Topic

Our advice and answers to your frequently asked questions regarding the purchase of a new PowerMac G4, and how to get the most for your money while getting the best computer for your needs. Use this article in conjunction with the current 2001 G4 Buyers Guide Prices and Options Chart.

Discussion

Purchasing a new computer, especially from Apple, can be both an extreme pleasure and an expensive proposition. Because Apple has a limited market-share and fewer vendors, and because there are no longer any clones to provide like-hardware at competitive prices, Apple pretty much dictates how much you will spend for their products, be it at the Apple Store or through a Value Added Reseller. The trade-off is that there are very few basic configurations to choose from (though you can custom configure in hundreds of combinations; known as CTO or BTO; Configure To Order and Build To Order), and thus it is easy to compare Apples to Apples and figure out who's giving you the best deal.

Where should I buy my new G4? From Apple, a catalog or online reseller, or a local Mac dealer?

This can be one of the most challenging issues of all; each offers advantages over another, and each has some penalty to pay.

First comes the Apple Store:

  Pros:

• likely to have stock over anyone else when items are in short supply
• will let you custom-configure (CTO) the computer to your liking
• offers a variety of shipping options at fair prices
• offers competitive pricing to all other vendors
• offers special pricing to educators and educational institutions
• fast, friendly, reasonably-accurate and helpful service

  Cons:

• you will pay State and Local sales tax on your invoice according billing ZIP code
• if you BTO your computer, it will take additional time to assemble and then ship
• you have to wait for it to arrive
• you have no flexibility to purchase anything less than the displayed minimum BTO configurations

Catalog and Online Resellers (Value Added Resellers; VARs)

  Pros:

• typically has a large inventory of pre-configured Macs and can ship immediately
• usually adds additional memory or some other "free" item for a price comparable to the Apple Store
• most vendors not in your State will not charge any sales tax (unless specified), leaving it up to you to pay any Sales and Use taxes required in your State on your income tax at your discretion
• may offer special rebates or discounts on other items
• may offer free shipping

  Cons:

• few major online or catalog vendors offer BTO or CTO
• the "free" memory or other add-on may not be of very high quality
• the "free" add-on may have a hidden installation fee you can't avoid
• the shipping charges may include hidden handling charges at outrageous pricing
• may not offer educational discounts to individuals
• you usually have no flexibility to purchase anything less than the displayed minimum configurations

Local Chain Resellers (CompUSA, Best Buy, etc.)

  Pros:

• you get to walk out with your computer that day (if in stock)
• you may be able to dicker on the price
• you can have additional third party upgrades installed (often at no charge)
• you may be able to make special deals on the basic included hardware
• you may be offered an store-branded extended national warranty at an exceptional value with features that may not be included in the optional AppleCare warranty, such as guaranteed on-site service, support for software purchased with your computer, and more

  Cons:

• Mac sales and service at large chain resellers often sucks (to put it nicely)
• Mac knowledge is typically lacking, and you may receive bad advice on what components to buy if you're not prepared yourself
• you will likely be harassed into buying the store's extended warranty, since this is where they make the most money on the sale
• chances are any third party upgrades offered will not be at a competitive price, quality or value
• you will pay State and local sales tax at the time of sale
• may not offer educational discounts to individuals

Local Independent AARs (Apple Authorized Resellers)

  Pros:

• typically exceptional, knowledgeable sales and service
• you can BTO the computer you want
• you can dicker on the price
• you can get quality, competitive third party upgrades
• you can often have such items installed for free
• you will be able to make special deals on the basic included hardware
• you're supporting a local independent business, and your money stays in your community

  Cons:

• you pay State and local sales tax at the time of sale
• you may not be able to obtain educational pricing

As you can see, we're most in favor of purchasing from a local independent AAR, despite the fact you'll have to pay sales tax. However, due to some recent changes in Apple AAR agreements, you may be able to find an independent AAR online, offering all the pros, and allowing you to avoid the cons of paying taxes; you may also get educational pricing. I know you're wondering where to get the names and addresses of such vendors, but, as this is an independent site, we hesitate to post one name or names over others. Ask around in the Mac forums, see the 'Apple - Where to Buy' page, and I'm sure you'll get plenty of referrals.

Do I qualify for Educational Pricing? Is it worth worrying about?

If you are a teacher, student, a member of a PTA, PTO, or PTSA, home-school parent, teacher or student, or have other positions within a private or public educational institution, you likely qualify for personal, end-user educational discounts from Apple and certain Authorized Apple Resellers (AARs). You should ask your institution's technology manager or campus store for more information. If you are not sure, or don't have access to such a resource, go to the Apple Store, and click on the 'Education' link in the top navigation bar for more details; also, check the K-12 Education Eligibility and Higher Education pages. Once you know whether or not you qualify, you can then use that status at the Apple Store, or ask another AAR or VAR to honor it and give you the appropriate discounts.

The discounts can amount to 10%-20% (please note that educational institutions themselves qualify for substantially greater discounts), depending on the item, and Apple at many AARs and VARs, so I'd tell you it's worth it (see our 2001 G4 Buyers Guide for some idea). However, sometimes the amount of State and local sales tax you'll be hit with from many vendors as a result cancels out any savings, and you may get a better deal from an out of State vendor at retail price as a result. Of course, and I want to stress this fact, just because you don't pay taxes at the time of sale, does not release you from the obligation to pay Sales and Use taxes in every State or municipality. You'll need to check with your County Clerk and Secretary of State for details. The point of avoiding it at time of sale is that you can leave the money in your bank or money market and earn interest on it, instead of paying interest on it if you use Apple Financing or your credit card, and rather just have the due taxes deducted on your yearly tax return. Also, some States and municipalities do not require any Sales or Use taxes be paid at all on interstate sales, so you may save a lot of money.

Which model should I buy?

That's a question we'll not be able to easily answer for you without a personal consultation. It all depends on your use and needs. What we will try to do is point out which models offer the biggest value, and which will hold resale value the longest.

[This section currently under revision due to MacWorld Tokyo price changes; performance issues noted in 7450 processors; 22 February 2001; ]

I see that Apple now offers two different G4 processors; which one should I buy? Should I buy the Dual Processor G4?

Apple is currently offering the Motorola G4e 7410 and G4+ 7450 processors. There are a number of technical differences in these two processors, and without diving too deeply into technical details, we'll boil it down to a couple of key litmus tests for you.

• Do you use applications that are AltiVec-enhanced?
• Do you use applications that are multi-processor-aware?
• Do you use any heavy-duty rendering or calculating applications?
• Of the above examples, where does the bulk of your needs lie?

Can't answer that question? Just keep reading, and try not to let your eyes gloss over; we'll do our best to help you learn the answers.

Here's the deal: The obvious differences in the current lineup lie in the 667MHz and 773MHz clock speeds of the 7450 versus the much lower 466MHz and 533MHz speeds of the 7410. Common sense and experience would tell you that faster clock cycles are better; however, that extra speed in the 7450 was bought at the expense of slowing down certain other functions, and the increase in basic, core speed is not as linear as you might expect. Further, due to constrained supplies (at the time of this writing, there is a seven-week delay on these models), Apple is not offering them in dual-processor configurations. Only the 533MHz 7410 comes in a dual-configuration, and that may mean something to you.

Both processor types have the Velocity Engine (AltiVec) instruction set and on-die unit(s) that make the G4 into a "Desktop Supercomputer" capable of executing certain calculations in excess of one GigaFLOP (a word that means it can be really ripping-fast under the right conditions); the 7450 has one AltiVec instruction unit compared to one on the 7410, both divided into four subsets; however, the 7410 can address only one subset at a time, while the 7450 can address all four simultaneously, thus, theoretically, it may offer speeds twice as fast in certain functions (but these optimizations will only affect certain things; this is not a system-wide increase).

Additionally, the 7450 had 256KB of on-die L2 cache at a 1:1 ratio, as well as 1MB of L3 backside cache, compared to the mere 1MB of L2 backside cache of the 7410. What this means, in short, is that the sacrifices Motorola made to increase the MHz rating have been offset by two theoretically wickedly-fast enhancements that make both the G3 and the G4 extra-fast, and the G4+ even faster for certain operations.

But, here's the real hitch: if the applications you use are not optimized for the AltiVec Velocity Engine, you will see no real benefits over a like-MegaHertz-speed G3 chip, such as those still found in the iMac and iBook lineup. Likewise, certain applications may also, or instead be MP-aware (capable of utilizing more than one processor), and thus may offer small to extreme performance gains and time savings during heavy operations; if not, they may completely ignore your investment in a second processor -- at least until and if the maker of that software alters the code to take advantage of your hard earned investment in Apple marketing.

You'll need to assess what applications you use, which ones you use most, and which are AltiVec and/or MP-aware. For example, Adobe Photoshop is both MP-aware and AltiVec-enhanced. As a result, incredible performance can be seen in many common, pre-G4-crippling operations; such operations and enhancements are why the G4 at half the MegaHertz-speed can literally toast the Athlon, Duron, Pentium III and Pentium 4 Windows-based systems.

Now, all that said, our early test results with the new 7450 G4 have been disappointing, to say the least. We're hoping that it is related purely to a lack of proper OS and application instructions for memory and file handling on the new memory bus, cache sets and AltiVec changes. Hopefully, a future update to OS 9.1 (and OS X) will resolve these issues. Until then, beware of the possibility that Motorola just pulled a Pentium 4 maneuver (high clock-rates to satisfy the marketing department that result in lower horsepower).

Here's our simplified advice, assuming money is not the issue:

• If most of your work is in advanced-Photoshop, Digital Performer, FinalCut Pro, iTunes, SoundJam MP, or other applications that are both MP and AltiVec-aware, get the dual-processor G4; even though the base speed is just over two thirds that of the 733MHz 7450, and does not have the new AltiVec unit or on-die L2 cache at 1:1, the second processor will more than make up for it. You may also want to wait for Motorola to start cranking out more of the faster G4+ chips; Apple has already promised to make dual-processor machines available as soon as the chip shortage is over. Quad processors are also rumored to be on the way late this year.
• If most of your work is AltiVec-enhanced, but not MP-aware, get the faster 7450 chip; the extra AltiVec enhancements, along with the extra clock cycles will really shine over the slower 7410 in a dual configuration. (Note: Early benchmarks on our first 733MHz units are showing lower than expected performance; see above.)
• If most of your work is MP-aware, but not AltiVec-enhanced, get the dual-processor 7410 model; you may wish to wait for the 7450 to become available in dual configurations.
• If most of your work is in applications that are neither MP or AltiVec aware, but are still heavily dependent on clock-cycles, such as database applications, spreadsheets, games, etc., go for the fastest MHz chip you can afford.
• If most of your work is in applications that are neither MP or AltiVec aware, but depends more on available memory, like Flash and Director, you may wish to save money on the processor and instead spend that money on fast RAM.

You'll find a short, incomplete list of major applications and their respective enhancements in our AltiVec and MP Application Tracker.

How much memory should I buy? Should I buy it from Apple?

Buy all the memory you can afford and max out the RAM. Seriously, with memory prices at an all-time low right now (less than US$0.40/MB), no one should have less than 128MB of installed RAM in a PowerMac G4 (the minimum required to run OS X, by the way), and almost everyone can use up 192MB in a real hurry. Just a couple years ago, that amount seemed like an endless wealth to many, but, anymore, it's barely enough.

The current lineup of G4 PowerMacs has dropped one memory DIMM slot to a total of three; but, using special 32x8 memory modules, you can put 512MB in each slot to a total of 1.5Gigabytes. Wow. Sounds like an endless wealth again, doesn't it? Truth is, if you're a graphics, video or audio professional, it's still a limit you wish you could overcome. However, even if you had either more DIMM slots or larger DIMMs available, the Mac OS in its current form can only "see" 1.5GB, and no application can currently use more than 999MB; so, wall that it is, it's a wall we have to live with (for now).

We recommend that any professional content creator have at least 512MB, preferably 768MB or more of RAM. Even consumer and prosumers creating video using iMovie will greatly benefit from lots of additional RAM.

So, where to buy and how much, right? Well, first off, don't buy your RAM from Apple, ever. Why? One, they charge between two and five times what you can find elsewhere; two, it is not typically the fastest available; finally, no matter how good it is or how much they may drop the price, your warranty on any Apple-installed RAM lasts only for the term of your AppleCare (one year standard; up to four years for extra money), whereas most vendors and manufacturer's providing the exact same ram from the very same manufacturers offer lifetime warranties. RAM failures after one year may be rare, but they do happen.

As of this writing, simple calculations show that Apple is charging well in excess of US$2.00 per megabyte, whereas the market is hovering around US$0.35 per megabyte for faster, quality, lifetime-warrantied RAM.

You should buy as little Apple-installed RAM as possible, and, if you deal with a good vendor, can often cut a deal to buy the Mac without any Apple-installed RAM at all, something you may wish to do since, one, Apple typically installs a slower CL3 (3-2-2) specification SDRAM where faster CL2 (2-2-2) SDRAM will better serve heavy duty users of Photoshop, FinalCut, Digital Performer and the like, and you should avoid mixing CL ratings in the same machine --despite what Apple says on this issue, in the Real World, it makes a difference in stability, at least, if not noticable speed; two, if you do buy the smallest amount possible from Apple, you will end up displacing the smaller module in favor of a larger, faster module with longer warranty.

If this issue matters to you, ask your vendor to keep the RAM sent by Apple and give you a rebate on that module, something he can easily sell to someone else unaware or who doesn't care; perhaps in exchange for purchasing the larger, faster, better-warrantied RAM you require from said vendor. Remember, check the market rates before you deal, so you don't pay more from the vendor than you would on your own, even if it means trying to resell, repurpose or simply storing away your OEM RAM module. Make sure you also get the faster CL2 (2-2-2) specification, and that it carries a lifetime warranty. Whatever you do, don't agree to an installation charge for RAM from any vendor; such installation is deadly simple, unbelievably convenient, and something anyone with eyes and working fingers can safely and quickly do.

I'm not kidding when I tell you it can be done in well under thirty seconds, not more than a minute or two by even a novice, and it requires absolutely no tools, not even a screwdriver. OK, you might need a scissor to open the package the RAM ships in, but that's it, really. If you doubt me, check out the written or short-QT movie (5.4MB) installation guide posted at Apple Technical Support. Youc an even easily verify the RAM's CL rating with Apple System Profiler, and then confirm its integrity with utilities like Gauge Pro and TechTool. (See: Top Tool Picks for more information.)

What size and type of internal hard drive should I buy? Should I get more than one?

You should by the absolute smallest drive you can buy from Apple, since, as it is with RAM, they charge far more than a fair market value for an item that may be slower, is definitely smaller, and, again, has a warranty only as long as your AppleCare lasts. There is nothing special anymore about drives installed in Macs, so you can buy pretty much any EIDE, Atapi, ATA or SCSI drive made today in both retail and generic packaging and have it function just fine.

Apple is currently shipping a 30GB 5400 RPM Ultra ATA drive as standard (or BTO option) in the Macs with the 7410 G4e processor (466MHz-533MHz), and a 60GB 7200 RPM Ultra ATA drive as minimum with the 7450 G4+ (667MHz-733Mhz). They offer larger and additional ATA drives, as well as Ultra160 SCSI cards with a dual channel controller as optional upgrades. They are manufactured by Seagate, IBM, Maxtor, Quantum, etc., and you can get the very same drives for a fraction of the cost at online vendors, and even your local Staples, Office Max, Office Depot, Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, etc..

If you need either a larger or faster drive, you should buy a second drive from a third party vendor, preferably in OEM packaging (bare drive, no manuals, software, cables or jumpers), in order to save a substantial amount of money. You can install a total of two (one is already included) EIDE, ATA or Ultra ATA hard drives on the Mac's internal ATA-66 bus without needing anything else (it even already has the required dual-drive cable and dual-drive U-bracket); there is no need to dispose of the Apple-installed drive unless you require the space or controller position for yet another drive. It's always to your benefit to have a second installed drive, anyway, for backup purposes and as a useful tool during troubleshooting sessions. Even if you wish to displace it in favor of other internal drives, you can buy an external USB, SCSI or FireWire adapter and enclosure for continued use.

You can also install a PCI-ATA or a PCI-SCSI controller card into one of your four available PCI slots to support additional internal and external (with SCSI) drives as needed. The PowerMac G4 will hold four 3.5" half-height drives internally as it ships; six or more if you purchase additional U-brackets and/or get creative. By using a PCI-ATA controller card, you can also net the added benefit of inexpensive RAID 0 and RAID 1 arrays using large, fast, fat, and seriously well-priced ATA drives. You can even move your Apple-installed drive to a controller on one of these cards for that purpose; you can get a software-based RAID-able card with SoftRaid for under $100.00, or a hardware-based PCI-ATA RAID card for under US$200.00. Ultra2 LVD and Ultra3 (Ultra160) SCSI PCI-ATA controllers start at US$175.00 and go up to $600 or more; U2 and U3 SCSI drives start at US$250 and go WAY up from there. Just a quick sidenote: If you use other disk tools like FWB Hard Disk ToolKit for your RAID, even though the Mac OS does not officially support it, you can create bootable RAID 0 volumes for extra-fast System Startups and general operations.

Installing hard drives on your own is a snap; it takes under five minutes for the experienced, and well under thirty minutes for even the novice; it requires only a good Philips screwdriver.

See the EIDE and ATA Installation Guide , SCSI Installation Guide, Macintosh Drives and Performance (seriously outdated), and RAID: It Kills Bottlenecks Dead! articles for more information.

Which optical drive should I choose? What does each one do?

There are currently three optical drives offered by Apple, and you only have room for one internally:

• DVD-ROM (BTO option for US$0): This is a simple but versatile optical reader that will allow you to boot your computer from the software installation, software restore, hardware test, emergency or other bootable CD, read audio and data CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RAM or DVD-ROM disks. It cannot write to any type of media; it is meant only for installing applications, booting your computer for maintenance, reading data disks, or playing DVD movies, presentations, slide shows, and games. It reads CD-R and CD-ROM media at 24x, DVD-R and DVD-ROM at 6x, CD-RW from 4x to 24x, and DVD-RAM at 2x.

• CD-RW: This is an optical reader with the same basic features as the DVD-ROM above, but it cannot read any type of DVD media. Aside from not being able to watch DVD movies or play DVD games on your Mac, this could be a problem for many people who need to share data with users of last year's Macs, many of which shipped with DVD-RAM drives, this year's top-end Macs which have DVD-R drives, or any other Mac that may be using a third party DVD-RAM drive. You should check around with the people you may be working with to see if being able to accept these disks is an issue. Usually, there are any number of alternatives available for moving the data around, however.

It's also a pretty low-end CD-RW by today's standards; it records to CD-R (Recordable or wRite-once) media at 8x, CD-RW (Recordable and Re-Writeable) media at 4x, and reads CD media at 24x max. You can purchase a generic, internal version of the same drive for under US$80 these days, and the above-described DVD-ROM drive is a decent brand worth at least the same US$80.

While the drive will do most everything the typical user will want to do (install apps, read data and boot the computer), and it's super-handy for making data backups, video, audio and multimedia CDs, and is fully supported by the free, bundled Apple iTunes and Disk Burn software, as well as other applications they will make, enthusiasts and professionals will not be impressed by the performance. It will take 9 minutes plus verification time at 8x to burn a 650MB (74 minute) CD-R disk to full capacity, and 18 minutes plus verification time at 4x to burn a 650MB CD-RW disk to full capacity. It's also quite slow at reading data CDs, so if you move a lot of data, like clip art, fonts and such on and off your computer, this drive will frustrate you (assuming you've used comparable or faster before). Finally, again, you will not be able to read any type of DVD media with this drive.

•DVD-R (SuperDrive): Now this is one honey of a drive. It does everything the above two drives do (except, oddly enough, read DVD-RAM) at comparable speeds, and it also does one more thing no other desktop computer drive has done before: it will record data to DVD-R media. Why is that a big deal? Because DVD-R media sports 4.7GB of data space on a single disk the same size as a standard CD-ROM (which holds 650-700MB or up to 80 minutes of music). That's one heck of a lot of data, and it also means you can make your own, full-length, high-quality movies with interactive features right on your Mac. Way cool.

Unfortunately, it also shares the very slow specs of the CD-RW for those purposes. Again, while you may be thrilled being able to write DVD-R media, you may be frustrated by the slower CD-RW performance, and one other shortcoming in that it cannot read DVD-RAM disks.

So, which drive to buy? Well, that depends on your needs and budget. Right now, you can only get the DVD-R SuperDrive with the top-end 733Mhz PowerMac, and it'll cost you $3300 to $3500 to get it. If you can afford it, I highly recommend it; even if you don't make movies with it, you can use it to backup and store your data in excess of 650MB, and, as noted, it will also read, record and write to all types of CD media.

That said, this drive will be available via third party in both internal and external versions for US$800 and US$950, respectively, by Summer 2001 (if not sooner). The prices will rapidly fall from there, and may be as low as US$500-$600 or so by year's end, certainly by this time next year. Also, another drive is coming soon that will wrap in the additional ability to both read and write DVD-RAM disks (4.7GB per side), which are, like CD-RW, a Re-Writeable media, excellent for today's massive data backups and archival storage.

Given that the DVD-R SuperDrive has an upgrade value of around US$390, and effectively replaces the features of the other two drives, I still think it's a good deal -- as long as the rest of the top-end features you have to buy with it are useful to you. If you have no desire or need to record to DVD-R media, however, this drive is not for you.

So, should you go for the DVD-ROM, then, or the CD-RW? That, my friend, is a tough call. You can buy an external version of either with better performance, and be able to then use both; or you can buy an internal version of either, and swap them out as you like. The key will come down to this: is the 8x4x/24x CD-RW drive fast enough for you? You can get internal Atapi 16x/10x/40x drives for under US$200 these days ($300 and up for external); which will burn a complete CD-R in under five minutes, plus reads data CDs nearly twice as fast. The other critical consideration is your need to read DVD-media. If either of these two things is a problem, you may want to go for the DVD-ROM drive internally, and grab a good external SCSI or FireWire CD-RW drive (forget USB, they max out at 4x). If you want the convenience of internal CD-RW, you can always swap out the drives in their respective enclosures.

One last alternative to gaining DVD-ROM capability: you can get an internal or external third party DVD-RAM drive to serve similar purposes; one last note about the DVD-ROM drive is that, with a few inexpensive adapters and add-ons, you can use it to broadcast DVD movies, audio CDs and presentations, not to mention your MP3 collection, wirelessly to any stereo or TV in the house or office. Very cool.

Once again, installation of internal drives is a snap in the PowerMac G4, so don't be afraid to upgrade on your own. (See: EIDE, ATA and Atapi Installation Guide for more information.)

Which video card should I choose? Should I get more than one?

You're going to love owning a Mac this year; for the first time in about four years, we're finally back at the top of the video pile, as opposed to the bottom-middle, this, thanks to nVidia. We've been in second-class seating at the back of the bus with ATi for way too long; they not even giving us the best they were making for the x86 crowd. It's not entirely ATi's fault; Apple had been falling short on the needed technology for awhile now; first we were slow to adopt AGP, and, more importantly, we lacked a feature called Write-Combining. I won't get into it all here, but the bottom line is we now will start to see the very best, and staggeringly-awesome 2D and 3D video on the Mac.

You can save money by opting for the ATi Rage Pro 16MB AGP card (effective value of US$150) on the 7410 models, but you have to take at least the ATi Radeon 32MB DDR or nVidia GeForce2 MX on the 7450s (upgrade value of US$100; effective value of US$250). You can also now opt for the new nVidia GeForce3 64MB DDR card in any model (upgrade value of US$350/$450; effective value of US$600).

Which you should buy depends entirely on your needs and budget. If you can afford it, there will be nothing better than the GeForce3 for quite awhile. Even the allegedly-coming ATi Rage Fury MAXX (or Radeon MAXX) is thought to not be able to fully match the GeForce3 in 3D performance. This card will be awesome for 3D creation and gaming, and will simply rock for 2D creation and gaming, as well.

If the card just isn't in your budget, either of the two middle cards will suffice nicely for 2D and 3D work and play. They are, however, definitely middle of the road cards, especially when compared to our x86 brethren. While you can get far better for much less than US$600 on x86 hardware, for now, we Mac owners have to take a big leap from middle to top.

If you need to save money, especially if you intend to wait out the pricing game for a better or cheaper replacement card later this year or beyond, or only need basic 2D and 3D performance, you can save a nice bit of money using the ATi Rage Pro 16MB. However, unless you intend to upgrade it soon, if your desire is good 2D and 3D performance for games, Photoshop, iMovie, FinalCut, or any 3D work, don't skimp.

Just remember that these are AGP cards, which means you can only use one at a time (you only have one AGP slot), so, unlike the PCI video we've become accustomed to over the years, to upgrade (replace, not augment) this card, you have to displace it completely, rather than just moving it over one slot and adding another monitor to keep using it. This means, if you're not satisfied with just adding a PCI card, and are compelled to replace your AGP card, your money invested is wasted, unless you have another AGP computer or can resell it.

The other thing to remember is that these cards come with the Apple-proprietary Apple Display Connector (ADC), as well as a standard SVGA analog connector only. The retail versions of these cards not only have the more-compatible, industry-standard DVI connector (needed only for digital displays; adaptable with ADC), but frequently have features like TV Out and dual-display support that the OEM cards sacrifice for the convenience of an all-in-one video, USB and power connector. You may want some of these features, so think about buying the cheaper card if you're just going to "throw it away" later.

You can use any of these cards with any older analog (SVGA, MultiSync, etc.) CRT or flat screen LCD display, whether or not it was made by Apple (older Apple Displays will require a US$15 SVGA to DB-15 Apple adapter); you can use any new analog or digital CRT or flat screen LCD display; an industry-standard digital display will require a $40 Belkin ADC-DVI adapter. Obviously, you can also use one of Apple's expensive, but beautiful and feature-rich Apple Displays, as well, without a need for any adapters. Just keep in mind that if you want to use one of the Apple Displays, you must use an Apple OEM card with ADC at this time. While Belkin and Gefen have announced intentions to produce a DVI-ADC adapter, and custom Mac consultants can build you one, they will not be cheap (in excess of US$300).

Now comes a new question: Do you require additional video screens? If so, you can add up to three ATi Rage Pro 16MB PCI cards for about $150 each from the Apple Store, or you can add up to four PCI video cards from a third party vendor, or you can use a combination of both. One advantage to using the Apple-installed cards is that they are a decent (but not great) value, and they will use Apple-tested ATi-drivers, so you will get long-life guaranteed compatibility, especially as it pertains to OS X and beyond. If you also use an ATi AGP card, you'll only have one driver set installed, which should reduce the risk of driver conflicts (a fairly rare event that will also get solved rapidly by Apple should it occur). The bad thing about these cards is that they (strange as it may seem) don't support any current Apple Displays (they do have the old-style Apple DB-15 connector, as well as standard SVGA), because they lack the needed ADC connector, and you can get much better performance for the same money. Again, there are a few VGA-ADC adapters rumored to be in development, but, even if one comes along, this card would then only support the 17 inch Apple Studio Display (analog CRT). It's a nice monitor, but don't get your hopes up about running two 22 inch Apple Cinema Displays or 15 inch Apple Studio Display using Apple cards any time soon or for less than US$250. This card is best suited for third party analog (SVGA) CRT and LCD flat screens.

Whew. OK, so now we get into a myriad of other PCI and AGP options; you can buy an AGP card that will support two analog or one analog and one digital display from ProMax, Formac and Appian; you can buy some really nice PCI cards that will support both digital and analog displays, provide TV in and out, etc., super-duper 2D and 3D (like the VooDoo 4 and 5), you can even get a retail AGP or PCI version of the ATi Radeon 32MB DDR. Later this year, we hope to also see more offerings from both ATi and nVidia, as well as Appian, ProMax, Formac, and others.

Your last choice, and least-expensive comes from the now-defunct iXmicro, once an OEM vendor to Apple. If you just want some cheap, auxiliary screens for hosting tool palettes, web browser and email windows, web page previews, and adequate 2D performance in Photoshop, etc., you can still pick up an Apple OEM TwinTurbo 128 UltraRez 8MB analog card for under US$40 (please note that no OpenGL support exists in this card). You can also find the original PCI dual-display card made for Mac, the iXmicro Dual Display, for US$99 at some retailers and old-stock liquidators, and under US$50 at auction (compared to about US$650 for the Jeronimo 2000 PCI). Just know that, at this time, neither of the dual cards function under OS X, but the single-head cards work perfectly.

Fast advice: For simple auxilary use, I would sooner pick up four (four!) iXmicro OEM cards (4x US$40 = US$160) for barely the cost of one Apple OEM ATi Rage Pro 16MB PCI (US$150), or, for higher performance, spend a little more to hunt for and get one ATi Radeon PCI 32MB ($170-$200). ATi retail support may be slow in coming per OS upgrade, but the performance difference is well worth it -- nearly twice the performance in all categories between Rage Pro PCI and Radeon PCI for less than US$30? Don't wonder, buy.

Chart Legend

• Chipset: Notes the type and number of primary graphics accelerator chips. If you're interested in individual specifications, see the appropriate manufacturers website.
• Type: Indicates the expansion slot type required, as well as the maximum bandwidth supported. Please note that while some PCI version support up to 66MHz, the 2001 PowerMac G4 only supports AGP 4X and 33MHz PCI; so all PCI cards will run at 33MHz maximum (only the 1999 PowerMac G3 [Blue & White] supported a single 66MHz PCI video slot).
• Memory: Indicates the amount and type of memory included; please note that while more is usually better, faster (DDR) memory types in lesser quantities may easily out-perform more of a slower-type (SGRAM, WRAM, VRAM, etc.); especially when combined with a faster, better chipset.
• Bit: Specification refers to the memory bandwidth of the graphics card itself. This figure has no direct relation to the PCI or AGP bus bandwidth (64bit and 128bit, respectively, on the 2001 PowerMac G4).
• Analog: Notes whether or not the video card will support an analog CRT (tube-style) or LCD (flat-screen) monitor (most common monitors are analog).
• Digital: Notes whether or not the video card will support a digital CRT or LCD monitor (many newer monitors are supporting digital signals; digital is better than analog).
• Connector: Notes the types of monitor connectors supported; the card may or may not include the required adapter to host that particular type. See the specific card's technical specifications for more information (note: generic or "white box" packaging usually does not include any adapters; only "retail" packaging is likely to have an adapter set. If your card does not come with the adapter needed for your display, you can usually buy one at any good Mac supply house, or directly from the card manufacturer, or Belkin, Griffin, etc..
  
  
  • DB-15 = old-style (pre-July 2000) Apple Monitor Connectors; most Apple-installed and third-party, Mac-branded video cards include one Apple DB-15 port built-in, or supply the required SVGA to Apple DB-15 adapter.
  • SVGA = Standard (or Super) Video Graphics Accelerator (or Adapter); found on most brand-name and generic "PC" displays. All 1999 and newer PowerMacs include one, built-in SVGA connector or adapter on each video card installed.
  • DVI = Digital Video Interface; the industry-standard, 20-pin connector used for most third party digital displays, and also the 1999 Apple Displays that used a digital interface (e.g., the original 22" Apple Cinema Display).
  • ADC = Apple Display Connector; the proprietary Apple connector that combines USB, analog and digital video and power signals into a single connector. All (current) Apple OEM cards include this connector (in addition to one SVGA connector), and is required to run a July 2000 or newer Apple Display. This port may also be used to supply a standard DVI signal for common, third party or older Apple digital (DVI) displays. Some third party video cards may have an optional ADC connector available this year.
  • SGI-TFT: stands for the Silicon Graphics Incorporated, proprietary connector used for their digital flat-panel displays. As of this writing, MacMall and other vendors are offering an awesome deal on a ProFormance3 video card bundled with an 18" 1600SW display for $1600.
  • S-video and RCA: Notes whether or not the card also supports NTSC or PAL video in and/or out signals via an S-video or RCA (composite) video connector. This is useful for capturing video from an analog source (e.g., a VCR or TV) or displaying video on a video monitor, video projector or standard or big-screen TV.
    
    
• Dis: Indicates the total number of displays (not including TV-out) the card may support at one time. Please note that while conserving a video slot, a single card driving two displays often reduces performance of the primary screen when compared to single-screen use on the same card, because of the need to share the onboard memory. They are also generally very expensive, so, unless you absolutely need to conserve your video slots, you will typically get vastly-better performance on both displays by using one single-head card per display.
• 2D and 3D: This is a very subjective indication of our Real World opinion of the card's 2D (Photoshop, Illustrator, Quark, InDesign, Flash, iMovie, FinalCut Pro, Web browsing, text-editing, etc.) and 3D (LightWave, Maya, Flash, Bryce, Poser, etc.) performance, as compared to each other. Be very careful when noting a card's reviews or hype; what was last year's "Freakin' Awesome", "Four-Mice", top-of-the-line, state-of-the-art technology is likely radically slower than what you can buy today. Most of the older cards that are no longer manufactured are included as a reference for those that may own these cards already, and wonder if they can bring it with them to a new PowerMac G4, or if one is looking for a good deal on an old-stock or used product for auxiliary screen use.
• OS 9.1 and OS X: Indicates our internal testing on basic, current compatibility with OS 9.1, OS X and popular applications, and generally indicates whether or not a manufacturer has committed to future OS X support. Card manufacturers that are now out of business (iXmicro, MacTell, 3dfx, etc.) obviously will not be writing new drivers for future OS versions, but, if the card was available as an OEM card from Apple on a supported PowerMac model (e.g., the iXmicro UltraRez), the card will undoubtedly be supported by the Mac OS for some time to come. Further, if the card was very popular, and/or very expensive when last sold, chances are pretty good that some helpful third party will write a bootleg driver for it. Just don't bank on it if you need OS X compatibility on March 24th, 2001, or any time this Summer or Fall, for that matter. We own a boatload of once-super-expensive iXmicro Dual Display cards, and we're hoping someone else will save us the trouble of writing drivers for this very useful, slot-conserving card. If you can get one of these cards for $25, and plan on staying with OS 9.1 for the next year or so, this is a great card for basic 2D performance and slot-conservation; you can use it to wait out the inevitable price-drops on other dual-head accelerators.
• Warranty: Indicates the standard available warranty. Be absolutely certain when purchasing a card no longer made (especially from a defunct manufacturer) that you are receiving a dealer warranty, if any. Even iXmicro cards still being sold can be found with a one-year dealer warranty, if one is careful (and chooses a vendor who will be around in a year). Please note that a warranty does not guarantee future compatibility with OS and application revisions; only that it will work for the last- listed, supported purpose and will be replaced (or money refunded) if the card itself dies.
• OEM: Indicates the cost in US$ to include the card as an Apple OEM option from the base-installed card; this is usually only available as a BTO option from the Apple Store and select resellers.
• MSRP: Indicates the last-known Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price in US$. Please note that vendors are not always bound to match this price, and if a card is in short supply, they may demand a higher price; conversely, if the product is widely available, or under an inventory liquidation order, it may be had substantially below MSRP. In the case of Apple OEM cards, it indicates the last-known price to buy the card separately from the Apple Store as an upgrade to a previously-purchased PowerMac.
• High: Indicates the highest price we've seen in the last 30 days in US$, and generally is followed by a lower price, indicating a recent market devaluation; any vendors still displaying the higher price should be contacted directly to see if they'll match another vendor's price, else beware of these dealers.
• Low: Indicates the lowest retail price seen by us in the last 30 days in US$; in the case of Apple OEM cards, it indicates the educational price. This may also reflect new-stock liquidation sales, or prices after a manufacturer's rebate; it may also indicate a generic version of the card known to work by flashing the firmware or merely installing the required Mac drivers. Before you ask, we're sorry, but we simply cannot provide the time required to list the sources for these low prices, or how to make a generic card work on the Mac. You'll just have to keep your ear to the ground, use Sherlock, PriceWatch, PriceScan, eBay, Mac user forums, mail order catalogs, and online vendor websites to find and deploy these bargains. You may also contract a good Mac consultant to find the best deals for you.
• Avg: Indicates the average price in US$ found at most vendors on a daily basis as seen in the last 60 days; in the case of Apple OEM cards, it indicates the standard upgrade price. It may also indicate a price in excess of the MSRP if the card is in high-demand and short supply.
• Used: Indicates the best or average price in US$ we've seen in the last 30 days on used cards from places like eBay, OWC, MacResQ, etc.; or it may indicate our opinion of the most we'd be willing to pay for the card.

Should I buy the SCSI card Apple offers?

If you have legacy SCSI devices, like scanners, hard drives, CD-R/W, Zip, Jaz, Orb, DAT or the like, you may want to install a SCSI card in one of your PCI slots. The Apple OEM Ultra SCSI card is a good device at a good price.

You can also hook up any external devices via a (very, very slow) USB-SCSI or a (very-fast) FireWire-SCSI converter. These have some advantages and some disadvantages each. Before you settle on any device, consider the following:

• Are your SCSI devices all the same speed? (e.g., SCSI-1, SCSI-2, UltraSCSI, etc.)
• If not, are you satisfied with the fact that all devices on the same SCSI chain will run at the speed of the slowest device?
• Will your devices need to be installed all the time?
• If not, would it bother you to have to Shutdown the Mac to attach them as needed, or would you like to be able to hot-swap them in and out at will?
• Are any of these devices internal, and, if so, would you consider putting them in an external enclosure?

There are so many variables in this area it's really hard to tell you what to do, without knowing your work habits, needs and types and number of devices. Just know that if you can afford to burn a PCI slot, and need or don't mind having your SCSI devices on all the time, a PCI-SCSI card is the most reliable. However, slow devices like very old scanners, or any version of Zip drive, will do fine on a USB-SCSI adapter, which can also host up to seven devices. FireWire-SCSI adapters are more reliable than USB, and nearly twenty times as fast (up to Ultra SCSI; 20MB/sec speeds), but most only host one SCSI device at a time. What's great about both devices is you can hot-swap devices at will, and you can put the SCSI device back in the drawer until you need it again. You can always use a combination of PCI, USB and FireWire adapters as needed.

Another choice, if you have a mix of SCSI speeds on multiple devices, and you want to run them at the same time at their respective maximum speeds, is you can either get more then one SCSI adapter, or, you can also get either a dual-channel SCSI card, or an Adaptec card with SpeedStep which allows for varied speeds on the same chain.

One last choice that may be good for you if you have other legacy devices lies in a number of SCSI combo cards, such as a SCSI-Serial combo card from OrangeMicro; these are really nice when you have legacy Serial printers, modems or cameras as well as legacy SCSI scanners and such.

Should I buy the Ultra160 Dual Channel card from Apple?

I think it's overpriced, personally. Even though the entry level card and 36GB HDD looks like a good deal, it's really not. You can get an Adaptec 39160 card (which is the same as some of the Apple OEM cards offered; they also use ATTO and others) for around US$240 in generic form; and Ultra160 drives from Apple run anywhere from 50%-100% more expensive than the same drives from third party vendors, and, again, the drive warranty is only as long as your AppleCare lasts, compared to three to five years from the manufacturer.

Can I use my old ADB keyboard, mouse, trackball, tablet, or my old Serial printer, modem, camera, PDA, or other ADB or Serial devices like AppleVision monitors with a new G4?

Absolutely. There are a variety of USB-ADB adapters, as well as USB-Serial and PCI-Serial adapters available. And, unlike traditional ADB, it's safe to hot-swap them on a USB adapter. There's one more option for LocalTalk printers called the Griffin gPort, and another called the Stealth Serial adapter; both of these devices replace your internal modem on a new G4. If you have no use for the internal modem or are content to use an external USB or Serial modem instead, this is the least-expensive way to continue using older Apple and HP Laser printers. Otherwise, you can get an Ethernet-LocalTalk adapter.

If you have another legacy device you're not sure about, ask around in the forums for advice on how to hook it up.

Should I buy the internal Zip 250 drive from Apple?

If you need a Zip drive, and don't have a need or desire for just one external drive you can share with other machines, then go ahead; it's a good price. If you don't have a specific need for Zip, then I humbly and pleadingly suggest you help kill this awful, horrible, insanely-overpriced and unreliable media choice with something better. You can get a 3.5" Orb or LS-120 drive instead, or just use the OEM CD-RW, if the only user-compatibility is with yourself.

Should I buy the Apple Internal modem? What about the Airport card? Do I need an Airport Base Station?

If you still need an analog modem, the internal Apple Modem has a lot to offer for the price. It can do data, FAX and voice, and it's a v.90 ITU all wrapped up inside your Mac, using a port that has only one other possible use if you have a legacy LocalTalk or Serial device. The bad thing about this modem is that it's made by Global Village, who's been recently purchased by Boca, who've also been sold off to someone else, and, regardless of dancing owners, GV has had a terrible history of supporting the Mac modems they sell to Apple. Now, I will admit that things have been better of late, and as far as I know, no real problems are being reported with the G4 modems for awhile now, so it's probably OK. For US$50, you can pretty much afford to throw it away if it fails to work properly; you can also leave it out now (on the 7410 models only), save US$50 and buy it later from the Apple Store or VAR/AAR if you end up needing it.

Otherwise, you can use any USB or Serial modem (with USB-Serial or Modem-Serial adapter) that you may already own or wish to purchase (starting at about US$50).

As for the AirPort card, it only does you good if you have another AirPort-enabled (IEEE 802.11) wireless computer or Base Station to communicate with. If your home or office is difficult to wire, or you desire the freedom of movement offered by wireless connections from other computers, you may want an AirPort card in your PowerMac. There's nothing much cooler than sitting in the garden on a sunny day surfing the 'net and answering email on your PowerBook, which can use a standard AirPort card or Type II CardBUS WaveLAN adapter.

For the Base Station, you should know that any Mac with an AirPort card can act as a base station to one other Mac. The base station simply adds the ability to host up to ten users, and has its own modem and Ethernet port for connection to LAN, WAN or Internet. This way, the host Mac need not be running for the guest Mac to connect to the outside or inside networks.

Should I buy an Apple Display? Why are they so expensive?

One reason to buy an Apple Display is they look super pretty and match your computer. A better reason to buy one is that they offer you a Power ON button that no longer exists on the keyboard. If you like to keep your Mac under the desk, in a sound proof cabinet, or in another room entirely, you'll probably want an easier way to turn it on. An even better reason to buy one is that they have an awesome image quality and refresh rate on the Apple Studio Display (17inch CRT; it's based on the Mitsubishi DiamondTron Flat Screen), and incredible quality and performance on the digital LCD displays; the 22 inch Cinema Display has won numerous 'best of class' awards; the 15 inch Cinema Display is of identical quality. A better reason still to buy them is that they feature integral ColorSync and geometry controls via USB (in the ADC connector), and offer up two USB ports as a hub in a very convenient place. Another nice thing is they get their power from the Mac itself now (again, through the single ADC cable), and so run very, very cool, and reduce the tangle of cables on, under and behind your desk. Finally, a really good reason is that they are now priced to sell, at US$500, US$800 and US$3000.

Yes, true, you can get comparable generic or name-brand screens using the same Mitsubishi or Samsung screens, but you lose the look and many of the features you get for the additional money with Apple. I will remind you again here, however, that you can only use one of these displays at a time with a G4, since they need an ADC connector and you can only get that connector (currently) with an AGP video card from Apple. Third party adapters are being built now, but will be very expensive (more than US$250) when and if they become available.

Are the Apple speakers any good? Are they worth the money?

The custom, Apple-only Harmon Kardon speakers are very nice, but, for the money, the third party Monsoon flat panel speakers, or the various Bose models are far better sounding for the same or less money. If you want very good, and very cool for very expensive, go for it.

Do you still get a microphone with an Apple computer?

Ironically, just when Speech Recognition becomes handy and useful (such as voice-password logins and keychains), as well as accurate voice commands finally on the Mac, the microphone included as standard for seven years (or longer, I think) is no longer available. Further, the handy 1/8" analog microphone/audio in jack standard on all Macs for a decade or so that could be used to input other audio sources is also finally no more. If you want to get audio into your Mac, you'll have to do it through USB or FireWire now. That's not all bad, since you can get far better quality in a digital connection, but that old Apple PlainTalk microphone was amazing at picking up good voice for simple telephony and voice commands. You can still buy it for US$15, or, if you still have one, you can get USB-PlainTalk adapter for US$35. But, you can get a good USB mic starting at US$50, and if you buy a copy of IBM ViaVoice or MacSpeech, you get pretty good headset mic for free.

Should I buy the AppleCare offered?

AppleCare can be a great thing. First, decide a couple of things:

Does the credit card you might use to purchase the computer offer its own doubling, or tripling of the standard warranty? If so, you may not need additional AC. Or, maybe your VAR (like CompUSA) is offering their own national warranty with better features, like a guarantee of on-site warranty repairs (frequently AppleCare owners must drop their computers at a local AASP, such as CompUSA).You can also buy separate computer insurance from many companies, some that may be attached to your homeowner's policy that offer far more protection, or an augmenting protection such as protection against fire, spilled coffee or theft. Finally, will you own the computer long enough to care about the warranty?

Here's what we do: Since you don't have to buy the AC at the time of purchase, and as long as you make up your mind to extend the included one year AC before that year is up, you can always add it later if you want through any Apple reseller or the Apple Store; thus, since we tend to sell our machines off in favor of faster hardware every year, we don't buy additional AC unless we fear running past the one year mark. We also will offer to buy the extended warranty for the prospective new owner at the time of sale, since AC is fully transferable in a sale, and an excellent seeing point to the wary used bargain hunter.

AC coverage itself is very good, and the extended AC warranty does include a copy of Tech Tool Deluxe; a $50 value. It will provide you with a decent set of basic troubleshooting tools, and one tool everyone needs: a disk defragmenter. It's not our favorite tool, and we'd rather you use something else, but it's better than nothing (usually). (See: Top Tool Picks for more information.)

Just know that resellers, especially independent AARs, make a good profit on AppleCare sales, and often depend on it to make a decent profit margin. If you ask them to do you a lot of favors configuring your Mac or installing things for free, and you intend to buy the AC, anyway, please buy it from your vendor, if possible.

Conclusion

Well, that's about it. If you have other questions, feel free to write, but we can't promise to answer any time soon, or at all, for that matter. Find yourself one of those local, independent and religiously faithful Apple VARs to get some good advice.

Oh, and don't forget about protecting your new Mac with a good surge supressor and battery backup unit (UPS), and a line conditioner, if needed. (See: Fight the Power? A Computer Owner's Guide to Clean and Healthy Electrical Supply for more information.)


Related Articles:

• PowerMac G4 2001 Buyers Guide
• AltiVec and Multi Processor Aware Applications Tracker
• EIDE and ATA Installation Guide
• SCSI Installation Guide
• Macintosh Drives and Performance
• RAID: It Kills Bottlenecks Dead!
• Partitioning Your Hard Drive
• Top Tool Picks
• Fight the Power? A Computer Owner's Guide to Clean and Healthy Electrical Supply

Article last revised on: 22 February 2001
Article created on: 26 July 1999
Author: Frederico
Editor: WebClub '01

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