Upgrade OS on G4 Cube?

[johntommybob]

What is the best version of OS 10 (if any) to install on a 450 mhz G4 Cube, and if there is one - how much memory should the Cube have to handle it best?

I'm trying to decide if I should do that or buy a new Mac.

Thanks

 

[Chundles]

What is the best version of OS 10 (if any) to install on a 450 mhz G4 Cube, and if there is one - how much memory should the Cube have to handle it best?

I'm trying to decide if I should do that or buy a new Mac.

Thanks

The Cube will run Tiger and maxes out at 1.5GB of RAM.

In my opinion however, Panther would be a better fit.

 

[IJ Reilly]

You can run Tiger on a G4 450, but if you want to keep the Cube in service for another few years you might consider a CPU upgrade while you can still find them. I considered replacing my Cube when the first minis came out, but when ran the numbers, I figured I was better off upgrading the Cube. As for RAM, it depends on what you're using it for. I run a gig in my Cube but I generally don't need that much unless I'm using Photoshop in Classic, which I do fairly often.

Another consideration in the upgrade or trade-up decision matrix is the graphics card in your Cube. Most have the stock RagePro 128, which is pretty ancient. A few better cards can be installed without much effort, but they're getting kind of scarce.

 

[skunk]

Tiger runs fine on my 1.2 GHz Cube with 1.25GB RAM. I've got an ATi Radeon with 32MB, running without a fan, which is fine, too. I tried a GeForce 3, but it was not appreciably better, so I reverted. The Radeon runs my 22" ACD very well. I use AI 10 and PS 7 all the time, which, while a bit slow, is still OK. It's getting to the point where I want to make the Cube my secondary computer and get a MacPro + 30". Depends what you'll be doing with it, I suppose.

 

[chaosbunny]

My Cube runs 10.4.7. just fine. Stock configuration but 768 mb ram.

 

[cube]

450 MHz Cube runs Tiger well with 576 MiB RAM (some free memory left while running iTunes, Firefox at the same time). 512 MiB should be OK.

 

[®îçhå®?]

You can run Tiger on a G4 450, but if you want to keep the Cube in service for another few years you might consider a CPU upgrade while you can still find them.

I considered that, upgrading it to a 1.2GHz cube but i upgraded to a macbook instead.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I expect to keep mine (G4 1.7 upgrade) going for about another year as my primary desktop, then semi-retire it as a file server.

 

[johntommybob]

A bit ignorant here. I didn't know you could upgrade the Cube to make it faster (1.2 GHz).

Just how do you do that? And where do you get the stuff to do it?

 

[skunk]

A bit ignorant here. I didn't know you could upgrade the Cube to make it faster (1.2 GHz).

Just how do you do that? And where do you get the stuff to do it?

You can get the upgrades from OWC in the States, amongst others: Powerlogix, Sonnet and Gigadesigns (if they're still around) all do upgrades, some single, some dual processor. All come with a fan you have to mount in the space below the processor. I got a special silent fan from a UK company called QuietPC.

 

[dpaanlka]

Tiger will be fine on that. Get a CPU and GPU upgrade though.

 

[IJ Reilly]

You can get the upgrades from OWC in the States, amongst others: Powerlogix, Sonnet and Gigadesigns (if they're still around) all do upgrades, some single, some dual processor. All come with a fan you have to mount in the space below the processor. I got a special silent fan from a UK company called QuietPC.

I'm interested in the quiet fan. Got a part number for that by any chance?

 

[skunk]

I'm interested in the quiet fan. Got a part number for that by any chance?

It was some time ago, but I think it was this one:
http://www.quietpc.com/files/images/products/afancs.jpg

http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/casefans/fan-80
But I should warn you that you have to modify the mounting slightly because it's slightly deeper than the stock one, which involves bending a couple of tabs back out of the way. Dead quiet, though, and it has a little thermostat attached to monitor the heat and adjust the speed accordingly.

 

[IJ Reilly]

It was some time ago, but I think it was this one:
http://www.quietpc.com/files/images/products/afancs.jpg

http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/casefans/fan-80
But I should warn you that you have to modify the mounting slightly because it's slightly deeper than the stock one, which involves bending a couple of tabs back out of the way. Dead quiet, though, and it has a little thermostat attached to monitor the heat and adjust the speed accordingly.

A thermistor. I've heard of people installing them on standard fans to regulate the speed. Not sure I'm up for another complete Cube teardown, but it is tempting.