Techinal Question, what does the following actually mean?

Question

800mhz G4 Processor
768Mb Ram -?
60Gb Hard Drive?
Interested in an Apple imac, is the above good & what does it actually do for me??????

Answer 1

800 mhz g4 processor- processor speed+how fast your computer processes information. 800 mhz is pretty mediocre.

768 mb ram+ random access memory. determines how many processes your computer can run at one time without slowing down. 768mb is also mediocre.

60 gb hard drive-how much storage your computer will hold, again 60 gb mediocre.

Answer 2

Lets look at this one item at a time:
800 MHz G4 Processor:
The Processor, or CPU is the brain of the computer. It is where all the computational functions take place. Generally speaking, the faster the processor, the more tasks it can accomplish in a given time.
This is an older Mac processor. I'm assuming you are looking at a used Mac, as all new Macs have Intel processors. You will not be able to run a lot of newer software on this processor, and it is a bit slow by today's standards.

768MB Ram: RAM is Random Access Memory. This is the place the computer temporarily stores data as the CPU works. The MB stands for MegaByte, and is a unit of storage, the bigger the better. The more RAM available, the faster the computer will work. Again, this amount of RAM is rather low by today's standards. Today, look for 1 to 2 GB of RAM for a new machine (1 GB = 1000 MB).

60 GB hard drive:
The hard drive is used for permanent storage of data. Think of this like your virtual closet. The bigger your hard drive, the more data you can store. If you plan to use the iMac for digital photos and music storage, 60 GB will probably become filled rather quickly. Once again, the size indicates that this iMac is probably a few years old.

If you can afford a new Mac, I'd recommend that verses a used one.

Answer 3

800mhz G4 Processor - means the speed that your computer will carry out instruction in the loaded program. 800Mhz isn't that bad but really these days you could do with something at least 1.5 gig or preferably higher. This will allow for better speed of your whole system when e.g. playing games.

768Mb Ram - means the memory you have available for the programs you are running. Again, the higher the better. If you plan on having quite a few programs running at the same time, it will eat up the memory so, even though 768 is good, you should consider upgrading to at least 1Gig. I run with 512Mb of RAM and it's sufficient for everything I've needed so far.

60Gb Hard Drive - This is the space you have on the Hard Drive to install Programs or to save files. I have 120 Gig HDD and haven't even filled half yet and that's in 5 years with 2 teenage sons who love to download music!


In short, try for a higher (faster) Processor, possibly more RAM although 768 isn't bad and should be able to cope with most usage. The Hard Drive space of 60 Gig is large and should be fine for an average family to use but, as with everything to do with computers, higher is better so if you can get better it's a good idea.

When you are buying the PC you want, remember to check if it is upgradeable so you can install extra memory, change the processor or put in another Hard Drive if you wanted! Its a lot easier than people think!


Oh, and 1 last thing.

SHOP AROUND! There are a few good deals to be had, especially if you can play one company off against another!

Happy Surfing!
:~}

Answer 4

The processor, is basically the brains of your computer, its job is to process the information. Its processing power is measured in mhz ir ghz. the higher the number the better. The G4 is a type of apple processor ... like an intel pentium.

RAM is used for temporary storage and stand for Random Access Memory, the Processor uses the RAM to store information that is waiting to be or has been processed. The RAM is wiped when you turn off your PC. The more ram you have the more things your computer can do at once. As always a higher number is better.

The hard drive is the thing that stores persitant information on your computer, such as your files and programs. The more space you have (higher number) the more things you can have on your computer. Things saved to the hard drive remain there untill you delete them.

The above in MAC terms is acceptable, mid level. You must always weigh up your system specifications to your needs.
For example, a gamer needs a better processor and RAM, whereas a movie lover wouldnt need so much processing power or RAM but would need a lot of space (hard disk) to store thier movies on. And a writer/internet surfer could get by with a much more basic system than the above, as they generally dont need huge ammounts of storage or power.

Phew.... hope this helps and isnt too confusing

Answer 5

60GB is how much space you have to keep stuff. That amount is OK for normal stuff but not enough if you're a photographer or running a music studio.

768MB RAM is how much space the computer has to actually work with stuff live. Since it's a Mac, that amount will probably be OK for things that don't involve huge amounts of graphics. For example, you don't want to be ray-tracing your latest design of sports car while you play Doom 7 3D online or whatever with that amount of memory.

800MHz G4 processor - the processor is the brain, G4 is the model of that brain, and its clock ticks 800 million times per second. That tells you how fast it can do sums. That's relatively slow in PC land these days, but Macs don't need such quick processors cos they don't waste so much time doing stupid stuff.

It means you've got a half decent machine to start with and can run an office from it happily. it's not big enough for really heavy tasks.

On a PC, I'd say beef up the memory first, disk space second, and processor third. Macs may be different...

Answer 6

this is a apple imac p.c,but apple osx can be installed on any apple p.c so if i were you if its cheap enough i would buy this
ok the processor is not too powerfull(but not that slow) and the memory(ram) is quite good infact(768mb is 3 quarters of a gigabyte of ram),60gb hard drive is passable
you also need to ask the seller what operating system it has(apple os)
i would reckon anything below £100 then buy it
good luck

Answer 7

This is somewhat an old type of MAC computer, it will actually do pretty good for any type of office, internet, chat applications, but I wouldn't try to play some high end game with it.

How much did you pay for it?

Answer 8

1st is the speed of your processor
2nd is how much memory
3rd is the size of the harddrive

Depends what you want, but I would say needs better processor, rams not bad but could be better and a bigger harddrive as they are so cheap these days.