G4 CPU Upgrade Advice

I have a 450 Mhz AGP graphics G4, and I've been looking at CPU upgrades. I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience with them. I've heard good things about the Sonnet Encore cards. I've heard they're easy to install. I've also been looking at the Powerlogix cards. Those seem attractive because they have their own fan.

I've read some reviews on the web of those cards and of Other Word Computing's Mercury Extreme upgrades, and it doesn't seem like there's much difference in performance. It seems like most of the differences come in how easily they install and what kind of firmware upgrades are required. I did, however, have one other question about them. I use Final Cut Pro (right now I use version 3 -- I know it's old, but it does most everything I need it to do). I read on Other World Computing's website thing Final Cut won't recognize their Mercury Extreme cards. They have a workaround to fix that posted on their site. I was just wondering if there are any other software compatibility issues that anyone knows about with any of the CPU upgrade cards. I know that Sonnet says their cards are 100% compatible with "all your software." That's an attractive point if it's true.

I'm currently running Panther, by the way.

Thanks.

OWC upgrades work well in G4

Read more here: http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/cpucards.html

Awesome site/store answers your questions. I have used their OWC upgrades.
Take 15 minutes to install, hum right along. Highly recommended. I bumped an G4 867 to a 1.4 and it too runs Panther still, and flawlessly with the full Adobe CS2 suite.

It seems really pointless to upgrade such an old system. It wouldn't be pointless if the g4s were reasonably priced, but they just aren't.

The money you could save from buying a new G4 chip would get you a 1Ghz+ eMac from eBay or you could put it towards a mini.

Gav said:

It seems really pointless to upgrade such an old system. It wouldn't be pointless if the g4s were reasonably priced, but they just aren't.

The money you could save from buying a new G4 chip would get you a 1Ghz+ eMac from eBay or you could put it towards a mini.

Click to expand...

I upgraded my G4 PowerMac and it flies. It's faster than my mother's G5 iMac! So it's not pointless at all. And as for an eMac, they have crap video cards and are not upgradeable in the slightest.

There are lots of threads on this over the past few years...

look at how much you will spend upgrading your PM and then look up how much it would cost to buy something that fast or faster. Go with what is cheaper or what makes you happier.

Other World Computing is selling 1.2Ghz cards for just $160.
Seems to be the best value ever. The price jumps up so fast once you start adding Ghz. I think I might get one of those 1.2ghz for my Sawtooth.

I can upgrade my G4 Sawtooth 450mhz with an OWC 1.2ghz processor for just 225 bucks, shipped to the UK, which works out at about £116. There's no way at all I could get a Mac of that speed for anywhere near that price; plus, I've already got all my software and hardware in my current Mac (my HDDs, my superdrive, Logic Express, Cubase, Adobe CS etc). Makes perfect sense to me; as soon as I've been paid I'm ordering one and giving my G4 a new lease of life.

will my 733 chip work? Im going to be selling it soon.....