Thanks for the "option key" technique. I was unaware of that. It doesn't seem to open anything up for me, though. Using PL's CPU Director control panel, there are simply no higher clock values to select whether or not the option button is pressed. So I'm thinking that since I had to use the 800 MHz dipswitch setting to get the thing to run, the CPU Director control panel simply has no further upclock settings to go beyond 900 in software.
Your bringing up OSX is another interesting issue wrt CPU upgrades and stability. I am curious to try it out one day, but not hopeful for success along that line. Afterall, if I'm getting the occasional "system bus errors" right now, I only imagine OSX will be even more critical over that matter, and thus aggravated by it. I've heard some people have had to replace all of their memory with reputably high quality modules just to keep OSX satisfied with memory integrity (hence, the chasing away of Mr. Kernel Panic). So that and this CPU upgrade strike me as 2 potential obstacles for me to ever run OSX successfully. It's not that big of a deal, because actually my needs are met quite adequately with 9.1. Why move out of the cozy home you have customized to your preferences to a "T", if it continues to meet your needs, right? So if I ever run OSX or not, isn't that critical an issue for me (yet). It would be nice to be able to, just the same...
I guess all of that points back to if you really want to run OSX "properly", you might as well just buy a computer that came out of the box running it. This is not to say you cannot make it happen with earlier models. You just cannot depend on it being a troublefree proposition. At every step of the way, you will always be confronted with the reckoning that there is no sense in bitching why such and such isn't working, because you should have just bought an up-to-date computer to run OSX in the first place.
I guess all of that points back to if you really want to run OSX "properly", you might as well just buy a computer that came out of the box running it.
Unfortunately, I just bought a new house, I just paid for a complete basement remodel so that I have a nice finished basement to hang out in, and I have to help my wife pay off her d@mn student loans (word of advice for anyone reading ... ask your girlfriend/boyfriend how much debt they've collected over the years before you get married ... after that you share everything).
So, I won't have the money for a new computer for at least another two years unless I get a new job (not likely while the current president is in office). Even upgrading my current computer ($300-$500) is almost out of my price range. So I really can't afford $1,000 for a good eMac unless I sell half my belongings on eBay.
I asked someone in another forum to explain how to overclock the PL upgrade. He said he uses the cpu-director 1.1 (that came from PL with his 900MHz PowerBook upgrade), and needs to hold down the option/alt key all the way from starting the program until selecting the clockspeed (just not while entering the password for unlocking). Does not run at 1Ghz, but 950Mhz is fine.
Since I've only heard this from people who have the PL 900MHz upgrade for their PowerBooks, this might only work on PowerBooks. I don't know.
BTW, I wasn't suggesting you should buy a new computer- just saying that by going with an older model with upgrades may introduce unforseen complications when moving to OSX. You'll never know until you try, of course, but don't get your hopes set to firmly on it. When you get there you may either be slapping your forehead in frustration or extremely happy that your old, faithful is set to take you into the new world. That's all I'm saying.
OK, the CPU Director is now showing the higher speeds if I hold down the alt key while starting the app. Thanks for the clarification. I got available settings all the way up to 2 GHz! That would be some feat to have a 2 GHz G3 one day (but I'm sure the 100 MHz memory bus would become the bottleneck long before that)...
OK, the CPU Director is now showing the higher speeds if I hold down the alt key while starting the app. Thanks for the clarification. I got available settings all the way up to 2 GHz! That would be some feat to have a 2 GHz G3 one day (but I'm sure the 100 MHz memory bus would become the bottleneck long before that)...
Yes, there's little point in overclocking your processor that much ... particularly since it's likely to burn up the processor. Most people I've spoken with say there is little benefit (a several potential problems) in overclocking a processor more than 10-15 percent above its top rated speed.
As for Panther on my old 500MHz G3 Pismo, I've heard several people with early Panther builds saying that it runs just fine on the stock 500MHz Pismo. Fastmac.com has been using a Pismo with a 550MHz G4 upgrade and the Panther builds this summer/fall ... and the fastmac.com tech support folks say that the upgraded Pismo works great with Panther.
I suspect that there will be some "less than ideal" situations that I'll have to deal with (like the fact that the Pismo is limited to 8MB of VRAM thus no Quartz Extreme) but the cost savings of upgrading vs. a new computer are worth it ... if the upgrade works like it's supposed to.
Comments
Your bringing up OSX is another interesting issue wrt CPU upgrades and stability. I am curious to try it out one day, but not hopeful for success along that line. Afterall, if I'm getting the occasional "system bus errors" right now, I only imagine OSX will be even more critical over that matter, and thus aggravated by it. I've heard some people have had to replace all of their memory with reputably high quality modules just to keep OSX satisfied with memory integrity (hence, the chasing away of Mr. Kernel Panic). So that and this CPU upgrade strike me as 2 potential obstacles for me to ever run OSX successfully. It's not that big of a deal, because actually my needs are met quite adequately with 9.1. Why move out of the cozy home you have customized to your preferences to a "T", if it continues to meet your needs, right? So if I ever run OSX or not, isn't that critical an issue for me (yet). It would be nice to be able to, just the same...
I guess all of that points back to if you really want to run OSX "properly", you might as well just buy a computer that came out of the box running it. This is not to say you cannot make it happen with earlier models. You just cannot depend on it being a troublefree proposition. At every step of the way, you will always be confronted with the reckoning that there is no sense in bitching why such and such isn't working, because you should have just bought an up-to-date computer to run OSX in the first place.
Originally posted by Randycat99
I guess all of that points back to if you really want to run OSX "properly", you might as well just buy a computer that came out of the box running it.
Unfortunately, I just bought a new house, I just paid for a complete basement remodel so that I have a nice finished basement to hang out in, and I have to help my wife pay off her d@mn student loans (word of advice for anyone reading ... ask your girlfriend/boyfriend how much debt they've collected over the years before you get married ... after that you share everything).
So, I won't have the money for a new computer for at least another two years unless I get a new job (not likely while the current president is in office). Even upgrading my current computer ($300-$500) is almost out of my price range. So I really can't afford $1,000 for a good eMac unless I sell half my belongings on eBay.
I asked someone in another forum to explain how to overclock the PL upgrade. He said he uses the cpu-director 1.1 (that came from PL with his 900MHz PowerBook upgrade), and needs to hold down the option/alt key all the way from starting the program until selecting the clockspeed (just not while entering the password for unlocking). Does not run at 1Ghz, but 950Mhz is fine.
Since I've only heard this from people who have the PL 900MHz upgrade for their PowerBooks, this might only work on PowerBooks. I don't know.
OK, the CPU Director is now showing the higher speeds if I hold down the alt key while starting the app. Thanks for the clarification. I got available settings all the way up to 2 GHz!
Originally posted by Randycat99
OK, the CPU Director is now showing the higher speeds if I hold down the alt key while starting the app. Thanks for the clarification. I got available settings all the way up to 2 GHz!
Yes, there's little point in overclocking your processor that much ... particularly since it's likely to burn up the processor. Most people I've spoken with say there is little benefit (a several potential problems) in overclocking a processor more than 10-15 percent above its top rated speed.
As for Panther on my old 500MHz G3 Pismo, I've heard several people with early Panther builds saying that it runs just fine on the stock 500MHz Pismo. Fastmac.com has been using a Pismo with a 550MHz G4 upgrade and the Panther builds this summer/fall ... and the fastmac.com tech support folks say that the upgraded Pismo works great with Panther.
I suspect that there will be some "less than ideal" situations that I'll have to deal with (like the fact that the Pismo is limited to 8MB of VRAM thus no Quartz Extreme) but the cost savings of upgrading vs. a new computer are worth it ... if the upgrade works like it's supposed to.