Hello,
I would prefer to run Leopard legally, and get updates, and all of that. The problem is that after spending $$$ on a kick as Gateway for Vista, I'm running short on money. Whats the cheapest PowerPC or Intel mac I can get, and where (used, refurb), I don't care, with at least these specs, and not over $449 if possible.

40 GB HDD
Superdrive
512 (preferably 1 GB) Ram
At least 1 GHz CPU
OGL/QE and CI needed (Ci may be hard to get)

That's it/
Thanks bye.

Mac Mini from Ebay? $449 is enough money for the specs you require.
Or visit the "Special Deals" section of the Apple Store.

Mac Mini, though I would go intel. Core solo might be enough for you, get one with 1 gig ram and superdrive.

I think buying Mac mini is better than iBook, because you get an Intel machine that can run Windows!

And also you can upgrade the processor later...

I know this is slightly off topic but how easy is that?
Can it be done on all of Apples Intel machines?
Also how much would it cost to get a processor changed (- I've never actually thought of buying a processor)?

AFAIK in the Mac Mini isn't hard, also in the Mac Pro (but you need a lot of $$$ for changing Xeons there)

MacBooks inpossible (the processors are soldered).

in the iMac I really don't know

in the imac it is like the mac mini

Your are a mac-mini how do you know

google

http://paulstamatiou.com/2006/03/02/intel-...-is-upgradable/

quote from the site

Mac Minis don't like jokes

i got a mac mini intel with a core solo (1.5) a little while back, and had leopard flying on it with only 512 mb ram. its a great starter computer that can also be upgraded pretty well.

As much as I prefer the PPC Mac Minis...
They were underpowered, not very upgradeable, and didn't support QE.
But the Intel Mac minis have intergrated graphics....

Is Intel something you really need? Perhaps a PowerMac G4 would be ok? They are much more upgradeable as well

Apple's Integrated graphics aren't really much to worry about. To be honest, you were never goingto fit much of a graphics card into a Mac Mini, and the GMA-950 chipset is far more powerful than people expect; even though it's a no go for heavy 3D rendering.

I would advise against buying PPC from now on; unless you have a need to run PPC-Only apps, such as classic. While Apple have promised PPC support in Leopard, you never know when it's going to be dropped. Could be 3 years from now, in 10.7. Could be 18 months from now, in 10.6. Could be shortly after leopards release. If you want the future planning, I'd get the intel based system, and one with a good upgradeability. Enter the mini.

Note: If you have a mini with a core solo chip, maybe a good iea to start thinking about dropping in a core 2 duo before they become incompatible.

The downfall of PowerPC is already here. Aspyr's "Starwars: Empire at War" does not run on PowerPC at all.
The recommended specs are:

• CPU Speed: 2.0 GHz
• Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4.8
• Memory: 1 GB
• Video Memory (VRam): 256

Now, to be honest, a iMac G5 or Power Mac G5 could run this.
It's just lazy porting.

Aspyr are on my bad list now

EDIT: Also, one of the compatible GPUs is the X1600 - in the (iSight) iMac G5!!!

I still regret, that my first Mac choice was PowerBook G4, than an iMac core duo, cause my most beloved games like Rome Total War (I'm a real monster in that game), Dawn of war weren't adapted for Os X, so the only chance to run them - is to istall XP natively on an Intel based machine!
Modding your Mini is same as doing that on PC, you don't need special skills, if you tried to do that on a PC, the only difference is - MINI is very small!!!
You can change CPU, Hard drive, Memory and that's cheaper than asking Apple to do the same. Buying PPC, defenetely, NOOOO. You'll regret!!!
About graphics, GMA 950 is fine enough to run popular games on your machine, it's like fx 5200, but even faster, cause it uses sustem memory with a speed above 700 mhz (You can overclock it).

SO wait could i upgrade my iMac's processor HDD, VRAM etc,

check sig for machines specs

Theres plenty of tutorials of upgrading intel mac mini processors on the net, if you can risk your warranty and hardware support from apple.