krowmagnum
User
| Posts: 948 |  |
|
Re:Upgrading QS 2002... - 2009/08/29 07:18
The dual 1GHz CPU's are expensive no matter where you find one and sometimes you can buy the whole G4, or a faster one for a little more than the CPU. Ebay is your best bet but there is a swap group on google groups sponsored by the LowendMac site called LEMSwap. The prices on eBay are generally better though.
RAM you can get anywhere, just make sure it's low density and the specs match. If you want to be sure it works 100% check out OWC's ad on this page.
Your GeForce4 card will work ok in Leopard but Core Image won't be supported. The best OEM G4 card is the GeForce4 Ti card from the late model MDD G4's or you can get one of the aftermarket Radeons but they are expensive. The Radeon 9800 is about the best you can get for your G4 and expect to pay over $100 for a used one. What video card you need depends on what you need to do with G4.
I had the same G4 and anything would be an improvement. That particular G4 lacks performance because of the small L2 cache and lack of L3 cache. The 733MHz DA G4 is probably faster. Any CPU upgrade would help. A SP 933 or DP 800 will give you a nice performance boost without spending a bunch of money. The DP1GHz is the the fastest OEM CPU you can get for that Mac and will always cost too much in my opinion.
I eventually bought a DP 800MHz G4 for about what the CPU costs and was happy with the performance but the MDD G4's are getting less expensive and I just replaced my DP800 QS with a DP 1.25GHz MDD and It's a nice machine. I got mine on eBay for $160 shipped and maxed the RAM so I have about $200 in it. You won't get the same performance from your QS by spending $200 on it.
The MDD has faster bus speed, RAM and AGP slot so there is quite an advantage to buying a later G4 rather than spending the money on your 800MHz QS 2002.
Personally I think Leopard runs slow on any G4 and have tried it on a SP800, DP800 SP933 (Quicksilvers) and my current 1.25GHz MDD. The MDD ran it better but Tiger is still the best for G4's in my opinion.
And the prices on G5's should start dropping more soon since the latest OS Snow Leopard is Intel only.
Unless you can get a good price on a CPU I think a newer Mac is always a better option. You can just add your hard drive and go. Nothing to install or fuss with.
|
Forums 