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G4 Quicksilver Upgrades

Z

zackkmac

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 7, 2008
880
129
Denver
Hi all. I just bought a G4 Quicksilver with cinema display for $10 off Craigslist. :D It has the 800MHz dual processor, 1.12GB RAM, CDRW drive, and a 40GB HD. I would like to max this computer out, or get as close as possible.

So far, I have added an 80GB HD to it, bought an Airport card, a 512MB RAM stick to max it out to 1.5GB, and a Pioneer DVR-108AA DVDRW from a G5.

Now I'm stuck on the graphics card and CPU.

As far as the graphics card goes, I'm stuck between a Radeon 9800 Pro or a Nvidia GeForce 6800GT. I have read that the 6800GT is a much better bang for the buck if I flash it myself, and the 9800 Pro is more expensive and not as powerful, but very easy to get working on a Mac. Which do you recommend?

For the CPU - I have found a dual 1GHz processor from another Quicksilver for $99 on eBay, is it worth paying that much in terms of performance gain and resell value? If not, are there other upgrades that would be better for the money or should I just leave it?

I'm sure I'll have more questions later, but this is it for now. Help is much appreciated. :)
 
Is the cinema display one of the acrylic ADC ones? If it is, there's only one CoreImage video can that G4's can use that has a ADC port. I don't recall what it is exactly, but I do know it came only in BTO MDDs. Just guessing here, but it may not even work in a Quicksilver being a MDD card.
 
Intell said:
Is the cinema display one of the acrylic ADC ones? If it is, there's only one CoreImage video can that G4's can use that has a ADC port. I don't recall what it is exactly, but I do know it came only in BTO MDDs. Just guessing here, but it may not even work in a Quicksilver being a MDD card.
Click to expand...

It's ATI Radeon 9700. I have it on my G4 FW800 dual 1.42.
 
Nameci said:
It's ATI Radeon 9700. I have it on my G4 FW800 dual 1.42.
Click to expand...

Are they MDD only? I'm currently at a loss as to if they are or not. You've told me what they are many times now. Hopefully I'll remember what they're called. Probably not.
 
Yes, the ACD is the acrylic type. So from what I'm gathering, changing out the graphics card will leave me unable to use the ACD? Is there an adapter I can use, and would I still be able to power on the computer and use the USB ports on the back?

Speaking of USB ports, I found a Sonnet card with 2 USB 2.0 ports and 2 FireWire ports for $25. Is that a good part or is there something better for the same price or cheaper?
 
There is an adapter you can use, they run for about $80 used. Almost the price of a 20" ADC screen. They allow use of the screen's complete abilities, except turning on the machine via the screen's power button.
 
Intell said:
Are they MDD only?
Click to expand...

Thew were CTO option for MDD AFAIR but will work in any post-Sawtooth G4.

OP: what size this ACD is? IMO only 23" in great condition would justify spending money on 9700 ADC or adapter.

1.0 DP for $99 is way too much. For such price you can find 1.4-1.6 single 7455.
Get yourself nice SIL3512/3112 PCI SATA card and flash it with Wiebetech firmware. You'll get bootable, non LBA-capped controller for more modern HDDs/SSDs. Can be had for about $15.
For USB 2.0 most of cheap Nec based cards will work OOTB.
 
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zackkmac said:
Is there an adapter I can use, and would I still be able to power on the computer and use the USB ports on the back?
Click to expand...

Intell said:
There is an adapter you can use, they run for about $80 used. Almost the price of a 20" ADC screen. They allow use of the screen's complete abilities, except turning on the machine via the screen's power button.
Click to expand...

You can also build the adapter yourself and save about 50. This person here did it, cost him 35 bucks, half of which was on the prototyping board (I'm certain that one could get a cheaper board).
 
Whoops. Just realized this is a Studio Display. The person I bought it from called it a cinema so I just assumed it was. Anyways, thanks for the responses thus far.

I have no prior experience with soldering so I probably will not do that. I will, however, look into the SATA controllers so thank you 666sheep for that.

I have been looking for other processors for this G4 but I can't find any over its current speed of 800MHz, so can someone help me with that?

Also, I really like the sound of the 9700 IF it will work in my QS and is not MDD-exclusive. That or the 6800GT although, the only instructions I can find on flashing it require floppy disks. :confused: And the ROM's download URL is not working anymore. Maybe I'm not searching hard enough yet, but I do have around 15 tabs open currently to research upgrades for this G4. :)
 
zackkmac said:
Whoops. Just realized this is a Studio Display. The person I bought it from called it a cinema so I just assumed it was. Anyways, thanks for the responses thus far.
Click to expand...

Not all acrylic displays are Studio Displays. The 20", 22", and 23" models are Cinema Displays with the 23" being a Cinema HD Display.

MisterKeeks said:
You can also build the adapter yourself and save about 50. This person here did it, cost him 35 bucks, half of which was on the prototyping board (I'm certain that one could get a cheaper board).
Click to expand...

Those adapters generally only work for Snow Leopard and older. If the OP was to try it on a Lion or mini-DisplayPort/HDMI machine, it wouldn't work. Only Apple's ADC-DVI adapter works with Lion or mini-DisplayPort/HDMI.
 
zack, regarding CPU upgrades just put "G4 cpu" or "G4 processor" query on eBay and you'll find some interesting offers.
800 DP with max RAM, good HDD and CI capable graphics card will run Leopard decently, I was really surprised how decently it was when I had one. Mine had GF 6200 - not the fastest but quite good card.
If you want to flash 9700, check eBay again. I've seen some offers for about $20 per piece.
You may also want to check TME buiyng guides if you want to flash the card yourself: http://themacelite.wikidot.com/ati-radeon

If you won't be sure - ask, that's what forums are for.
 
Intell said:
Those adapters generally only work for Snow Leopard and older. If the OP was to try it on a Lion or mini-DisplayPort/HDMI machine, it wouldn't work. Only Apple's ADC-DVI adapter works with Lion or mini-DisplayPort/HDMI.
Click to expand...

Do you know why that is?
 
Isn't the Leopard requirement for CPU 867MHz unless I was to run a modified version? The 80GB HD I put in it had Leopard on it from my iMac G4 and the Quicksilver ran it fine for about 10 minutes then had a kernel panic. Not sure what specifically caused that.

I really want the 6800GT for the graphics card, as I do have 2 displays I could use with it...it's just they're not nearly as attractive as the Studio Display. I'm not sure about the actual display size of mine but on the back it does say Studio Display. But I don't have any computers with a floppy drive to flash the new card, so I guess I'd have to buy an external floppy drive.

I've found a Sonnet 1.6GHz, so that seems to be the best upgrade I've located so far. Would like to find a 1.8GHz but I don't see done anywhere.
 
Stock Leopard can run on any G4 system, but will have problems on those with an ATI 128 Rage due to lack of drivers. The 867Mhz is an artificial limitation put in place by Apple to keep Leopard's public image well seen as it runs rather poorly on older G4s without major upgrades.
 
So will I be able to install Leopard on it right now? I have retail disks for 10.5 and 10.4 but 10.4 gets to 90% at "Installing Essentials" and just sits there...and I didn't know if it would let me install Leopard due to not having an 867MHz processor. I also don't think this G4's drive reads DVDs so I'll have to wait until the new Pioneer drive comes in.

Anyone know if there is a different way to flash the 6800GT or will I have to buy a floppy drive and disks?

Also, from what I gather, I have to have OS 9 to install the patched firmware to let my Quicksilver use a Sonnet card, right?
 
You need a PC with AGP to flash Nvidia cards. Floppy isn't necessary, just boot disc (CD) of any DOS based OS and FAT formatted pendrive/HDD.
 
666sheep said:
You need a PC with AGP to flash Nvidia cards. Floppy isn't necessary, just boot disc (CD) of any DOS based OS and FAT formatted pendrive/HDD.
Click to expand...

Or NVWinFlash from TeCh PowerUp.
NVWinFlash runs in any version of windows.

----------
zackkmac said:
So will I be able to install Leopard on it right now? I have retail disks for 10.5 and 10.4 but 10.4 gets to 90% at "Installing Essentials" and just sits there...and I didn't know if it would let me install Leopard due to not having an 867MHz processor. I also don't think this G4's drive reads DVDs so I'll have to wait until the new Pioneer drive comes in.

Anyone know if there is a different way to flash the 6800GT or will I have to buy a floppy drive and disks?

Also, from what I gather, I have to have OS 9 to install the patched firmware to let my Quicksilver use a Sonnet card, right?
Click to expand...

You could use a 6800Ultra or a 7800GS or an X800XTX (not sure if the X800 will work).

Ram the 6800GT in to a Windoze PC's AGP SLOT.
Boot windows.
Go to techpowerup downloads.
Download the NVWinflash.
Flash the GPU.
 
Thanks, I'll give those methods a shot first. I just ordered a 6800GT on eBay for $18...but then realized it's a PCI x16 card and not AGP...so I will wait and see if the seller will refund me. :eek:

I will wait until a good deal on a 6800GT AGP comes by later. Would the better video card improve anything other than games when using the PowerMac? I plan on using it with the studio display, or a VGA one anyways, and not doing much gaming.

For now I will focus on the CPU. :D
 
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cool thread, QS is still one of my top ten favorite cases ever. just so slick/smooth/cool looking...

which i guess is the point -- the tread needs more pics. :) please. :) :apple:

best of luck with the upgrade.
 
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