WANTED: G4 Cube CPU Upgrade

[Camacorn]

Hi guys, I purchased this G4 Cube about a month ago, to use along side my iMac G3. I know this thing is not a powerhouse by any means today, but I'd like to be able to use it to do some light duty tasks, as I don't want it to just sit there. I am actually using it to type this post, albeit not very smoothly.

I need the help of my fellow forum members to track down a CPU upgrade, as well as GPU upgrade. I can't seem to find any CPU upgrades anywhere, and I'm not sure what a decent GPU for running Leopard would be.

Any help in finding these would be greatly appreciated, and may save the life of a Cube that is otherwise in pristine shape!

Currently; 450MHZ - 1.25GB RAM - 40GB HDD - OS 10.4.11

 

[bunnspecial]

CPU upgrades are out there, but be patient and be prepared to dig deep for one. I have two Sonnets(800mhz and 1.8ghz) and would advise holding out for one rather than taking any that comes along. I forget who made my 3rd one.

Be sure that you DO get an upgrade meant for a Cube.

The quick and dirty drop-in for a Cube is a Geforce 2MX, which is marginally better than the stock Rage 128. These are cheap on Ebay, and you can transplant the face plate from your current card to it. Be forewarned that this is a hot running card.

The best "official" upgrade is the Geforce 3, but these are quite uncommon. These also will fit on the same faceplate as the Rage 128. I spent two years looking for one, then bought two within a week of each other . I quit looking, but haven't seen another since then.

The Geforce 2MX and pretty much all others other than the Rage 128 support Quartz Extreme, which makes a big difference in the performance in OS X. Leopard will run on a Rage 128, but it's miserable.

For Tiger and Leopard, you get a big jump when you upgrade to a GPU that supports Core Image. Unfortunately, the list of GPUs that support it, will work in a 2x AGP slot, and will physically fit in a Cube is quite short. The best option is the Geforce 6200, but you need to flash it to work in a Cube(or any Mac). You'll want to look for the WANG version.

 

[Hrududu]

Easy & cheap ways to get the cube running a little faster that I've gone to:
7200rpm HDD (other will say SSD, but I think replacing the tired old drive with a faster one is still great)
Radeon 7000 makes a very good video upgrade over the Rage 128 and is quite cheap. Offers QE support, but faceplate doesn't match up. I just opted out of using a faceplate all together. It also retains the ADC video output which I like for paring the Cube with an Apple display from that era.
500MHz G4 from an AGP tower. Again, not stupid fast, but for very little money the extra 500MHz is a nice little bump
1.5GB of RAM. You're close already, so a couple bucks to get that 256MB stick upgraded to 512 isn't bad at all.

 

[Camacorn]

Easy & cheap ways to get the cube running a little faster that I've gone to:
7200rpm HDD (other will say SSD, but I think replacing the tired old drive with a faster one is still great)
Radeon 7000 makes a very good video upgrade over the Rage 128 and is quite cheap. Offers QE support, but faceplate doesn't match up. I just opted out of using a faceplate all together. It also retains the ADC video output which I like for paring the Cube with an Apple display from that era.
500MHz G4 from an AGP tower. Again, not stupid fast, but for very little money the extra 500MHz is a nice little bump
1.5GB of RAM. You're close already, so a couple bucks to get that 256MB stick upgraded to 512 isn't bad at all.

Definitely intend to. This machine actually only had 192mb when I purchased it. However, I was given over 100 sticks of PC100/PC133/DDR RAM yesterday by a local computer repair shop that was going to throw it all away. There were only a couple of 512MB sticks, the majority is 128MB/256MB, but free is for me!

Now I have to find out what to do with the rest of it, my desk drawer makes me look like I have an obsession for ram.

 

[bunnspecial]

Now I have to find out what to do with the rest of it, my desk drawer makes me look like I have an obsession for ram.

One of my spare watchmaker's benches has been turned into a computer parts repository, and it has drawers dedicated to RAM type. I'd hate to think how much PC 66/100/133 there is in it.

For a while, I was buying 256mb LD PC-100 by the 20 stick box. I ended up with a LOT of it because on two separate occasions, the same vendor shipped me HD sticks and told me to just keep them while also sending LD sticks.

Unfortunately, I do usually end up buying 512s and LD 256 since RAM boxes are often collections of stuff that was removed when installing upgrades. (LD 256 is significant as it's needed for beige G3s, B&W G3s, and Yikes! comptuers).

A year or so back, @LightBulbFun needed some oddball RAM for one of his computers(PM 4400) and the only source he found wouldn't ship to the UK. He had it sent to me. I had some other stuff to send to him also, and ended up just padding the box with a bunch of RAM. I often joke that I don't really know how much I sent him in terms of sticks or capacity-I just know that it was a few pounds of ram.

 

[Camacorn]

One of my spare watchmaker's benches has been turned into a computer parts repository, and it has drawers dedicated to RAM type. I'd hate to think how much PC 66/100/133 there is in it.

For a while, I was buying 256mb LD PC-100 by the 20 stick box. I ended up with a LOT of it because on two separate occasions, the same vendor shipped me HD sticks and told me to just keep them while also sending LD sticks.

Unfortunately, I do usually end up buying 512s and LD 256 since RAM boxes are often collections of stuff that was removed when installing upgrades. (LD 256 is significant as it's needed for beige G3s, B&W G3s, and Yikes! comptuers).

A year or so back, @LightBulbFun needed some oddball RAM for one of his computers(PM 4400) and the only source he found wouldn't ship to the UK. He had it sent to me. I had some other stuff to send to him also, and ended up just padding the box with a bunch of RAM. I often joke that I don't really know how much I sent him in terms of sticks or capacity-I just know that it was a few pounds of ram.

That is funny! You don't want to sell some 512 sticks by chance do ya?

 

[bunnspecial]

That is funny! You don't want to sell some 512 sticks by chance do ya?

I think I'm either out or the ones I have are earmarked. I'll check, though.

PM me, though, and if you don't mind waiting I can add some on for you the next time I do a bulk order.

 

[Camacorn]

So, I just got done re-assembling my Cube, actually typing this up on it. I decided to go ahead and install a fan in the existing position in the base of the Cube. Even though this machine is completely stock at the moment, I figured it couldn't hurt to get some real air flow to these old components, and hopefully prolong the life of another Cube! It also saves me from having to do it later. The fan is completely silent, in part due to the fact that it is only being fed 5v from the open header below the first RAM module. But the airflow, though minimal, is still noticeable at the vent.

 

[bunnspecial]

Even stock Cubes benefit from having a fan, although I'd suggest a 12V fan running off a 12V lead.

If you install a 2MX, you DEFINITELY want a fan. The stock base fan location doesn't move a HUGE amount of air through the GPU compartment, it does move some. Also, it lowers the overall temperature in the core, which does help keep the GPU cooler.

 

[Camacorn]

Even stock Cubes benefit from having a fan, although I'd suggest a 12V fan running off a 12V lead.

If you install a 2MX, you DEFINITELY want a fan. The stock base fan location doesn't move a HUGE amount of air through the GPU compartment, it does move some. Also, it lowers the overall temperature in the core, which does help keep the GPU cooler.

When/IF I find a CPU upgrade kit, I will go in and wire it up to a 12V lead. There is a small connector on the VRM that outputs 12V, but I will have to find a male end to fit it.

Although it sounds stupid, I am trying to find a CPU upgrade, because I want this to be my desktop daily driver. I have a Macbook that goes everywhere with me, but if I could find a processor to make this more capable, I would use it daily. Not for anything intensive, but I run a few servers, and do some basic web development, that it could definitely handle. However, just browsing these forums with this 450Mhz G4, cripples it. 100% CPU usage.

I had a 17" iMac G4 1.25GHZ with 2GB of RAM in the past, and used it as a daily driver next to my laptop, mainly for monitoring my IRC network, some SSH work, and streaming music from my file server, it handled it beautifully with no beachballs haha.