I can max out the ram to 8 gig and install a 240gig SSD for less than $250.00.
Is it worth doing? Any other worthwhile upgrades?
It's not my main computer, I use it mainly for iTunes, digital recording, email, web, chat.
Thanks
Len
It is model PowerMac 7,2 with 8 dimm slots. Each can take 1 gig.
I have a spare 1TB HDD that I will try. It is 7200 speed.
They also say that Tiger runs better on this model. May downgrade to that.
Len
It is model PowerMac 7,2 with 8 dimm slots. Each can take 1 gig.
I have a spare 1TB HDD that I will try. It is 7200 speed.
They also say that Tiger runs better on this model. May downgrade to that.
Len
I'd only run Tiger on something (usually a G4) that isn't a dual processor model. Every dual processor G4 and every G5 I own, gets Leopard.
My upgrade from 1GB to 2GB was a great idea, 8GB might be a bit much,I'd recommend 4GB for something like that
TenFourFox when opening a lot of tabs is enough to ensure you need at least 2 GB. It isn't Cameron's (TenFourFox's developer) fault, but rather Mozilla for making Firefox code a memory pig.
TenFourFox when opening a lot of tabs is enough to ensure you need at least 2 GB. It isn't Cameron's (TenFourFox's developer) fault, but rather Mozilla for making Firefox code a memory pig.
I don't know what you mean by a lot of tabs. But I've got five open right now on this single 1.8GHz G5 with 2GB of memory and free memory is sitting at 1.21GB (while using TenFourFox). Mean while CPU routinely reaches 100%.
It really depends on what is running in those tabs. If you have something using plugins and a lot of JavaScript then the RAM usage is pretty high. I prefer Leopard WebKit as it just feels like a more fluid environment to browse in.
I agree. However I doubt memory is going to make his system faster...at least for web browsing. Out of the 2GB I have in this system. 1.21GB is free. Opening additional tabs doesn't appreciably decrease memory.
On the flip side the CPU is frequently pegged at 100%. This leads me to conclude the CPU is the bottleneck and not memory (this system has a 64GB SSD).
It's interesting this should arise as I have a dual 2.0GHZ PowerMac G5 with 3GB of memory and it feels a lot faster. I thought perhaps memory was an issue with this 1.8GHz and was going to take some out of the dual 2.0GHz until I actually looked at memory consumption / CPU use. The dual 2.0GHz feels a lot snappier and the CPU history shows why...it wasn't pegged like this single processor 1.8GHz is.
IMO adding memory to his system would result in no appreciable performance increase for web browsing (this assume he doesn't have memory consumed with a lot of other software running at the same time).
I agree. However I doubt memory is going to make his system faster...at least for web browsing. Out of the 2GB I have in this system. 1.21GB is free. Opening additional tabs doesn't appreciably decrease memory.
On the flip side the CPU is frequently pegged at 100%. This leads me to conclude the CPU is the bottleneck and not memory (this system has a 64GB SSD).
It's interesting this should arise as I have a dual 2.0GHZ PowerMac G5 with 3GB of memory and it feels a lot faster. I thought perhaps memory was an issue with this 1.8GHz and was going to take some out of the dual 2.0GHz until I actually looked at memory consumption / CPU use. The dual 2.0GHz feels a lot snappier and the CPU history shows why...it wasn't pegged like this single processor 1.8GHz is.
IMO adding memory to his system would result in no appreciable performance increase for web browsing (this assume he doesn't have memory consumed with a lot of other software running at the same time).
I have 4gb in my 1.8ghz, and have noticed very similar-I don't even come close to using all the ram, but Tenfourfox does routinely peg the CPU at 100%.
I have 4gb in my 1.8ghz, and have noticed very similar-I don't even come close to using all the ram, but Tenfourfox does routinely peg the CPU at 100%.
I can max out the ram to 8 gig and install a 240gig SSD for less than $250.00.
Is it worth doing? Any other worthwhile upgrades?
It's not my main computer, I use it mainly for iTunes, digital recording, email, web, chat.
Thanks
Len
I have 4gb in my 1.8ghz, and have noticed very similar-I don't even come close to using all the ram, but Tenfourfox does routinely peg the CPU at 100%.
I think for RAM its clear enough from the previous posts whether you will get an improvement raising this but for the SSD question I can guarantee you it will transform your machine. The misconception is that being on a SATA 1 bus it's not worth it but thats not the main point - with SSD's its about latency as well (the time it takes for the disk to start serving up) and SSD's have a much much lower latency than even fast HD's.
I have a 7200 WD Black 2Tb drive and an SSD - the difference is night and day so for sure you will see huge difference in App loading times etc.
Personally I keep the regular HD as a second drive and keep Photo's/Music/Docs on here so the SSD can just be used for the OS and programs - makes the system much snappier.
I disagree with this almost 100%. Unless your tasks involve a lot random disk I/O an SSD will not appreciably increase the responsiveness of the system. I know because I did this very thing...replaced the mechanical hard disk with the currently installed SSD. It's not worth the cost unless you can obtain the SSD for a good price.
IMO an almost useless metric. Many apps take a couple of seconds to load...so cutting that time in half isn't saving a lot of time. For those which take longer the savings can be more pronounced. But again you're taking a task which takes, for example, 20 seconds and reducing it to 13 seconds. Given application loading is an infrequent task (and is cached in RAM for subsequent loads) I cannot recommend spending a lot of money on an SSD to decrease it. IMO the money would be better spent on a faster system. Though with SSD prices dropping it doesn't cost nearly as much as it once did.Sorry, I have both, maybe it depends on the CPU but people here say even fitting one to a G4 PowerBook makes a difference, I don't have experience of that specifically but I can tell you it makes a hell of a lot of difference to my machine - most apps launch on a single bounce has really rejuvenated it. Of course it doesn't speed up anything CPU bound but for app launching etc it's quite literally twice as fast.
Try Leopard WebKit with Click To Flash and AdBlock plus.
Will download and definitely give this a try when I get home this evening.
Thanks!