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Which Would You Choose?
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LarryB56
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May 14, 2005, 08:28 PM
 
I am able to acquire a "new to me" PowerMac G4. I have a choice between two models.
One is a Quicksilver 1.0 GHz Dual Processor, with a 64 MB GeForce 4 Mx video card, super drive, 1 Gig of PC133, with a bus speed of 133 MHz.

The second choice is a MDD 867 MHz Dual Processor, with a 32 MB GeForce 4 Mx video card, super drive, 1 Gig of PC2100 DDR, with a bus speed of 133 MHz.

Which should I opt for???

Thanks;
Larry
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starman
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May 14, 2005, 08:29 PM
 
Uh, the faster one?

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alligator
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May 14, 2005, 09:18 PM
 
No, go for the slower one. That way you'l have something to whine about on these forums for the next year.
     
nredman
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May 14, 2005, 09:35 PM
 
is this a trick question???

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KeriVit
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May 14, 2005, 11:45 PM
 
duh
     
ManOfSteal
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May 14, 2005, 11:53 PM
 
Which machine has the debug code removed?
     
jasonsRX7
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May 15, 2005, 12:11 AM
 
How much of a difference does DDR vs PC133 make in those models? I'm curious because my brother has a digital audio with PC133 and will need to upgrade in some manner before too long.
     
11011001
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May 15, 2005, 12:21 AM
 
Are you sure the MDD is 133 Mhz? I thought it was 167.

What is the cache like per processor? That should also play a factor.

Right now, i favor the second one because of bus speed and the faster RAM.
     
MilkmanDan
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May 15, 2005, 12:33 AM
 
The faster one. Please.
     
jasonsRX7
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May 15, 2005, 12:47 AM
 
Originally Posted by 11011001
Are you sure the MDD is 133 Mhz? I thought it was 167.
...
Right now, i favor the second one because of bus speed and the faster RAM.
I was thinking the same thing until I read on apple-history that the 867 had a 133 bus. The other model MDDs had a 166mhz bus. So it's really just down to the ram on the QS being slower.
     
d.fine
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May 15, 2005, 11:39 AM
 
I'd go for the DDR capable MDD 867, you can always upgrade the CPU's at a later time... should you want to.

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Lateralus
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May 15, 2005, 11:53 AM
 
The Dual 867MHz model did indeed run at 133MHz.

Given that, the G4 MDD does not support true DDR. Just because the motherboard supports the use of DDR RAM does not mean that it is getting any performance boost from it. DDR266 being run at 133MHz is just as fast as 133MHz SDRAM. Zero difference in performance.

And the CPU upgrade argument is irrelevant. The clock speed is determined by the bus multiplier and limited by the bus speed. With both machines running a 133MHz board, and the G4 supporting a 20x clock multiplier, both machines have the same potential for Dual 2.66GHz upgrades in the future.

That said, the QuickSilver would be faster in every aspect. Only reason to go with the MDD is if you like the case so much more that it is worth taking the slower processors and inadequate video card. And I think it would be hard to like the MDD case that much.
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Abit667
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May 15, 2005, 12:11 PM
 
Since they already both have a gig of ram I'd take the quicksilver. DDR is a lot cheaper then pc133, but 1gig should be enough. Like Lateralus said, the DDR doesn't make any difference to get the MDD over the QuickSilver.
     
Big Mac
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May 15, 2005, 12:50 PM
 
Take the Quicksilver! DDR doesn't make much difference given the G4's "narrow urethra" of a FSB.

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LarryB56  (op)
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May 15, 2005, 03:17 PM
 
Thank You All, for your insights and discussions...
For these reasons:
"Given that, the G4 MDD does not support true DDR. Just because the motherboard supports the use of DDR RAM does not mean that it is getting any performance boost from it. DDR266 being run at 133MHz is just as fast as 133MHz SDRAM. Zero difference in performance.

And the CPU upgrade argument is irrelevant. The clock speed is determined by the bus multiplier and limited by the bus speed. With both machines running a 133MHz board, and the G4 supporting a 20x clock multiplier, both machines have the same potential for Dual 2.66GHz upgrades in the future.
That said, the QuickSilver would be faster in every aspect. Only reason to go with the MDD is if you like the case so much more that it is worth taking the slower processors and inadequate video card. And I think it would be hard to like the MDD case that much."
from Lateralus
I will choose the QS. Also the better video card plays...
Larry
( Last edited by LarryB56; May 15, 2005 at 03:19 PM. Reason: Add Text...)
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May 15, 2005, 05:10 PM
 
I would go with the faster Mac. Welcome to MacNN. It's nice to have you aboard Larry.

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