G4 upgrade question

[tmt7734]

Hi all,

I have a couple of quick question's I couldn't fine good answers for in the posts.

I have a G4/Sawtooth(500Mhz w/AGP video), that had a hard drive crashed and has been sitting on the shelf for a year or so.

New marketing person needs mac so I want to get it going. Now to my questions:

Is the IDE hard drive (10GB Maxtor that says MAC OS on IT) in this thing really just an IDE drive? Can I replace it with say a pc 120Gig WD Caviar?

Can I then just purchase the latest version of OS X and boot from cd to install?

Can I replace the internal IDE DVD-ROM drive with any ol' DVD-R?

The RAM is this thing appears to be PC100, is it really pc100 compatable?

I know nothing about MAC's so thanks for your help.

 

[jimbopalmer]

Is the IDE hard drive (10GB Maxtor that says MAC OS on IT) in this thing really just an IDE drive? Can I replace it with say a pc 120Gig WD Caviar?"

Yes, without a controller card, it will not see anything much more than 120 gig (137 gig limit?)

"Can I replace the internal IDE DVD-ROM drive with any ol' DVD-R?"
If it has OSX drivers,

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/

may list drivers

"The RAM is this thing appears to be PC100, is it really pc100 compatable?"

Yes although if it is cheaper you can use PC133 as well, no speed up

I tried to remain child-like, all I acheived was childish.

 

[Barinstorm]

Just a thought: I have the exact same Mac G4. I bought PC133 SDRAM and it did not work. It needs to be PC100/PC133. I'm no tech but this was the case with me. As far as upgrading, get the max (4 - 512MB Cards) for $50 each card on Ebay, it is a good investment.

Here is a good upgrade:

http://www.macworld.com/2003/10/reviews/g4processorupgrades/

$550 for a 1.45gHz ZIF SOCKET processor upgrade.
AMAZING!!! Upgrading the 500mHz proc. to this 1.45 mHz proc. was the most significant upgrade I made. It has put off my needing a G5 for a while. Be careful about using Ebay for this as it is a more expensive item and processors are VERY fragile. Use a reputable company with an EXCELLENT return policy. And read their feedback FIRST!

I also got a RADEON 9800 Mac Ed. video card - $275 on Ebay. I don't think it was necessary, but at least I can play Halo® now.

 

[tmt7734]

Did you install Panther? I'm told the upgrade processors don't work with os X Panther.