CPU Upgrade worth it in G4?

[Sparky1]

Hi there.

I currently have a G4 867 Tower with 1.5 Gig of ram. For the most part - it works OK.

Lately though - when I start adding plug-ins - my machince chokes a bit.

I'm considering purchasing a CPU upgrade from These Guys . This would take me from a single processor machine to a dual processor system.

Does anyone here have any experience with this upgrade?

Also - if you did the upgrade - was there a noticeable improvement in your rig?

I'm currently running version 6.x of PT on this system - only because version 7.x does not run well at all on the G4.

Thanks,

Sparky1

[The Dougfather]

Bottom line, if you want a serious horsepower boost, get an intel mac. Even a mac mini would eat a G4 and it's been said a high end G5. I had a G5 iMac and now i have an intel iMac, theres no comparison.

Cheers

[Gothboy]

Sparkey,
Like you, I'm presently running 6.4 and like you, I was in the same boat 6 months ago....do I buy a new/old computer or do I upgrade the processor of my dual 500Mhz. G4. I figured the next mac I buy should be at least a G5 with 64-bit archetexture processing, but.....I could not afford a used G5, though. I went with this:http://fastmac.com/processors.php so now my Gigabit ethernet is a dual 1.4. Spending any more money than what I paid for the upgrade would have been silly as I could've gotten another, more powerful Mac for about the same only with a 133 bus instead of 100. In a few years after moving to a 002 I'll go to a G5. I decided on this fastmac unit for a few reasons...
It was just plain cheaper and mostly hassle free than buying another computer on Ebay for the price.
price-$399.00
2MB L3 cache
The ones you're considering are L2 cache. I had a conversation with the developer of these processors and he told me that, in his opinion, a dual 1.4 L3 cache would beat a dual 1.8 L2 cache speed-wise. Consider this as an option and do some research about this cache thing.
Before this upgrade I got the spinning ball of death EVERY time I started up PT6.4. After the upgrade....no spinning ball of death. Is it faster.....OH yeah. Did I notice the difference? OH yeah! I can now get over 24 tracks with about 16 plugs going. Was it everything I hoped it would be speed-wise.....er, no. I think my expectations were a little too high. But I think it was the right choice considering I'd like to make the jump to a 002 this year and every penny has to be scraped to do that. I want to be able to make use of the second processor to run plugs, plus I want to use PT 7, Xpand and structure free like everyone else and use some of the new plugs that only work with PT7 and 10.4.
Just make sure the price of what you pay for the upgrade is less than what you'd pay for a computer.
Why do you think PT 7 won't run well on a G4? You'd be finally able to dedicate your other processor to running the OS and plugs.....isn't that why you're getting the dual? With 6.4 the second processor is only running the OS.

[Gothboy]

Even a mac mini would eat a G4 and it's been said a high end G5.

a Mac Pro G5? I don't think so! http://www.apple.com/uk/macpro/

[Mr. Anderson]

a Mac Pro G5? I don't think so! http://www.apple.com/uk/macpro/

A Mac Pro is NOT a G5!

[M.Brane]

Bottom line is if you're happy with your current hardware, but would just like a nice boost in the CPU dept. then a processor upgrade may make sense if you plan on using it for the foreseeable future.

If however you plan on moving to a newer Mac anytime soon you'd be better off to put that money in the new Mac account, and wait it out.

And no there is no such thing as a G5 anymore. PPC is dead as far as Apple is concerned, and part of the Mac experience (stability) seems to have died along with it IMHO.

Them new Intel Macs sure are fast though. When they're not having bizarre issues like their Windows-running counterparts.

[KamaSutra77]

I upgraded my sawtooth G4 (100Mhz bus) along time ago from a 500Mhz G4 to a Dual 1.2 - powerlogix from OWC.
Worked out pretty good for me. I can run PT 7.3 ok.
A good way to gauge the actual horsepower of the machine for comparison is to download and run Xbench.
This machine (dual G4 1.2) scores around 46. My CoreDuo MBP (2.0 Intel) Scores Around 95. My old ibook (500mhz G3) scores around 9.

[cheekypaul]

Hi there.

I currently have a G4 867 Tower with 1.5 Gig of ram. For the most part - it works OK.

Lately though - when I start adding plug-ins - my machince chokes a bit.

I'm considering purchasing a CPU upgrade from These Guys . This would take me from a single processor machine to a dual processor system.

Does anyone here have any experience with this upgrade?

Also - if you did the upgrade - was there a noticeable improvement in your rig?

I'm currently running version 6.x of PT on this system - only because version 7.x does not run well at all on the G4.

Thanks,

Sparky1

looks like a big hike in speed , but it is nothing compared to spending a bit more on an intel mac. of course, all your software will need to be upgraded to intel / universal too , to get the best out of the intel . good luck .

[fenderguy]

I can't say much about upgrading. Just wanted to say howdy from Battleford...

[Sparky1]

Thanks everyone for your replies – I’m getting’ a heck-of-an education.

In response to the mac mini idea – I did look into that option – but the mini only has 1 firewire port. I would prefer 2 or more (although I know I could use a hub)

Gothboy: Thanks for the heads up on the L2 vs L3 cache thing – I never even thought about that. "Why do you think PT 7 won't run well on a G4?” – you asked this question – when I loaded up my 867 with 7.x – it ran painfully slow when I started adding a plug-in or 2.

KamaSutra77: Thanks for the tip about XBENCH. I downloaded it a few minutes ago – and ran some tests. My 867 tower came in @ 40.26. My G4 Laptop (1.5 Ghz) – came in at 46.83. These numbers kinda surprised me – ‘cause I always thought my laptop was much faster than my G4 867… I’m gonna spend some time looking at the benchmark tests on the XBENCH website – to see what sort of numbers other people are getting.

Thanks again everyone – and keep your ideas comin’ - ‘cause I’m still not certain what I should be doing about the upgrade…

Sparky1