Economical upgrades

Hi,
First post..
I have been a mac user for 4-5 years now and have always been lucky enough to have had the use of the latest kit... However now I havnt got a lovely shiny mac.
I have got a G4 350mhz AGP bus 100 Single processor unit in standard guise apart from 1.5gb Ram ( A further 512mb is being shipped)

I am using a little bit of photos, movies, plenty of hyperweb action as its the home station.

I am on a budget and I realise I will not get the same performance as the gear I used to have for work. Macbook. G5 this dual core that etc etc.

Advice is very much appreciated.

Ideas going round my head are

sonnet 1.8 g single processor upgrade (from states) or 1.0 g version???

faster graphics card- which one though???

just other general stuff to make it a little speedy.

Thanks alot

Apple PowerMac G4 1Ghz CPU with Heat Sink - Screws & Clips

P/N: 820-1497-A
I have seen this for a good price would this be compatible??

Thanks

Hi there.

It will be compatible if it is a CPU upgrade from major manufacturer such as Sonnet, OWC etc. If it is a stock standard CPU from a Quicksilver no it will not fit nor operate.

I am in the same boat as you and purchased a 1.2 GHz Mercury Extreme CPU Upgrade from OWC sales. There were one or two problems with it and they replaced it no questions with a 1.3GHz upgrade, including air freight here to Australia so I do recommend their product and after sales service.

Currently their prices start from around $200 for a 1.4GHz upgrade. I run Leopard on my machine no problems whatsoever. Here is a link to OWC who also sell other brands such as Powerlogix and Sonnet:-

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/accelerators/

Thanks harry,

Much appreciated, are there any differences in manufacturer i.e quality etc etc?

bonfield I am delighted with my Mercury Extreme and would have no hesitation in recommending their products.. Personally think any quality manufacturer such as OWC, Sonnet etc would be okay to deal with.

One of the best tests when you do the install is to run Apple Hardware Test. On my machine IO had to get a copy of 1.2.7 and the original 1.1 returned a faulty processor with the upgrade.

It all costs money but I have upgraded the video card to a flashed nVidia GeForce 6200 which handles Leopard's eye candy and works like a dream. I purchased it from a dealer in HK through eBay for US$74. As our machines are 2X AGP it has to be either that or the ATI Radeon 9800. Other cards are 8X which is not compatible with 2X. Maxing out the RAM does wonders and so does a 7200 RPM HDD with 8MB cache.

Upgrading your current machine is certainly an option, but by the time you have spent all of the money on upgraded components, you could have bought a more capable used system for the same cost (maybe less)

Yeah, if you went $200 to upgrade your CPU,
lets say $100-ish to upgrade your HD,
and $150 to upgrade your graphics card (im guessing there, i've never upgraded mine), and $30 for a superdrive, and another $30 for a USB card (if you need/want one), thats $510 plus tax and shipping and blah. Prices of mac minis NEW are $599, refurbs are much cheaper.
So it's your call.

Might be where you are Tanner however outside US we get stung big time. I purchased a DVI-ADC adapter last month. Apple price US $99.00. Apple price Australia $199.00.

Mac Mini 1.83 here is $849 and the 2.0 $1148.

harryb2448 said:

Might be where you are Tanner however outside US we get stung big time. I purchased a DVI-ADC adapter last month. Apple price US $99.00. Apple price Australia $199.00.

Mac Mini 1.83 here is $849 and the 2.0 $1148.

Click to expand...

Same problem in the UK. I have managed to get an 120Gb HD (internal) for £45. But 1.8Ghz Sonnet processor from same company is around £250. US I can get the same for £170. I am going down the road of Upgrade as I can get a better deal and system by shopping around. Currently use a QS 733. Upgrades so far are 1.5Gb memory, 5 port USB2 card, 120Gb HD, New Dual Layer superdrive (only £25 on Ebay), Wireless card, and bluetooth dongle. All this over the 7 years I have owned it. Bought it from new at MacWarehouse.

I didn't miss the odd £50 here and there over the years. The processor upgrade is more expensive but cheaper than a new system for me. I would also have the hassel of copying across all my files,data, settings etc.

I appreciate there is a limit as to what is viable or economical but if my system goes down at least I have all the extras (newer) ready to put into a secondhand system.

However you do it.... make sure it suits you and what you need.

Good luck.

Reaperman

Good Luck Reaperman.

I purchased the Mercury Extreme as it comes with jumpers and one can change it from a 100MHz bus to 133 quite simply. The 100 bus comes in at 13X1 giving 1.3GHz, the 133 at 10X1 giving 1.33GHz.

Later on can upgrade a QS if I choose to but like the 4 memory slots.