[IrisB]

Can someone tell me about upgrading a 300 mhz to 500 mhz. I think I read that going to a G4 500 mhz is not worth the $$ differential in terms of the increase in speed. I do NOT do heavy duty graphics or video.

I do not understand the differernce between buying a PCI or a Zif upgrade. Does it matter which I get? The prices are virtually the same. Is Zif faster because it connects directly to the motherboard?

Does anyone think that faster upgrades are coming for the beige G3's?

Thanks.

[Paul S]

ZIF vs. PCI upgrades are based on what machine you have, not which you want to buy. The G3 used a ZIF based processor, so that is what you'll buy as an upgrade. I have a Sonnet 500MHz G4 upgrade in my G3 (originally 266MHz) tower and the difference is incredible. I do a lot of video work. Some video compression in Media Cleaner Pro that took my up to 5 or 6 days is now being done in 8 or 9 hours. The price of the upgrade was way less than the price for another computer, which is what I was considering because I wasn't able to check e-mail for days at a time.

For day to day stuff, it's not so big of a difference. Given that you aren't big on video, etc., it may not be worth it. Down the road, as upgrades get cheaper and faster, it may make the difference more worth your while.

[Tristrami]

Mods: This thread needs to go in the G3/G4 hardware forum....


Iris,

There big difference between PCI & ZIF upgrades is the machines in which they work. The PCI upgrades work in older non-g3 machines, while the ZIFs are used in the beige/B&W G3s. Last night I exchanged the G3 266 ZIF in my Beige G3 for a 450mhz one (which I later overclocked to 466--but that's another story). ZIF stands for "Zero Insertion Force" and there's a superb installation guide for putting ZIFs in your older G3 here:
http://eshop.macsales.com/Tech/Load_...igeg3zif1.html

As to the question of G4 upgrade vs. G3 upgrade, it really depends upon which programs you use and whetehr they take advantage of the AltiVec in the G4 or not. My guess is you don't need the G4, and that a G3 ZIF would be your best bet. Beside extra mhz speed, the other advantage is that it comes with twice the cache and makes ordinary processing tasks peppier.

Ultimately it's a question of economics. Divide the cost versus the % of improvement in speed. I bought my used ZIF for $150, and effectively doubled my speed, paying 64 cents per mhz. In my case it was worth it, but it's a personal choice