Question about upgraded G4 AGP "Sawtooth"

dr.bimanedr.bimane
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
Hey everyone.



I was thinking of perhaps upgrading my old G4 400 Mhz machine with one of the new Powerlogix Dual 1.2 Ghz 7447A upgrade cards.



Good idea? Bad idea?



Is Powerlogix pretty good? Is Sonnet or another company better?



I am sold on the dual processor idea because I have actually used a dual 1.0 Ghz G4 (not upgraded) and it seems pretty damn fast - even to this day. I think the dual processor really makes a difference especially with multiple programs open at once.





Anyway, I figure I can do this upgrade for $459 instead of spending $2000 for a new G5.



I don't need top of the line blazing speed. But, has anyone ever used a computer with one of these upgrades....? Is it pretty fast? Would this upgrade be compareable to a stock dual 1.0 Ghz G4 from Apple?



Also, what are your thoughts on upgrading the video card....Would the ATI 9600 pro upgrade be overkill? It's only like $110 or so....Would I notice a difference with it?



Any input on opinions and/or personal experience in this area would be appreciated.



Thanks,



-Dr. Bimane

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    rob010rob010 Posts: 10member
    Hi



    The upgrade cards work brilliantly as I have been using one for a while now in my old G4 AGP Graphics Sawtooth.



    I have also added enough ram to max it out at 1 Gig



    Also added a ATi Raedon 9000 Pro AGP Card



    It runs absolutely great apart from the bugs in tiger



    Rob
  • Reply 2 of 5
    xoolxool Posts: 2,460member
    I've had mixed results with G4 upgrades. One machine (a 500 MHz model) was successfully upgraded to 900 MHz. Its been in use for over 9 months with no problems.



    However, I also upgraded a 400 MHz tower and it didn't jive with the upgrade. I tried two cards from different manufacturers and both produced freezes and data corruption. Still works fine with the original CPU though.



    I also upgraded my old Beige G3 with all sorts of features. It suffers from overheating, but I rarely use it nowadays anyhow.



    Anyhow, I think the upgrade will help you keep the machine for about another year. That is if your machine jives with it. I suggest you backup your drives before the upgrade though.
  • Reply 3 of 5
    rob010rob010 Posts: 10member
    Hi



    I forgot to add the CPU upgrade was from 400MHz to 1.2 GHz



    Rob
  • Reply 4 of 5
    dr.bimanedr.bimane Posts: 50member
    Thanks for the replies guys.



    Rob, what manufacturer was your upgrade card from? What do you think about Powerlogix?



    Also, about the ATi Raedon 9000 Pro AGP Card.....how much V-Ram? How expensive is it and does this card work with the older CRT Apple displays?



    Xool, what do you think determines if my machine will "jive with the card". I guess I better double check what the return policy is on the card before I buy it.



    I am willing to bet that I would be able to squeeze at least two more years out of a dual 1.2 Ghz upgrade. I mean, I have been limping along at 400 Mhz for quite a while. I imagine that this speed increase will seem quite extraordinary to me.



    Thanks guys. Anyone else with input?



    -Dr.Bimane
  • Reply 5 of 5
    rob010rob010 Posts: 10member
    Hi



    I checked the manufactorer of the CPU upgrade that I have and it is a Powerlogix 1.2GHz PwerPC G4 2Mb Level 3 Cache



    I am not sure how the ATi Raedon 9000 Pro card would go with the CRT Monitor as I have been using a 17" LCD Monitor for quite sometime.



    The Raedon Card has 128meg memory on the card.



    It was not the cheapest graphics card but was the best for my needs and was the most compatible that I could find.



    The only real problem the G4 has had was the Pram Battery went flat and needed replacing and replacement of the original Hard Drive with a bigger one which now is maxed out at 120 gig.



    Rob
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