Overclocking my Powermac G4 (AGP)
- Thread starter Paul C
- Start date
ElDiabloConCaca
U.S.D.A. Prime
There are no jumpers for the AGP machine. Unless you're a skilled solderer, I would opt NOT to overclock. The way you overclock an AGP G4 is to solder or remove resistors on the back of the CPU module. You can also adjust the bus speed and core CPU voltage in the same manner.
Overclocking is not guaranteed (meaning that your computer may not even boot or run at an increased speed), it voids the warranty, and can permanently damage your computer -- even rendering it useless and unfixable. Even if you take great care in overclocking your system and do everything perfectly, you still may wind up with a completely useless and broken machine.
If you do wish to overclock, you'll need a soldering iron and some resistors, outlined here:
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/G4ZONE/sawtooth/SawtoothCPUdesign.html
Instead of overclocking, I would highly recommend a CPU upgrade. It IS guaranteed to work (or your money back) and is the safest way to get more speed out of your system. Here are some upgrades specifically designed for your system:
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/encore_stg4.html
Overclocking is not guaranteed (meaning that your computer may not even boot or run at an increased speed), it voids the warranty, and can permanently damage your computer -- even rendering it useless and unfixable. Even if you take great care in overclocking your system and do everything perfectly, you still may wind up with a completely useless and broken machine.
If you do wish to overclock, you'll need a soldering iron and some resistors, outlined here:
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/G4ZONE/sawtooth/SawtoothCPUdesign.html
Instead of overclocking, I would highly recommend a CPU upgrade. It IS guaranteed to work (or your money back) and is the safest way to get more speed out of your system. Here are some upgrades specifically designed for your system:
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/encore_stg4.html
nixgeek
Mac of the SubGenius! :-)
Personally, I have some PCs that can be overclocked easily but I choose not to. I mean, the performance increase isn't going to be that great, and it's going to make my system unstable. I'm not that hardcore an enthusiast and since I really run Linux/UNIX on my older PCs, there's not benefit for me to do so.
Much less would I do it on a Mac, even if I could. I have an old Quadra that at 33 Mhz surfs the web just fine with 112 megs of RAM. I don't need to eek out of it some extra MHz. All I'm going to end up doing is introduce more heat with a system that would be unstable, and quite possible fubar a wonderful Mac.
ElDiabloConCaca has the right idea. If you can, upgrade the CPU, add more memory, get a better video card. It's a much safer way of speeding up your Mac.
Much less would I do it on a Mac, even if I could. I have an old Quadra that at 33 Mhz surfs the web just fine with 112 megs of RAM. I don't need to eek out of it some extra MHz. All I'm going to end up doing is introduce more heat with a system that would be unstable, and quite possible fubar a wonderful Mac.
ElDiabloConCaca has the right idea. If you can, upgrade the CPU, add more memory, get a better video card. It's a much safer way of speeding up your Mac.
Hidden Gekko
3 Years and 100 Posts 0_o
Hey I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I have a quick question about processor upgrades while your on it... Are there any available yet for the Mirrored Drive G4? The latest I've seen there is quicksilver 2002. I knew I should have gotten two processors when I bought the machine, because my single 1.25 ghz is starting to look a little skimpy. I can wait though, I've put a lot of money into this computer and would rather keep upgrading it instead of getting a G5, so I'm just curious if a quick silver compatible will work just fine with my computer.
I would have to disagree with the above posters. It is very easy to cut the trace going to the R13 resistor on the 400MHz processor card, all you need is a scalpel, a magnifying glass, a steady hand, and 15 minutes spare. If it isn't stable you can repair the trace with a conductive pen, and if you manage to completely bork it you can get a replacement processor for about $20. My G4 400 goes quite well at 500MHz - 20% boost for free.
Man! you did it! i've own that computer from a friend of my father and i don't have anything to do with that... but i simply like the design. i have lots of apple computers at home... i can do a museum with that stuff lool! hey... i cuted that resistor R13 and then i turn it on and "voila" 500mhz! lool actualy it isn't good enought but is better than the stock clock. lool Thanks mate!