MDD Upgrade

[cuttius]

Hello all,
I just got into macs about a month ago. I got a Powerbook G4 Ti 800, then I got a MDD 1.25 Solo. I was thinking about getting a new DP daughter card for the G4, but was wondering if I should just get the 1.25 DP or if something faster would be ok for that main board. Also, I really need the copper heat sink right? I got a USB 2.0 card, and I'm going to get a SATA card. Does the SATA card help out performance?

 

[Intell]

You could get the dual 1.25Ghz or the 1.42Ghz. The copper heatsink is highly recommenced for dual 1.25Ghz+ MDD computers.

 

[Zeke D]

You could get the dual 1.25Ghz or the 1.42Ghz. The copper heatsink is highly recommenced for dual 1.25Ghz+ MDD computers.

That probably explains why my DP 1.25 is so loud... I'm running the aluminum heatsink.

 

[wobegong]

I loved my Dual 1.42 MDD - My first mac, specced it to the extreme (at the time) RAID card, Radeon 9800 (from memory....) etc. They are great machines except when they howl like a tornado but that became part of its charm

 

[666sheep]

Hello all,
Does the SATA card help out performance?

Depends on drive(s) you want to connect to it. Some SATA drives are slower than some IDE drives.

 

[skinniezinho]

Hello all,
I just got into macs about a month ago. I got a Powerbook G4 Ti 800, then I got a MDD 1.25 Solo. I was thinking about getting a new DP daughter card for the G4, but was wondering if I should just get the 1.25 DP or if something faster would be ok for that main board. Also, I really need the copper heat sink right? I got a USB 2.0 card, and I'm going to get a SATA card. Does the SATA card help out performance?

If you are comparing "recent" sata cards to IDE drives it makes a big difference.
I've seen on mine using a 500Gb Samsung HDJ drive.
If you are in the market for a PCI SATA adapter I've one for sale.

 

[philz4life]

That probably explains why my DP 1.25 is so loud... I'm running the aluminum heatsink.

Hmmmm... I've got the same problem with my dual 1.25 even though I replaced my power supply fans. The case fan is still loud, so I'll look for a copper heatsink, or maybe replace the fan

 

[cuttius]

After looking around on e-bay I found the 1.25 DP for a lot cheaper then the 1.42, so I'm probably going to go with that. I'm also going to try to get a copper heat sink too. I think I'm going to hold off on the SATA card for now. I really didn't realize how much they were. I got a few 80 gig 7200 rpm IDE drives for now ("junk" sale $2 each). I'm also going to try to get a wi-fi card soon. I'm really impressed with the MDD even with the uni 1.25 (its the 2003 model with OS9 support). I got the tower, 17" ADC Studio, keyboard and mouse for $40 so I really didn't expect much, but am quite happy.

However, the Powerbook Ti 800 I bought for $100, was my first Mac and I really didn't test just bought blind off Craigslist. It has 10.5 Lep on it and I bumped it up to 1 gig ram but still feels a little sluggish, compared to the MDD. I was thinking about finding a copy of Tiger and seeing if it helps. 10.5 really is for higher than 867 (or something close from what I read online) but I saw how you could make it work for lower machines. But, do you think it would run better with Tiger? Also, just a quick thought, the cd-rom drive is toast (also the nvram battery, and main battery ) do they make an IDE drive case to replace the cd drive?

 

[philz4life]

After looking around on e-bay I found the 1.25 DP for a lot cheaper then the 1.42, so I'm probably going to go with that. I'm also going to try to get a copper heat sink too. I think I'm going to hold off on the SATA card for now. I really didn't realize how much they were. I got a few 80 gig 7200 rpm IDE drives for now ("junk" sale $2 each). I'm also going to try to get a wi-fi card soon. I'm really impressed with the MDD even with the uni 1.25 (its the 2003 model with OS9 support). I got the tower, 17" ADC Studio, keyboard and mouse for $40 so I really didn't expect much, but am quite happy.

However, the Powerbook Ti 800 I bought for $100, was my first Mac and I really didn't test just bought blind off Craigslist. It has 10.5 Lep on it and I bumped it up to 1 gig ram but still feels a little sluggish, compared to the MDD. I was thinking about finding a copy of Tiger and seeing if it helps. 10.5 really is for higher than 867 (or something close from what I read online) but I saw how you could make it work for lower machines. But, do you think it would run better with Tiger? Also, just a quick thought, the cd-rom drive is toast (also the nvram battery, and main battery ) do they make an IDE drive case to replace the cd drive?

The TiBook is a little to old to run Leopard even with upgraded ram. Try a new hard drive or even SSD. That can speed things up a lot, but if not then Tiger is your best option. I found an PowerBook optical drive bay case for a hard drive, but I don't know if it works in the titanium.

 

[Intell]

I found an PowerBook optical drive bay case for a hard drive, but I don't know if it works in the titanium.

They work in TiBooks, but they have a very slow ATA/33 optical bus. You can use any PATA optibay in G4 Powerbooks as the standard size and connection hasn't changed.

 

[Cox Orange]

There are PC-PCI-cards that work in Macs (without supporting boot and/or sleep, so you have to disable energy saver). But one would have to go through trial and error.

 

[Swampus]

After looking around on e-bay I found the 1.25 DP for a lot cheaper then the 1.42, so I'm probably going to go with that. I'm also going to try to get a copper heat sink too.

If you have trouble finding the copper one at a reasonable price, I think the thin finned one is nearly as good. Like the one seen here. I've noticed maybe a three degree difference, at most, on otherwise identical machines (both running with CHUD nap mode enabled). Of course, fresh thermal compound is always a must.

 

[archtopshop]

If you have trouble finding the copper one at a reasonable price, I think the thin finned one is nearly as good. Like the one seen here. I've noticed maybe a three degree difference, at most, on otherwise identical machines (both running with CHUD nap mode enabled). Of course, fresh thermal compound is always a must.

I agree with this. I have two 1.25 Dual FW800's. Both came with the above mentioned thin-finned heat sinks, and they run fine. I only run CHUD during the summer months. In the winter, my MDDs help keep my office warm.

From everything I've read over the years, the copper heatsink performs better, but I don't think enough to justify the much higher cost.

 

[cuttius]

Thanks for all the advice...this board is full of wisdom. I saw a PC Radeon 9800 Pro at Goodwill for cheap. I bought it after seeing about it on this board and several websites. Using Remote Desktop I got it flashed over and working. Only snag was I forgot that it needed power and didn't buy a splitter, but I was able to pull the power from the ATA/66 side and make it reach. I still didn't get a chance to order the dual processor yet, but thanks for the heads up about the heat sinks.

I also have an iMac 350 Mhz (Summer 2000 or 2001) that I got loaded up with some classic games that really run well. I got Monkey Island 2 (prob my favorite adventure game), Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (which I never played yet), Duke Nukem 3D, and several others. This really gives this machine much more purpose for me.

I was going to put Tiger on the Powerbook G4 Ti DVI 800Mhz, but just didn't have much time to toy with it.

I'm thinking about selling the iMac and Powerbook as a combo on Craigslist. I really like them, but the MDD basically can do everything that the other two can. I might just give them to my younger nephews, and try to give them some Mac experience.

Thanks again for all the great info.

 

[Dhack21]

A radeon 9800 at goodwill? Wish I could be so lucky.

 

[skinniezinho]

A radeon 9800 at goodwill? Wish I could be so lucky.

I have on for sale here on marketplace and ebay, grab me a pm if you are interested =)