Power Macintosh G4/800, 933, 1 GHz

(Quicksilver 2002)

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• Mac OS 9 List is for those using Mac OS 9, either natively or in Classic Mode.
• Jaguar List is for those using Mac OS X 10.2.
• Panther List is for those using Mac OS X 10.3.
• Tiger List is for those using Mac OS X 10.4.
• Leopard List is for those using Mac OS X 10.5.

Overview

Details

• G4/800 introduced 2002.01.28 at $1,599
  G4/933 introduced 2002.01.28 at $2,299
  G4/1 GHz dual introduced 2002.01.28 at $2,999
• requires Mac OS 9.2.2 or later, shipped with OS X 10.1.2, 10.5 not officially supported on 800 MHz model
• CPU: 800/933/dual 1,000 MHz PowerPC 7455
• bus: 133 MHz
• performance:
• Geekbench 2 (Leopard): 824 (1 GHz dual), 448 (933 single)
• Geekbench 2 (Tiger): 841 (1 GHz dual), 525 (933 single)
• L2 cache: 256 KB on-chip L2 cache
• L3 cache: 2 MB per processor of Double Data Rate (DDR) SRAM on 933 MHz and dual 1 GHz models, effectively runs at 1/2 CPU speed
• RAM: 256 MB standard (512 MB in dual processor model), expandable to 1.5 GB using PC133 SDRAM (3.3V, unbuffered, 64-bit, 168-pin, 133 MHz) in 3 DIMM slots
• VRAM: 32 MB on ATI card, 64 MB on nVidia card
• Video: ATI Radeon 7000 on 800 MHz model, nVidia GeForce4 MX on 933 MHz and dual 1 GHz models; VGA and ADC ports (no DVI)
• hard drive: 40/60/80 GB 7200 rpm UltraATA/66. Maximum IDE drive size is 128 GB without third-party support. See caution note below.
• CD-RW (32x CD, 12x CD-R, 10x CD-RW) on base model
  Combo drive optional for $100 more
  SuperDrive CD-RW/DVD-R drive (2x DVD-R, 4x DVD, 8x CD-R, 4x CD-RW, 24x CD) on faster models
• internal Zip 250 drive (optional)
• 4 64-bit PCI slots
• internal 56k modem
• microphone: no input jack, requires use of USB device
• FireWire 400 ports: 2
• USB 1.1 ports: 2
• USB 2.0 ports: none
• ethernet: 10/100/gigabit
• antenna and connector for AirPort card
• size (HxWxD): 17.0" x 8.9" x 18.4"
• weight: 30.0 lb.
• Gestalt ID: n/a
• model no.: M8705 (800 MHz), M8666 (933 MHz), M8667 (1 GHz dual)
• PRAM battery: 3.6V half-AA
• upgrade path: none yet, although CPU upgrades are likely

Accelerators & Upgrades

• 8x SuperDrive DVD±RW upgrade, MCE Technologies, $99. 8x4x12x DVD, 24x24x40x CD. 2 MB buffer.
• 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.
• Unsupported Leopard installation, Dan Knight, 2007.10.31. How to install Mac OS X 10.5 on unsupported hardware - plus field reports.
• Faking out the Leopard installer with Open Firmware, Dylan McDermond, Unsupported Leopard, 2007.12.06. You don't have to hack the installer to make the Mac OS X 10.5 installer run on sub-867 MHz G4 Macs by using this simple Open Firmware trick.
• 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.
• Low End Mac's Compleat Guide to Mac OS 9, 2008 edition, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.05.12. Declared dead by Steve Jobs 6 years ago, Mac OS 9 remains fast and stable, but Classic software hasn't kept up with Web changes. What Macs support OS 9, where to buy it, and how to update to version 9.2.2.
• Leopard is the way to go, even on most old G4 Macs, Carl Nygren, My Turn, 2008.05.14. The useful and just cool features in Mac OS X 10.5 make this the biggest step forward in the history of the Mac OS.
• Dinosaur desktops, lid closed mode, G4 upgrade advice, death of a WallStreet, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2008.05.07. The greening of Apple, benefits of WiFi cards that use AirPort drivers, deleting files from a Performa, drive enclosures, and Leopard on a 466 MHz Power Mac.
• 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.
• iSub issues with Intel Macs, no Apple Store in Philly, Gainsaver problem, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2008.02.12. Also more on why Macs are better than PCs, a CPU upgrade that doesn't like Tiger, and an unsupported Leopard report on an 800 MHz Quicksilver Power Mac.
• Boosting an old Power Mac with NewerTech's 1.8 GHz G4 upgrade, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Reviews, 2008.02.01. Got a faithful old Power Mac that's reliable but feeling sluggish? A brain transplant well beyond the 1 GHz mark can make a world of difference.
• 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.
• 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.
• Switching to Mac tripled my productivity, Ted Bragg, My First Mac, 2007.12.03. Tired of losing work and tech support, Bragg bought an iMac, switched to Mac versions of his apps, and tripled his output the first year.
• Cooler laptops, a G4 recording studio, a fast Unicode text editor, and phantom email, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2007.12.03. Quieter, cooler running notebooks, a Power Mac G4-based recording studio using Mac OS 9, a fast text editor with great Unicode support, and phantom email in Mail in OS X 10.3.9.
• Beyond Google, 10 years on the G3, the Cube is not a Road Apple, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.11.13. Also the 64-bit advantage of Core2, OS 9 on a USB flash drive, sound problems since switching to Leopard, and 7200 rpm in an eMac.
• Leopard running on a dual 533 MHz Power Mac, DVD Player, and Quicksilver Road Apples, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.11.09. Success with OS X 10.5 on a 533 MHz Dual Power Mac, why some Quicksilver Power Macs could be Road Apples, and sorting out DVD Player in Leopard.
• Leopard with 384 MB RAM, on a PowerBook G4/550, benchmarked, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.11.06. Leopard on Digital Audio, Quicksilver, and Sawtooth Power Macs. Questions on CPU load in OS X 10.5 and whether beige G3s and PCI Power Macs might run it.
• Unsupported Leopard installation and the truth about Leopard DVD Player system requirements, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.10.25. How to create a hacked Leopard installer, and exactly what benefit you gain from a 1.6 GHz CPU with DVD Player under Leopard.
• 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.
• G4 iMac 'not half anything', LEM design comments, and more on Macs not supported by Leopard, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.10.22. The dual 800 MHz Power Mac may be supported, Apple is (or isn't) right to draw the line at 867 MHz, and an LC III that won't work with a PC display.
• Leopard on G4 Power Macs, Quicksilver and big drives, and pros and cons of schools leasing computers, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.10.10. Thoughts on the Mac OS X 10.5 installer, big drive support in the 2001 Quicksilver, differences between 2 GHz G5 Power Macs, and whether schools should lease computers or not.
• The future of 'Quicksilver' Power Macs in the Age of Leopard, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2007.10.08. If the rumored cutoff at 800 MHz or 867 MHz for Leopard is correct, these should be among the oldest Macs supported by Mac 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.
• 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.
• 2 GHz upgrade for G4 Power Macs, Apple named in Bluetooth suit, Boot Camp gains Vista support, and more, Mac News Review, 2007.03.30. Also Macs vs. Windows for gaming, Apple's share of high-end market, upcoming Core2 CPUs to pass 3 GHz, 802.11n for Intel Mac mini, and more.
• 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.
• AMD rumors gain traction, 2.0 GHz G4 upgrade, JukeDock for iPod, FireWire/USB 2.0 combo drive, and more, Mac News Review, 2006.11.22. Future Macs may have AMD CPUs, MAXPower G4 upgrades hit 2 GHz, Apricorn's new combo hard drive, colorful JukeDock, and more.
• How much Mac do you really need to run OS X?, Ted Hodges, Vintage Mac Living, 2006.11.16. You don't need dual-core Intel processors to read email or use the Web. Here are some 1999-2001 Macs that could be all you need.
• 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.
• Using FireWire Target Disk Mode to install OS X on Macs without DVD drives, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2006.09.14. Two methods for using FireWire Target Disk mode to install OS X on a Mac that can't read DVDs.
• Customizing Mac OS 9, Nathan Thompson, Embracing Obsolescence, 2006.08.01. Fiddling with themes, picking a browser, and making the Classic Mac OS work just the way you want it to.
• 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.
• Installing OS X 10.4 'Tiger' on DVD-challenged Macs using FireWire Target Disk Mode, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2006.07.10. Mac OS X ships on a single install DVD, which Apple will exchange for CDs at $10. But if you have access to a DVD-equipped Mac and a FireWire cable, you're good to go.
• 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.
• The best browsers for PowerPC Macs and the classic Mac OS, Nathan Thompson, Embracing Obsolescence, 2005.12.16. Two browsers stand out from the pack: iCab 3 is modern and remains under development, and WaMCom brings Mozilla to older Macs.
• How big a hard drive can I put in my iMac, eMac, or Power Mac?, Dan Knight, Mac Daniel, 2005.10.24. A lot of older Macs don't know how to deal with drives over 128 GB in size. We look at three options.
• 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?
• The new Power Mac value equation, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.28. We finally hit the 1 GHz mark. Here's how the new compares with the old.
• Apple Spec: Power Macintosh G4 (Quicksilver 2002) (PDF file)

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.
• Power Macs earlier than the 2002 Quicksilver models do not have built-in support for IDE hard drives with capacities over 128 GB. Without a third-party solution, larger drives can only be formatted to 128 GB in these models. There are three options (as noted on Accelerate Your Mac):
  • Intech's ATA Hi-Cap Support Driver
  • A PCI IDE card that supports big drives
  • A FireWire enclosure that supports big drives

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