[mmintler]

I"m thinking about upgrading my AGP G4 450 with either an 800 or 1 gig. processor. There is about a $160 difference for the same specs/ diff processor speed card. I'm wondering if I'm really going to see the difference between the 800 and 1 GIG.-given the inherent limitations of my current machine.
I mostly use Photoshop, Illustrator, Virtual PC, and Golive. And VPC is extremely painful to use. I would just like a pick-me-up for my machine until I buy a new machine (Waiting for the G5's)

Any advice would be appreciated.

[tr]

i wouldn't go for the 800's, especially if they don't have L3 cache. that's how they keep price down. i think you'll see a difference between an G4 with L3 and G4 with no L3. one review stated that the non L3 800's feel as fast as an IMac...forgot which review, one the one's below.

i have the same computer you have, 450 sawtooth, and i'm dying for an upgrade. i just have to save some money. i'd say, one thing you can do to see some system improvement is replace your stock video card, if you haven't done so already. i put in a flashed PC Radeon 8500 64Mb, and it's great.


some benchmarks from OWC

PowerLogix review/benchmarks by OWC

xlr8yourmac.com tests/review of PL upgrades

xlr8yourmac.com cpu upgrade database

tr

[mmintler]

Tr-thanks for the response- Actually both cards are from Sonnett and they both have a L3 Cache. However, I probably will go ahead and get the 1GHZ model-I guess it will pay off in the long run. RE: the video card...Is there really that big of a difference?

[clash]

Originally posted by mmintler:
RE: the video card...Is there really that big of a difference?

Absolutely, i just upgraded my G4/400 with both the Sonnet 1GHz and a Raedon 8500(Mac Edition). I installed the video card after the processor upgrade and it made a very noticible difference, even more so in games.

[madsenj37]

First off, you dont want to wonder what if I only spent a little more and gotten the 1 gig. The difference is less than a $1 a hz. Secondly, I have an 867 mhz quicksilver and when I use my moms 700 mhz eMac I can feel the difference in lag without the l3 cache.

[mmintler]

Ok, I started this thread and I realize I was quibbling over $160-debating between the 800 and 1 gig upgrade.....but now that Apple has significantly reduced priced on new towers-are the current round of upgrades losing their relevence?

Approx. $600 for a 1GIG upgrade card compared to a brand new 1 GIG tower with all the internal "fixins" for $1499. I haven't upgraded my video card, my 2nd HD will move to the new tower (i'm assuming) and memory is pretty darn cheap.

[delrossi]

I have a sawtooth 400 (uni3n no possibility to go dual) and installed a 800 powerlogix powerforce 100. amazing upgrade. I'ts almost as fast as my 867 QS. save the extra dough and buy ram or a faster vid card. BTW we use FCP for editing movie trailers and AE for the graphics at film res, so we know speed.
just my 2�

[tr]

yeah, honestly, it would be cool to get a new machine, but i'm way to attached to my sawtooth. i've maxed out my RAM to 2GB, put in a Radeon 8500, superdrive, have a PCI ATA 133 RAID card, and an internal firewire drive plugged right into the mobo(try that, MDD's!) for a total of 310GB. right now, besides CPU speed (which can be fixed when i get my hands on some cash!) and dual capability ("hi, i'm tr, and i have a uni-n rev 3 chipset..." ), there's nothing that the new towers have that i want.

a lot of people say the sawtooths were the best G4's out. i think i believe them.


tr

[proux]

Aren't these dual CPU upgrade prices crazy?
$1,400 for a dual 1.2 Ghz is outrageous. It should be around $1,000 tops. You can get a brand new dual 1.25Ghz for $2,000.

Dual 1Ghz should be $800, single 1.2 or dual 800 $625, single 1Ghx $500 and single 800 $300.

We are not that far off in the low prices, but the high end is way too much.
Please make me upgrade my Cube to a Dual 1.2

[Tastannin]

I initially ordered a Sonnet 1ghz upgrade for my Gigabit Ethernet machine. I wanted to be able to feel good that it was GIGAhertz. The bad news was that the heat sink posts were not fitting in the holes on the Sonnet upgrade and even Sonnet says its not their problem because it works just fine with their Gigabit Ethernet machine. So, I am sending the Sonnet 1ghz back to where I bought it, and after much debate, decided upon getting a Powerlogix dual 800 upgrade due to the included heat sink, and the fact that OSX will take advantage of the dual cpu's and be more efficient with 2 slower cpu's than with one single cpu. YMMV tho. It cost me only half of what a new single Ghz tower would have from Apple. I was really hoping Apple would have gone dual on the low end though.

I do agree that the dual ghz + upgrades are somewhat outrageous in pricing - but then again, for those who are already attached to their machines . . . anything is worth the price. I, too, am waiting for the G5 before I really want to buy a new tower.

[proux]

Well, check the new PL prices!
Much lower, $615 for a single 1.2G and $1,099 for a dual 1.2G (max 800Mz dual for the Cube only though).

Let's hope these new boards don't have the wake from sleep problem.

[mmintler]

Where did you see these prices?

[gizzard]

I wrote a comparison article which hopefully will help you in your decision.

[proux]

Check OWC for new prices.

[mftalon]

I've got a "Pre-Speed Dump" Sawtooth G4 -450 which I've maxed out the ram with 2GB, added a Radeon 8500 which made a significant difference and finally added a Sonnet 1GHz upgrade.

I expected to see a huge difference, twice the speed, but alas it feels the same to me. Sure a few things are noticeably faster but day to day stuff is about the same. I think the biggest boost was the video card upgrade from the original Rage 128 to the Radeon 8500.

Games are definitely more playable now but day to day work hasn't changed a lot.

[villalobos]

Originally posted by gizzard:
I wrote a comparison article which hopefully will help you in your decision.

Great article.

Villa