G4 Quick Silver PSU in G4 Gigabit system?

Hi, I just registered on these forums after being recommended them by someone.

I recently purchased off eBay a PowerMac G4 Gigabit 400 system with a suspected dead PSU. It also needs RAM and a HDD amongst other things...

Anyways, the PSU in the system at the moment is a 338w AcBel API-9841-291 (which apparently is Apple p/n 661-2332). I've seen for sale on eBay a 344w 614-0146/API0PC24 PSU which I believe comes from a G4 Quick Silver system.

My question is, can I install that PSU with no problems into my Gigabit system?

Thanks.

First up have a read of this link as there are a number of steps to possibly reviving the PSU. They are different in the models you posted however if all else fail do a Google for ATX power supply matching the Gigabit Ethernet.

Make sure it is a Gigabit Ethernet and not a Sawtooth as they both came with a 400MHz model. Check the serial number against MacTracker.

PowerMac G4 (Quicksilver) Power Supply

The main problem is the various G4 towers use different wiring to the PSU, namely 20, 22 and 24 wires soi you need to know precisely which model you have.

Power Mac G4 "Sawtooth" Power Supply Upgrade - Mac Forums

The part number on my logic board is 820-1153-A which according to this website is a Gigabit Ethernet logic board, so I'm assuming that is the G4 I have. I downloaded the Mactracker program but I can't see where you can search by serial number?

I have 22 pins on my existing PSU, and the one on the Quick Silver is also 22 pin. The only difference as far as I can make out, is that the QS one doesn't have a power input for the monitor (not bothered about that).

Enter the machine's serial number in this link and find out all about it:-

Klantenservice: Serienummers

Put the Quicksilver in and see what happens.

Thanks, I entered my serial number in (oddly enough Apple couldn't find it on THEIR system when I phoned up on at least 2 occasions!), and that website said:

Name: Power Macintosh G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)
Model: Mxxxx PowerMac G4 400MHz/450MHz-DP/500MHz-DP Name=Gigabit_Ethernet BTO
Bus speed: 100MHz
Memory - number of slots: Please tell us how many memory (RAM) slots this machine has.
Factory: CK (Cork, Ireland)
URL: Technical specifications by apple-history.com code_to_number: H66 -

Model introduced: 2000
Production year: 2000
Production week: 31 (August)
Production number: 19862 (within this week)
Uitbreidingen: Uitbreidingsmogelijkheden van dit apparaat

Click to expand...

I don't have a QS serial number to type in...

I opened up the PSU (didn't touch anything inside though by the way!) and notice a couple of transistors have melted, so I think we can definately confirm the PSU is dead!

I'm just wondering whether to have a go at repairing it myself (cheap), getting an electronics place to repair it (possibly expensive) or getting a new/part exchange unit (expensive)...

I will do some checking on this for you but I do know the Quicksilver is more like the Digital Audio and has a 28 Volt Startup voltage from the Power Supply. I always thought the Gigabit was like the Sawtooth and if so I would bet the Quickslivers power supply is different. My Digital Audio blew out it's power supply and I could not use one from a Sawtooth as it did not have the 28 Volts Switching voltage. I was able to rewire a really heavy duty Sparkle PS from a P4 PC and it works great but took a lot of work.

The reason my DA's power supply died is I pushed it way over it's ratings for 2+ years. G4 1.8Ghz CPU, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro and many other high current upgrades. Otherwise I doubt it would have blown.

I will get back to you on this.

Edit: found out some info. The Gigabit Ethernet uses the same Power Supply as the Digital Audio so my guess above is incorrect. Found that on Apples site as well as Everymac.com. It does use the 28 Volt start up voltage. So you could use a Power Supply from a Digital Audio. I am checking now to see about the Quicksilver's Power Supply.

More info. Everything I see says the Quicksilvers PS is different from the Digital Audio and Gigabit ethernet's. So I would look for a DA supply. Hard to find at a low price though. I ended up purchasing a used DA for $35 and ripped out the supply, then I did that PS Power supply mod and put it back into the $35 DA.

Good luck.

It's a shame I don't have a normal AGP/PCI G4 as there's loads of PSUs on eBay for them for about £20.00 GBP (about $30.00 USD).

There's someone in the UK (on eBay) selling a used PSU exactly the same as mine for £120.00 GBP ($180.00 USD) there's no way in **** I'm paying stupid money like that for a PSU, especially a used one! LOL!

I also had a look on the apple-history.com website, don't know about the exact spec of the PSUs but according to that website, the DA/QS/MDD/FW800 all use a 338w PSU?

Every site I have checked says the Quicksilver is a 340 Watt and different and that only the DA and Gigabit share the same supply.

Yes, if you had a Sawtooth it would be much easier to find a supply as it does not use that 28 Volt Switching Voltage. I see NO sites that say you can use a Quicksilver supply in a DA or Gigabit.

Many sites show the DA and Gigabit use the same supply but no mention of a Quicksilver and when you find a Quicksilver supply it shows the models it will work in and nothing is said about a DA or Gigabit.

661-2514 PowerMac G4 QuickSilver (340 Watts) Power Supply, Apple Mac and iPod Accessories

One example. Check that LOW price!!

Here are the links from the apple-history.com website that show the PSUs I mentioned as 338w:

Power Macintosh G4 (Digital Audio)
Power Macintosh G4 (FireWire 800)
Power Macintosh G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)
Power Macintosh G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors)
Power Macintosh G4 (Quicksilver 2002)
Power Macintosh G4 (Quicksilver)

dtravis7 said:

Yes, if you had a Sawtooth it would be much easier to find a supply as it does not use that 28 Volt Switching Voltage. I see NO sites that say you can use a Quicksilver supply in a DA or Gigabit.

Click to expand...

I guess as long as the replacement PSU has got a 22 pin connector and is of the same voltage it should be OK? Perhaps many people have not attempted to use different Mac PSUs in their systems... Good old Apple and their proprietary hardware eh!

dtravis7 said:

661-2514 PowerMac G4 QuickSilver (340 Watts) Power Supply, Apple Mac and iPod Accessories

One example. Check that LOW price!!

Click to expand...

Haha I'm going to buy one right now...!

That site is very wrong. The MDD's supply is totally different in size, Shape and wattage. Do also remember that 22-Pins means nothing in itself, it's where the wires go also. I had to rewire every wire on a PC Supply with the same number of pins to make it work.

Here is an MDD Power Supply for sale. Not the same at all. I would not believe what apple history is saying.


New* Apple PowerMac G4 MDD Power Supply 360W API1PC36 - eBay (item 260314349973 end time Jan-10-09 05:46:29 PST)

Also the Quicksilver Power Supply has two very different voltage rails then the DA/Gigabit does.

The Wiring to the 22-Pin connector on the Quicksilver is different as are 2 voltages.

Apple Power Mac G4 Quicksilver Power Supply API1PC12 QS - eBay (item 150313082150 end time Dec-29-08 13:46:28 PST)

Look at the label on this one.



The Wiring to the 22-Pin Connector on a Quicksilver is different as are 2 of the voltages.

ATXG4

Here is a Gigabit Ethernet PSU from UsedMacs but as you know they are worth more than the machine:-

Usedmac - : 661-2332 Power Supply 338W G4 Gigabit for Dual (450-500Mhz) [661-2332/new] - $175.00

If you can wire and solder a bit and can get those 2 diodes in that last URL, you can use a PC power supply like I did. I can help you on that if you are interested, but that last URL I posted above tells how to do it.

Thanks for everyone's help.

I decided to buy this PSU off eBay, so I'll probably get it after Christmas now as it's coming from over the pond. At $26.00 USD I got it quite cheap I thought, as last time I looked someone was selling a similar PSU for £120.00 GBP (about $180.00 USD) in the UK.

I just hope it a) gets to me in one piece and b) it works by the time it gets to me LOL!

Good going. I hope it works out for you. It should work fine. Keep us posted!!

Sam G said:

Thanks for everyone's help.

I decided to buy this PSU off eBay, so I'll probably get it after Christmas now as it's coming from over the pond. At $26.00 USD I got it quite cheap I thought, as last time I looked someone was selling a similar PSU for £120.00 GBP (about $180.00 USD) in the UK.

I just hope it a) gets to me in one piece and b) it works by the time it gets to me LOL!

Click to expand...

Just to update everyone, I received this PSU this morning (before Christmas too, yay!), and it works perfectly!