PowerBook G4 Graphics Update 1.0

[MacRumors]

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Apple has posted (http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/powerbookg4graphicsupdate10.html) PowerBook G4 Graphics Update 1.0 for 1.67GHz PowerBook G4s. The PowerBook must be on Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.2 to install this update.About the PowerBook G4 Graphics Update 1.0

This update is recommended for the following PowerBook G4 computers:
- PowerBook G4 (15-inch, 1.67 GHz)
- PowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.67 GHz)

The PowerBook G4 Graphics Update 1.0 improves graphics stability for some 1.67-GHz PowerBook G4 computers.

[Doctor Q]

Is this appearing in Software Update for affected PowerBooks?

[wrxguy]

awsome thanks!!

[villanova329]

Hhmm.... wow. This is the first time I've ever seen an update of this sort. I feel special.

[quigleybc]

power Book users should be happy with this, even if it isn't a giant update

:)

[Doctor Q]

It couldn't be much more specialized than this, unless it said "PowerBook update for wrxguy and villanova329."

[Littleodie914]

Wow... This is new. Does anybody know what this specifically fixes? Like is it a performance-type fix? Perhaps the drivers before the update misinterpreted a Core Image function? Neato gang! :D :rolleyes:

[sethypoo]

Well this is interesting. Is this a first for Apple?

[mad jew]

Is this a first for Apple?


Didn't the Rev. B iBook G4s get a similar update at some stage?

[crazzyeddie]

I haven't seen anything reported on this issue... I wonder why Apple chooses to pay attention to these updates instead of more serious problems like OpenGL crashes on the G5 SP1.8ghz

[TheMonarch]

I saw this too, a while ago. I haven't installed it yet because I don't want to restart. What does it fix anyways?

[Dr. Dastardly]

huh thats funny that its just for the 1.67ghz model. Wonder whats that all about.

[Jesus]

has anyone with the affected powerbooks had problems with graphics or stability???

Jesus

[villanova329]

Where's the "Powerbook G4 to G5 Processor Update 1.0" ?

Hehehe sorry I had to get that out. :D

[kb9wte]

I'm getting ready to install it, but hopefully it fixes the one graphics problem I have...the screen sometimes goes all blurry for a second when I plug (or unplug) my power adapter. It's not really a big deal, but kind of annoying...

[berkleeboy210]

just installed on my 1.67 15" Only a 2.5mb d'load. can't be anything too major.

[TheMonarch]

Could it be the dock freezing problem?
hmm...

[bobr]

I've got a 1.5Ghz Aluminum G4 and it shows up in SW update......should I take a chance? I thought it was specifically for the 1.67Ghz models...

[kb9wte]

It fixed my problem :)

[UNIX X11]

blaskillet4: Probably, but there should be an update for the 12" too (1.33 GHz), since I get that bug as well.

[w_parietti22]

Didn't the Rev. B iBook G4s get a similar update at some stage?

yep.

It sucks that this is the only news today. :(

[So Nice]

Does it fix the mysterious F1/F2 brightness control lack with Tiger?

[Dagless]

aw i want to update something :(

[nightdweller25]

aw i want to update something :(
Tell me about it :(

[mkrishnan]

Tell me about it :(

LOL, just yesterday, I wanted to make a new thread complaining that my Software Update was not feeling the love. :(

[Bradley W]

_

[jdechko]

Maybe its an updated driver for the 9700. Thats the only thing that would affect the specified models (and the one guy with a 1.5 GHz) PB. Nothing else seems to be a common thread for this update

[WildCowboy]

I've got one of the affected machines and haven't noticed any problems...interesting. I'll install the update tomorrow morning. Hopefully my PB will then be stable enough to support an elephant.

Oh...different kind of stability...never mind.

[matticus008]

Well, I installed it, and nothing broke....so....hooray!

I wasn't having any problems, but I didn't like the idea that software update had something available.

[yoda13]

well, it is not in my swupdate, and I have the 1.5 w/ the 9700 w/ 128mb vram. I wonder why it is in that other guy's swupdate? :confused:

[yippy]

Maybe it is for the 9700 with dual dvi support. That would explain why some with 1.5Ghz owners see it and others don't. Just a thought.

[Ayre]

I don't think this was supposed to be a drivers update, but I noticed a 5-10 fps boost in WoW, including 72 fps in indoor areas.

I think this may have fixed whatever problems I was having. :)

[Furrybeagle]

Maybe it is for the 9700 with dual dvi support. That would explain why some with 1.5Ghz owners see it and others don't. Just a thought.

The Dual-DVI support is only with the 128 meg cards, which is what yoda13 has.

[berkleeboy210]

What is this dock problem everyone is talking about?

[$MacUser$]

I am nearly positive Im seeing benefit after installing the update. im not a big video gamer, but think its one of the best gauges of graphics performance. Ive been playing Knights of the Old Republic maxed out on a 17 inch 1.67, 128 Radeon with a little chop here and there. This patch seems to have improved frame rates by a noticeable amount. My roommate commented on the boosted performance without me saying anything.

[yippy]

The Dual-DVI support is only with the 128 meg cards, which is what yoda13 has.

It depends what revision. I have a 9700 with 128Mb of ram but it is the previous version Powerbook that did not offer Dual-DVI support.

[amin]

I've got a 1.5Ghz Aluminum G4 and it shows up in SW update......should I take a chance? I thought it was specifically for the 1.67Ghz models...
Me too. Guess we shouldn't update since it isn't for us, but I am tempted.

[MagnaPalam]

It showed up in my swupdate, and I installed it on my 1.5 PB w/the 64Mb Vid card. Haven't noticed any difference in video quality. Beware, however, that I have now about half the reception on my wifi that I did have. I am right next to the antenna, and have always had a full signal since 10.4.1 all around my house. Now I get, after the update, 1 to 2 bars, not the full 15 in internet connect.

I cant understand for the life of me why my wifi would be so bad after a vid card update, but stranger things have happened.

To try to fix this problem, I've rebooted, reset my cable modem, and my wifi router...to no avail

Any suggestions? Anyone know how to uninstall an update?


P.S. The Air Traffic Control widget says my signal is the same as before.

P.S.S. Now after three restarts, I have regained my signal strength to full. Don't know what that was all about, and hope it doesn't happen again.

[bammac]

Hi Guys,

I did a before and after benchmark test on my 15" PowerBook with the Graphics update using XBench 1.2. The results show a slight improvement in test results.

System Info
Xbench Version 1.2
System Version 10.4.2 (8C46)
Physical RAM 2048 MB
Model PowerBook5,6
Processor PowerPC G4 @ 1.67 GHz
L1 Cache 32K (instruction), 32K (data)
L2 Cache 512K @ 1.67 GHz
Bus Frequency 167 MHz
Video Card ATY,RV360M11
Drive Type ST9100823A

Results(TOTAL): Before Update 45.26

CPU Test 66.55
Memory Test 28.23
Quartz Graphics Test 68.41
OpenGL Graphics Test 81.18
User Interface Test 42.55
Disk Test 24.98

Results(TOTAL): After Update 47.20

CPU Test 66.30
Memory Test 29.04
Quartz Graphics Test 71.69
OpenGL Graphics Test 83.73
User Interface Test 39.93
Disk Test 29.33


Now for what it's worth, I have run that test at least 5 times to get the best score, before the update I could not get it any higher than just under 45.3. I'm not sure how robust this benchmark is either, but I thought I would at least update any improvements.

My system details are in my signature. Would be interesting to see what improvements in games there is (if any?).

[villanova329]

Bravo Bammac. Bravo

Now I feel a little better about this update. I have the same specs you do except mine's a 17". Thanks again.

[Demon Hunter]

Thanks for the Xbench... good effort there... but Xbench's graphics tests are notorious for their jumpiness and overall inefficacy. ~2 points is nothing to get excited about. A difference like that could be your AppleSpell process. :D

Never had any video problems... but yea this is cool. :cool:

[Lobos]

I'm getting ready to install it, but hopefully it fixes the one graphics problem I have...the screen sometimes goes all blurry for a second when I plug (or unplug) my power adapter. It's not really a big deal, but kind of annoying...

I also had this problem. I got a new PB about 6 weeks ago and it was really bad. It would last at least 10 seconds and sometimes not go away for a minute or two and I would also get it when I restarted and go to the login screen. I took it to the Apple Store, the guy looked at it and told me to send it back.

I got a new one and it still had the same problem but to a much lesser degree (more like the annoyance quoted above.) I just updated and I haven't had any problems now.

[bellang]

Same here. this update (probably amongst other things) fixes the bug where certain aspects of the screen would appear to corrupt when changing the powerstate of the laptop (i.e. plugging in power).

[chaosbunny]

I don't think this was supposed to be a drivers update, but I noticed a 5-10 fps boost in WoW, including 72 fps in indoor areas.

I think this may have fixed whatever problems I was having. :)

Great, now I can't stand waiting until I have finished my work to try that out!
:D

[epochblue]

I installed it without incident. The only change I've noticed is that my CPU is now running about 20 degrees hotter than it was previously....don't know if that's necessarily a result of the update or not... :confused:

[beige matchbox]

When connecting/disconnecting from power my powerbook always had momentary major screen artifacting, for maybe half a second - 1 second, and some games when run while in low power mode would do the same, but i had to put it to sleep and wake up again to fix it.

After the update i no longer have this problem :)

[anynigma]

epochblue: Perhaps this is why the update was released. It could be better heat sensing or something. Weren't a few people complaining of high heat and the like? Perhaps the sensors were off or something. The increase in graphics power seems unlikely, but not impossible. I have installed the update and everything seems to be running fine.

[crackpip]

I had consistent problems with my powerbook when changing the display setup in Tiger. In my office I have it hooked to a 23" ACD in a dual display state (ACD and laptop LCD). I always put the machine to sleep to unplug the ACD, but when waking it up without the ACD, it would sometimes hang in some intermediate state. Most of the time it would come out of that state, but there were times I'd actually have to power down the machine by holding the power button. This would happen when plugging the ACD and waking the laptop too. I'm not having any issues anymore. It switches resolutions and display arrangement, and brings up the password prompt normally.

crackpip

[Converted2Truth]

I was hoping this update would increase graphics processing just a tad.

NOT

Wow still runs like a snail in certain areas. It's really frustrating. my friends low-end centrino with 6800go runs the game at a constant 60fps with same settings :P

3k for 15fps in wow. damn... well at least my powermac runs it just fine after a 360.

[moodler]

I can see increased performance on things like the Dashboard when you add a new Widget (the water ripple effect). It used to be a bit jerky, but now it's smooth as butter. :D Yay!

[psycho bob]

Single best update have have released this year IMHO. A lot of people asked for replacement books due the corruption at power state change. This actually fixed a major bug so thanks apple.

What is a little puzzling though is that the same corruption occurs under 10.3 as well, I know apple wants everyone on Tiger but it sems a little petty this was issues for the older OS as well.

I was intrigued by the fact this was a software and not firmware fix. Does anybody know what exactly the update changes?

[amin]

I installed on my 1.5GHz 15" for which the update was not intended. No change from what I can tell. Suits me fine since I wasn't having any problems.

[mkrishnan]

I installed on my 1.5GHz 15" for which the update was not intended. No change from what I can tell. Suits me fine since I wasn't having any problems.

I'm surprised it'll install on other hardware than what it was intended for.

[g_greek]

i updated my pb 15" & found a bug.
when is in sleep and attach a usb mouse,the pb wakes up but the screen remains off.