Need help UPGRADING G4

[Jemstar]

hi, i wonder if u can help me?
i have a 400 MHz PowerPC G4 Tower (agp graphics) and a bus of 100 MHz. as you can probably tell i'm looking to upgrade the processor to something around the 1.2 - 1.5 Gb mark and i was a bit confused as to which one will suit. i have a budget of about £250. i have heard something about 'sawtooth' but again im baffled! any help will be appreciated. thanks. Jem

[gortonsfi]

Hmm... Well... As of right now, you might think about the Mac Mini. Announced 1-11-05. You can get a 1.25 GHz G4 Mac Mini for $ 499(US) Depending on what you want to do with the machine, and international availability, you might look into that.

[Kezz]

I agree, the price of the Mac mini makes processor upgrades very unattractive.
Prices in the UK start at 339 quid (including VAT), which is more than you were talking about, but you can use your existing monitor, keyboard and mouse and I'm sure you could get at least 150 pounds for your G4 to cover the difference. Should stretch to a bit more RAM too.

[1o0oBhP]

You can build a 1.5 GHz system for less than a Mini Mac though... depends if you want to DIY! As for just upgrading the CPU you would probably need a new Motherboard - given the system's age - so that you can fit a faster and more up-to-date CPU. A basic Athlon XP 2700 (equivalent of a Pentuim 2.7 GHz) and socket A motherboard can be had for around the £80 mark if you look around, maybe even less second-hand as 1.5 GHz is a little to slow for some people these days! The change could get a new HD (160 GB barracuda is about £60) and a basic updated Graphics Card, happy hunting! :)

[1o0oBhP]

My apologies, was reading today's posts. DIDNT SEE THE APPLE HARDWARE tag at the top of the screen! feel free to laugh... :)

[Jemstar]

nice 1 fellas, all the info helped. and thanks to christian. cheers

[kc0arf]

Hello,

I am wondering what Daystar has in mind for your computer. I have purchased 2 DayStar units in the past.... one for my LC to move it from 16 MHZ 68020 to a 40 MHZ 68040, and the second was for my Power Mac 7100 to go from 66 MHz PPC 601 to a 233 MHz 604.

Both units remain functional today. I do not remember what my costs were though here in the US.

Christian

[yellow]

hi, i wonder if u can help me?
i have a 400 MHz PowerPC G4 Tower (agp graphics) and a bus of 100 MHz. as you can probably tell i'm looking to upgrade the processor to something around the 1.2 - 1.5 Gb mark and i was a bit confused as to which one will suit. i have a budget of about £250. i have heard something about 'sawtooth' but again im baffled! any help will be appreciated. thanks. Jem

"Sawtooth" is it's Apple-internal-codename.

There are tons of CPU upgrades for your Mac, some can get pretty pricey and there's a certain point where you're bus speed, ATA speed, RAM speed, and GPU will limit you and it's not worth plunking down $500+tax(+VAT?) on a 1.4GHz upgrade.

Hopefully this link will work:

http://eshop.macsales.com/MyOWC/Upgrades.cfm?model=164&type=Processor&TI=%23TimeFormat%28Now%28%29%2C+&shoupgrds=Show+Upgrades

But this should give you an idea of all the processor upgrades avaiable to you out there and you can then find the appropriate one/price in the UK.