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my first Quicksilver - Questions

@Amethyst1 had the right link, I may have gotten it elsewhere before though because mine wasn't split. Turns out I still have a DVD I burned from the image, so I'll be giving it a try when I get the computer. It may still be a bit until I have it due to shipping delays.

Batteries are cheap enough, so I should be alright to just leave the one in there for a bit while I wait for parts to come in. Too many Maxell bomb memories still.

On video cards, as mentioned above for gaming a lot of games that would take true advantage of a better vid card would also like a better CPU, so I'll probably do both in one go. That Radeon 9000 seems to be common enough as an intermediate card. As for L3, I'm not sure what to make of that but I'm not worried about pushing this thing to its absolute max, just a decent contemporary machine. Big reason to upgrade the card is to get DVI.
 
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retta283 said:
Big reason to upgrade the card is to get DVI.
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Keep in mind that you'll only get one DVI port - unless the 9000 is something special. The Radeon 7000, 9200 and 9800 all have DVI/VGA. I suppose there could be cards in those models with dual DVI but not mine.
 
A decent second question about L3, I'm trying to find out if my 800 MHz 15" iMac has any L3 or not, but I can't seem to find any certain info.

If all goes well one DVI port should be enough, especially if the second port is VGA and not ADC. I don't currently have any ADC monitors, all the ones I've had a chance to buy either already had busted stands or image retention issues.
 
Amethyst1 said:
Wouldn’t it show up in System Profiler or, even more prominently, in About This Mac?
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It probably does, however I currently have no access to the computer to check. I'm hoping to get to it soon though, possibly swap the drive and repaste it. Second week of October if things work out. I'm just surprised that Everymac nor Wikipedia expressly state anything about L3, it would seem from them that no single iMac G4 had L3 which would surprise me.
 
@retta283 As I've always understood it, no PowerPC-based iMacs, eMacs, Mac minis, or iBooks ever shipped with L3 cache. Curiously, this seems to have been a feature largely reserved for Power Macs, PowerBooks, and Xserves instead.
 
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To me this is a surprise, but it would explain what I have seen. I thought the later G4s had them regardless of computer type. I guess it's a bit of a consolation if I can't get this thing to support L3 that at least my iMacs/iBooks are not superior in this regard.
 
retta283 said:
A decent second question about L3, I'm trying to find out if my 800 MHz 15" iMac has any L3 or not, but I can't seem to find any certain info.

If all goes well one DVI port should be enough, especially if the second port is VGA and not ADC. I don't currently have any ADC monitors, all the ones I've had a chance to buy either already had busted stands or image retention issues.
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My 800Mhz 15" imacg4 does not have L3 - it has 256k on die L2. If you want vga, you'll need to flash a pc card. The apple version ATI Radeon 9000 pro has dvi and adc. I have had good luck with using graphiccelerator to flash ATI gpus in OSX gui with roms from macelite. Last card I used this app for was a pci Radeon 7000 for my B&W - worked great. Best of luck to you.
 
z970mp said:
Curiously, this seems to have been a feature largely reserved for Power Macs, PowerBooks, and Xserves instead.
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L3 has been reserved for pro-grade machines it seems. Consumer Macs had to make do without it.
 
Just got it. It is a rev B board, and indeed the OS sees the full 144 gigs this drive makes available. Interestingly to me, it does not have the stock GeForce 2MX, instead it has a Radeon 7500 I’m not familiar with this card or how it compares to the 2MX, but it has the same outputs. It also has OS 9 drivers already which may make an attempt to boot OS 9 easier.
 
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That's good to hear, thanks for reporting back. Good luck with your upgrades.
 
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so I was able to boot OS 9 without issue, but I had Macintosh manager trying to come up and now this. Not sure how to bypass this.
 
Seems like it was something in the system folder I was using, I had only ever used it wuth OS X classic mode. Got a new one and all is well with OS 9. Pretty cool running at 1920x1200. I think I will be buying a Radeon 9000 just to have a standard DVI card, will worry about flashing one later.
 
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My dual 1GHz came with an R7500 too. Swapped it into my Cube (with a 3D printed faceplate), where it's a pretty much ideal choice, and flashed a cheap PC 9800Pro for the Quicksilver. Then fitted a big Zalman copper GPU cooler to the 9800, which runs essentially silently.

The Quicksilver is a pretty noisy computer by modern standards. Swapping out the PSU and case fans with Noctua Redux versions (the higher speed models - you'll need the airflow) made a big difference. I also added a 40x20mm Delta fan to the notched area of the heatsink, using rubber mounts. It made a surprising difference, keeping the heatsink cool enough that the CPU's variable speed fan never needs to ramp up (it's noisy when it does). Given the poor airflow of the case design, it will never be silent (at least without cooking), but the sound could be described as 'pleasant' now.
 
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mode11 said:
My dual 1GHz came with an R7500 too. Swapped it into my Cube (with a 3D printed faceplate), where it's a pretty much ideal choice, and flashed a cheap PC 9800Pro for the Quicksilver. Then fitted a big Zalman copper GPU cooler to the 9800, which runs essentially silently.

The Quicksilver is a pretty noisy computer by modern standards. Swapping out the PSU and case fans with Noctua Redux versions (the higher speed models - you'll need the airflow) made a big difference. I also added a 40x20mm Delta fan to the notched area of the heatsink, using rubber mounts. It made a surprising difference, keeping the heatsink cool enough that the CPU's variable speed fan never needs to ramp up (it's noisy when it does). Given the poor airflow of the case design, it will never be silent (at least without cooking), but the sound could be described as 'pleasant' now.
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I am in need of replacing the cpu fan on mine. It just started to make some ugly noises. I scavenged the fans out of the back of a dead pmg5 psu which are a perfect fit for that fan (& it’s rubber housing) and is what I’ll be using.

Out of curiosity, do you happen to have the model numbers of the noctua fans you used? I think that would be great info for other folks looking to replace their fans.
 
In tinkering with this, I am reminded how sometimes computers make no sense whatsoever.

I tried Europa Universalis II with this computer (a game that only needs a 333 G3 and I think 128MB RAM, 4MB VRAM?) and it has major issues with lag and the game comes to a full stop about every 10 seconds, then resumes a few seconds later. Yet my iMac G3 350 runs it fine? Then, this 733 G4 is able to run Star Wars Battlefront, a game that calls for 1GHz minimum and a 64MB card. It's a bit choppy, but playable even with my 7500. Not a clue...
 
Two additional questions as I further mess with this.

First, what's a good DVD drive for this computer? I found some older MR threads from 2005 detailing some upgrades, but the drives they listed are going for hundreds, cheapest were like $70 and that's still too much.

Second, it seems like whatever material was used to pack the computer left black markings all over the side with the access door, I cannot find a way to clean it. Alcohol solution failed completely. It almost seems like the markings are behind the panel, although I don't know if there's really two pieces to the panel or if it just appears that way.
 
Certificate of Excellence said:
I am in need of replacing the cpu fan on mine. It just started to make some ugly noises. I scavenged the fans out of the back of a dead pmg5 psu which are a perfect fit for that fan (& it’s rubber housing) and is what I’ll be using.

Out of curiosity, do you happen to have the model numbers of the noctua fans you used? I think that would be great info for other folks looking to replace their fans.
Click to expand...
Noctua NF-S12B-redux-1200 for the case fan and Noctua NF-R8 Redux-1800 for the PSU fan. I think I used a short 2 pin to 3 pin adapter cable in the PSU, to avoid having to cut any cables. I wouldn't use any speed reducing cables with these - better a small amount of noise than an overheating machine. They'll still be much quieter, and one needs to be realistic about airflow given that everything goes in and out from the rear of the case. The front is certainly pretty, but a bunch of holes and a 12cm fan would have transformed the case thermally.

The CPU fan is temperature controlled (there's a thermistor sticking out of the motor housing). I'd be wary of installing a constant speed fan, especially a quiet (slow spinning) one. Granted, the case fan I replaced was also originally temperature controlled, but the Noctua replacement is 12cm and spins relatively quickly. 60mm fans need to spin quickly to move an appreciable amount of air, and the CPUs can get toasty (though less so on a single 733 I guess).
 
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retta283 said:
It almost seems like the markings are behind the panel, although I don't know if there's really two pieces to the panel or if it just appears that way.
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The acrylic side panels should unbolt easily enough to check. The chassis is just a galvanised steel box underneath it all.
 
retta283 said:
what's a good DVD drive for this computer?
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Depends what OS you want it to be compatible with. I'd imagine later OS's like Leopard will support a wider variety of drives. Could always pick up a cheap Mac tower of similar vintage (if available), to scavenge from.

xlr8yourmac.com used to have a good database of compatible drives. Not sure if it's still on there - if not, use the Wayback machine.
 
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mode11 said:
Noctua NF-S12B-redux-1200 for the case fan and Noctua NF-R8 Redux-1800 for the PSU fan. I think I used a short 2 pin to 3 pin adapter cable in the PSU, to avoid having to cut any cables. I wouldn't use any speed reducing cables with these - better a small amount of noise than an overheating machine. They'll still be much quieter, and one needs to be realistic about airflow given that everything goes in and out from the rear of the case. The front is certainly pretty, but a bunch of holes and a 12cm fan would have transformed the case thermally.

The CPU fan is temperature controlled (there's a thermistor sticking out of the motor housing). I'd be wary of installing a constant speed fan, especially a quiet (slow spinning) one. Granted, the case fan I replaced was also originally temperature controlled, but the Noctua replacement is 12cm and spins relatively quickly. 60mm fans need to spin quickly to move an appreciable amount of air, and the CPUs can get toasty (though less so on a single 733 I guess).
Click to expand...

This is good info. Normal fan noise does not really bug me. Never has. Now wonky rattles and buzzes from bad bearings or loose fans - that grinds on my nerves like no other. Thanks again.
 
Certificate of Excellence said:
I am in need of replacing the cpu fan on mine. It just started to make some ugly noises. I scavenged the fans out of the back of a dead pmg5 psu which are a perfect fit for that fan (& it’s rubber housing) and is what I’ll be using.

Out of curiosity, do you happen to have the model numbers of the noctua fans you used? I think that would be great info for other folks looking to replace their fans.
Click to expand...
Never mind. It just ran dry of lube on the bearing. I dropped a good amount of 3in1 PTFE and all is normal again. Makes sense as the last time I did this was probably 2018.
 
I also just recently picked one of these up. The motherboard must be the older revision because the 160GB hdd in it did not register the full size. This is OK for me. The drive was wiped by the previous owner however. So I actually had an old Apple branded Maxtor 40GB hanging around so I put that in to do testing. One of the amazing things of this find was that it came with a full set of restore disks so I slapped in the OS 9.2.1 restore disk and away I went.

It has the 867Mhz CPU and a GeForce 2 MX ADC video card in it. It also came with 2 Apple ADC monitors with it. One I believe is the 22" Cinema Display. The other is a 17" also with the ADC connector. (I got all this for $99)

Anyway, so after installing OS 9 from the restore disk onto the 40GB hdd, the Cinema Display no longer allows the full native resolution of the monitor. The display in the control panel says Apple Cinema Display but the biggest resolution it will let me set is 1280x1024. Any idea how I can get this set back to the native which I guess is like 1680x1050 or something?

UPDATE:
I found out randomly that you need OS 9.2.2 and the recovery disk that came with the computer was 9.2.1. Problem solved. Apparently that if I put OS X on it, it will need to be version 10.1.3 and the restore disk that came with it is 10.0.4. I have a couple retail discs for later versions.
 
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