Forums | MacLife

I've heard they're only good if the software has code to take advantage of the extra processor. But my own impression was that osx would take care of that, acting as data traffic cop...

exercise in futility


so i guess it depends on how much exercise you want.

dv wrote:

...even a Mac mini will significantly outperform a dual G4.

Ayuh.

Graphic Autist wrote:

pottymouth wrote:

dv wrote:

...even a Mac mini will significantly outperform a dual G4.

Ayuh.

Yes...but my G4 can hold 4 drives internally. It may be slow, but it can store a lot.

Just my way of justifying things aren't as bad as they seem...

Where you can store it.

mrreet2001 wrote:

then you need extra plug strips, usb hubs cables more desk space. ect.

Yeah.

But your computer would be faster.

Ok putting aside the Mini fanclub here...

Its really gonna depend on what you want to do with that machine. If you still enjoy it and plan to use it a bit longer...then looking into a CPU upgrade is a viable option vs replacing everything. But its going to then come down to, what you do with it. If you really don't use MP aware apps then it would go to waste. MP upgrades are generally much more pricey and you could just drop in a SP 7447/48 to get the same jobs done.

Again, storage wise...your tower is much better. So if you need storage, there you go.

However, there is still only so much you can do with it. Keep in mind, Apple will totally phase out RISC support. So in the long run, it would be better to invest that money in something new if you do think you'll want to stay up to date on OSX. Personally i'm not fond of Mini's. They just dump decent CPUs with inferior guts and wrap it up in a cute package for an inflated price. However, if the next gen ones do come to pass...consider it. If the rumor sites are true then Apple finally pulled it's head out of it's butt and gave the Mini some decent parts with the price back to where it introed at.

ScifiterX wrote:

The only other advantage is that you can add a PCI SATA or eSATA card.

The G4 can have a better graphics card!

lord_uranus wrote:

Yeah, minis are fine, we had one at an office I used to work at. I was working under the assumptions that 1) a 2nd cpu was a plug in expansion card and 2) it cost less than the 6 or 7 or 8 hundred dollars for a new mini.

soooo, it sounds like the new reality is
1. adding a 2nd cpu is not as easy as I thought

Yes and no - you're not "adding" the CPU, you're replacing your single-CPU daughtercard with a dual-cpu daughtercard. The new daughtercard can be cheap or expensive, depending on 1) your definition of cheap and expensive, 2) where you get it, and 3) what the specs are.

2. very few apps take advantage of a 2nd cpu anyway

Base libel.

Run "top" from a command line or use the Activity Monitor - it should tell you the total number of "threads" being run. You'll notice that some applications are divided up into more threads than others - this is a (very, very rough) indicator of how optimized the application is for multiple-CPU use.

A single thread is the smallest task that can be assigned to a single CPU. The operating system will automatically assigned threads to CPUs as they become available, trying to get the best performance it can.

Obviously, some applications will benefit more from multiple CPUs than others; but even if the application you're using doesn't, the fact that the OS can offload background tasks (drawing windows, beeping, or any number of other programs and mini-programs running all the time in the background) to the second CPU means you'll see some improvement no matter what.

CG5Addict wrote:

On this topic of upgrading CPU's, is the a way to install a faster CPU in duel 1.8 G5 (2004) tower or a way to hack it to make it faster??

The only guarantee is replacing the motherboard as well.

Dual CPU cards in the 1.25ghz range seem to be priced around $120 on ebay. Much cheaper than a mini. (Which is an excellent machine, of course.)

For most applications, my brain and fingers are the real bottleneck. I was just hoping for a bit of a boost with video editing, QT compression, DVD creation, that kind of thing, especially if it's cheap, like $100-150. Kind of like upgrading stock air filter and tires on a car -- not a whole new car but a bit peppier. (A better comparison would be like adding more memory and faster hard drives to an old computer, but I've already done that to my G4.)

yeah, 2GB RAM. Again, I'm very happy with the machine, can't believe how well it runs still, but of course any speed boost would be nice.