Can I get more speed by using external drive?

Question

Hi All,
I have a very old iMac. Here are the specs:
Hardware Overview:
  Model Name:          iMac
  Model Identifier:          PowerMac6,3
  Processor Name:          PowerPC G4  (3.3)
  Processor Speed:          1.25 GHz
  Number Of CPUs:          1
  L2 Cache (per CPU):          256 KB
  Memory:          1.25 GB
  Bus Speed:          167 MHz
I think if I get an external drive and move all my document onto it I can speed the computer up. Is this a good strategy? What should I get that is reasonably affordable?

Answer 1

It is slow when navigating on iTunes or the web -- lots of spinning rainbows. I am using OSX10.5.8. I cannot increase memory anymore than I have. It's at 1.25 GB. I have used all bu 596 MB.
I'm not convinced adding memory will improve performance that much if you have 596mb free.
I'd try a different web browser.  I'd look at activity monitor & see if you can spot a hog.
TenFourFox -- It's a port of the latest FireFox to run on older hardware and software.
"World's most advanced web browser. Finely tuned for the Power PC."
    --  works for me on 10.4.  Supports 10.5
http://www.floodgap.com/software/tenfourfox/
alternative download site:
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/37761/tenfourfox
Turn on pipelining.  This will allow Firefox to make simaltaneous requests to the server.  Chrome has pipeling turned on. Some sites could fail to load with pipeling set on. The site will be old. See "Increase pipelining" in:
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/firefox-optimization-tips/
OmniWeb uses the lastest Safari framework.  The open source WebKit. Other browsers like Safari and iCab use the OS version of WebKit.  The OmniWeb downloaded dmg includes it's own copy of the latest WebKit.
http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omniweb/
Safari 5.0.6 Leopard.
http://support.apple.com/kb/dl1422
Some semi-randomn thoughts on addressing performance problems.
Activity Monitor
Look at what is happening with your Mac when you run Activity Monitor.
Macintosh-HD -> Applications -> Utilities -> Activity Monitor
Click on the CPU tab on the lower half of the window. Make sure the little triangle is pointed down.  Make the triangle point down by clicking.
With the down pointed triangle, you will see the apps which are using the most of the processor.
You can gain some understanding of Activity Monitor by  looking at it every once in a while.  Look at the small graph.
Here is how I have my cpu display set up:
AppleJack
"AppleJack is a user friendly troubleshooting assistant for Mac OS X. With AppleJack you can troubleshoot a computer even if you can't load the GUI, or don't have a startup CD handy. AppleJack runs in Single User Mode and is menu-based for ease of use."
http://applejack.sourceforge.net/
Console
You can use the console application to examine Mac OS log files.  The logs will contain information on various system processes.
Macintosh-HD -> Applications -> Utilities -> Console
File > open console log
this will display the startup messages
and
file > open system log
once the system is started, messages will go into the system log
Other folks
bdaqua advises running disk utility from install disk and performing a safe boot:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2256611&tstart=0
Allan Jones  advises running automatic maintenance scripts and checking for free disk space:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=10845311#10845311
K Shaffer    advises checking for available RAM and checking for free disk space:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=10879449#10879449