powermac G4 sawtooth cpu upgrade.

[kenmasters]

i have my eye on these two..

OWC mercury extreme 1.5ghz 256k L2 cache + 2MB L3 cache

or

Sonnet Encore ST G4 1.8GHz 512 L2 cache + no L3 cache

which is better and why??

i will be playing games and using ilife 05 and the OS choice will be tiger.

my current specs are

500mhz
256mb ram
ati-rage pro 16mb
20gig hdd
dvd-rom

i hope i have provided enough info about my mac to see which is better and why.

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

first you should upgrade to 2gb of ram and a better video card. you won't believe the improvement those 2 make.

 

[kenmasters]

dunno why but i left out the fact i also have a 9700pro pc card lying around that i am going to flash for the mac.

i will also be buying two 512mb sticks i would go for two gigs but i might just stay with 1gb or go to 1.5gb of ram.

 

[Blogger]

Go for the Newer Technology MaxPower processor upgrades, they have a 1MB level 2 cache and a good reputation for reliability. They also run cooler than the Mercury Extreme and use less power.

 

[kenmasters]

after careful consideration i decided i would go with a 1.6ghz newertech cpu upgrade..

i plan on putting that radeon 9700pro in so i am pretty sure i need all the power i can get my the measly 208watt psu in the powermac G4..

if it was a 300watt or higher i would get the OWC 1.4ghz or the 1.5ghz but i think the 7447a based cpu is better for me.

i could save up for a 1.8ghz sonnetech but a 200mhz different is not worth the extra $50 to me.if it had 1mb cache i would do it.

thanks.

 

[Blogger]

It's only the NewerTech 1.7 GHz and higher that have a 1MB L2 Cache, they use the 7448 processor, which uses less power. A bit more expensive, though unfortunately.

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

i could save up for a 1.8ghz sonnetech but a 200mhz different is not worth the extra $50 to me.if it had 1mb cache i would do it.

thanks.

just take that $50 and buy 2gb or ram