How do I speed up my Dual G4/867?

R

Rapunzel

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I've got a Dual G4/867 with 768MB RAM and would like to speed it up.

Manly 2D tasks (finder stuff) are too slow.

I hope to get a speed boost with 10.3 but think about buying a new grafic card and installing a raid system.

Is it worth buying for example an ATI 9800pro card for 2D tasks? I'm currently using a GeForce 4MX.

Is it worth installing a (MacOS X) raid system?

Thanx for any input.
 
I supposed right now you are using 10.2.8
Well, a better 3d card will speed up your quartz-extreme engine that can help in 2d as well. A raid-system is not really needed. I have a raid-system on my peecee, but the only time I feel the speed is when I copy files within the disc. I would recommend you to put some more ram into your dual G4. That should have the strongest effect
 
The best solution is adding more RAM. The riskiest is overclocking your processor. A better graphics card won't get you much more performance than you've got right now, as will (or won't) a RAID.

Check out this post I made a while back about how to turn on window buffering. This may get a little bit more out of your system, or it may make you think you're using a 2.5 Ghz G5 (though I doubt it ;)). Also increase your network connection bandwidth if you're not on dialup.
 
Thx for your replies. I'm gonna get another 256MB RAM and wait for 10.3 (I'm running 10.2.8 right now).

But I wonder that a ATI 9800 card won't speed up 2D tasks...
 
It will speed them up some, but not a whole lot. A 9800 would have a much bigger impact if you do a lot of 3D rendering or hardcore gaming, but for Photoshop, QuarkXPress, Final Cut Pro, etc. you'd be better off getting more RAM or a processor upgrade if you want to shell out the money.

I also recommend you double the amount of RAM you buy to 512 MB, minimum, depending on what your needs are. What do you do, anyway (Photoshop, video editing, etc.)?
 
the ati 9800 will cost you lot of money. Rather pick a slower one such as 9600pro and use more money on ram.
 
Arden.....

I read you other post about window buffering and wanted to know a little more about it. What does it do? Today, I hope, I am receiving my (new to me) used G3 500 B&W for use in a music studio. I have been a little concerned about OS X on it and have been thinking of ways to get the max perfomance out of it.

Here are the specs on the system:

Blue and White Apple Macintosh G3
500 MHz Sonnet Encore CPU
1 GB Memory
20 GB ATA 100 Hard Drive
ATI Rage 128 Graphics Controller
SIIG ATA 100/133 IDE Controller
4X CD-R Drive
Mac OS X v10.2.2 and 9.2.2 Preloaded
2 Firewire Ports
2 USB Ports
10/100 Ethernet Port
1 ADB Port
Internal Sound In/Out

We're not going to be doing much besides running Protools and surfing the net. That's about it. Oh yeah, and Konfabulator--my brother says Konf. is what he expects from a computer...he's weird.

Any other suggestions on how to speed it up. And yes, Panther will be added by the end of November as I hear it does good things for G3's.

Thanks,
Eddie
 
10.3 will speed things up for you, atleast it seemed to be faster both on my 667 powerbook, and my dual 1 gig MDD.

Here are a couple of links from xlr8yourmac.com where he tests both the ATI 9700 & the 9800. Granted the 9700 was retail only, but in those tests he does show a little bit of 2d testing (and of course, gaming comparisons as well.)

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/G5/Dual_g5_9600_9800_tests.html

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/Graphics/Radeon_9700PRO_OEM/index.html

More ram in your system will always help. Depending on how long you plan on keeping this system, I would buy ram modules in 512MB sticks if you can afford it. If you planned on keeping the system for a while, you could upgrade in 512 increments until you hit 2 gig, without 'wasting' ram modules. There are several places to buy ram, my favorite is crucial.

Looking on thier website they have pc2700 512 sticks for 85.99 and pc2100 for 88.99. Your machine uses the pc2100, but the pc2700 would work in your machine as pc2100.
 
768mb plus your current 768 or just staying on 768mb RAM? Well, in the second case I can just answer: nope! I have 768mb of Ram and I am easily at my 9mb RAM free. I would actually consider more than 1GB to be "enough"
 
Should do what? Nothing wrong with adding 768 MB. Also, won't hurt to run the various system maintenance utilities (repair permissions, run the cron scripts, etc.) A little attention to 'optimizing' the OS through software can make a big difference in perceived system performance, especially if you haven't yet done much in that area. Might even make you think you have a new vid card
 
You could always drop a PowerLogix Dual 1.4 Ghz G4 in there for $995 ;)

You could pick up a cheap PC Radeon 8500 off eBay, and flash it for your Mac, but it will only have DVI, not ADC. Worked for me :)
 
So, i'm gonna buy some more RAM. Do I have to put the Dimms in pairs, like

slot1: 256MB (current)
slot2: 256MB (current)
slot3: 256MB (current)
slot4: 256MB (new)

or is it o.k., buying a bigger one and put it in like

slot1: 256MB (current)
slot2: 256MB (current)
slot3: 256MB (current)
slot4: 512MB (new)

?
 
You can get whatever DIMM's you want, they don't all have to match. This computer has 2x32 MB + 1x256 MB DIMM's while my iMac has 1x128 MB + 1x512 MB DIMM's.
 
If you mix the manufacturer and/or chip configuration of memory, it may not work properly or at all. So say you have Kingston memory installed, buy Kingston Mac approved memory to install.

Stay away from that unbranded wafer thin stuff they sell at computer fairs. More trouble than it's worth.
 
I've got the same machine, which is running OS 10.2.8 with 1.5 gb of RAM...most of the time the speed is just fine, and I use it for gaming, music ripping, as well as high-end Photoshop and Painter. Most of this is 2D graphics specific, except for some occasional rendering...

Since I also end up purchasing Ram for the Macs at my company, 2 things are crucial: buy good RAM; don't skimp on the price. Buy bigger blocks of RAM, as you save money and leave yourself open to future expansion. All those 256s you have will create tough decisions in a few months when you wished they were 512s...
 
Originally posted by bookem
If you mix the manufacturer and/or chip configuration of memory, it may not work properly or at all. So say you have Kingston memory installed, buy Kingston Mac approved memory to install.

Stay away from that unbranded wafer thin stuff they sell at computer fairs. More trouble than it's worth.
Click to expand...
Right, I was talking more about the size of the DIMM's than the brand. Be sure to get quality RAM; ask for opinions here if you feel like it's necessary. But you can mix and match any size of DIMM's that you like, so you could have a 32, 64, 128 and 256 MB module (totalling 480 MB) in your 4 slots if you really wanted to.
 
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