[BugsyJA]

I'm looking to upgrade my 733 Digital Audio Mac. I have been debating between a single or dual CPU upgrade and can't decide. If anything, I'm looking to go with Giga Designs either way. Anyway, thought I would ask those of you who have upgraded to either CPU what your experience has been with the installation, performance and stability.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance!

[Lateralus]

I upgraded to a Dual 1.2GHz GigaDesigns G4 back around April. I have been running it overclocked at 1.4GHz @ 100% CPU use 24/7 since then for SETI@Home and RC5-72. I have not had a single stability problem whatsoever.

For me, the dual was a no-brainer since both CPUs would be getting maximum use all day long because of SETI. I also spend a good deal of time encoding video to AVI from my DVDs, which also makes good use of dual processors.

The things you need to ask yourself are what will you be doing with the machine and how long you intend to keep it?. I think the question of how long you intend to keep it is the more important one. In another year or two, a dual will be holding up much better than a single.

[Macola]

I recently purchased a GigaDesigns dual 1.4 GHz for a Gigabit Ethernet G4. I'd recommend the dual if you have the cash. It certainly makes a difference in apps that take advantage of it. Overall, a much improved experience.

[Skip Breakfast]

I went from a dual 500MHz G4 to a single 1.33GHz G4 in April. I thought performance might suffer, but the tests I ran showed an enormous improvement.

[Macola]

Originally posted by Skip Breakfast:
I went from a dual 500MHz G4 to a single 1.33GHz G4 in April. I thought performance might suffer, but the tests I ran showed an enormous improvement.

That's to be expected, 2 x 500 != 1,000

[BugsyJA]

Thanks for the insight everyone, it's very much appreciated!

I mainly do iMovie/iDVD projects on the machine and could definitely use a speed boost. Not sure if I'm ready to go for the G5 just yet, did the "major" purchase thing for the 733/Superdrive Mac and need some more time to gear up and justify another major purchase. Holding on to this mac for another year or two is my intention unless there is a new must have feature with a G5/Tiger combo .

I've been leaning towards the Dual G4 upgrade from Giga and asking for and getting some positive real world experience is probably what I need to do it. The upgrade should keep me going for a little while longer, just wanted to make sure the dual was worth the extra cash.

Thanks again!

[rocky2]

Post how it goes with the Giga. I tried to upgrade a 733 MHz DA with a single processor Giga 1.46 GHz last year and could not get it to work at all with two known good cards. The RAM chime was about 5 times too loud and the boot always ended in a KP. This was with the latest firmware. Giga provided good troublshooting but we never found what was stopping the boot. One card is still working perfectly in a G4 466 AGP and the other was returned.

[Cadaver]

I upgraded a GigE DP 500MHz with an OWC 1.4GHz G4. Much, much fast (to be expected). And price-wise, it wasn't 1/2 the price of a G5 like some of the DP upgrades can be.