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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Desktops > 867 vs 933

867 vs 933
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jsevier14
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Mar 7, 2002, 06:55 PM
 
I have in my hand a QS 867Mhz with 128MB RAM, the 60GB HD, 32MB video, SuperDrive, and the standard configuration. It cost about $300 less than the current middle of the road Mac, the 933 with 256MB/60GB HD, 64 MB video, etc... I'm stuck at whether its worth the $300 to upgrade to the 933, or whether I should save my dough and put it toward a video capture card... Anybody got an opinion on this? Is there something about the architecture that makes the 933 significantly faster than the 867?
     
Technicolor
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Mar 7, 2002, 07:10 PM
 
As far as I know the system architecture (bus speed, ram, hd etc) is identical between the 2 systems. The only difference I think is the faster SuperDrive, better video card, and more MHZ. Dunno if that's worth the extra $300 bucks or not.

I have an 867 and it is marvelous. Absolutely no complaints at all.

     
Max8319
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Mar 8, 2002, 12:00 AM
 
i've heard that the 933 was a lot faster. when they were working with one, it seemed as though the 933 kicked butt.

it's also a different series of chip than the 867, which is faster in it's own right.

as far as opinion, i'd say keep the 867 and get some ram and if you feel up to it, the new geforce 4 TI. that would probably keep you machine pretty well for a few years. save again for a couple years and see what you can get.

(i don't think that was very coherent, but i hope to learn more at my university for the next 3 years.)

*all right. even that was stupid. i'll shut up now...*
     
Bigc
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Mar 8, 2002, 12:39 AM
 
The 933 hass DDR Level3 cache, the 867 doesn't.

Read here

Apple
     
XPBlows
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Mar 8, 2002, 02:26 AM
 
I also wonder about considering if the 933 actually has a better video card or not......
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
" I have a SunPCI card for my SunBlade, and Virtual PC for OSX; both of which makes windows what it needs to be.... a killable process." - BJF
     
Dan Szwarc
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Mar 8, 2002, 08:21 AM
 
I say stick with the 867. How much faster could it really be? If you need a capture card and you upgrade then you'll still need the capture card and you're $300 in the hole. The (slight increase in) speed isn't gonna help your wallet.

It's crazy to upgrade for 67MHz. No amount of chip, bus, video, or system improvemement is gonna make it much faster. So you can render a 10 minute clip in 9 minutes? So what? Now if you were talking about going to a dual 1GHz, that would be different, but not likely worth the $1000 it would take to get there either unless you use a lot of dual-processor aware apps.

Color me unconvinced. Wait for the next major revision.
Dan
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(not a guarantee)
     
Pauli
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Mar 8, 2002, 12:33 PM
 
Originally posted by Bigc:
<STRONG>The 933 hass DDR Level3 cache, the 867 doesn't.

Read here

Apple</STRONG>
Are you sure? I've read elsewhere that the 867 and dual-800 also have the same DDR L3 cache running effectively at half CPU speed, but Apple just didn't choose to advertise it so loudly before. I don't remember the exact source though - can anyone confirm?

Pauli
     
Arcayx
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Mar 8, 2002, 12:54 PM
 
The 933 uses a totally different type of G4 chip - same chip that is found in the dual GHz. There were cache problems with the 7450 chips used in the 667 - 867 dektop G4s that prevented them from running at 933 or above.
The 7455 in the 933 also has the SOI technology. Each MHz counts a little bit more, and it uses power more efficiently.
The 867 doesn't.
Plus, the architecture was tweaked on the new models.
(If I'm wrong with this stuff, please call me on it)

Personally, for 300 American dollars I wouldn't be able to justify getting the 867.
Just my opinion.
-Cogito, Ergo, Sum
     
Necron_99
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Mar 8, 2002, 01:08 PM
 


[ 03-08-2002: Message edited by: Necron_99 ]
Dual800
G4/400
iBook/500
2-9500's
6100/66... running OSX
     
jsevier14  (op)
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Mar 9, 2002, 06:44 PM
 
And the winner is...

The 867 has 2 MB backside L3 cache running at one-fourth the processor speed while the 933 has 2 MB DDR SDRAM L3 cache, with up to 4 GB per second throughput. Doesn't sound entirely definitive but the 933 sounds significantly faster...

The 867 I have has 128MB out of the box, the 933 comes with 256. I already have 2 512MB boards so if I go 933 I have 1.2GB (thanks for the RAM tip...)

The 933 has the 64MB nVidia NVIDIA GeForce4 MX graphics, the 867 has the NVIDIA GeForce2 MX graphics card with 32MB of SDRAM.

So, it comes down to the extra RAM, the more sophisticated CACHE, and the video card. I believe the 933 also defaults to OS X where the 867 does not.

If what ARCAYX says is true, which I tend to believe... its not worth the $300 I am saving. The difference in cost is not quite made up for by the RAM, cache, and video card. The rest of the way it comes down to speed and apparently performance. So, I didn't in fact get a deal on the 867 at all. If it were $1699, this would be a no brainer. But, for $300, I am going with the longer term solution.

Thanks to everyone for their input. This was very helpful.


     
   
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