iMac G4 15" at 1.73ghz - is it real?

[domleg]

Hello All,

I found a listing for a 15" iMac G4 with apparently a 1.73ghz G4. I couldn't find any information about any 3rd party upgrades or mods to allow that speed in a lamp iMac, does anyone know if it's even possible? Many thanks.

 

[Amethyst1]

The CPU might have been replaced (this would require unsoldering the old one and soldering in a new one), overclocked to 1.73 GHz or the reported clock speed “spoofed.”

 

[Doq]

If possible, consider asking the seller for benchmark results and if those don't check out (or they don't give you any) then assume it is spoofed and exercise caution.

 

[domleg]

Great, thank you. I'm going to see the machine tonight. Is there any benchmark you can recommend?

 

[Doq]

The go-to for OS X is Geekbench 2 (Tiger) (Leopard) (macintoshgarden.org), though it's not the only option out there.

The fastest official 15" iMac G4 had a 1.0 GHz G4 and tends to bench around 550. I would see if this "1.73" scores above, say, 625, and you'd be in luck.

 

[Amethyst1]

Great, thank you. I'm going to see the machine tonight. Is there any benchmark you can recommend?

Geekbench 2, for instance. It will require an internet connection in order to show results though. Its score has been "standardised" so that a single 1.6 GHz G5 gets 1,000. So a 1.73 GHz G4 should be in the same ballpark or slightly higher. If it's significantly lower, this means the clock speed has been spoofed.