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MDD itch

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Yanno, looking at my 15" ASD, the monitor in the auction could be a 17 inch. I noticed its grates are different. My 15 has one long grate while the auction 17 in question has two like my larger ACDs. Check out the back shot from the auction below.
ACD in Question is it 17?.jpg


See what I mean? I dont actually own a 17" studio display to verify. The vent change could also be a revision update I suppose but I'm not up on Apple Studio display revisions. Anyhow, something to ponder. I am a big fan of this generation monitors. What a striking and innovative design. When you think about it, at the time they came to market, most other quality flat screen options had a much bigger foot print.
 
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Amethyst1 said:
The spring-attached “third leg” of the acrylic displays made them quite deep compared to other LCDs of the time. They’re absolutely gorgeous though. I’m not ever letting go of my 22” DVI. :D
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I was referring to the massive flatscreen Sony CRTs I was using at the time lol. Fantastic picture but holy cow man, they were huge :D (& heavy)
 
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This thread has made me nostalgic for my old MDD graphics rig - it never let me down ever.

My workspace around 2009 would be the following all open: Adobe CS3 InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop, Microsoft Excel, Mail, Camino, Barcode software, Font Book and iTunes.

All in 2Gb RAM doing real work on PowerPC and smashing deadlines - happy days :)
 
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I have an upgraded PowerMac G4 MDD, which was based off a 2003 single 1.25 GHz model. I upgraded it with dual 1 GHz PowerPC G4, 2 GB of RAM, a PCI-X SATA card that is bootable into Mac OS 9 using 2 SSDs. Mac OS 9 compatible SATA PCI adapters are hard to find and if you can find one, are expensive. However, they do run slightly faster compared to using an IDE to SATA adapter. I had to replace the PSU with a recapped one since it decided not to power on.

The fastest GPU that has Mac OS 9 support is the NVidia Geforce 4 Ti 4600. I managed to buy a Mac version that is in working condition. Yes, you can flash one, but most of the used ones I tried were broken that were a decent price and any decent working ones are selling for crazy amounts of money. The fastest ATI card that works with Mac OS 9 is a Radeon 8500, which is crazy easy to flash using the ATI ROM Radeon 8500 updater I believe. If you don't need Mac OS 9 support, you can probably put any GPU with some mods and rom flashing. Action Retro managed to put a Nvidia Geforce 7800 on an MDD.
 
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Dronecatcher said:
This thread has made me nostalgic for my old MDD graphics rig - it never let me down ever.

My workspace around 2009 would be the following all open: Adobe CS3 InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop, Microsoft Excel, Mail, Camino, Barcode software, Font Book and iTunes.

All in 2Gb RAM doing real work on PowerPC and smashing deadlines - happy days :)
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If you want it, then go for it. I'm still considering.

Cheers :)

Hugh
 
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If this one doesn't work out, I highly recommend any flavor of Powermac G5 a1117. I am partial to the dual core air cooled models but the quad is in there and what a fantastic project those are to maintain. Regardless they're fun project boxes to build up and quite capable.
 
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I have the same MDD and did the recommended fan mod to temper the noise somewhat.


I've never heard it do the full howl, tbh and it is about as noisy as the QS imho, which is annoying enough, especially by today's standards but maybe I haven't pushed it enough. I'm not a hardcore gamer than those tend to test the limits of a system. It is a heavy beast though. You can lift a B/W with one finger but the MDD requires both hands and a sturdy back.
 
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Webster's Mac said:
The PSUs are solid...IF they are recapped! I have a recapped PSU in the dual 1.25 MDD and am in the process of getting a spare MDD PSU recapped so I can throw it in my dual 1.42 ghz.
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How do you recap them, is there a guide? I have an MDD tucked aside at my old lab with a dead PSU (found it in the e-Waste), would be great if I could try reviving it without the cost of a full replacement PSU (or the trouble of an ATX PSU mod), especially since I have no idea if the dead PSU took anything with it.
 
ahurst said:
How do you recap them, is there a guide? I have an MDD tucked aside at my old lab with a dead PSU (found it in the e-Waste), would be great if I could try reviving it without the cost of a full replacement PSU (or the trouble of an ATX PSU mod), especially since I have no idea if the dead PSU took anything with it.
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I think it would just be puling the thing apart, look at the cap specs and source new ones. Get the new caps together, pull the old ones out, stick the new ones in and fire it up.

Of course make a video about it so everyone can do it. :)
 
If you’ve never re-capped one yourself… and if its a Samsung PSU, forget it. Have someone else do it for a fee. If its an AcBel and you’re confident / capable of the task - maybe give it a whirl. (AcBels are easier to access / re-cap.) BUT there is a very reputable individual down in Austin Texas that does great PSU work. AcBel, Samsung, or Delta.

AND mind you, not all failed capacitors will be puffed-up and / or leaking, some will show no outward signs of failure whatsoever. This is where an ESR meter comes in very handy. (But those will cost you as much as a recap from a reputable tech.)

Here’s a thread on a 360W AcBel that I once re-capped.
(Would’ve been nice to have had an ESR meter back then.)

AcBel 360W PSU Project

AcBel 360W PSU Project
macos9lives.com

And here’s info on that go-to individual down in Austin:

G4 MDD Power Supplies

G4 MDD Power Supplies
macos9lives.com macos9lives.com
(Costs have increased somewhat since 2017.)

*Some MDDs also had Delta PSUs.
 
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Apart from that, messing about with the internals of PSUs is not without its dangers. Even failed PSUs can apparently hold enough charge for a while to stop a heart, if you start poking around without knowing what you are doing, or so the frequent warnings would have it. I have a couple that of dead PSUs, which both went pop. I have had them sitting for over a year and even now, I'm not sure I want to crack them open to look for spent caps.
 
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Again… if you are not confident / capable… leave it to a competent tech.
*Especially the one mentioned above (Andy) by Webster’s Mac.

And from that "PSU recap thread" previously mentioned
- which I assume that anyone seriously considering this task here might first read through:

“YOU must now be WARNED, these PSUs and their capacitors will maintain an electrical charge for quite some time, especially after just being unplugged. I’ve heard “wait for 48 hours” to allow the charge to bleed off / dissipate (I’d wait much longer)… and the PSU that I re-capped had probably been sitting around for a year or more. I still bled out the legs of each capacitor on the back of the board before doing anything because…YOU CAN DIE! With that in mind, proceed at your own risk.”

I still respect and always remain very leery of any stored voltage… and even I have yet to attempt to replace any flyback transformers on CRT screens.:rolleyes:
 
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I've decided not to be so impetuous and to leave the MDD for someone else to buy - I haven't enough desk space available, and the money needs to be spent on a new leisure battery for the old motorhome (RV).

Sorry to have wasted your time on something I will not be following through on, but thanks for all your thoughts.

Cheers :)

Hugh
 
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Hughmac said:
I've decided not to be so impetuous and to leave the MDD for someone else to buy - I haven't enough desk space available, and the money needs to be spent on a new leisure battery for the old motorhome (RV).

Sorry to have wasted your time on something I will not be following through on, but thanks for all your thoughts.

Cheers :)

Hugh
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Its all good. If I asked myself what I'd rather have - a MDD or a functioning RV to go explore in, I'd go with the RV too ... every dang time :D

now, a mini g4 for the rv ...
 
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Hughmac said:
I'm still on the fence about buying, I might try £70 and include the dust in my reasoning for the price.
Plus I have to add a 30 odd mile journey to collect.
Seller seems to be a recycling firm with loads of Macs, so will probably accept an offer to clear space.

It's not like I haven't got time to deal with it, as my wife passed away early December, and I need something to occupy myself.
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It's a pity you're not my side of the English channel as I have a good condition 1.25 MDD (amongst others) that needs a good home. Must admit I'm not sure whether it's a single or dual cpu model. Problem is that Brexit has now made shipping and other formalities to UK from mainland Europe hardly worth the bother. Same with others of my Mac collection which the little lady says are "cramping her style" taking up much valued space.:oops:
Sorry to hear of your loss, with in-laws I know too well the heartaches caused by dementia. Pleased to hear it appears you are coping as well as possible and keeping busy. Why not now try for a working Powerbook or Intel MBPro to refurbish etc. I knew nothing about computers until I retired and now the passion of refurbishing Mac laptops, Intel iMacs etc has taken on a new life.
 
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Hughmac said:
There's a dual 1.25 MDD on eBay - Apple PowerMac 2x 1.25 Ghz PowerPC G4 768MB 250GB+120GB OSX Installed with 17" Screen - and I have the itch to play with something new if I can get the seller down a bit on the price.

Just a few questions if anyone can help me please - the display, does it need a power cable or will it get power from the MDD? I can't see an input hole for a PSU for it.

I assume I can get a USB 2.0 card, Airport and better graphics, all PCI?

That's probably it, as I have loads of hard drives and spare RAM.

Cheers :)

Hugh
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Didn't see this one back in 2022, but if you change your mind about an MDD, I have one (well, two) going spare, so can probably run one up your way at some point.

Sorry for your loss, too. Hope you are doing well!
 
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bobnugget said:
Didn't see this one back in 2022, but if you change your mind about an MDD, I have one (well, two) going spare, so can probably run one up your way at some point.

Sorry for your loss, too. Hope you are doing well!
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A lot has happened since 2022, and things are looking up, thanks :)

I only have one PPC Mac at the moment, and not planning any others soon, as lack of space for other machines has taken over.
I've also started a modernisation program as my older Intel Macs fall over and die (see my latest acquisitions in my sig) ;)

Cheers :)

Hugh
 
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