[G4] G4 upgrades

[John Niven]

Hi Tony,

I'm also interested in music production on the cheap. I actually have a dual 450Mhz G4 also that I use with a Digidesign Audiomedia III sound card and ProTools.

I started with a Audiomedia II NUBUS card in a Quadra 950 :-) which I still have. It's stuffed with SCSI drives and performs very well (33MHz 68040!). I think that card has great analogue electronics. I used that system mostly for digitising LP's.

I bought the AM3 pci card on eBay and really built my current system around that. I have to use Panther and ProTools 6 (point something) because at some point Digidesign stopped supporting the AM3. So it's a kind of balancing act to use the latest s/w and os that one can get away with. If this is relevant then I can get you all the details latter.

I also use an ATTO UL3S SCSI card (because it's qualified for use with ProTools by Digidesign) and a couple of fast SCSI drives. I think this helps speed up the system by reducing the load on the cpu's.

I have an upgraded (flashed PC) video card so I can run dual 17" LCD monitors. The extra desktop area really helps when running ProTools. A couple of second-hand LCD doesn't cost that much but IMHO is a much better investment than the typical cpu upgrade.

For straight sound recording and midi sequencing (which is what I do) I don't think you need as much horsepower as video applications (for example). However if you want to also use software synthesizers  and complex effects then that changes. I have started using Ableton Live, since I have found ProTools to lack creatively and am having trouble with that.

Sadly this has coincided with my having to confiscate my sons gaming PC from him (it's a long story). So instead of wondering where I can get the money for a MacBook pro, I have re-housed it in a 4U rack case and put a second AM3 in it. It is now running Live through the AM3. With an Core duo 2 cpu, 2Gb ram, NV 7900GS graphics card and dual SATA drives it's very fast! So after years of being a Mac fan I find myself now using a PC :-( Windows XP really sucks when you don't know what you are doing.

However, I'm ONLY using that PC for this one application, so maybe I will keep my sanity that way.

So what is your sound card? That seems to be the only thing that can't be done with a Mac-mini :-) The modern approach is to use a usb or firewire connected audio interface which the mini could handle. The G4's 1.5Gb ram will not be usable in a MDD.

John

--- On Wed, 5/14/08, Tony Sheeley <t_sheeley at hotmail.com> wrote:

> From: Tony Sheeley <t_sheeley at hotmail.com>
> Subject: RE: [G4] G4 upgrades
> To: "A place to discuss Apple's G4 computers." <g4 at listserver.themacintoshguy.com>
> Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2008, 6:57 AM
> I understand what you're saying.  My idea was to get a
> lower (possibly the lowest) sp'ec MDD that this card
> would work with.  One that didn't require soldering
> etc.
> 
> Two fairly large internal, and at least one external hd
> would be adequate.  I planned to use the 1.5GB of ram  from
> the dual 450(if possible) to added to the ram in the
> secondhand MDD.  Graphics really isn't too much of a
> concern as I plan to use this 'new' machine for
> music production.  I do a bit of video editing, but not too
> the point that I need anything more than I already have.  I
> don't know anything about the Mac mini and if I would
> be able to add my sound card, usb/firewire card(for
> externals) etc.  That's why I got the G4 (it is a tower
> with expansion space).  But from the research I have done so
> far, it doesn't look like I can update a Dual 450
> without considerable expense.
> 
> 
> 
> > Date: Tue, 13 May 2008 12:39:35 -0700
> > From: senseamp at yahoo.com
> > Subject: Re: [G4] G4 upgrades
> > To: g4 at listserver.themacintoshguy.com
> > 
> > Even if you get a cheap barebones MDD, you will still
> want more drives, and more ram, and better video card and
> ....
> > I'm sure there are easier approaches. Have you
> considered a Mac mini? :-)
> > 
> > I'm all for keep old equipment going but unless
> it's a hobby be careful how you spend your cash...
> > 
> > John