G4 expandability

[JayBee]

Woohoo! Got an insurance cheque in to replace my "un-fixable" Performa 5500, and it looks like I'll it pushes me over the cash-barrier to getting a low-end G4 :D

However, a couple of questions about expandability. I'm from a PC background, where I can rip out the mainboard if I want and basically rebuild the system as I want. I realise that G4s don't work like this (thankfully!), but what CAN I expand?

RAM and video cards are no-brainers, but down the line can I whack a third party Super-drive equivalent in in place of the CDRW? Or could I buy a nifty-keen faster CPU and slot it into the mainboard?

Also (and this is a LONG shot - I'm expecting this to be laughed down) what PCI boards am I likely to be able to transplant from my PC? Specifically, I've got a WinTV card...

Okay, you can stop laughing now!

Just some questions before I part with my hard-earned... and if you think insurance cheques aren't "hard earned", well, you clearly don't claim on your policies very often ; ).

Cheers m'dears!

[mervTormel]

JayBee,

re: can I whack a third party Super-drive equivalent in in place of the CDRW? Or could I buy a nifty-keen faster CPU and slot it into the mainboard?
--

thirdParty surper-drive, most likely, as these are just another ATAPI device

is that right? anybody know? are there still driver issues with these foreign ATAPI's? or is it handled in the hardware?

as for CPU upgrades, i see a lot of noise about them, so i've always wondered if they're troublesome for their expense. they're cheap for a few MHz bumps, but they're costs sky-rocket fast for larger bumps. maybe those economies will change for older, depracated models, tho.

re: WinTV, i was chortling, but then a google search told me this:

3rd party Developers have also written WinTV-pci drivers for both LINUX, the BeOS and OS/2. These drivers, information, and their support may be found on their respective websites.

Note on Linux: Video drivers for Hauppauge WinTV-PCI are included as modules to the linux 2.2 kernel (included with Redhat 6.x)

and since it's a whole new ballgame, who knows?

[WillyT]

The Apple dealer in Bloomington-Normal would not sell or order a Superdrive for me. Very happy to sell a NEW G4 if thats what I wanted.