade, MCE Technologies, $99. 8x4x12x DVD, 24x24x40x CD. 2 MB buffer.
3 CPU upgrades for Mirror Drive Door G4 Power Macs, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2007.05.22. If your Mirror Drive Door Power Mac isn't fast enough, here are three CPU upgrade option to get you to 1.33, 1.6, and 1.8 GHz.
for CPU upgrades, see our Guide to Power Mac G4 Upgrades

Online Resources

Best used Power Mac G4 deals, updated biweekly.
Best classic Mac OS deals. Best online prices for System 6, 7.1, 7.5.x, Mac OS 7.6, 8.0, 8.1, 8.5, 9.0, 9.2.2, and other versions.
Best Mac OS X 10.0-10.3 deals. Best online prices for Mac OS X 10.0, 10.1, 10.2, and 10.3.
Best Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' deals. Best online prices for Mac OS X 10.4.
Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' deals. Best online prices for Mac OS X 10.5.
What's the best version of OS X for my Mac?, Ian R Campbell, The Sensible Mac, 2008.02.28. Which version of Mac OS X is best for your hardware depends on several factors.
How a heavily upgraded Power Mac G4 pulled me back from the Dark Side, Ben Zalutsky, No Windows for Me, 2008.06.23. Seduced by a quad-core Windows gaming rig, it was a 9-year-old Power Mac that brought him back to the Mac.
'Snow Leopard' and the death of PowerPC support, Carl Nygren, Classic Macs in the Intel Age, 2008.06.23. It looks like Mac OS X 10.6 will only support Intel Macs - and possibly only 64-bit ones at that. Should G4 and G5 owners start looking at Linux?
SheepShaver brings Classic Mac OS to Intel Macs and Leopard, Alan Zisman, Mac2Windows, 2008.05.20. Mac OS X 10.5 doesn't support Classic Mode. Neither does Leopard. But SheepShaver lets you emulate a PowerPC Mac and run the Classic Mac OS.
Macintosh peace of mind, PA Semi and the iPhone, $40 802.11g PCI card, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2008.05.01. Also Power Mac vs. Mac mini, more on DVD User Op Patch, 12" vs. 14" iBook, and VGA for a Power Mac 6100.
OS X for PCs, Mac mini with HDTV, 802.11n options, upgrading from Mac OS 9, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2008.04.22. Also reviving a dead PowerBook 5300, Lucida Grande, external FireWire SuperDrive advice, OS X and the DeskWriter, and royalties.
Intel mini vs. Power Mac, best keyboard ever, uses for old Macs, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2008.04.10. Also using Classic with Intel Macs, problems with Classic Mode, and collective nouns.
Used Intel Mac mini vs. 867 MHz Power Mac G4 dual, Mark Garbowski, My Turn, 2008.04.07. Can a dual processor Power Mac hold its own against a Core Duo Mac mini?
Leopard on a Cube, G4 CPU swap limitations, Power Mac G5 a good choice?, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2008.03.06. Also looking for a scanner that works with Panther and the hsitory of expansion slots in low-cost Macs.
Safari 3.1 will be 'crazy fast', OS X 10.5.2 update, 20x SuperDrive from $35, and more, Mac News Review, 2008.02.15. Also Security Update for Tiger, Graphics Update for Leopard, Mac mini "as powerful as a larger desktop", TechTool Deluxe update, and more.
G3 and G4 Power Macs and Clamshell iBooks still useful, Ben Zalutsky, No Windows for Me, 2008.01.29. Intel CPUs may be blazingly fast, but the old G3 and G4 Macs have plenty of usable life left in them.
Restore stability to a troubled Mac with a clean system install, Keith Winston, Linux to Mac, 2008.01.15. If your Mac is misbehaving, the best fix just might be a fresh reinstallation of Mac OS X - don't forget to backup first.
Upgrading a Power Mac G4 on the cheap, Mark Garbowski, My Turn, 2008.01.04. For under $200, the author upgraded memory, dropped in a SuperDrive, added a better video card, and moved up to USB 2.0.
Flash drive reliability, going back to Tiger, Classic emulation, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.12.19. Also looking for good video card options for use with Leopard on older Macs, and one more unsupported Leopard report.
Leopard DVD Player requires 1.6 GHz CPU, dual processor questions, and dual boot Macs, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.10.24. DVD Player currently runs on any G3 that supports Tiger, but the new version needs 1.6 GHz of power and other bloat in Leopard.
Leopard pales before Mac OS 8.5 for Macs left behind, dual processor benefits, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.10.23. Mac users may not remember that Mac OS 8.5 left behind some Macs just over two years old. Compared to that, Leopard users have it made.
Road Apple nominations, OS X 10.5 on MDD Power Macs, UMPCs and Apple, and a broken power button, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.10.12. Whether some additional Macs merit the 'Road Apple' label, Leopard on Mirror Drive Door Power Macs, the usefulness of ultrasmall computers, and dealing with an iMac with a broken power button.
The future of 'Mirror Drive Door' Power Macs in the Age of Leopard, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2007.10.09. Every indication is that the MDD Power Macs will be full supported by Leopard. Here's what makes them a good bet for OS X 10.5.
Shootout: Three high-end graphics cards for G4 Power Macs, Bare Feats, 2007.10.10. Radeon 9800 Pro vs. GeForce4 Titanium vs. "experimental" GeForce 7800 GS in a Quicksilver 2002.
Shootout: MaxPower G4/7448 upgrade versus similarly clocked Macs, Bare Feats, 2007.09.21. Single 2.0 and dual 1.8 GHz 7448 upgrade compared with other G4 upgrades and dual processor G5.
APG Card Compatibility, The Mac Elite, 2007.08.09. Guide to which ATI and nVidia AGP video cards are compatible with which AGP Power Macs.
Make AGP 8x video cards work in G4 Power Macs, The Mac Elite, 2007.08.19. Instructions for disabling pins 3 and 11 so Mac compatible AGP 8x video cards will work in most G4 Power Macs.
Upgrading a Power Mac G4, used Mac dealers, Tiger on a blue and white G3, and AAUI, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.09.06. Questions about upgrading a Mirror Drive Door G4, dependability of used Mac dealers, and the wisdom of installing Mac OS X 10.4 on a blue and white G3. Also comments on AAUI.
PC war losers, Mac 'just works', $68 802.11n for older Macs, a free font manager, and more, Mac News Review, 2007.08.31. Also DVD region locking, the iMac's glossy screen, Mac mini powerful enough, Chromac iMac housings, SanDisk's 8 GB flash drive, and more.
Unmatched Classic Mac OS apps, TiBook reliability, Matias Tactile Pro 2.0 disappoints, and more, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2007.06.18. Also Netscape 7 and 9, MacBook causing problems with iMac's display, and graphics cards for a Power Mac G4 and an ADC display.
Can you put 3 GB in a Mac mini?, where are the Mirror Drive Door CPU upgrades?, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.05.21. Also a challenge to 'Mac-ify' the Interweb, more on CRT voltage dangers, and fixing Low End Mac's navigation bar in Firefox for Linux.
Allegro USB 2.0 a great way to add several USB 2.0 ports to your Power Mac, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Reviews, 2007.03.28. You can never have too many USB ports. Whether your Power Mac has no USB 2.0 ports or too few, this $30 card is a great way to add the ports you need.
11 ways to optimize your Mac's performance, Ed Eubanks Jr, The Efficient Mac User, 2007.03.12. If your Mac is getting sluggish, here are 11 tips that can help restore its original performance.
$25 802.11g card for PCI Macs, drive support for 802.11n AirPort Extreme, Adtron ups flash disks, and more, Mac News Review, 2007.03.02. Also firmware update info for Intel Macs, washable medical mouse and keyboard, TechTool Protogo, and more.
Adding an Intel Mac mini can be cheaper than upgrading a Power Mac G4!, Dan Knight, Mac Daniel, 2007.02.14. Looking at the cost of upgrading memory, adding a fast hard drive, and a GHz-plus CPU upgrade, buying a new Core Duo Mac mini makes a lot of sense.
Upgrade the Power Mac or buy a Mac mini?, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2006.11.30. With 1.8 GHz dual G4 upgrades selling for US$600, it might make more sense to add a Core Duo Mac mini than upgrade the processor.
Disabling deep sleep on MacBooks, 'Other Red' a scam?, mixed RAM can reduce performance, and more, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2006.11.13. Also other disk utilities Mac owners should know about, Lombard cooling, Netscape 7 on OS 9, Final Vinyl for ripping LPs, and more.
Why a 7-year-old Power Mac G4 replaced a Mac mini, Andrew J Fishkin, The Mobile Mac, 2006.10.31. There's a lot more to productive computing power than CPU speed. The old Power Mac lets you add a second video card, a fast hard drive, and lots more that the Mac mini can't.
Region free DVD viewing options for Intel and PowerPC Macs, Andrew J Fishkin, The Mobile Mac, 2006.09.12. Several hardware and software options that will let your view 'wrong region' DVDs on your PowerPC or Intel Mac.
Suggestions for converting AIFF to MP3 in iTunes, taken on eBay?, G4 upgrades, and low end Mac sadness, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2006.07.19. Reader suggestions for getting iTunes to convert AIFF to MP3, checking for dual processors, the upgradability of the Power Mac G4, and disappointment over discarded Macs.
End of G4 models points to unprecedented value for used G4 Macs, Leaman Crews, Plays Well with Others, 2006.06.02. The PowerPC G4 may no longer have a place in Apple's product line, but that's a far cry from saying G4-based Macs are obsolete. If anything, their value is going to increase.
Making the move from Jaguar (OS X 10.2) to Panther (10.3), Ted Hodges, Vintage Mac Living, 2006.04.11. One advantage of Apple's "no upgrades" policy for OS X - someone can give you their old copy after upgrading without worrying about violating their license.
What to buy when the old Beige G3 is just too sluggish, Ted Hodges, Vintage Mac Living, 2006.03.27. When your old Power Mac G3 just can't keep up with your needs under OS X, it's time to look at the used Power Mac G4 market. The difference in speed can be astounding.
Picking a Power Mac G4: How much Mac do you need?, Charles Webb, PowerBook Beat, 2006.03.22. Today's laptop computers can be great primary computers, but sometimes you need things only a desktop model can offer. A used Power Mac G4 can be a good choice.
Sonata SD, Sonnet Tech, 2004.06.01. First new PCI video card for the Mac in ages sells for just US$99, supports OS 7.5.3 and later plus OS X 10.1.5 and later, works with VGA or old Mac monitors, 16 MB VRAM.
1000 MHz Power Mac bonanza, Bare Feats, 2003.04.12. Comparison shows how much a second CPU can help. "...it's never a liability to have two processors."
Are two brains better than one?, Dan Knight, Mac Daniel, 2003.03.24. It sounds reasonable that two processors are better than one, but how much better is a dual processor Power Mac G4 than a single processor model?
Power Mac 1.42 GHz "dualie" versus others, Bare Feats, 2003.03.18. It's faster, but "If you are looking for the next big jump in CPU speed, you're going to have to keep waiting."
Apple Spec: Power Macintosh G4 (FW800)

Cautions

Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5) boot times for Power Mac with the GeForce 6200 fall into the 4-5 minute range, and was initially suggested that you install Leopard with the Mac's original video card to avoid slowing down the process. "gotoh" has posted the fix in The Mac Elite Forum. The delay is due to Leopard not supporting temperature sensors in G4 Macs. Simply remove AppleHWSensor.kext from /System/Library/Extensions, and the delay goes away.

Note that some vendors are substituting PC2700 RAM for PC2100 modules. Although PC2100 Macs can work with PC2700 RAM, you can't use both types of RAM in the same machine. All installed RAM must be the same type, whether PC2100 or PC2700.

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