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2004 ZIF CPU Upgrade Roundup: G3/750GX 1.1GHz/1GHz vs G4/550MHz, G4/800MHz and G4/1GHz CPU Upgrades Performance Tests in Yikes G4/PCI System (basically same case/logic bd as B&W G3) By Nathan W. Published: 7/6/2004

= Links to Review Topics Pages =

Intro | Benchmarks  | Apps Tests | Game Tests | Installation | Specs/Photos/Summary

Summary (Prices and availability change over time so check links for current prices/stock status) Powerlogix 1.1GHz PowerForce G3 ZIF (1MB L2 at 1:1) check status/price (As of Dec. 1st, 2006 the 1.1GHz G3 ZIFs were sold out.) Pros: By far the fastest in non-AltiVec enhanced or non-FPU intensive operations. Relatively affordable for the speed increase. Very customizable - adjustable speed with CPU Director and somewhat easy installation. Runs cool, no crashes. Cons: Lifetime questionable with more and more G4-optimized or only applications. Cannot run iDVD at all, cannot run Garageband very well. Not a complete gaming solution. Installation requires bending heatsink clip. Powerlogix 1.0GHz PowerForce G3 ZIF (1MB L2 at 1:1) - Check site specials page for status. Pros: Close performance to its 1.1GHz brother in all but the most intensive tests. Cons: Same cons as the 1.1GHz Powerforce G3 ZIF. Sonnet Encore/ZIF G4 1GHz (1MB L3 at 4:1) Originally $349 list Pros: G4 accelerates an increasing number of applications. Very good iLife (iTunes, iMovie, iDVD, Garageband) performance. Extremely easy installation. Efficient and relatively quiet cooling - no crashes. Cons: Bus runs at 66Mhz (vs 100MHz stock), resulting in poor memory throughput and only slight improvement is some areas. Loses to the Powerlogix offerings in some tests. Sonnet Encore/ZIF G4 800MHz (1MB L3 at 4:1) (was $299 originally but as of Dec. 1, 2006 price/status unknown) Pros: Same as Encore/ZIF G4 1GHz. Cons: Same cons as Encore/ZIF G4 1GHz. Also, not much faster if not slower than the OWC Mercury Z600 G4 550MHz in many tasks. OWC Mercury Z600 G4 500-600MHz ZIF (1MB L2 at 2.5:1) was $215 at review date in 2004 ($129 for 450-533MHz - current pricing as of 2006 is unknown, as not in current production.) Pros: Cheap, a very good deal. G4 processor (with MaxBus technology) and 100MHz bus achieve good memory throughput. Good overall performance. Easily adjusted speed through jumpers on motherboard. Cons: More difficult installation. Runs hot. Even at 600MHz, the MHz may not be enough to run some applications well. Questionable stability with stock cooling. (Note - if running at 600MHz, run the cache at 5:2, not 1/2 CPU speed.) System Compatibility: Power Macintosh G3 All-in-one, Power Macintosh G3 Blue & White, Power Macintosh G3 (Beige) Desktop/Minitower/Server G3, Power Mac G4 (PCI Graphics - aka Yikes model), Macintosh Server G4 (PCI Graphics) Note: Earlier editions of the PowerForce G3 ZIFs were not compatible with the Yikes G4 and later revision B&W G3s, but Powerlogix has added seats for the heatsink and the issue is resolved. OS Compatibility: OS 8.x-10.x for the OWC Mercury Z600, OS 9.2-10.x for the Encore/ZIFs (8.6-10.2.8 officially for the Beige G3), OS 9.x-10.x for the PowerForce G3s Availability: OWC stocked all the upgrades at the time of this review (2004) although stock status can vary. Sonnet's offerings can also be found at a variety of online dealers.

Introduction

With the introduction of high speed upgrades for ZIF based machines, for many the time has come to upgrade. There are four primary options: the Powerlogix 1.1GHz PowerForce G3 ZIF, which replaced an earlier 1.0GHz model (included in the review), the Sonnet Encore/ZIF G4 1GHz, the Sonnet Encore/ZIF G4 800MHz, and the OWC Mercury Z600 G4 500-600MHz ZIF. This review will investigate these five and compare them to a stock Yikes G4 350MHz. And of course, it will find the best option, if such a thing exists. I experienced frequent crashes clocking my Mercury Z600 to 600MHz with the stock cooling and heatsink (the larger one found in the Yikes G4). I see two explanations: 1. The larger heatsink does not apply enough pressure to make satisfactory contact with the processor. Or 2. Chip was underperforming. (Overclocking success can vary by chip sample/system, but when running these G4 ZIF upgrades (which have 250MHz rated L2 cache) overclocked I'd set the L2 cache to 5:2 ratio, which the B&W G3/Yikes G4/PCI will do automatically if no cache enabler software is installed. I ran a G4/500-533 at 600MHz w/cache at 5:2 reliably in my B&W G3 for last year's PL G3/800 ZIF comparison review.-Mike) In normal circumstances I would be able to get a replacement but due to time constraints I chose not to. 50MHz will not make an incredible difference, but would take a few seconds/points off each test. I've had good experiences with OWC in the past, so most likely you will get a functioning unit. Pending comment from OWC. If you notice the funky colors, strangely sized graphs, bad grammar etc., it's because Mike is not writing the review, and Nate (me) is. (Although I did plagiarize a lot of his words.) I may be familiar to you from the forums here, at MacWorld, and at themacaddress.com. I also beta test for Apple, ATI, and (on one occasion) Sonnet. To see what others thought of their CPU upgrades - you can search the Rate Your CPU upgrade database here for reader reports on most every CPU upgrade by brand and/or mac model. For previous full reviews of G4 and G3 CPU upgrades, see the G4 reviews and G3 reviews pages. Review Table of Contents: Applications Performance: Tests with QT to MPEG4 conversion, iMovie4 QuickTime movie export, iTunes 4.6 MP3, AAC, and Apple lossless encoding, iPhoto (slideshow export), iDVD archiving, Garageband, Photoshop CS (50MB image/21 filter tests), the Finder archive function, boot time, and Word 04 (scroll test). Games Performance: Tests with Unreal Tournament 2003, Unreal Tournament X, Jedi Knight II, Quake3 demo, and Halo. Benchmark Performance: AltiVec Fractal (FPU test), CineBench 2003, GaugePro (memory throughput), Let1KWindowsBloom (GUI), and Xbench test results. Installation: Comments/tips on installing the upgrades. Specs/Design: Details of the upgrade's CPU and Cache, photos, etc. Test System Details: Apple PowerMac G4 (PCI Graphics) 350MHz (7400 G4 w/1MB L2) 100MHz (SDR) bus w/576MB RAM (1x64MB, 2x128MB, 1x256MB DIMMs) Radeon Mac Edition PCI Retail 32MB(aka Radeon 7200 in this review) Radeon 7000 Mac Edition PCI Retail 32MB (not used simultaneously) Western Digital Caviar SE 120GB 8MB Cache (~50% free space) Hard Drive w/OS 10.3.4 installed Western Digital Caviar SE 80GB 8MB cache w/OS 10.3.x and 9.2.2 installed Onboard ATA/33 hard drive controller LG GCC-4120B Combo Drive (pull from iMac G4) Journaling enabled Quartz Extreme enabled through PCI Extreme. Display used was a 17" Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 710s CRT at 1280x960 85Hz.

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