G4 Sawtooth - got a mini and now have this to play with

[fletch33]

i acquired a mini recently for the bedroom and i had my G4 Sawtooth in there which now that big thing is out of there and available to play with. so i decided to install a 10 seat copy of Leopard server on it we had at work and never used. i have no idea why at this point but there has to be some fun stuff i can do with it and i have always wanted to play around with a server.

i have upgraded the 400MHz G4 to a 1.6GHz with 1GB ram and a 256 Radeon video card so it runs Leopard server very well.

however i am missing a few things that i think i will want but wanted to get some others thoughts:

1. SATA - i have a linux NAS setup currently that has 4 x 750GB SATA drives in it and i see no reason to keep it now that i have this server setup. what would be the best yet affordable way to use these 4 drives in this G4? i have set it up but not done much so changing drives and re-installing everything would be no big deal. i thought about cheap adapters but that would slow the speed i could gain from sata. i also found a sonnet raid card for my machine on newegg but it only had hook up for 2 drives and was pricey.

2. data backup - i was thinking if i could get the 4 sata's hooked up then i could use 1 to install the OS and then 1 or 2 of them for storage and the the remaining 1 or 2 depending on what i use for storage as time machine backup area for not only the server but my other mac's in the house. my only concern for data security is my iPhoto library and my iTunes library. i have mobile me and i sync my address book, ical, bookmarks, keychains, etc... on most of my macs and therefore not really worried about loosing a machine since all of that would be on the others. my thought is that i could avoid RAID and the speed loose that comes with as well as the need for a RAID card.

3. syncing - i am 100% clueless with server and i know it would nbot be needed to do this but i thought it would be nice if all my macs could share my itunes and iphoto library. sometimes i will unload my camera on my iMac and sometimes one of my macbooks so being able to have it all in one place would be great. i guess the problem of not having it on my machine might prevent it form being available on the road or when away from the house?

4. file speed - my home network and all of its computers are either gigabit (CAT6 or 5e) or wireless N except for my iphone. i actually run 2 wireless routers one for N only and one for B/G people so they do not slow down my network by hoping on my N wifi. the G4 has a 10/100 card in it and i am wondering if getting a 10/100/100 card would be worth wild?

5. server - what cool things could i do with this LOL i have a very good ISP that gives me 20 megs down and 1.5 up so i could ge† some decent connections to it.


6. any other thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

sorry for the long post but i wanted to get it all out and see what others thought.

thanks for reading and any suggestions.

[Ryder]

hey there, i recently got 2 g4 sawtooths for free, both 500mhz, but i thought inable to upgrade the processer i needed a new logic board, is this true?
And what graphics card should a i get, preferably a cheap one off ebay, but better then the 128 pro?
I'm also going to set up a server on one of mine too, just for fun.
_________________
Ryder M.
Mac Mini 2.0 2cd (2009) 32'' monitor
Mac Mini G4 1.42ghz-traded for Ibook
Ibook G4 1.33ghz
2 - G4 PowerMac Sawtooth's, 20'' monitors
Blue & White G3, & old Crt
Ipod Touch
4 500gb external drives

[fletch33]

you dont need a new logic board.

you can pick from various processors here.

i didnt know exactly which 500Mhz you had so you have to select from that list and it will show you your choices.

i have a 256 video card i found on ebay for $50 that was mac compatible.

i had the server all set up but have since turned it off. i didnt find that i used it for anything that i couldnt do on my iMac and mainly was just running all that power to keep a couple of hard drives going. i just put the drives in an external case and turned it off for now.

i had done a lot to that 400MHZ G4 though. i had

- 1.6GHz Processor
- 2GB Ram
- 256 Video card
- SATA Card for 2 x SATA Drives
- Gigabit Network Card
- added ports to the front where the zip drive was. 1 firewire 2 USB2 and Mic and Headphone jacks
- USB2 card


thats it i think

have fun

[Ryder]

Cool thanx i'll look into that.
_________________
Ryder M.
Mac Mini 2.0 2cd (2009) 32'' monitor
Mac Mini G4 1.42ghz-traded for Ibook
Ibook G4 1.33ghz
2 - G4 PowerMac Sawtooth's, 20'' monitors
Blue & White G3, & old Crt
Ipod Touch
4 500gb external drives

[Smithcraft]

You need to get a test application which will tell you which version of the firmware you have. If you have the later firmware, you can go dual.

http://www.powerlogix.com/downloads/UniNorthASICChecker.sit

fletch33 - I'm surprised nobody, myself included, commented on this thread! Must have missed it...

SC
_________________
Grumpy old man of computing.

[Desktop] G4 mini - 1.5Ghz 1GB 80GB HDD - Newer miniStack v2 500GB - 10.5.8

[Media System] Intel i5 mini - 2.33Ghz 8GB 500GB HDD - 4 x Hitachi 2TB HDD in a qBOX-SF - 10.7.5 (Thanks Phil!)

Make sure it has pins!

[Ryder]

cool thanx
_________________
Ryder M.
Mac Mini 2.0 2cd (2009) 32'' monitor
Mac Mini G4 1.42ghz-traded for Ibook
Ibook G4 1.33ghz
2 - G4 PowerMac Sawtooth's, 20'' monitors
Blue & White G3, & old Crt
Ipod Touch
4 500gb external drives