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GSMarquis · Dec 8, 2003, 04:59 PM

I am some what new in the mac world....so im not sure about timelines for aftermarket proccessor upgrades. When do they come out for newer proccessors? I noticed upto around a 1.4ghz upgrade card for powermacs/cubes etc. When should we expect a 1.25-1.4 upgrade for flat penel imacs? Will these aftermarket card makers also make a higher g4 upgrade past apple.....like a g4 1.6-2.0 current g4 computers?

discotronic · Dec 9, 2003, 01:21 AM

When it comes to after-market processor upgrades on the FP iMac....you may never see one. The processor (and just about everything else) is hard wired to the logic board/motherboard. In order to upgrade it, the entire board would have to be replaced. That's not to say that one couldn't be soldiered on but the cost and work involved would probably be too much.

WizOSX · Dec 9, 2003, 06:38 AM

Originally posted by GSMarquis

Will these aftermarket card makers also make a higher g4 upgrade past apple.....like a g4 1.6-2.0 current g4 computers?

Motorola has pretty much stopped development of the G4. It appears that the 1.42ghz is as high as they will ever go. Upgrading your machine, which is already running at 1ghz, probably wouldn't be worth the money (even if it was technically feasible).

GSMarquis · Dec 9, 2003, 07:05 PM

I think i made a impulse buy on this 1ghz imac.....i should have really got a powermac tower. So as far as max speed for a reasonable price i should go with www.transintl.com 2gig ram upgrade....its a 1gig so-dimm and a 1gig dimm.

I dont suppose a few years from now they will offer a upgraded logic board for these FP imacs.....but then again you'll pay too much for it to justify it.

discotronic · Dec 10, 2003, 04:24 PM

Originally posted by GSMarquis:
I think i made a impulse buy on this 1ghz imac.....i should have really got a powermac tower. So as far as max speed for a reasonable price i should go with www.transintl.com 2gig ram upgrade....its a 1gig so-dimm and a 1gig dimm.

I dont suppose a few years from now they will offer a upgraded logic board for these FP imacs.....but then again you'll pay too much for it to justify it.

I just wonder if the 2GB memory upgrade would make a big enough of a speed increase to make it worth the price.

buffalolee · Dec 11, 2003, 12:32 PM

See if Technowarehouse will do it. I paid $300 to upgrade my iMac Strawberry G3 350MHz to a 500MHz G4. You are probably paying for the labor to solder/unsolder the chip from th motherboard.

Panther runs much more smoothly now. :-)

CreepDogg · Dec 11, 2003, 11:12 PM

My advice: don't waste your money on upgrades. When you want to upgrade, take the $500 or so you'd spend on a fast processor, and put it in the bank. Your machine will still probably be adequately fast for what you need it for.

Then, the next time you want to upgrade, do the same thing. Guess what? Now you have enough money for a brand new iMac! (especially if you sell your old one)

With that, you get the latest and greatest processor (probably a G5 or G6 by then which would not be compatible with an 'old' iMac motherboard). You also get the latest and greatest system controller, hard drive, RAM, video, etc., and a much better integrated system.

My opinion is that upgrades are for people who are more into machine specs than actually using them. (I have made the mistake of upgrading - and ending up with an unbalanced, unstable system. Never again).

bradoesch · Dec 14, 2003, 08:16 PM

Originally posted by GSMarquis:

I dont suppose a few years from now they will offer a upgraded logic board for these FP imacs.....but then again you'll pay too much for it to justify it.

With the processor soldered to the logic board, I never thought I'd see a processor upgrade for my iMac DV, but sure enough there are a couple choices for an upgade.
Agreed about the price here. Right now it's $300 to get a 500 MHz G4 to replace my 400 Mhz G3. With the eMac at $800, it seems a little silly. 1 GHz G4, combo drive, Radeon 7500 32 MB video card, 17" CRT, etc.
I think I'll make do with my stock iMac* until I can afford a G5 (it may be a G6 by then, and I still might only be able to afford a G5!)

*By stock I mean no crazy go nuts upgrades like anything soldered to the mobo. From my sig you can see the RAM and HD have been replaced.