Mac CPU Upgrade

Today I received a CPU upgrade for my Mac computer. My box is a G4 Quicksilver. Last month, I maxed out the memory on the box. It made a significant difference, but it was not sufficient to raise its performance to the needs of today’s machines. Many new programs require the latest version of Mac OSX. Unfortunately, Mac OSX has a minimum requirement that is more than my old Mac could offer. So, I decided to order a CPU upgrade from OWC.

The upgrade is the Sonnet Encore/ST G4 1.8 GHz. I called John Navarrete for some guidance in the matter. He suggested I perform some benchmark tests to test the performance boost. It’s simple enough. Do a task with the old CPU and time it. Then do the same task with the new CPU and time it. The only thing left out of the equation was my eagerness to install the thing. So now, the Mac is running at 1.8 GHz and I don’t want to go back. The previous speed was 733 MHz. I have effectively more than doubled the speed. For now, I do notice some difference in the speed of loading programs. I’ve been busy, lately, so I’ve been using the word processor and Firefox. I’ll have to open the throttle later. The one notable difference is that it now struggles less to render web pages. That is a plus for me as I use plenty of webware.

The main reason for upgrading was so that I can upgrade to the latest OSX and the latest copy of MS Office, which also had a minimum requirement higher than 733 MHz. I seriously considered buying the Dual G4 upgrade, but did not go for it due to budget constraints. Still, maybe I’ll go for it in the future when one CPU won’t cut it anymore. Thus far, I am pleased.

Home Computer Upgrades

There comes a time in every computer’s life when it seems to struggle with some of the tasks that were once a breeze. We all know that it’s the constant creep of software updates that makes your once kick-ass computer into a lame-ass computer. Computer guys like me are not immune to this. I have two computers at home that I are not performing like they once did. I have a Compaq PC and a Mac G4 Quicksilver.

The PC needs more memory. It has been plugging along since we bought it with 512 MB of RAM. I did an online check on memory prices. I can upgrade it to 2 GB, maximum; so, I bought two memory sticks from Memory.com, which is one town over, for $26 each. That’s a great bargain and will give the computer a new lease on life. I’ll also save on shipping by stopping by their store on a lunch break. Overall, it’s still a decent PC, except that it takes longer to do things. I know the memory upgrade will improve the performance.

The Mac is another issue. I bought the Mac Quicksilver G4 for $300 or so. Given that it is my first Mac, I had no basis for comparison on its performance. When I got it, it definitely beat the old PC laptop I was using. In general, I still like using the Mac. The downside is that there is a HUGE price gap between what I paid for this computer and getting a new one, or so I thought. I found out that I can get a Mac Mini for $599. That sets a ceiling for my upgrade. The lowest-priced Mini runs at 1.83 GHz. To gain similar performance from my Mac G4, I found the Sonnet Encore/ST G4 1.8 GHz Processor upgrade. This will set me back $267. This is almost half the price of getting a new one. It’s a good deal, in my opinion. In addition, after reading the specs, I have learned that it auto configures without the need to mess with jumpers. Earlier, I was looking at maybe just doubling the performance from 733 MHz to 1.5 GHz. But given the $8 difference I’ll go with the 1.8 GHz.

I’m new to the whole Mac thing, so I don’t know what adding a dual 1.6 GHz processor card would do for the performance of my computer. I do know that there is a $100+ dollar difference, which takes the upgrade near the point where I should just get a new Mac Mini. I’m satisfied doubling the processor speed. I’ll look around for articles comparing the difference between single processors and dual processors on a Mac. I’d appreciate feedback from other geeks who know about these things.