Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

MORT A POTTY · May 19, 2005, 05:03 PM

and only a year late to boot!

I now have a 900Mhz Pismo with 1MB of on chip L2 Cache running @ full processor speed. it rocks.

I'll update to Tiger and run some tests and see how things run then. currently I only have 10.3.4, but that won't be much longer. I love the performance boost though and instalation was a breeze. OWC has truly saved them, and it looks like PowerLogix is finally getting their act together with the RMAs. I still wouldn't recommend them to anyone yet, but I can say this, they're definitely on the road to recovery.

I'll have some tests soon. I'm just thrilled to have my baby up and running again though.

kmarketing · May 19, 2005, 05:15 PM

hi,

how much was the upgrade?

thanks!

MORT A POTTY · May 19, 2005, 05:24 PM

IIRC it was ~315, but it's been so long

vinster · May 20, 2005, 12:44 AM

Originally Posted by MORT A POTTY

and only a year late to boot!

I now have a 900Mhz Pismo with 1MB of on chip L2 Cache running @ full processor speed. it rocks.

G3 I presume? I'd grab one of these for my Pismo if it was a G4 (need one to run EyeTV's software).

jamil5454 · May 20, 2005, 07:05 AM

Originally Posted by vinster

G3 I presume? I'd grab one of these for my Pismo if it was a G4 (need one to run EyeTV's software).

It's a G5.

aplmd · May 20, 2005, 10:47 AM

I am glad you had a better experience than I have had with Powerlogix. I owned a Pismo also, and when the G4 processors were out 2 1/2 years ago, I sent my pismo in to get upgrade. Well, someone there dropped the motherboard at their shop and couldn't get it work. When they finally got a new mother board in, Then they said the pins were bent on the video connection. They replaced the mother board, but then the issue of the pins came up. They were willing to split the cost for fixing it, eventhough the only other person to ever open it was AppleCare. Since I had a new processor in it and the old motherboard was gone, the only other option was them to send the computer back without the LCD working. So I had to cough up some more $$ to get it fixed. Needless to say, it took over 2 months to get this thing resolved, and no price break. I finally got it back, but I will never recommend them in the future.

MORT A POTTY · May 20, 2005, 01:12 PM

well, you don't have to send in the whole computer, just remove the CPU daughtercard and send that in along with the heatsink.

the only drawback of this seems to be the rather large amount of heat it puts out. a LOT of heat... TONS.

but, I don't have the CPU director software because it doesn't work on 10.4.1 as of yet, but an update is expected in the immediate future. this will allow me to downclock the speed if I wish to help save battery life, which is important because I don't believe my batteries are in good shape at all because ethey were sitting a full year with zero charge... that is very very bad. so yeah, hopefully they'll get that fixed and then I'll go from there.

I'm very happy with the performance though. the GPU is definitely the main bottleneck as expose is very choppy. I can get 20 frames a second in iTUnes very comfortably though

XBench gave me 66.12 as my score http://ladd.dyndns.org/xbench/merge.xhtml?doc2=113241

I'm happy with the upgrade. the usefullness of the machine for a few years to come is definitely a good thing. hopefully by the time I need to upgrade, the dual-core G4 PBooks will be on a few revisions as I don't want a G5 in a PowerBook if I can avoid that. but coupled with the features of this powerbook... the durability, good sized screen (if low rez by today's standards) dual-FireWire, AirPort, etc... this upgrade really brings this thing at least somewhat up to date and I'm very happy with it.

again, I'll post again once they release a new version of their CPU Director software that's compatible with 10.4.1 and let you know how that goes, but suffice it to say, other than the heat and battery life which I do not believe is entirely the fault of this upgrade, although it's somewhat responsible, without a doubt, I love it.

teknopimp · May 20, 2005, 02:09 PM

Originally Posted by MORT A POTTY

I now have a 900Mhz Pismo with 1MB of on chip L2 Cache running @ full processor speed. it rocks...

thanks a lot, now i want one

i wish my old mactop were more usable, right now it's just an itunes jukebox.

SEkker · May 20, 2005, 08:59 PM

I wrote to them, and they said this upgrade is not available at this time. Maybe June?

MORT A POTTY · May 20, 2005, 10:30 PM

yeah, they're just filling RMAs at this point. it will be available again once they are done filling RMAs. my RMA was from July of last year... but things are definitely looking better. I ordered back in May IIRC (was so long ago, kinda fuzzy) and got a defective card... as did 99% of people. so, we're now at this point. finally.

SEkker · May 21, 2005, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by MORT A POTTY

yeah, they're just filling RMAs at this point. it will be available again once they are done filling RMAs. my RMA was from July of last year... but things are definitely looking better. I ordered back in May IIRC (was so long ago, kinda fuzzy) and got a defective card... as did 99% of people. so, we're now at this point. finally.

Please keep us posted on the quality of the product you received. My wife's Pismo is just missing a CPU upgrade to really keep her up to speed for a couple more years (she does not like either the TiPB or AlPB models Apple is currently offering). So for me, a $300 investment might be worth it, but I've been leery of Powerlogix.

Eug Wanker · May 21, 2005, 11:20 AM

Based on your experiences and experiences from other PowerLogix customers, I will never order from them.

A one year wait is just ludicrous.

BTW, it might be interesting to see what kind of results you get on this 1280x544 video. I suspect it will slideshow, based on experiences from iBook G3 900 owners. (A G4 1 GHz gets 12+ fps.)

finboy · May 21, 2005, 07:22 PM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

Based on your experiences and experiences from other PowerLogix customers, I will never order from them.

A one year wait is just ludicrous.

BTW, it might be interesting to see what kind of results you get on this 1280x544 video. I suspect it will slideshow, based on experiences from iBook G3 900 owners. (A G4 1 GHz gets 12+ fps.)

I'm saving up for the Wegener Media g4 upgrade. 900Mhz G3 is still kinda slow, comparatively.

MORT A POTTY · May 21, 2005, 11:56 PM

how is a 900Mhz G3 slower overall than a 500Mhz G4 (OCd to 550Mhz)?

sure, it'll be a bit slower in iTunes importing, but it'll be quite a bit faster in everyday use.

also, still waiting on that CPU director update.

MORT A POTTY · May 23, 2005, 01:32 AM

ok, after a while of use, I've determined that the battery life is fine, but the five year old ORIGINAL battery... doesn't hold as much of a charge as my good NewerTech 6600 mAh battery that is a year old which lasts for hours running iTunes, safari, mail, iChat, IRC, and other 'net intensive apps.

now, the only real issue I have with this upgrade is heat. it gets REALLY REALLY hot. Amazingly though, the keyboard doesn't get hot at all really, just a tad bit warm. not bad since the heat sink is EXTREMELY hot and is directly under the keyboard. fortunately plastic isn't the best conductor of heat, and the keyboard itself is pretty thick. but battery life is very good, as is performance. just don't use it on your lap for an extended period of time. put it on a desk or a pillow or something and you'll be just fine. the fan does come on every so often though which is pretty loud for such a tiny little bugger.

Eug Wanker · May 23, 2005, 08:16 AM

Originally Posted by MORT A POTTY

now, the only real issue I have with this upgrade is heat. it gets REALLY REALLY hot. Amazingly though, the keyboard doesn't get hot at all really, just a tad bit warm. not bad since the heat sink is EXTREMELY hot and is directly under the keyboard. fortunately plastic isn't the best conductor of heat, and the keyboard itself is pretty thick. but battery life is very good, as is performance. just don't use it on your lap for an extended period of time. put it on a desk or a pillow or something and you'll be just fine. the fan does come on every so often though which is pretty loud for such a tiny little bugger.

Makes me wonder about that fine PowerLogix quality assurance again...

It's probably OK, but PowerLogix simply doesn't inspire confidence.

MORT A POTTY · May 23, 2005, 12:15 PM

it's hot, but it's not like those 12" AlBooks were cool either. I didn't use one to compare them, but I'd assume it's kinda similar.

but it doesn't get too hot to where it crashes at all so I don't see a problem with it other than the fact that you probably wouldn't wanna have it on your lap for more than five minutes once it's been running for quite some time.

but the quality of the upgrade itself is without question, not an issue. just the one side effect. heat. that can probably be at least somewhat remedied with one of those PCMCIA slot fans which holy **** I'd absolutely love to get ahold of.

bstone · May 23, 2005, 05:55 PM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

Makes me wonder about that fine PowerLogix quality assurance again...

It's probably OK, but PowerLogix simply doesn't inspire confidence.

Power? Yes.

Logic? No.

SEkker · May 23, 2005, 09:32 PM

And that much heat might kill the battery's life, too.

MORT A POTTY · May 23, 2005, 11:25 PM

no, it's not hot at all where the batteries are. just up top where the processor is under the keyboard all the way through the bottom... cur curiously not through the keyboard

but the batteries and that whole half of the base aren't hot at all.