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Upgrade G4 MDD to OS X Leopard?

M

MaxMike

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 6, 2009
487
36
My friend just got a Power Mac G4 MDD. Its specs are dual 1.25GHz PowerPC processors, 1.5GB RAM (1 slot does not recognize anything), 64MB graphics card, 80GB HDD, and even though it doesn't matter, a 23 inch Studio Display. He has Tiger on it, but he previously had an iBook 1.33GHz with Leopard. Would it be a bad idea to upgrade to Leopard since it demands more system requirements, or would the performance drop off not be so bad? :confused:
 
spinnerlys

spinnerlys

Guest
Sep 7, 2008
14,328
7
forlod bygningen
Since it is a dual CPU Mac, it would be okay. That friend can always install Leopard on a separate partition or HDD and decide to go back to Tiger if one needs to do so.
 
raysfan81

raysfan81

macrumors 6502a
Oct 6, 2009
598
2
Go for it if you have a leopard retail copy (grey disks won't work!). It runs great on my dual 1.42 MDD with even less ram. Also you may want to look into a core image supporting graphics card to increase performance more. I'm assuming that has the stock Radeon 9000 pro or the GeForce MX whatever it was.....?
 
PowerGamerX

PowerGamerX

macrumors 6502a
Aug 9, 2009
673
1
Possibly try to get a Core Image supporting graphics card and it'll love Leopard. My PowerBook loves it, and it's not as powerful as that PowerMac by any means (except possibly graphics).
 
M

MaxMike

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 6, 2009
487
36
Well he just installed it about an hour ago and it ran pretty well. Still had a bit of updating to do, so I will play around with the final result tomorrow when I go back there.
 
raysfan81

raysfan81

macrumors 6502a
Oct 6, 2009
598
2
MaxMike said:
Well he just installed it about an hour ago and it ran pretty well. Still had a bit of updating to do, so I will play around with the final result tomorrow when I go back there.
Click to expand...

You might have already done this, but I would have recommended that you exclude the installation of language packs and un-needed printer drivers to save hard drive space.
 
M

MaxMike

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 6, 2009
487
36
raysfan81 said:
You might have already done this, but I would have recommended that you exclude the installation of language packs and un-needed printer drivers to save hard drive space.
Click to expand...

Well he barely has any data and there is an 80GB hard drive in it. So there is still more than 60GB free
 
T

ThunderSnake

macrumors 6502
Jul 23, 2010
310
1
MaxMike said:
...1.5GB RAM (1 slot does not recognize anything),...
Click to expand...

If you feel that it's needed, you can remove one of the 512MB modules and replace it with a 1GB module to bring the total back up to 2 gigs even with the bad slot (The total cannot exceed 2GB, but the MDD will accept 1GB modules).

So, how do you like Leopard on this computer? I think these dual 1.25 and 1.42 MDD's make really nice Leopard machines. As others have suggested, a Core Image card will make it even better.
 
raysfan81

raysfan81

macrumors 6502a
Oct 6, 2009
598
2
ThunderSnake said:
If you feel that it's needed, you can remove one of the 512MB modules and replace it with a 1GB module to bring the total back up to 2 gigs even with the bad slot (The total cannot exceed 2GB, but the MDD will accept 1GB modules).

So, how do you like Leopard on this computer? I think these dual 1.25 and 1.42 MDD's make really nice Leopard machines. As others have suggested, a Core Image card will make it even better.
Click to expand...

Are you sure. I though the max per slot was 512mb?
 
T

ThunderSnake

macrumors 6502
Jul 23, 2010
310
1
raysfan81 said:
Are you sure. I though the max per slot was 512mb?
Click to expand...

The 512mb per slot were the official Apple specs on the MDD, but yes, I'm certain that you can use 1gb modules. Although I can't seem to find the link now, I think I first read about this in a technical bulletin from Apple that came late in the life cycle of the MDD product line (or maybe even after it was discontinued).

In any case, I have two machines running just fine with this configuration. With a quick Google search, you can find others that report the same.

This does not apply to earlier model G4 towers. This only applies to MDD/DDR G4's.
 
T

ThunderSnake

macrumors 6502
Jul 23, 2010
310
1
A little off topic here, but the official Apple specs on their new 12-Core Hellbeast show that it tops out at 32GB. Meanwhile, the folks at OWC have discovered that it runs just fine with 64GB (Twice what Apple said). I have no idea why Apple does this. They are notorious for understating what their products can do. For someone like me, who purchases new machines in seven year intervals and expects them to continue to be useful in some capacity even beyond that, the difference between 32GB and 64GB of expansion potential is HUGE and could easily make the difference in whether or not I want to purchase it.

Unfortunately, the maximum of 2GB (total) in the MDD is real. That's a limitation of the 32-bit architecture. However, since there is no need to install in matched pairs, 1GB + 2 x 512MB will perform just like 4 x 512MB.
 
T

ThunderSnake

macrumors 6502
Jul 23, 2010
310
1
ThunderSnake said:
Although I can't seem to find the link now...
Click to expand...

Found it. All of the G4 stuff has been moved to the "Legacy" section:

RAM Expansion

The main logic board has four DDR SDRAM expansion slots for dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs). Each DIMM can contain 256 and 512 MB (also is 128 MB- and 1GB-capable) of double data rate synchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM). At least one of the RAM expansion slots contains a factory installed DIMM.

The DIMMs can be installed one or more at a time. The system supports linear memory organization; no performance gains are seen when two DIMMs of the same size are installed. Any supported size DIMM can be installed in any DIMM slot, and the combined memory of all of the DIMMs installed is configured as a contiguous array of memory.

The memory slots will accept four 512-MB DIMMs (also is capable of 2-1GB) for a maximum memory size of 2 GB.

For all microprocessor speeds and for both DDR226 and DDR333 SDRAM DIMMs, the Power Mac G4 supports CAS latencies of 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, and 4.
Click to expand...

Link: http://developer.apple.com/legacy/m.../apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40000922-CH208-TPXREF102
 
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