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G4 450 upgrades

S

shmegal325i

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 20, 2011
32
0
Hi, I recently got my hands on a graphite PowerPC G4:

-450MHz the cpu says xpc7400 on it.
-1MB cache
-256MB RAM (which looks like it was upgraded since one stick says 256MB and the other I can't tell)
-20GB hard drive
-ATI AGP graphics which I'm guessing is the Rage 128 16MB?

I know the max RAM is 2GB, but I am wondering whats the fastest cpu I can upgrade to. Any video card should be supported as long as it's AGP2x or PCI correct?

Thank you.
 
From what I've read you'll get better results with an AGP video card.

The only upgrades available from OWC these days are 1.6GHz single and dual from NewerTech. They're out of the Powerlogix brand.
 
Yes you would get better performance with an AGP card, ANYTHING would be better than that stinkin old Rage128....

But FYI, cpu upgrades for this machine cost as much or more than the machine is actually worth......SO if you just have some extra cash to blow on whatever, then by all means go for it :)

you can also get the following upgrades to further bump the performance:

1) PCI SATA controller card & big, fast HDD's
2) or an SATA RAID card & stripe several ^^^
3) mAxDaRam to 2GB for sure
4) Radeon 9800 Pro AGP 8x video card.

Of course with all of this, you could just about buy a refurb/used iMac or other more up to date machine that will be leaps & bounds faster.... but hey, it's ONLY money, right :eek:
 
Thanks guys. Definitely maxing out the RAM, I already have extra hard drives.

Have a 64MB old ATI video card which I will try out.

As far as the cpu goes, I checked up on them and seems they cost a few hundred bucks. Screw that!

The thing is I'm giving this to my father who barely knows how to use a computer, he mainly just plays games and browses news online, but since it's getting cheaper and cheaper I am definitely maxing out the RAM and putting in a better video card and hard drive just to beef it up a little.
 
I'm not sure about this, but I think you can buy a cheap OEM stock G4 CPU from eBay or a resell site. While a stock G4, it will still be much faster then your current one. Once again, I'm not sure about how compatible the G4 CPU's are across platforms. More research or opinions may be needed.
 
Ok well I upgraded it to Panther 10.3.9 earlier and it runs smooth except when loading websites that have a lot of images or flash. Can't go on YouTube since it doesn't support Firefox 2.0.0.20, which is the latest version for Panther.

Just ordered 1GB of Corsair RAM for $10. Going to put my 64MB AGP card from another computer later. So we're looking at:

-450MHz, 1.5GB RAM, 64MB video card (maybe a 128MB later).

How well do you guys think it will run Tiger or maybe even Leopard? Once again my father will be using it. Card games, music, Skype, normal Internet browsing. Nothing crazy.
 
Intell said:
I'm not sure about this, but I think you can buy a cheap OEM stock G4 CPU from eBay or a resell site. While a stock G4, it will still be much faster then your current one. Once again, I'm not sure about how compatible the G4 CPU's are across platforms. More research or opinions may be needed.
Click to expand...

What do you mean "stock" cpu ????

He has a "stock" one now, as in from the factory, so why would he buy another one of the same kind/type/speed........please explain.....

Stock G4's of that era only went up to 500mhz. After that they had a totally different form factor, pin outs etc. And you can NOT just interchange them at will.

At best he could hope that his machine is a Uni-7 northbridge-equipped model that will accept dual-cpu's, in which case he could get a "stock" Dual 450 or 500mhz off fleabay and drop it right in nottaproblemo :)

I did this many, many moons ago with my first sawtooth G4/400 & it really made a big difference in apps like Photoshop 5 that could utilize the extra cpu. Even that one cost me over $200 at the time :eek:
 
Pretty sure I've taken my Cube's 500mhz OEM G4 and put it in my uncle's Sawtooth. I've even put my Cube's 1.5Ghz Powerlogix upgrade into that Sawtooth to see if it'd work, it did.

What I meant is that he could buy a OEM that is faster than his current one. I know that G4's are cross model swappable to a certain speed. Example: He could buy a 733Mhz OEM from eBay for cheap and gain an improvement over his current 500 OEM one.
 
shmegal325i said:
So would either of these fit my G4?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Power...179?pt=CPUs&hash=item3a61a35c8b#ht_953wt_1286

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Power...27?pt=CPUs&hash=item3a6d18303f#ht_1341wt_1053

If so, which would be the better option. Either one would be a very cheap upgrade.
Click to expand...

From what I've read, first you have to find out if your G4 is a Uni-7 northbridge-equipped model that will accept dual-cpu's, as SmurfBox said a few posts back. One site I read said there is no way to check that in system profiler, but there is, somewhere a free download that can check that, I just haven't been able to find that download for you. Anyone know a link?

This guy says if you send him a message he'll send a link to the software, I don't know him, so I can't vouch one way or the other. http://reviews.ebay.com/Mac-G4-Processor-Upgrade-Purchasing-Tips-amp-Information?ugid=10000000001026836
 
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I think you need to stay with the 450 or 500mhz dual cpu's because of the different system bus speed, but someone else with experience can verify that.

Your system is 100 Mhz bus speed.

Looking at the G4 specs of Everymac.com, the dual 450 and 500 cpu's also have 100 Mhz bus speed, but then you start seeing faster cpu's at 133 Mhz. Not sure if that can just self adjust like RAM to run at your lower speed or if it causes problems/is incompatible.
 
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Unless I'm missing something are you asking to throw any AGP graphics card in because the PC cards and Mac cards had different firmware then. You'll need to get a AGP card specifically for Mac.
 
cocacolakid said:
the dual 450 and 500 cpu's also have 100 Mhz bus speed, but then you start seeing faster cpu's at 133 Mhz. Not sure if that can just self adjust like RAM to run at your lower speed or if it causes problems/is incompatible.
Click to expand...

Can anyone clarify whether a cpu with 133Mhz bus speed will work?
 

Just want to tell you that I had a powerbook G3 with 384 MB RAM and I had TIGER on it, even on a G3 it ran beautiful as long as there's not too much load on it.
Flash Sux, even on a G4 powerbook, I have the G4 1.67 Ghz and Flash is not smooth, has 128 MB Video Memory.
Leopard might run on it but as known it's a bit a bloated OS and it may suffer, just try.
 
shmegal325i said:
Can anyone clarify whether a cpu with 133Mhz bus speed will work?
Click to expand...

Not without some modifications. A DA 733 module, for example, will work, but the timing would need to be adjusted. This involves soldering. Also, you would not be able to physically install the card without removing the plastic around the ATA 33 (optical drive) motherboard connector and bending the pins downward. In the old days, some folks would just saw the connector off and use an ATA PCI card instead.

Nowadays, it's much easier to simply look for deals on aftermarket upgrades. Keep an eye out for something like this. Aftermarket upgrades are available up to dual 1.8GHx or single 2.0GHx.

The video card will need to have a Mac ROM. In case that's not clear, you'll need to either use an OEM card that came with a G4 AGP, a retail card that was sold for use in Macs, or a PC card that has been flashed with a Mac ROM.

What do you want from this computer? What OS do you want to run? What kind of work do you want to do on it? How much money do willing to spend? Tell us this and you'll likely get more focused answers to your questions.
 
shmegal325i said:
OK I found another app called CPU Director. I have a PowerPC 7400 Uni-7 (Dual Compatible)! Bring on the dual processors!
Click to expand...

For future reference, if anyone wants to know the northbridge-number without downloading something:

FOR OS X:
1. open terminal (in disk utilities folder)
2. type:
Code: 
ioreg -n uni-n | grep device-rev
3. press return
4. look where "device-rev" stands. The number following the seven zeros (0000000x) is the one you search. (For Sonnet Dual Upgrades a number higher than 3 is needed, 3 won't work. You can install a Single CPU)

FOR OS 9:
1. go to apple system profiler (under the rainbow apple in left corner)
2. from the menu select File > ne report
3. check the boxes for System profile and hardware overview, uncheck any other.
4. a ASP report pops up, click the button for "text document"
5. the last info is "uni -n:" where you can find the info you need (see above)
 
Alright guys I think I'm over upgrading this G4, already bought 1GB RAM for $10, but I just bought another G4 off Craigslist for $40. It is dual 1.0Ghz 2MB L3 cache, 1GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, 32MB ATI card.

Not sure which exact model it is, but it is silver, 2 trays in front with no buttons to eject them, and the speaker has a grill that is round and kind of sticks out.

Quicksilver 2001 or 2002? The video card would suggest that it's a 2001, but the 1.0Ghz dual cpu suggests its a 2002. Correct me if I'm wrong. I will check the serial number later as I am in class now.
 
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shmegal325i said:
Alright guys I think I'm over upgrading this G4, already bought 1GB RAM for $10, but I just bought another G4 off Craigslist for $40. It is dual 1.0Ghz 2MB L3 cache, 1GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, 32MB ATI card.

Not sure which exact model it is, but it is silver, 2 trays in front with no buttons to eject them, and the speaker has a grill that is round and kind of sticks out.

Quicksilver 2001 or 2002? The video card would suggest that it's a 2001, but the 1.0Ghz dual cpu suggests its a 2002. Correct me if I'm wrong. I will check the serial number later as I am in class now.
Click to expand...

Whether Quicksilver or MDD, that's a good buy for $40 and a much more usable machine without shelling out lots of cash for upgrades. If it's an MDD, you can upgrade it to a dual 1.25GHz pretty cheaply ($25 or so).

----------
Dane D. said:
Is this the model you have? http://apple-history.com/g4_mirror
If so, it is loud. I have a dual 867 model next to me at work. It will heat up your room nicely. Not a great machine, but capable. As for Flash, it sucks, as do most PowerPC units.
Click to expand...

I think they're nice machines. It's the OEM PSU fans in the early ones that made an annoying high-pitched noise, but those can be replaced with quiet fans pretty cheaply (if they haven't been already).

Also, they run much cooler with CHUD nap mode enabled.
 
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