Should I Buy a Used G4 or a New Mac mini?

Over on Somethingawful.com, there's an interesting discussion asking whether buying a used Power Mac G4 and upgrading it makes sense in light of the Mac mini's release last week.

Good question. And if any of you have or are considering buying a Power Mac G4 and upgrading it, it makes sense to compare it to the mini.

The Power Mac

The Power Mac in question is a 450 MHz computer with 1.25 GB of RAM, a 120 GB hard drive, and OS X for $400, along with whatever software is installed on the hard drive. (We won't deal with the legality of that. We just want to look at the hardware.)

To get the G4/450 up to speed, the potential buyer plans on adding a faster G4 processor (see our Guide to Power Mac G4 Upgrades for Power Mac G4 with AGP Graphics) and a better video card. All told, he plans to invest about $800 in buying and upgrading the computer.

The Mac mini

The Mac mini sells for $607 with 256 MB of RAM, an 80 GB hard drive, OS X 10.3, and Apple's keyboard/mouse kit. It runs at 1.25 GHz, which is even faster than the 1.2 GHz upgrade being considered, and it has a 167 MHz system bus (vs. 100 MHz in the older G4). The graphics subsystem probably outperforms anything he's going to find for the AGP 2X bus in the Power Mac.

What he gains is a brand new computer with a warranty, a slightly faster CPU, a faster system bus, and better graphics in a very small, very portable package.

What he loses is 1.25 GB of RAM (the mini tops out at 1 GB, and that adds over $200 with third-party RAM), an internal 120 GB hard drive (Apple offers nothing larger than 80 GB with the mini) that's probably faster than the mini's internal laptop drive, three PCI slots, and extra internal drive bays.

Decisions, Decisions

Probably the biggest factor in this particular case is the software that his brother is leaving on the hard drive - it's worth more than he's asking for the computer. Legal? Probably not, but who's going to know?

With that consideration, I'd pick the Power Mac G4/450 in a heartbeat. It's got the software, RAM that will cost over $200 to match in the mini, and a lot more expansion options: hard drives, CPU upgrades, video cards, and RAM can be boosted to 2 GB if the 1.25 GB installed ever becomes insufficient.

If I were comparing a used G4/450 in a more typical configuration without "leftover" software, it would be a different story. Looking at our best buys from last week's Best Used Power Mac G4 Deals, we find:

• 350, 256/10/DVD, $349.99
• 450, 256/20/DVD, Zip 100, $399.99
• 450 dual, 256/30/DVD, $485
• 533, 256/40/DVD, $495
• 533 dual, 256/40/DVD, $639
• 733, 256/60/CD-RW, $629
• 867, 512/40/CD-RW, $899.99
• 1.25 GHz dual, 512/80/Combo, $1,199.99

Cost to boost RAM to 1.25 GHz is about $150. Cost of a 7200 rpm 80-120 GB hard drive is about $80. Cost of a CPU upgrade, $200-300. Cost of a better AGP video card, $120 (Radeon 9000 Pro). Total upgrades: $550-650, assuming the buyer doesn't want to add a Combo drive.

We're looking at a rock bottom price of $900 before shipping, but your needs are probably a bit different. You might not need that much RAM. You might be happy with the standard video card. You might find the computer fast enough.

Those are all things to weigh in configuring your low-end G4 system. Determine how much speed you'll need and the best way to get there - buy a slower Mac and upgrade or just buy a faster computer, for instance. Live with a slower Mac today, and upgrade the CPU when you can afford it.

There are lots of options, but the three numbers you want are the cost of buying a used Power Mac G4 and configuring it for immediate use, the cost of that plus planned upgrades, and the cost of a similarly configured Mac mini.

The $499 Mac mini matches the speed of a Power Mac G4/1.25 at about half the price. You lose expansion slots and fast, high capacity internal hard drives, but $500 pays for a lot of peripherals - or a second Mac mini! The mini is definitely going to impact the prices of used G4 Power Macs, which will also drive G3 prices down.

Here's how I'd configure a Mac mini:

• G4/1.25 GHz model, 80 GB hard drive, 256 MB RAM, $549
• 1 GB of RAM, $225
• Wireless mouse and keyboard, probably Logitech, $80

Total cost is just over $850, and performance matches my 1.25 GHz eMac, so I know I'd be happy with it, although it would be nice if Apple offered a faster, higher capacity hard drive.

That's about the same price as the G4/867 listed above, which has half the RAM, half the drive capacity, CD-RW instead of a Combo drive, and about 70% as much computing power as the Mac mini.

Like I said, this is really going to impact the value of used Power Macs. Now you can get the power, forfeit the internal expansion, save a bundle, and have a brand new computer. The used Power Mac G3 and G4 market will have to adjust.

Yes, some people need those slots and drive bays, but most Mac buyers never add a PCI card or second hard drive. For them, the Mac mini is a dream come true - everything they want at an unheard of price.