*xlr8 G4/400 upgrade* - sweet!
Written: Mar 01 '01
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Pros: speed, price, stability, adjustable jumpers
Cons: none
The Bottom Line: It's always tough to decide, but if all you need is a processor upgrade to get you current, you can't beat this.
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| beanbear's Full Review: Apple Power Macintosh G4 Multimedia |
Abstract:
There's not CPU upgrade section, but I think that before people plunk down money on a new G4, you should read this review...especially if you have a lot of money/effort sunk into an existing Mac.
Design:
There used to be 4 major vendors for Mac CPU upgrades: Sonnet, Newer Tech, PowerLogix, and xlr8. Newer has gone out of business for its vaporware and questionable vendor dealings (tho' their products I've used have been excellent) and PowerLogix stuff seems impossible to come by. That leaves Sonnet & xlr8 - the former tends to occupy the low-end and xlr8 the high end.
As for design, a chip is a chip. However, xlr8 has gone to great lengths to engineer the upgrade just right - even down to the great adjustable jumpers for overclocking. It is a very full package - it ships with the ZIF, screwdriver, a tini tub of thermal paste, a static wrist strap, CD installer, and thorough manual.
Compatibility:
Both Gossamer/Artemis (Beige) and Yosemite (Blue-and-White) G3's as well as Yikes!-based G4's (the 1st generation G4; they don't have AGP graphics or Airport compatibility). Check to make sure you have a clean ROM in a Beige G3 - go to xlr8yourmac.com for details.
Installation:
Totally plug-and-play. The heat sink needs to be removed and reset, and the ZIF needs to be handled with care, but that's it. Swap one for another.
Performance:
It's seated in a Beige G3/266 Desktop - the performance boost is great, though not earthshattering. To really round out the speed increase, you need more RAM and to unshackle your hard drive from the slow ATA33 interface. Coupled to a Sonnet Tempo ATA66 card, the system's overall performance comes close to a new G4/400. The G3's 66mhz bus vs. the new G4's 100mhz makes some difference, particularly in Photoshop. Although the differences are rarely sizable, they can exceed 10% on certain "bus-intensive" tasks.
We don't do a lot of Photoshopping and mostly do Media Cleaner Pro work. In this environment, a faster hard drive will easily supercede a marginally faster processor or bus. When comparing identical MHZ's, benchmark tests and our own experience have shown that a G4 upgrade paired with an ATA66 card can easily spank a Yikes! G4 (with its slower ATA33) and come almost neck-and-neck with a Sawtooth G4 in video work.
Overclocking:
It's not without its serious risks, so don't necessarily take our success as an indication of yours. With the 66mhz bus, you've actually got a little more room to work. Both 433 and 466 have been successful, but since we value stability more than outright speed, we stick with 400. The adjustable jumpers make it easy to experiment, but keep in mind that G4's have less general overhead than G3's. I've been able to overclock every G3 I've owned at least 10% or 50mhz.
Value:
With it listing at $389 at Macgurus.com and similarly elsewhere, it's a steal. But if you're planning on getting a new video card, USB/Firewire, etc. it may not make much sense. However, if you've got a Yosemite G3, there's no reason not to get this upgrade. So go do it. Now.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 399
Operating System: Macintosh
Processor: PowerPC G4
Processor speed: 301-400
RAM: More than 256
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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Epinions.com ID:
beanbear
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Member: B Kim
Location: Chicago, IL
Reviews written: 62
Trusted by: 7 members
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