Processor Speed(A Little Help Here)

[.vooDoo.]

I have a 2 year old G4, 400mhz, w/512sdram.

Can I upgrade my processor to something faster or can i add something to my G4 to make it faster? I want it at least double that speed without having to buy a new computer because my G4 rocks as it is but is starting to fall short of some requirments of new games coming out like MOH:AA

The card i have in this machine now is the
card name: ATI Rage128Ps
card model: ATI Rage 128Pro

any ideas on the processor speed and weather or not MOH will run on my exsisting specs?

[Cow]

hey voodoo i think sonnet makes processor upgrades and you should prolly also get a new graphics card, gf3ti would be a good bet, cheaper then gf4ti but better then gf4mx

[Grifter]

Well... I'm not sure which Powermac G4 you have.... (it depends on when your computer was built.... I'd guess it's a "Sawtooth").  Your computer info can be found here:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g4/stats/powermac_g4_400.html

Here are the upgardes possible...

If you have a "Yikes" G4, here are your options:

http://www.everymac.com/upgrade_cards/by_system/powermac_g4.html

If you have a "Sawtooth" G4, there's only one option:

http://www.everymac.com/upgrade_cards/by_system/powermac_g4_st.html

Either way, all the upgrades only get you to a G4 500... or a dual G4 500 (for $600).  

Right now, you are close to meeting the minimum requirements for MOH:AA... so if you want a boots... just pick up a better video card (price to performance I'd get the Radeon Mac Edition.... because the GeForce needs AGP 4x I believe... and your computer only has AGP 2x.  I've heard that the Radeon 8500 works on both 2x and 4x... but I don't know for sure.

The Radeon Mac Edition is about $150 online.

One way to look at it.... if you were to spend the money on the best video card and the dual 500's... it would cost you close to $1000... may as well save that cash and just pick up a new computer sooner then throwing it at an older one...  Spend the $150 to keep the video alive and the machine gaming for another year... but after that.... it's going to be time to trade up.. so save the money.  BTW, I've found a site that takes your old mac's in on trade in.  They recondition them and sell them used.  They also have many used and remanufactured computers for sale on their site.  They offered me $500 for my old iBook SE 366... which isn't that far below the price on ebay... with none of the hassle.  I didn't sell it... but it was still a good offer.

[.vooDoo.]

ok, thx for the help, im off to the Mac Loft to get a new card and MOH:AA
vOOt!!

[Ace]

GRIFT, I don't believe that's the Sawtooth model. If I remember correctly, the Sawtooth was the second revision. The original G4's came out at the end of '99 which is when we got our desktop (same specs as VooDoo's).

VooDoo, most like a processor upgrade will be far more money than it's worth. A 400 mhz G4 will provide plenty of processor power for virtually anything you need. I think MOH asks for 500 mhz, but the difference between the two is hardly anything. Getting the new video card will make an enormous difference. You are looking at a 16 MB card with older architecture vs a newer card with 32 or 64 MB.

If you don't mind, please try playing MOH before you install the new card if you do upgrade your video card. My TiBook has similar specs to the desktop, and I'm hoping that MOH will run on it ok. Find out how many fps you get at a medium resolution. Thanks.

[.vooDoo.]

ok, i got MOH, and, omg. IM HOOKED!!
the system requires a minimum of 450mhz and i run 400. It is a little slugish a times, but i think that when i get my new card, it will drasticly improve.
thx for the help yo!!!

[Ace]

VooDoo, when you say it runs sluggish, can you be more specific? What FPS are you getting, and what resolution are you using?

[Jeb]

vood, i have a year old 466mhz g4 with a geforce 3 chipset in it. MOHAA runs great at medium (60fps) but then if i turn the quality of textures up to high it goes down to 15. I did hear that some company will start releaseing a 1ghz upgrade for g4s soon. i guess i'll save some money for it

[Grifter]

Ace,

The 400 G4 could be either... it all depends on which month it was made (according to the specs I posted earlier... if it was made aver 12/2/99, it was a Sawtooth, if earlier it was a Yikes).

Either way, it's the same issues.... too much money for not enough gain to upgrade the processor.  

Glad to hear it works for ya Voo.... which video card did you order?

[.vooDoo.]

VooDoo, when you say it runs sluggish, can you be more specific? What FPS are you getting, and what resolution are you using?

actually, it ran sluggish when i was on the pc servers, when i played later on on grifs server and with everything set to its lowest i was rockin and rollin and dont feel the need for a new card just yet. I played on someones server tonight with a sniper rifle and won the death matches 2 times in a row, so it must be runnin ok. as far as the fps, if that means the ping, it was about a 30-50ping on a east coast server. I think that i will have to stay on servers 100fps or lower to be any good

[Jeb]

FPS = frames per second. I find that MOHAA is kinda laggy, even though i have 768k sdsl on the west coast. Oh well, RS is better

[.vooDoo.]

FPS = frames per second. I find that MOHAA is kinda laggy, even though i have 768k sdsl on the west coast. Oh well, RS is better

ah, is there a way to look at my fps while in game play???

[Grifter]

Yep...

Go to the console (use the tilde key "~")

type in "fps 1" with no quotes

The FPS will display on the bottom of the screen.

Repeat it to turn off.

[.vooDoo.]

ok, ill try that tonight when i play.
oh, and btw, if this tells anyone anything,
my computer # is 405 of the g4 series when
it 1st came out. I dont see anywhere in my  
apple system profiler where it would say
yikes or sawtooth.

[.vooDoo.]

VooDoo, when you say it runs sluggish, can you be more specific? What FPS are you getting, and what resolution are you using?

i checked today and i get between 50 and 70 fps, is that good???

[KoS Ultimo]

That's fucking awesome concedering that I have the same computer as you, except I have a 450 G4. I get 10-30 frames a sec......

[.vooDoo.]

i have everything set to the lowest and force models, im also sure it help being on cable.

but now i cant get that damn fps thingy off my screen, and i played some tonight and my fps range was between 25 - 60

[Grifter]

To remove the FPS display, go back in the console and type in:

fps 0

[.vooDoo.]

assuming I get a new graphics card, would my fps be a solid 60 or above??? Ive notice when there is alot goin on in the screen my fps drops to high teens low 20's.

[Geek USA]

BTW, I've found a site that takes your old mac's in on trade in. ?They recondition them and sell them used. ?They also have many used and remanufactured computers for sale on their site.

hey grift, whats the site? ?