I finally cleaned off my desk!

[Zeke D]

I moved the eMac to the garage. I was able to troubleshoot a pair of high density DIMMs that were causing random crashes and other issues. I ran C&C Generals on the G5 for 4 hours with max settings, so I am satisfied it will run for me.

I am currently running 6x 512MB PC3200 DIMMs. Does anyone think I will get any better performance outta it if I find another pair of 512MB DIMMs? Any advantage to running say 4x 1024GB DIMMs instead of 8x 512MB DIMMs?

For video I am running an ATI Radeon 9600 XT:

  Chipset Model:	ATY,RV360
  Type:	Display
  Bus:	AGP
  Slot:	SLOT-1
  VRAM (Total):	128 MB
  Vendor:	ATI (0x1002)
  Device ID:	0x4152
  Revision ID:	0x0000
  ROM Revision:	113-A13602-121

Isn't there a Radeon that has 256MB VRAM?

There are inexpensive 30GB SSDs from OWC for around $40. Will the increased speed of the SSD translate to a faster system if the games and stuff are still on my 160GB SATA drive?

 

[Intell]

Either the Radeon 9800 XT or the 9800 Pro has 256MB of ram. Maybe both of them. The ATI X800 and ATI x850 both have 256MB as well and are more powerful than any Radeon your PowerMac can take.

 

[zen.state]

There is a 256MB version of the 9600 but if you're going to upgrade then go 9800 or x800. Both will easily outmuscle a 9600.

An SSD will make a very noticeable difference over a standard magnetic HD. The Intel SSD in my 2nd Sawtooth boots in about 4 gear spins. The VelociRaptor (2.5" 10,000rpm magnetic) from WD is even faster.

 

[Nameci]

There is a 256MB version of the 9600 but if you're going to upgrade then go 9800 or x800. Both will easily outmuscle a 9600.

An SSD will make a very noticeable difference over a standard magnetic HD. The Intel SSD in my 2nd Sawtooth boots in about 4 gear spins. The VelociRaptor (2.5" 10,000rpm magnetic) from WD is even faster.

Hey, are you sure that the raptor is much faster than the SSD?

 

[zen.state]

Hey, are you sure that the raptor is much faster than the SSD?

Just to clarify.. the Raptor and VelociRaptor are different drives. The VR is a good deal faster.

I put the Intel 320 series SSD in my secondary Sawtooth for a reason. The VR launches apps, boots and does just about everything faster. Many SSD would have a faster read speed but in terms of access/seek time the VR is a beast.

The VR is a full blown enterprise level 10,000rpm drive and is about 4-5x more expensive per GB than just about any drive out there.

Also... I never said it was "much" faster as you do. Not massively faster but enough to be noticeable. Keep in mind that those Intel SSD are faster than most so the VR would be much faster than a cheaper lower performing SSD.

 

[Zeke D]

I am currently running 6x 512MB PC3200 DIMMs. Does anyone think I will get any better performance outta it if I find another pair of 512MB DIMMs? Any advantage to running say 4x 1024GB DIMMs instead of 8x 512MB DIMMs?

Any feedback on the memory situation?

 

[Nameci]

Just to clarify.. the Raptor and VelociRaptor are different drives. The VR is a good deal faster.

I put the Intel 320 series SSD in my secondary Sawtooth for a reason. The VR launches apps, boots and does just about everything faster. Many SSD would have a faster read speed but in terms of access/seek time the VR is a beast.

The VR is a full blown enterprise level 10,000rpm drive and is about 4-5x more expensive per GB than just about any drive out there.

Also... I never said it was "much" faster as you do. Not massively faster but enough to be noticeable. Keep in mind that those Intel SSD are faster than most so the VR would be much faster than a cheaper lower performing SSD.

What I mean is the VelociRaptor...

----------

Any feedback on the memory situation?

More memory would always equate for a better performance.

 

[zen.state]

Yes more memory is always good but don't bother going over 2-4GB unless you actually need it. 6+GB only makes sense for true pro users as it can be nothing more than a bragging right to a typical user.

The best test for anyone to see if you really need more RAM is to reboot and do whatever you normally do for about 20-30 min. After that if your memory stats have more than 1000 pageouts then you could use more.

An average consumer level user with at least 2GB will see 0-100.

Side note.. I'm a long time Generals/Zero Hour player myself. You have great taste in games.

 

[Zeke D]

Side note.. I'm a long time Generals/Zero Hour player myself. You have great taste in games.

When my wife and I first got together we would play tetris attacks, final fantasy 6 and red alert together. She and I have played all the C&C games together, but generals is my all time favorite.

 

[robvas]

The VR launches apps, boots and does just about everything faster. Many SSD would have a faster read speed but in terms of access/seek time the VR is a beast.

You have that backwards - the Velociraptor can be faster in big read/writes than an early SSD (especially writes against a drive such as the Intel X25/320) but will get crushed in seek time as well as smaller random writes.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5729/western-digital-velociraptor-1tb-wd1000dhtz-review/2

 

[Zeke D]

The best test for anyone to see if you really need more RAM is to reboot and do whatever you normally do for about 20-30 min. After that if your memory stats have more than 1000 pageouts then you could use more.

Looks Like I am solid then.

 

[Lil Chillbil]

ssds are fast little drives but as hdds improve in design and spin faster they have many times faster capabilities than sdds

 

[zen.state]

You have that backwards - the Velociraptor can be faster in big read/writes than an early SSD (especially writes against a drive such as the Intel X25/320) but will get crushed in seek time as well as smaller random writes.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5729/western-digital-velociraptor-1tb-wd1000dhtz-review/2

Sorry but some benchmark doesn't speak for me. My experience with the two is as I state on a SATA 1 PCI card in a G4 tower. Same FirmTek SATA card in both towers.