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bballe336 · May 13, 2007, 10:38 AM

So I have a B&W G3 with an OWC G4 ZIF processor upgrade. When I originally installed the processor I had to install some sort of ROM unlocking patch in OS9 along with L2 cache management software. I'd now like to change the pin settings on the processor so it's a little bit faster, but I'm wondering if I will need to re-install all the software again in OS9 if I change the pin settings? Has anyone else done the same thing I'd like to do? There is also supposedly L2 cache management software for OSX but it only supports up to 10.3 and I have 10.4.9, so I don't know if it will work.

Thanks for the help.

Waragainstsleep · May 13, 2007, 12:15 PM

Apple patched the G3 boards after releasing the original PoweMac G4 to stop people from upgrading their smurfs on the cheap. (The G4 Yikes was a rush job released when the Sawtooth wasn't quite ready yet. The ROM flash simply allows the use of a G4 chip, which is how the Smurfs left the factory anyway.
In other words, you shouldn't need to reinstall the flash.
As for the cache control software, is rated up to 10.3 or 10.3 onward? I would try it. I doubt there is too much risk involved.

bballe336 · May 13, 2007, 12:23 PM

Alright cool, I'll go ahead and change the pin settings and hopefully it just boots right back up like normal.

bballe336 · 01:22 PM

Well this sucks. I changed the pin settings and now it won't boot. It freezes at the beginning screen with the apple on it and then the apple turns into a black box. If I force it to boot through open firmware the computer gets stalled at the OSX startup screen and the loading bar gets about 3% done and then stops.

Anyone have an suggestions? Or know how I can boot into OS9? I have OS9 on a separate drive..

EDIT: I just set it back to the 400mhz pin setting I had it on and it booted and works fine now. How can I get it running at 550mhz? I have a feeling I need to boot into OS9, but I don't want to change my start up drive, whats the key command to boot into OS9?

Lateralus · May 13, 2007, 11:17 PM

This has nothing to do with software. 400MHz to 550MHz is a HUGE overclock. You can't just set a CPU to a speed that's nearly 40% higher than its specified speed and expect it to work.

Try 450MHz. It should work but I doubt you're gonna get much higher reliably.

bballe336 · May 14, 2007, 08:58 PM

OWC lists speeds up to 800mhz as being obtainable. The processor is also sold as a 550mhz G4, so I know that it is able to run at that speed reliably.

Does anyone actually know why it won't run at 550mhz? I have a strong feeling that it has to do with the L2 cache software and ROMs that I had to originally install.

Lateralus · 09:52 PM

The speed chart that OWC lists is absolutely irrelevant to what speed the processor is actually capable of acheiving. The fact that there are other G4 ZIFs sold by OWC that are hand picked to be capable of 550MHz is also irrelevant to your processor.

I can tell you exactly what you can expect from your ZIF. I have tested and tinkered with more than I can count. Whether or not you choose to listen is up to you.

Is yours a 7400 or a 7410? What is the model number etched on the die of the processor? What is the model number on the OWC sticker on top the L2 cache chips?

Big Mac · May 15, 2007, 05:02 AM

Originally Posted by Lateralus

This has nothing to do with software. 400MHz to 550MHz is a HUGE overclock. You can't just set a CPU to a speed that's nearly 40% higher than its specified speed and expect it to work.

Try 450MHz. It should work but I doubt you're gonna get much higher reliably.

Yeah, someone capable of performing such upgrades should know a little something about the limitations of OCing.

Chito · May 15, 2007, 07:46 AM

I successfuly overclocked the 400 mHz G4 in my Yikes to 2.0 gHz. It was awesome...it ran so fast that it actually split into two processors and morphed into a G5. Yeah....nothing to this overclocking stuff.....I overclocked my four slice toaster too, GE said I could get it up to 11,000 degrees....makes perfect toast in 4.3 nano seconds....

bballe336 · May 15, 2007, 03:13 PM

Originally Posted by Lateralus

The speed chart that OWC lists is absolutely irrelevant to what speed the processor is actually capable of acheiving. The fact that there are other G4 ZIFs sold by OWC that are hand picked to be capable of 550MHz is also irrelevant to your processor.

I can tell you exactly what you can expect from your ZIF. I have tested and tinkered with more than I can count. Whether or not you choose to listen is up to you.

Is yours a 7400 or a 7410? What is the model number etched on the die of the processor? What is the model number on the OWC sticker on top the L2 cache chips?

I'll check and see what the model is. But considering I was sold a 550mhz G4 I expect to be able to get 550mhz out of it. If not that is false advertising on their part and then I'll have to figure something else out.

I need the machine to run FCP 5.1 for at least a couple of months until I get a new machine, and right now I'm 100mhz shy of it being able to run. I have changed the .plist file so it will open with a minimum of 0mhz. So it opens but quits after opening every time. I know FCP won't run smoothly on my machine but I just need it to function and was hoping that I could do that by running the processor at the speed it's advertised at.

So the point of my ramblings is that any way that I could get FCP 5.1 to run on my machine would be great.

Lateralus · May 15, 2007, 09:43 PM

If you bought it as a 550MHz-capable chip, why did you say you set it 'back' to 400MHz?

Big Mac · May 16, 2007, 01:52 AM

If you bought a 550MHz rated chip, it should run at 550MHz out of the box.

bballe336 · May 16, 2007, 06:40 AM

Originally Posted by Lateralus

If you bought it as a 550MHz-capable chip, why did you say you set it 'back' to 400MHz?

At the time I got it I clocked it low because the technician I had talked to suggested that I use one of the slower clock speeds when setting up the software/ROM's. I never got around to speeding it up to 550mhz until the other day, and it refused to boot, so I set everything back down to 400mhz and it's running now so I at least have a computer.