Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

gse1woody · May 27, 2007, 02:53 PM

I have been upgrading my sawtooth lately and I am down to the CPU. I have around $200 to spend and found two of them at OWC. I can't find any direct comparisons between the two though. Does anyone have recommendations or experience with them:

Sonnet Encore/ST G4 1.0GHz
OWC Mercury Extreme G4 1.2GHz

I have aready filled up on memory, video card, HDD....etc. So I just need advice on the CPU. I ran the test and no, I can not use a dual CPU.

Thanks

Lateralus · May 27, 2007, 05:02 PM

...1.2GHz > 1.0GHz.

cgc · May 27, 2007, 06:16 PM

Originally Posted by Lateralus

...1.2GHz > 1.0GHz.

While that is true, will there be a noticeable speed difference between them? What is the cache sizes of the new CPU and what is the bus speed of your SawTooth? I think my old SawTooth G4 has hit the point of dimished returns (I think my 100MHz bus can't keep up). Anyways, raw CPU speed is almost always better but look at CPU cache size also.

Lateralus · May 27, 2007, 07:26 PM

All Sawtooth machines are 100MHz. The L3 on both CPUs is going to be 2MBs.

Assuming they cost they same, which they probably do since Sonnet traditionally charges as much as their competition for less processor power, I see no reason to even debate on which to get; get the faster one.

cgc · May 27, 2007, 08:27 PM

Originally Posted by Lateralus

All Sawtooth machines are 100MHz. The L3 on both CPUs is going to be 2MBs.

Assuming they cost they same, which they probably do since Sonnet traditionally charges as much as their competition for less processor power, I see no reason to even debate on which to get; get the faster one.

Agreed.

DrBoar · May 28, 2007, 07:24 AM

The OWC has two fans instead of one so hopefully they run slower and quiter than the Sonnet single fan. My GigaDesign 1.2 if fast but loud, with one fan on a heatsink that is smaller than the heatsink on a 180 MHz 604E! You are in for a large boost

I had plenty of RAM as well as a ATI 8500 card in my G4/400 and the CPU upgrade was by far the best thing I did

gse1woody · May 28, 2007, 01:27 PM

The OWC is $20 more than the Sonnet. No big deal....
I did not think about the fan noise...hmmm

I have been out of the Mac scene for about 4 years and have never done a CPU upgrade before. I was also wondering if one has a better reputation than the other.

Lateralus · May 28, 2007, 02:19 PM

Not really.

If you wanna count beans, I suppose Sonnet would come out on top in reputation. But not by enough to allow it to affect your buying decision. Especially now that all of the upgrade makers are apparently going to the same source for their G4 upgrades.

gse1woody · May 28, 2007, 04:35 PM

Thanks for the replies...I think I will go with the OWC. Besides, they have a few other things I plan on ordering from them. Might as well get it all at one place.

SirCastor · May 28, 2007, 06:58 PM

I tried to buy the 1.4Ghz OWC, but they didn't have any, so they sent me a 1.5Ghz. It has fans on it, but I have frankly not noticed any considerable difference in noise level. I know that sounds kind of silly, but the fans aren't making enough noise to bother me.

Do Your best also to max out your Ram, Between the two, your G4 will be a new machine.

TyPod · May 28, 2007, 07:36 PM

Originally Posted by Lateralus

...1.2GHz > 1.0GHz.

This is what I think, also. If you can afford it, why not get the obviously faster processor?

cgc · Jun 3, 2007, 12:20 PM

Originally Posted by TyPod

This is what I think, also. If you can afford it, why not get the obviously faster processor?

In this case that's absolutely right, but if he had the option of a 1.2GHz CPU or a dual 4GHz CPU in his Sawtooth, the better choice would probably be the 1.2GHz. Other factors come into play as well (but not with the G4 as was pointed out earlier).

Overall, the 1.2GHz is probably the best choice for the Sawtooth. Let us know how your upgrade goes.