Is Dual 1.25 Ghz MDD still a good buy?

Question

I have a B/W G3 as a second computer that I like for the expandability. I have upgraded the processor to 500Ghz with a Sonnet ZIF card. A 1.0 Ghz Zif card is $300. Would a MDD Dual 1.25 Ghz be a better buy?
My other computer is an original Mac mini (1.25) that is passable for most home use but I do do some freelance graphic design and I play around with Reason and Logic Express as a hobby.
What do current users of this model think of it's current value and usefulness? I see some models available at around $600 from PowerMax and about half that on eBay.
Thanks.

Answer 1

Brent Emerson wrote:
I have a B/W G3 as a second computer that I like for the expandability. I have upgraded the processor to 500Ghz with a Sonnet ZIF card. A 1.0 Ghz Zif card is $300. Would a MDD Dual 1.25 Ghz be a better buy?
My advice would be not spend another penny on the B/W. I had one too, expanded/upgraded to limits and confronted that same CPU issue years ago with the only thing really better than the 500MHz ZIF being that Sonnet.
$300 is not well spent on that Mac. They have all sorts of little glitches and limitations. It doesn't have an AGP slot for graphics cards (severly limiting your choices and ability to run applications like FCP, Motion, etc); flaky ATA chip (rev. 1); flaky FW; a bug that limits bandwidth with PCI cards; and a bug that affects CPU upgrades.
In order for that 1.Ghz ZIF to work, Sonnet has to downclock the system bus from 100MHz to 66MHz, effectively turning the B/W into a Beige. (That problem led to the demise of the upgrade manufacturer XLR8 (assets later sold to Daystar) as they tried in vain to produce a Dual CPU upgrade). The Dual 1.25 MDD would has a 167MHz FSB along with AGP slot, etc.
Warts and all, I really liked mine and had a blast upgrading it -- but at a certain point you've got to let it go. I traded it in for a DA years ago (when Apple offered the first G5s and the last MDDs). I upgraded that DA over time (suited my budget), but at the end of last year its GigaDesigns 1.33GHz dual upgrade went down -- I think it burnt a CPU. Should have bought a new MDD after all back then.
Similar to your current situation I priced new upgrades for my DA, anywhere from $300 up. I didn't think that was the best use of the cash either since for a little more I could buy an MDD with its advantages like faster FSB with some models (DA have 133MHz FSB), 2 optical drives, and doesn't have some bugs that my DA has affecting some graphics and storage cards. My requirement is to have one 9.x-booting machine. I use my MBP alot.
It's a long story, but I now have two MDDs -- one of which is a 1.25 Dual. That one got pieced together a bit -- I've been bit by the upgrade/tinkering bug -- so it's not yet in production but it's close. Each of those MDD alone will cost around or less than the price of DA upgrade, and that dual 1.25 is a bit better machine than the DA, and a lot better than your B/W even with a 1Ghz Sonnet.
If I balked at getting an upgrade for my DA (which is much better Mac than your B/W), I think you shouldn't spend money on yours. That $300 you're considering is better spent on new used Mac. A Dual 1.25 seem like solid Mac based on my testing so far with the one I have. Even say a dual 1GHz Quicksilver is a better place to put $300.