Overclocking G4 DUAL 450MHz

[Sawtooth811]

Give me your opinion:

Do you think it'll be worth $35.00 to buy a DUAL G4 CPU W/Heatsink, and overclock it to Dual 800MHz? Don't worry, I'm skillful at micro-soldering, and don't post crap like "It won't work", and crap like that, OK?

[FJ218700]

for $ 35, sure. I upgraded my Sawtooth to dual processors a while back and the difference is breathtaking. Even with the same video card you have in your sig, if you can get the RAM maxed Leopard will run pretty well.

[Sawtooth811]

Originally Posted by FJ218700

for $ 35, sure. I upgraded my Sawtooth to dual processors a while back and the difference is breathtaking. Even with the same video card you have in your sig, if you can get the RAM maxed Leopard will run pretty well.

Great!! Do you think It'll be as good as a REAL DUAL 800MHz processor (ALONE)?

[FJ218700]

Originally Posted by Sawtooth811

Great!! Do you think It'll be as good as a REAL DUAL 800MHz processor (ALONE)?

I doubt the processor will last as long overclocked. Also depends on how good you are at soldering.

PM me if you need some RAM.

[admiraldennis]

I think you should post more threads about your G4.

[SmurfBoxMasta]

Hope you got some big hefty fans ready to attach to the top or sides of the heatsinks.....that thing is gonna smoke.......literally

that's almost a 100 increase in clock speed, so I doubt it will last more than a few months at best

good luck & please post back with progress reports.........

[CubeHacker]

A Dual 450mhz to 800mhz ? You're dreaming dude. You can probably make 500mhz, and at the very best, 550mhz. Anything over that isn't possible on a 7400 G4.

[Sawtooth811]

Originally Posted by admiraldennis

I think you should post more threads about your G4.

I DID!

Originally Posted by CubeHacker

A Dual 450mhz to 800mhz ? You're dreaming dude. You can probably make 500mhz, and at the very best, 550mhz. Anything over that isn't possible on a 7400 G4.

Yes it is possible! REMEMBER: I asked for people NOT to say that It's not gonna work! It IS possible! I'm skilled at this stuff! And I've done this before, successfully!

[spinne1]

Originally Posted by Sawtooth811

I DID!


Yes it is possible! REMEMBER: I asked for people NOT to say that It's not gonna work! It IS possible! I'm skilled at this stuff! And I've done this before, successfully!

Since nobody believes it will work, but you KNOW it will work, why don't you enlighten everybody with HOW you do it rather than berate the masses for not being as smart as you are.

[Sawtooth811]

Originally Posted by spinne1

Since nobody believes it will work, but you KNOW it will work, why don't you enlighten everybody with HOW you do it rather than berate the masses for not being as smart as you are.

I didn't say how smart I was, I said how skillful I am!
I'm not judging anybody.

I'll show you as soon as I receive the CPU.
There would be a Forum named:

"G4 DUAL 800 7400"

[jellomizer]

Well it seems like you are going to do it anyways. So I guess the question is is $35 a good price for a 450mhz G4 Processor? Yes it would. To clock it up to 800 mhz is kinda immaterial. Will you get a noticeable speed increase is an other question. CPU mhz speed is only one factor and actually a rather minor one. Most of the stuff that really slows a computer down is Cache and Bus speed, and Memory size and Speed...) My Wifes iMac runs faster then my MacBook Pro even though they have the same processor type and speed, she has less ram. But a faster Bus and better video that makes it run a tad faster. If over clocking systems is your hobby then go ahead have a blast. I myself wouldn't do it even if I could do it well. Just because I will only get a marginal speed increase and would send a lot of time I could be doing something else.

[Sawtooth811]

Originally Posted by jellomizer

Well it seems like you are going to do it anyways. So I guess the question is is $35 a good price for a 450mhz G4 Processor? Yes it would. To clock it up to 800 mhz is kinda immaterial. Will you get a noticeable speed increase is an other question. CPU mhz speed is only one factor and actually a rather minor one. Most of the stuff that really slows a computer down is Cache and Bus speed, and Memory size and Speed...) My Wifes iMac runs faster then my MacBook Pro even though they have the same processor type and speed, she has less ram. But a faster Bus and better video that makes it run a tad faster. If over clocking systems is your hobby then go ahead have a blast. I myself wouldn't do it even if I could do it well. Just because I will only get a marginal speed increase and would send a lot of time I could be doing something else.

I knew this stuff already, like the megahertz myth, megahertz doesn't really mean speed, and stuff like that, but when it comes to overclocking, you are correct, bus speed is another factor in CPU speed, because it helps multiply speed. For example, look at my chart below on G4 clock speeds:

Clock Bus speed Factor

350MHz 100MHz 3.5x
400MHz " 4.0x
450MHz " 4.5x

e.t.c.

You get the picture? Bus speeds can help multiply clock speeds!

[admiraldennis]

Originally Posted by Sawtooth811

You get the picture? Bus speeds can help multiply clock speeds!

I think what you mean to say is:

Clock Speed = Bus Speed * MultiplicationFactor

[Consultant]

Originally Posted by Sawtooth811

I DID!


Yes it is possible! REMEMBER: I asked for people NOT to say that It's not gonna work! It IS possible! I'm skilled at this stuff! And I've done this before, successfully!

Why don't you try to over clock your single 450 first.

If that works, then do it on the dual 450. This way you'll have a working computer, and you either end up with a dual 450 or a dual 800 (or a bit less), instead of ending up with a single 450 if you only try to over clock the dual 450 and something didn't work out.

[disconap]

Solid advice there. That's what I always did when messing around with microsoldering; try to improve the cheap one first to make sure it works...

[Sawtooth811]

Originally Posted by Consultant

Why don't you try to over clock your single 450 first.

If that works, then do it on the dual 450. This way you'll have a working computer, and you either end up with a dual 450 or a dual 800 (or a bit less), instead of ending up with a single 450 if you only try to over clock the dual 450 and something didn't work out.

Remember, I said I've experienced and done this already. I had another single G4 processor, and I UNDERclocked it at 300MHz, so maybe, I have the first G4/300MHz processor!

[SawTooth500]

Originally Posted by Sawtooth811

Remember, I said I've experienced and done this already. I had another single G4 processor, and I UNDERclocked it at 300MHz, so maybe, I have the first G4/300MHz processor!

Why would you slow down your cpu?


And underclocking won't strain the cpu, while overclocking will.

You may be able to over clock the 450 to 550, but not any higher. They won't run at that speed. MHZ isn't a myth - it's the timing on the clock chip.

Just putting in the dual chips will speed up your system by at least 75% over what you have now. You are still going to be limited by your buss speed, however. 100mhz is what the buss is clocked at. Plus if you do OC the chips, you want to put bigger heat sinks on. higher MHZ means higher heat.

[disconap]

The bus generally won't cause bottlenecking or noticeable slowing at G4 processors below 1gHz.

[OrangeSVTguy]

i'd like to overclock my 500mhz dp. do i just bridge the contacts with solder or do i use a resistor?

[SawTooth500]

Well, you can over clock thru the OF Firmware.

reboot, and hold down the "CMD","OPT","O" +"F" keys.

enter the NVRAMRC editor (<enter> shows you should press the"return" key)

nvedit<enter>

Then type the following script exactly - including the spaces.

" /" select-dev<enter>
7efdc44 " clock-frequency" get-my-property 2drop !<enter>
" /cpus/PowerPC,G4@0" select-dev<return>
1fca0554 " clock-frequency" get-my-property 2drop !<enter>
7efdc44 " bus-frequency" get-my-property 2drop !<enter>
1fbf711 " timebase-frequency" get-my-property 2drop !

Type ^C (Control + 'C') to exit nvedit
save the script:

nvstore<enter>

enable the NVRAMRC by typing :

setenv use-nvramrc? true<enter>

and then reboot to the new time constant by typing

reset-all<enter>

This will save stuff you changed and reboot at a new speed.
Works for my G4 single. Changes from 500 for the CPU speed to 533, and buss speed goes from 100 to 133. About 1% or so.

[OrangeSVTguy]

wow cool thanks! don't know if i will see a difference but seems to have taken a few seconds off the startup time.

[SawTooth500]

Glad you like it.

Not sure if you can increase the numbers yet.. still experimenting.

If you have to do the four-finger-reset (cmd-opt-P-R) it will reset everything back to default, then you have to re-enter it all.

Have fun!

[disconap]

Originally Posted by SawTooth500

Well, you can over clock thru the OF Firmware.

reboot, and hold down the "CMD","OPT","O" +"F" keys.

enter the NVRAMRC editor (<enter> shows you should press the"return" key)

nvedit<enter>

Then type the following script exactly - including the spaces.

" /" select-dev<enter>
7efdc44 " clock-frequency" get-my-property 2drop !<enter>
" /cpus/PowerPC,G4@0" select-dev<return>
1fca0554 " clock-frequency" get-my-property 2drop !<enter>
7efdc44 " bus-frequency" get-my-property 2drop !<enter>
1fbf711 " timebase-frequency" get-my-property 2drop !

Type ^C (Control + 'C') to exit nvedit
save the script:

nvstore<enter>

enable the NVRAMRC by typing :

setenv use-nvramrc? true<enter>

and then reboot to the new time constant by typing

reset-all<enter>

This will save stuff you changed and reboot at a new speed.
Works for my G4 single. Changes from 500 for the CPU speed to 533, and buss speed goes from 100 to 133. About 1% or so.

Just so you know, this doesn't actually change the bus or processor rate, it just changes how the system reads it. The system will still operate at the same speed it did before this hack.

Also, 33 is 33% of 100, and 33 is 6.6% of 500.

[OrangeSVTguy]

ah, so that whole trick was just playing with my mind huh

[Sawtooth811]

Guys, I'm NOT going to overclock the DUAL G4 anymore, because I don't feel like buying and waiting for a G4 to ship. Instead, I will buy a G5 Quad Core 2.7GHz next year, NOT a Mac Pro, because the Mac Pro doesn't properly fit my needs like a G5. Plus, the G5 is FASTER in tasks I do.