MorphZone

Mac Mini 1.25 Ghz MorphOS

sojuniter

# 1
Caterpillar

Posts: 37 from 2018/10/18

Hey Guys,
I can get an Mac Mini G4 1.25 Ghz for 35 Euro.
How fast will MorphOS run on this Hardware.
The Mini have 32 Mb VRAM.

Fast enough for wathing youtube videos or should i pay 60 Euro for an Mac Mini with 1.42 Ghz.
I cant find an Mac Mini 1.5 with 64 Mb Vram.
I dont use transparent effects.

I would use it for Programming and Web Surfing after my Powermac G4 died at the Weekend ?

Greetings from Germany sojuniter ?
»22.10.18 - 15:24

koszer

# 2
Paladin of the Pegasos

Posts: 1251 from 2004/2/8

From: Poland

Quote:

Fast enough for wathing youtube videos or should i pay 60 Euro for an Mac Mini with 1.42 Ghz.

I don't think the difference between 1.25 and 1.42 will be spectacular. Both should play YouTube in 360-480p well. 720 is a no-go (1.5 version struggles - and looses - with it). Of course the magical YouTube overlay scripts from OWB are your friends.

OWB should be opened on its own screen because of low VRAM.

Quote:

I cant find an Mac Mini 1.5 with 64 Mb Vram.

Search for 1.42 ones without the 56k modem. It's likely that they're just badged as 1.42, but in reality they are the 1.5 GHz ones (hence the "silent upgrade" nick). In any case - it's worth checking by the serial number prior to purchase.

For example - this one looks promising.
»22.10.18 - 15:37

sojuniter

# 3
Caterpillar

Posts: 37 from 2018/10/18

This mini looks also very good.
Do u think i should pay more for that mini.
It is difficult to find an PowerMac G4 > 1 Ghz.
I have used an PowerMac g4 800 Mhz, was very buggy with OWB.
I have loved to use my Studio Display with the Mini bur 100 bucks for an adc dvi adapter is realy heavy.

Most of the time i am coding with flow studio, i dont think i need 64 Mb VRAM ?
»22.10.18 - 16:16

koszer

# 4
Paladin of the Pegasos

Posts: 1251 from 2004/2/8

From: Poland

Quote:

It is difficult to find an PowerMac G4 > 1 Ghz.

Not really, at least not where I live.

Quote:

I have used an PowerMac g4 800 Mhz, was very buggy with OWB.

"buggy" = slow?

Quote:

I have loved to use my Studio Display with the Mini bur 100 bucks for an adc dvi adapter is realy heavy.

I can get you a DIY converter for about 15 EUR (you'd need an external power brick though).

Quote:

Most of the time i am coding with flow studio, i dont think i need 64 Mb VRAM ?

You don't need 64 MB of VRAM for coding, that's for sure (unless you like really high resolution and fancy graphical effects while coding). The web surfing (on a separate screen, not Ambient) shouldn't consume all you VRAM also.
»22.10.18 - 17:13

Amigaharry2

# 5
Paladin of the Pegasos

Posts: 1283 from 2010/1/6

From: EU-Austria (Wien)

In most cases 32MB VRAM is enough. Only if you use 3 or more applications with true color in very high resolution, it may run out of VRAM. Using hi-color instead of true color will then be a good idea.....
I'm running a Mini with 32MB VRAM in max resolution of 1280x1024 (4:3-LED-Monitor) without running out of VRAM, even in running 4 apps in true color at same time....
Peg2, 3xPowerMac G5, 2xPowerbookG4, 2x MacMiniG4, Efika (again), A3000T and life is never boring.....
»22.10.18 - 17:14

ASiegel

# 6
Posts: 1377 from 2003/2/15

From: Central Europe

@sojuniter

You might want to consider buying a Powerbook as a desktop system. Just close the lid after pressing the power button then use it with an external display and input devices like with a Mac mini or Powermac.

Powerbooks with 64 or even 128 MB of VMEM appear to be easier to find and are often quite inexpensive compared to 1.5 Ghz Mac minis.
»22.10.18 - 17:25

Kronos

# 7
Moderator

Posts: 2334 from 2003/2/24

In case you have an idea whats wrong with your PowerMac I might be able to help you out, as I still have plenty QuickSilver parts, heck even a spare SonnetDual G4 at 1.8GHz.

And an DVI to ADC that I got as an unexpected freebie ;)
»22.10.18 - 18:02

sojuniter

# 8
Caterpillar

Posts: 37 from 2018/10/18

Quote:

koszer schrieb:
Quote:

Fast enough for wathing youtube videos or should i pay 60 Euro for an Mac Mini with 1.42 Ghz.

I don't think the difference between 1.25 and 1.42 will be spectacular. Both should play YouTube in 360-480p well. 720 is a no-go (1.5 version struggles - and looses - with it). Of course the magical YouTube overlay scripts from OWB are your friends.

OWB should be opened on its own screen because of low VRAM.

Quote:

I cant find an Mac Mini 1.5 with 64 Mb Vram.

Search for 1.42 ones without the 56k modem. It's likely that they're just badged as 1.42, but in reality they are the 1.5 GHz ones (hence the "silent upgrade" nick). In any case - it's worth checking by the serial number prior to purchase.

For example - this one looks promising.

Yes o would buy that adapter from you.

I also searched for an Powerbook and an Powermac G5. But i think that to use a dual cpu system when only 1 cpu is supported is not worth the price.

35 Euros for an 1,25 Ghz Mac Mini G4 is no expensive.

the question is it is worth to get an g4 with 1,42 / 1.5 for 20 to 30 Euro more ?
»22.10.18 - 18:04

sojuniter

# 9
Caterpillar

Posts: 37 from 2018/10/18

Quote:

Kronos schrieb:
In case you have an idea whats wrong with your PowerMac I might be able to help you out, as I still have plenty QuickSilver parts, heck even a spare SonnetDual G4 at 1.8GHz.

And an DVI to ADC that I got as an unexpected freebie ;)

Yes the CPU Card died. Thats what i know.
But the G4 also had the problem that if i dont connect the studio display the powermac starts and after 20 seconds it shutdown.
With the ADC Display connected everything was fine.
Maybe a faulty PSU
»22.10.18 - 18:07

Kronos

# 10
Moderator

Posts: 2334 from 2003/2/24

Actually there is more that could be wrong.....

Mobo, RAM, GFX card or even the small PCB behind the Power and Reset switches.

Sending random parts is therefor not an option, I could sell you package with everything except the case and crappy Radeon 7000, but that doesn‘t sound much better.

Or you could go the route that ASiegel suggested and suprise surprise, just last weekend I ended up with a displayless PowerBook5.8..... will do up to 2560x1600 on the DVI port.
»22.10.18 - 18:20

sojuniter

# 11
Caterpillar

Posts: 37 from 2018/10/18

Quote:

Kronos schrieb:
Actually there is more that could be wrong.....

Mobo, RAM, GFX card or even the small PCB behind the Power and Reset switches.

Sending random parts is therefor not an option, I could sell you package with everything except the case and crappy Radeon 7000, but that doesn‘t sound much better.

Or you could go the route that ASiegel suggested and suprise surprise, just last weekend I ended up with a displayless PowerBook5.8..... will do up to 2560x1600 on the DVI port.

That sounds good,
What are the specs of that Powerbook ?
And what do u want for it ?
»22.10.18 - 18:24

sojuniter

# 12
Caterpillar

Posts: 37 from 2018/10/18

I also looked for an Amiga One oder a Pegasos System.
But i think it heavy overpriced.
I dont know why people pay over 1500 Euro for such a system.

Are there any special advantages except that it is new to justify the price?
»22.10.18 - 18:28

Kronos

# 13
Moderator

Posts: 2334 from 2003/2/24

1.67GHz Radeon 9700 with 128MB

I should have some dimms to max it out to 2GB, will check for working DVD and include whatever HD it came with something between 80 and 120GB.

Main battery is dead, I might be able to fix the CMOS battery so that it will atleast keep time but you could allways get that from the net on bootup.

The whole topcase is missing so I would need to shortcircuit the contact to fake allways closed and see if I can replace the Wifi antenna.

65W PSU should also be a spare around somewhere.

I‘d say 40€ including shipping.
»22.10.18 - 18:47

Zylesea

# 14
Yokemate of Keyboards

Posts: 2057 from 2003/6/4

Quote:

sojuniter schrieb:

35 Euros for an 1,25 Ghz Mac Mini G4 is no expensive.

the question is it is worth to get an g4 with 1,42 / 1.5 for 20 to 30 Euro more ?

1.42 is not necessarily worth the additional 20 or 30 EUR, but 1.5 Ghz is due to the 64 MB VRAM. Depends of course on screen resolution.
My 1.5GHz mini is pretty often struggling with VRAM - display is a full hd display - the 64 MB are eaten up pretty fast. On my Powerbook with 64 MB VRAM as well, but lower resolution, the 64 MB VRAM is rather plenty.

Apart from that I really like the Mac mini. It's neat and rather fast and well done.
--
http://via.bckrs.de

Whenever you're sad just remember the world is 4.543 billion years old and you somehow managed to exist at the same time as David Bowie.
...and Matthias , my friend - RIP
»22.10.18 - 20:33

sojuniter

# 15
Caterpillar

Posts: 37 from 2018/10/18

Thanks in advance, I'll probably take the powerbook but also the Mac Mini. The display of what should be used has a resolution of 1280x1024 I do not think that there should be 16 bit color depth problems with the VRAM. Especially since I use no transparency effects and my standard theme is almost black and my background image also has a dark texture. I do not even assume that the few Mhz really do more. Does one know if the mini is a standard ATA 2.5-inch hard drive installed?
I could also get a G5 for 50 Euros with 1.8 Ghz and 2 GB Ram. But since only one CPU is supported and the power consumption of the box is really huge, that should not be an alternative, especially considering that the shipping cost me 35 euros. I had with the Powermac G4 with 800 Mhz and 32 Mb VRAM genuinely up to the slow processor no problems. I also think that the 450 Mhz more in mini should bring more speed than the Powermac G4. And the mini is quieter too,
»22.10.18 - 20:58

Zylesea

# 16
Yokemate of Keyboards

Posts: 2057 from 2003/6/4

Quote:

sojuniter schrieb:
Thanks in advance, I'll probably take the powerbook but also the Mac Mini. The display of what should be used has a resolution of 1280x1024 I do not think that there should be 16 bit color depth problems with the VRAM. Especially since I use no transparency effects and my standard theme is almost black and my background image also has a dark texture. I do not even assume that the few Mhz really do more. Does one know if the mini is a standard ATA 2.5-inch hard drive installed?
I could also get a G5 for 50 Euros with 1.8 Ghz and 2 GB Ram. But since only one CPU is supported and the power consumption of the box is really huge, that should not be an alternative, especially considering that the shipping cost me 35 euros. I had with the Powermac G4 with 800 Mhz and 32 Mb VRAM genuinely up to the slow processor no problems. I also think that the 450 Mhz more in mini should bring more speed than the Powermac G4. And the mini is quieter too,

It's a Standard 2.5" drive. Replacing is rather easy and i had no issues With a cheap msata to pata Adapter to Upgrade With an ssd.
--
http://via.bckrs.de

Whenever you're sad just remember the world is 4.543 billion years old and you somehow managed to exist at the same time as David Bowie.
...and Matthias , my friend - RIP
»23.10.18 - 08:22

koszer

# 17
Paladin of the Pegasos

Posts: 1251 from 2004/2/8

From: Poland

I've sent you a PM in case you still want the DVI->ADC adapter.
»23.10.18 - 11:14

Andreas_Wolf

# 18
Yokemate of Keyboards

Posts: 12199 from 2003/5/22

From: Germany

> I also searched for an Powerbook and an Powermac G5. But i think that to
> use a dual cpu system when only 1 cpu is supported is not worth the price.

PowerBooks are always single-CPU. And there are single-CPU models of PowerMac G5 supported by MorphOS.
»25.10.18 - 21:04

Andreas_Wolf

# 19
Yokemate of Keyboards

Posts: 12199 from 2003/5/22

From: Germany

> I also looked for an Amiga One oder a Pegasos System. [...]
> I dont know why people pay over 1500 Euro for such a system.

AmigaOne 500 (Sam460) and Pegasos systems should be way cheaper than that.

> Are there any special advantages except that it is new to justify the price?

Yes, there is: AmigaOne 500 (Sam460), AmigaOne X5000 and Pegasos II can run OS4 :-)
»25.10.18 - 21:31

Andreas_Wolf

# 20
Yokemate of Keyboards

Posts: 12199 from 2003/5/22

From: Germany

> I could also get a G5 [...]. But since only one CPU is supported and the power
> consumption of the box is really huge, that should not be an alternative

MorphOS disables the unused G5 CPU so that it draws no power.
»25.10.18 - 21:40

sojuniter

# 21
Caterpillar

Posts: 37 from 2018/10/18

Yes, i know but i have an Mac Pro 2008 and that thing is noisy as hell :D
Not really good for relaxed coding :P
»27.10.18 - 09:56

sojuniter

# 22
Caterpillar

Posts: 37 from 2018/10/18

BTW i know have an Mac Mini 1,25 GHZ 1 GB RAM.
I ordered an ata to sata adapter.

I read that it can safe overlocked to 1,5 ghz.
Have anybody done this by cutting down the resistors ?
Does it run stable ?
»27.10.18 - 09:57

koszer

# 23
Paladin of the Pegasos

Posts: 1251 from 2004/2/8

From: Poland

Quote:

sojuniter wrote:
BTW i know have an Mac Mini 1,25 GHZ 1 GB RAM.
I ordered an ata to sata adapter.

If that's an average ATA to SATA adapter then you'll have a hard time fitting it inside Mini. And even if you manage it, then good luck fitting your SATA 2,5" hard drive inside.
»27.10.18 - 10:09

Kronos

# 24
Moderator

Posts: 2334 from 2003/2/24

aka no chance of fitting it.

You might get away with cracking an SATA SSD out of it's case, but just going mSATA would be easier and cheaper.
»27.10.18 - 10:12

koszer

# 25
Paladin of the Pegasos

Posts: 1251 from 2004/2/8

From: Poland

Quote:

Kronos wrote:
aka no chance of fitting it.

Well, you know what they say: "There's nothing impossible for a man with a dremel and courage". Also, he could probably use some kind of HDD caddy in place of the Combo drive (who needs the optical drives anyway?).
»27.10.18 - 10:59