Getting a cheap mac

B

Big Worm

2[H]4U
Joined
Oct 3, 2002
Messages
2,626
So I might be getting an old imac from work. Currently I have only PC's. They have to upgrade these macs at work and they are giving them away. I am going to try to get my hands on the red Imac as I believe out of all of them, the red ones the fastest. The rest are green I think. I really want to just screw around on a mac (hense I dont mind using an Imac:D)

The red one supposedly has a 400Mhz (g3??) CPU, over 500ish megs ram (not sure if it was 512 or 570 something) and it has a 10 gig harddrive. I think the red one has another certain feature the green ones dont, it might be firewire or something but I cant remember exactly what, but firewire rigs a bell.

Anyways its running OS 9.1 or 2 or somthing, the older OS anyways. Do you think this machine could handle OS 10? I am gonna set up up for my GF to use as an internet machine, OS 10 looks alot better and I guess it doesnt matter if its a bit sluggish.

Also If I cant get the red one (someone might call bids before me) I will definatly get a green one, the specs are a 350Mhz CPU, near 10 gig drive and just over 500 mugs ram. Would the 350 cpu handle OS 10 as well?

Also how much does OS 10 cost, or is it free or what? Where can I get it?

Thanks for any help:)
 
both of them can handle os x.
go for 10.2 also called jaguar.
u can get it on ebay for $25
 
yes either will run but I would recomend 10.3 Panther over 10.2 as you will get about a 10% speed increase from that version over 10.2
 
Originally posted by gigglebyte
yes either will run but I would recomend 10.3 Panther over 10.2 as you will get about a 10% speed increase from that version over 10.2
Click to expand...
I agree, 10.3 it your best bet.
 
Interesting,

So the Mac OS's are kinda like linux and the jaguar and panther are like builds? Or do I have it all wrong?

I really have no clue how anything works on a mac, I have only used a few briefly in a college class.

Its weird that the newer 10.3 would faster on older hardware.
 
Jag and Panther are just the code names that were given to the OS during development...check the FAQ and you will find more info
 
check my garage sale thread

I got a iMac G3 400 for $50, it came with 128MB, 10GB, and OS 9.2 and it ran like a dog. I put 512MB, 40GB, and OS X 10.3 in it and now it runs great.
 
OS X EATS ram. 1 GB is the realistic minimum for doing any sort of serious work or gaming. Goal should be 0 pageouts to disk doing everything you want to do with the machine. Add ram until you get there.

10.3 is way better than 10.2 on older machines. Much faster.
 
Originally posted by Selecter
10.3 is way better than 10.2 on older machines. Much faster.
Click to expand...


I've found the same to be true on most machines. This would be the main reason I'd consider upgrading a machine to it, other than that, not much that excites me there.
 
Originally posted by Selecter
OS X EATS ram. 1 GB is the realistic minimum for doing any sort of serious work or gaming. Goal should be 0 pageouts to disk doing everything you want to do with the machine. Add ram until you get there.

10.3 is way better than 10.2 on older machines. Much faster.
Click to expand...

Well if you noticed in my original post, it will be used as an internet machine for my girlfriend, so I wont be running final cut pro 4, or playing simcity 4 on this machine. I do have my P4 rigg @3500 to handle that stuff nicely.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top