PowerBook G4 questions

[AphoticD]

Forgive me if this is a dumb question. With my DLSD PB, do you know if there is any hope of using that to squeeze a bit more graphical umph from it, or would I just be running the risk of overheating with any increase?

Sure thing. Just keep an eye on the running temps with iStat Menus or Temperature Monitor and see how much temps increase, if at all, as you step up the processor and memory frequencies.

Another use would be to underclock an ATI GPU in a G3 or G4 portable to reduce general running temperatures and possibly increase longevity of the hardware.

On that note, there was also a G3 CPU scaling kernel extension called iCook which can change the CPU speed of a 750FX on the fly. You could for example underclock a G3 700Mhz iBook down to 300Mhz if you wanted to reduce temps and increase battery time.

Here's a direct download link for iCook v1.0 on the Wayback Machine;
https://web.archive.org/web/20140629222521/http://swieskowski.net/icook/iCook.zip
(GPL'd source and .xcodeproj files are included)

 

[zackkmac]

Interesting stuff on the software you guys mentioned.

I have updates. So, I bought new upper and lower casings for my beat up HR-DLSD from PowerBookMedic for only $16 shipped and it looks SO much better! I don’t have to use a credit card to trip the latch anymore just to open it.

I also finally got my mSATA to IDE enclosure after 2 incorrect items received from 2 different sellers, so I threw the new 128GB SSD in the HR-DLSD and I cannot believe how much quicker it is.

However, I now have a new issue with this laptop. The AirPort card does not want to connect to my WiFi, while my other PowerBooks do just fine. I got it to connect maybe once but it showed weak signal and never loaded any pages. I’ve experienced similar issues with mixing up the antennna connectors but I know these were reinstalled in the correct order. Any other ideas before I disassemble it again?

I also gained back a 1.33GHz 15” that I had given to my dad, who now uses a 15” 2011 hi-res/anti glare MacBook Pro. The screen is pretty dim though so it’s gonna need a replacement.

 

[1042686]

Maybe it’s a jenky airport card. Do you have another known good one you could swap out with to test?

 

[MysticCow]

Another use would be to underclock an ATI GPU in a G3 or G4 portable to reduce general running temperatures and possibly increase longevity of the hardware.

At this point, it is silly NOT to underclock. Supplies of PPC parts are going to become scarce if not extinct. Let's face the facts here.

If something can save a PPC for a few more years, I'm all for it.

 

[dbdjre0143]

At this point, it is silly NOT to underclock. Supplies of PPC parts are going to become scarce if not extinct. Let's face the facts here.

If something can save a PPC for a few more years, I'm all for it.

100% a matter of opinion, but I must disagree.

I'm all for preservation, but preservation in a reduced form of usefulness almost defeats the purpose IMO. I'm sure there are good counterexamples of this, where some chips are especially prone to failure (the discussion of graphics chips in the early Intel thread comes to mind), but (perhaps overly) generally speaking, with proper cooling, most CPUs, GPUs, etc, aren't major points of failure. I wouldn't want to handicap a machine to protect it from a failure that isn't likely in the first place.

 

[zackkmac]

Maybe it’s a jenky airport card. Do you have another known good one you could swap out with to test?

Unfortunately not. I did just discover the G4 I got back that I assumed was a 1.33GHz (not sure why I assumed this) is actually another 1.67GHz, though it's a 2005 model (standard res) and after looking, the HR-DLSD uses a unique airport card that I do not have an extra of.