The "Mystic" Power
Mac G4 was the first dual-processor G4 and shipped in 450 MHz and
500 MHz versions. Each CPU has a 1 MB backside cache running at
1/2 of CPU speed, and that sits on a 100 MHz system bus. We're
comparing that to the NewerTech MAXPower upgrade with a single
Freescale 7448 1.8 GHz G4 CPU. These CPUs have an onboard 1 MB
level 2 cache that runs at full CPU speed - that's four times as fast
as the cache in the stock configuration.
The upgrade is theoretically capable of 4x the performance of the
stock 450 MHz CPU under the classic Mac OS, which can only use one CPU,
and twice as powerful under Mac OS X, which utilizes both
processors. We ran an extensive suite of benchmark tests under Mac OS
9.1, 10.2, 10.3, and 10.4 to measure performance.
My primary computer is a "Mirror Drive Door" Power Mac G4
with dual 1 GHz CPUs, 2 GB of RAM, a 400 GB 7200 rpm Deskstar hard
drive, and its stock ATI Radeon 9000 Pro video card. Subjectively, the
1.8 GHz upgrade in the Mystic feels every bit as fast for everyday
tasks, and our Xbench test results (below) verify that.
The MAXPower G4 upgrades are compatible with Sawtooth, Mystic, Digital Audio, Quicksilver, and Quicksilver 2002 G4 Power
Macs. They require a firmware upgrade to be installed before you
upgrade your CPU, and this software is conveniently provided on a CD.
(You'll also need to use this CD to uninstall the firmware patch to go
back to the stock CPU.) The CPU upgrade works with Mac OS 9.2.2 and OS
X 10.3.5 and later. I can also report that it works with OS X
10.2.8, which I have installed on one partition of my hard drive. It is
available in speeds of 1.7, 1.8, and 2.0 GHz with a single CPU and 1.7
and 1.8 GHz with dual processors. There are also less expensive and
slower models that use the 7447A CPU.
Our testbed computer has an 80 GB 7200 rpm Deskstar hard drive, 768
MB of RAM, and it's stock ATI Rage 128 Pro AGP 2x video card. The drive
has separate partitions for Mac OS X 10.2 "Panther", 10.3 "Jaguar", and
10.4 "Tiger". Each has been updated to the latest version of that OS,
and the only additional software we installed prior to benchmarking are
System 9.2.2 for Classic Mode and the benchmark programs we ran.
The computer is booted, and then the benchmark apps are run in
order.
Installation
Installation of the processor upgrade isn't difficult, and NewerTech
even provides a Phillips screwdriver in the box. With my Mystic, I had
to unclip the heat sink and remove 3 screws to take out the original
CPU card. The NewerTech upgrade is fully integrated; the heat sink
isn't separate from the CPU card. The upgrade clips into place, but
putting the retaining 3 screws in is difficult if you don't have a
magnetized Phillips screwdriver. Without one, it took some doing to get
two of the screws in place, since they go in holes in the heat
sink.
Once the upgrade is installed, there are two more steps: You need to
attach the second cooling fan, which covers one of the screw holes, and
then connect the CPU upgrade to your Power Mac's power supply, as the
CPU and fans draw more power than the CPU socket provides.
Then came my only disappointment: I hadn't installed the required
firmware update before installing the CPU upgrade. Back to the
old CPU, insert the firmware CD, hold down the programmer switch, press
the power button, release the programmer switch after the tone, and
then hold down the C key to boot from the CD. It boots right into the
software that lets you change the firmware. Very well done,
NewerTech!
Then repeat the installation process. If I'd read the instruction
manual first....
Anyhow, the system boots quickly into Mac OS 9.1, 10.2, 10.3, and
10.4. I don't have a 9.2.2 installation that works with Mystic,
although I do have 9.2.2 setups that work just fine in Classic Mode. It
looks like I'll have to invest in a full-fledge Mac OS 9.2.2 install CD
so I can boot the Mystic and MDD into OS 9.2.2.
User Experience
The dual 450 MHz Mystic isn't a fast computer under OS X, but
it's usable. Drop in the 1.8 GHz upgrade, though, and that changes.
Safari and Camino load quickly, YouTube videos run smoothly, windows
fly open, and it easily feels twice as fast. That puts in on par with
my primary computer, a dual 1 GHz G4, which is very impressive for an
old computer and a single processor, albeit a very fast processor.
If you have an older AGP Power Mac that you're pretty happy with but
lacks horsepower, a "brain transplant" is definitely worth considering.
If this were my primary computer, I wouldn't hesitate to drop in a
faster CPU card.
The big question is the value of the upgrade: Is it worth $200 or
$700 - or somewhere in between - to upgrade your older G4 Power Mac?
The MAXPower G4/7448 1.8 GHz Processor Upgrade sells for $325, more
than this computer cost me (used). It comes down a question of how much
it's going to improve your productivity.
NewerTech has a wide-ranging line of G4 upgrades using single and
dual 7447A (512 MB onboard cache) and 7448 (1 MB cache) CPUs
(prices are from
Other World Computing, which owns NewerTech):
- 1.6 GHz 7447A, $230
- 1.7 GHz 7448, $320
- 1.8 GHz 7448, $325
- 2.0 GHz 7448, $400
- 1.6 GHz dual 7447A, $400 (Xbench 1.1.3 = 175.0)
- 1.7 GHz dual 7447A, $425 (Xbench 1.1.3 = 203.8)
- 1.7 GHz dual 7448, $550
- 1.8 GHz dual 7447A, $550 (Xbench 1.1.3 = 216.6)
- 1.8 GHz dual 7448, $699
As fast as this single 1.8 GHz CPU is, I have to wonder how much
more power a dual 1.6 GHz upgrade would provide. Too bad NewerTech
doesn't make a dual 7448 upgrade for my Mirror Drive Door.
Classic Mac OS Benchmarks
Speedometer 3.0.6
This is one old benchmark program, and it's reference score is the
8 MHz Mac Classic from
1990. The disk cache is 8 MB, and virtual memory is enabled. The
display was set to 1024 x 768 with thousands of colors. Here are
benchmark results with the stock 450 MHz dual processors (the Classic
Mac OS only uses one) and the 1.8 GHz upgrade under Mac OS 9.1:
450 MHz 1.8 GHz
Overall 217.3 721.3
CPU 219.0 876.0
Graphics 59.8 105.5
Disk 48.9 84.3
Math 1019.3 3223.6
Overall the 1.8 GHz G4 is 3.3x as fast, and the CPU test comes in at
precisely 4x as fast with Speedometer 3 and Mac OS 9.1.
Speedometer 4
For Speedometer 4, the reference machine is the Quadra 605 from 1993. The disk cache is
8 MB and virtual memory is enabled. The display was set to 1024 x
768 with thousands of colors. Here are benchmark scores for the stock
CPUs and the 1.8 GHz upgrade with Mac OS 9.1 (Speedometer will not run
the graphics benchmark):
450 MHz 1.8 GHz
CPU 32.8 109.8
Disk 4.57 4.67
Math 1206.2 4678.4
Under Speedometer 4, the 1.8 GHz G4 is over 3.3x as fast as the 450
MHz CPU, a huge leap in performance, but not quite the 4x we'd
expect.
MacBench 5.0
For MacBench 5 to run graphics tests, we had to set the display to
1280 x 1024. The disk cache is 8 MB and virtual memory is enabled.
The reference machine is a 300 MHz G3, which scores 100. Tests were run
using Mac OS 9.1:
450 MHz 1.8 GHz
Processor 1368 5347
Floating Point 1692 4420
Disk 2829 3678
Pub. Disk 2449 2957
The CPU score is 3.9x as high with the upgrade, nearly the 4x we
would intuitively expect from a 4x as fast clock speed.
Classic Mode in OS X
Apple does something incredible with Classic Mode: In many ways, Mac
OS 9.2.2 runs better inside Mac OS X than it does natively. Why?
Because OS X handles all of the disk access, networking, and
graphics, leaving OS 9 to handle the rest. Best of all, in a dual
processor system, Classic is free to take over one CPU while leaving
the other one to handle I/O in OS X.
Speedometer 3.0.6
Running Classic Mode in Panther, here are the Speedometer 3
scores:
450 MHz 1.8 GHz
CPU 219.0 876
Graphics 85.3 143.2
Disk 379.3 1517
Math 1008.9 3093.5
It's interesting that the CPU scores for Mac OS 9.1 running natively
is the same as Mac OS 9.2.2 in Classic Mode, and the Math scores are
very close. Because the hard drive and graphics are handled by
OS X, their performance is actually higher in Classic mode than
when booting into OS 9 itself. The disk score is much, much higher due
to OS X caching data from the hard drive.
Speedometer 4
With Classic Mode in Panther, here are Speedometer 4 results:
450 MHz 1.8 GHz
CPU 33.9 108.5
Disk 4.68 4.95
Math 1244.2 4624.9
As above, the CPU and Math scores are almost identical whether
booting into Mac OS 9 or using Classic Mode with a single processor,
but CPU and Math scores are a bit higher with dual processors. The Disk
benchmark is a bit higher in Classic mode, as all I/O is mediated by
OS X.
Mac OS X Benchmarks
Let 1000 Windows Bloom
Under Jaguar (Mac OS X 10.2.8), the Power Mac G4/450 dual ran Let
1000 Windows Bloom in 56.4 seconds. Using Panther (10.3.9), it ran the
benchmark in 41.1 sec. with the stock processors and just 25.4 sec.
with the 1.8 GHz upgrade, a 62% improvement. Under Tiger (10.4.11), the
base system took 32.2 sec. while the upgraded machine needed only 11.9
sec. to complete the test, an improvement of 170%!
Power Fractal
Power Fractal doesn't run under Jaguar. Under Panther, this test
takes 7.0 sec. on the base computer and just 1.8 sec. with the CPU
upgrade. Under Tiger, it reports 7.9 sec. with dual 450 MHz CPUs and
2.1 sec. with the 1.8 GHz upgrade. I suspect Power Fractal is only
using one CPU.
Xbench 1.3
Xbench 1.3 doesn't run under Jaguar, so we ran it under Panther and
Tiger. Xbench is calibrated to a 2.0 GHz dual Power Mac G5, which would
score 100.
450 MHz Dual 1.8 GHz 1 GHz Dual MDD
10.3.9 10.4.11 10.3.9 10.4.11 10.3.9 10.4.11
Overall 22.8 25.7 51.2 50.6 42.4 50.4
CPU 29.5 28.9 94.6 75.1 66.0 54.3
Threads 34.9 39.4 80.4 77.0 61.7 71.3
Memory 20.7 23.2 26.8 25.4 38.7 38.1
Quartz 27.2 25.1 65.9 53.5 58.0 55.2
OpenGL 34.0 38.6 82.9 86.0 55.6 60.7
User Int. 9.1 12.0 33.3 44.6 26.3 57.9
Drive 51.2 49.4 52.0 50.0 31.9 35.3
The overall score for the MAXPower 1.8 GHz upgrade is roughly double
that of the dual 450 MHz processors that came in the computer (and half
the power of a dual 2.0 GHz G5), but that's far from the whole story.
The CPU score is 2.5-3 times as high, the Threads rating roughly
double, Quartz and OpenGL are over twice as fast, and User Interface is
nearly 4x as fast. Drive scores are barely changed at all.
It's interesting that the CPU, Quartz, and Drive scores are higher
under Panther than Tiger, yet Tiger wins in OpenGL and User Interface.
Threads and Memory are higher with dual processors under Tiger vs.
Panther but lower with the single CPU.
By way of comparison, my dual 1 GHz "Mirror Drive Door" Power Mac G4
benchmarks 42.4 overall under Panther and 50.4 under Tiger. The CPU
test score is much higher for the 1.8 GHz upgrade, but Memory is much
faster on the Mirror Drive Door model with its 167 MHz system bus (vs.
100 MHz in the Mystic).
Geekbench
Geekbench only runs on Tiger. Here are our results under Mac OS X
10.4.11:
450 MHz 1.8 GHz
Overall 439 916 +108%
Integer 529 1256 +137%
Float. 529 1025 +94%
Memory 266 508 +91%
Stream 165 162 -2%
Overall, you can expect twice the performance with the 1.8 GHz
upgrade that the stock dual 450 MHz configuration provides.
Conclusion
The Power Mac G4 line was the last family of PowerPC Macs that can
readily take a CPU upgrade, and while the 350 MHz and faster G4
processors that shipped with them offered a lot of power in their day
(the era of the Classic Mac OS), Apple never offered G4 Power Macs with
1.6 GHz to 2.0 GHz CPUs like you can buy today.
If you have a Power Mac G4 (Sawtooth through Quicksilver 2002) that
you're happy with but need more horsepower, the MAXPower upgrades -
ranging from $230 for a single 1.6 GHz CPU to $699 for a pair of 1.8
GHz G4s - are worth consideration.
Only you can put a dollar value on increased performance and
productivity. One huge plus to upgrading your current setup is that you
don't have to worry about memory, drives, add-in cards, etc. not being
compatible, because you're not migrating to a newer Mac.
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