How spiffy is this? at DVinfo.net

Andy Tejral · January 31st, 2007, 12:19 PM

I just acquired a Mac and I'm curious how out of date it is. I know it is a dual G4 and it has three sticks of ram. I believe the ram said 256 on it so thats 768?

Will this run FCE or FCP?

Thanks,

Jonathan Jones · January 31st, 2007, 03:33 PM

Hi Andy,
What kind of specs does the system have for the processor, hard drive, and video card?

You can get this information from the apple menu on the top left of the screen. Click the apple and in the drop down menu you can select "About This Mac". It will present you with a simple spec window showing Processor speed and RAM. You can select the 'more info' button to get a more detailed listing of all the other info, including your video card model. Having this type of info will be helpful in determining which version of FCP or FCE you meet the minimum specs for.

As far as the G4 chip? I run FCP 4.5 on my G4 Powerbook (3 years old) on 3 gigs of RAM and runs great - though my renders are dog slow. I can also run the rest of the suite just fine on this system, including Motion, though it heavily taxes the limitations of my graphics card. My system also meets the specs for the current version of FCP (5) except for Motion2 because my graphics card doesn't the requirements.

With your desktop, you will probably have no problem running at least FCP 4.5, or very likely even the current version, although you may need to update your graphics card to run the current version of Motion 2.

Hope this helps.
-Jon

Boyd Ostroff · January 31st, 2007, 04:16 PM

When I upgraded to FCP 5 my impression was that it actually ran faster on the same hardware, so you're probably OK there. 768MB sounds a little slim in the RAM dept, but might be adequate.

One nice thing about the G4 PowerMacs was all the internal drive bays. I believe you can actually put 4 drives in there - I have a 1.25ghz G4 with 3 internal drives.

I think you will also need MacOSX 10.4 to support FCP5, so check your version.

Andy Tejral · January 31st, 2007, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonathan Jones

Hi Andy,
Hope this helps.
-Jon

Thanks, that's exactly what I needed to know. I'll report back with that info...

Andy Tejral · January 31st, 2007, 08:57 PM

Well, I'm thinking its not very spiffy...

It is OS 10.4.2

Processors are dual 450Mhz G4, Memory is 640Mb(256/256/128). Video GeForce4 MX 64Mb. Its got a mongo 28Gb ATA drive!

Return to garbage heap?

Andy Mees · January 31st, 2007, 09:57 PM

a mac mini would leave it standing ...

Andy Tejral · January 31st, 2007, 11:12 PM

Oh, well, the price was right... (free)

Shane Ross · February 1st, 2007, 01:56 AM

Can't beat free.

Andy Mees · February 1st, 2007, 11:05 AM

being paid to take it away would be better :D

Cole McDonald · February 1st, 2007, 12:30 PM

I used to use a dual 450 to edit on...It'll be slow, but will work. Be sure to check the system requirements for any software you buy.

Boyd Ostroff · February 1st, 2007, 06:34 PM

While it may very well work for you, just realize that it doesn't meet Apple's minimum specs for FCP:

Quote:

Macintosh computer with 867MHz or faster PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5, Intel Core Duo processor, or Intel Xeon processor

Therefore if you have problems they will probably just say it isn't supported. Also, do those older G4's have an AGP slot for the graphics card? I can't remember. If not then it will refuse to install.

Cole McDonald · February 1st, 2007, 10:26 PM

granted, mine was also an older version of FCP...when the dual 450 wasn't a bad machine to have ;)

Pete Schwab · February 2nd, 2007, 08:38 PM

buy a mac mini and use the G4 as a render node for compressor. does it have ethernet?

Brian Farris · February 3rd, 2007, 12:12 AM

Looks like you have this one:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/appl...g4_450_dp.html

January 31st, 2007, 12:19 PM	#1
Andy Tejral Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: New York City Posts: 523	How spiffy is this? I just acquired a Mac and I'm curious how out of date it is. I know it is a dual G4 and it has three sticks of ram. I believe the ram said 256 on it so thats 768? Will this run FCE or FCP? Thanks,

January 31st, 2007, 03:33 PM	#2
Jonathan Jones Trustee Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Healdsburg, California Posts: 1,138	Hi Andy, What kind of specs does the system have for the processor, hard drive, and video card? You can get this information from the apple menu on the top left of the screen. Click the apple and in the drop down menu you can select "About This Mac". It will present you with a simple spec window showing Processor speed and RAM. You can select the 'more info' button to get a more detailed listing of all the other info, including your video card model. Having this type of info will be helpful in determining which version of FCP or FCE you meet the minimum specs for. As far as the G4 chip? I run FCP 4.5 on my G4 Powerbook (3 years old) on 3 gigs of RAM and runs great - though my renders are dog slow. I can also run the rest of the suite just fine on this system, including Motion, though it heavily taxes the limitations of my graphics card. My system also meets the specs for the current version of FCP (5) except for Motion2 because my graphics card doesn't the requirements. With your desktop, you will probably have no problem running at least FCP 4.5, or very likely even the current version, although you may need to update your graphics card to run the current version of Motion 2. Hope this helps. -Jon __________________ "Are we to go on record, sir, with our assertion that the 'pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, and green clovers' are, in point of fact', magically delicious?" - Walter Hollarhan before the House Subcommittee on Integrity in Advertising - May, 1974

January 31st, 2007, 08:57 PM	#5
Andy Tejral Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: New York City Posts: 523	Well, I'm thinking its not very spiffy... It is OS 10.4.2 Processors are dual 450Mhz G4, Memory is 640Mb(256/256/128). Video GeForce4 MX 64Mb. Its got a mongo 28Gb ATA drive! Return to garbage heap? __________________ Andy Tejral Railroad Videographer

January 31st, 2007, 11:12 PM	#7
Andy Tejral Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: New York City Posts: 523	Oh, well, the price was right... (free) __________________ Andy Tejral Railroad Videographer

February 1st, 2007, 12:30 PM	#10
Cole McDonald Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sauk Rapids, MN, USA Posts: 1,675	I used to use a dual 450 to edit on...It'll be slow, but will work. Be sure to check the system requirements for any software you buy. __________________ Web Youtube Facebook

January 31st, 2007, 04:16 PM	#3
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	When I upgraded to FCP 5 my impression was that it actually ran faster on the same hardware, so you're probably OK there. 768MB sounds a little slim in the RAM dept, but might be adequate. One nice thing about the G4 PowerMacs was all the internal drive bays. I believe you can actually put 4 drives in there - I have a 1.25ghz G4 with 3 internal drives. I think you will also need MacOSX 10.4 to support FCP5, so check your version.

January 31st, 2007, 09:57 PM	#6
Andy Mees Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Posts: 645	a mac mini would leave it standing ...

February 1st, 2007, 01:56 AM	#8
Shane Ross Major Player Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 539	Can't beat free.

February 1st, 2007, 11:05 AM	#9
Andy Mees Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Posts: 645	being paid to take it away would be better :D

February 1st, 2007, 10:26 PM	#12
Cole McDonald Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sauk Rapids, MN, USA Posts: 1,675	granted, mine was also an older version of FCP...when the dual 450 wasn't a bad machine to have ;) __________________ Web Youtube Facebook

February 2nd, 2007, 08:38 PM	#13
Pete Schwab New Boot Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 18	buy a mac mini and use the G4 as a render node for compressor. does it have ethernet?

February 3rd, 2007, 12:12 AM	#14
Brian Farris Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Hattiesburg, MS Posts: 99	Looks like you have this one: http://www.everymac.com/systems/appl...g4_450_dp.html __________________ Videography Blog - http://www.video.thirdprong.com/blog/