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Yeah, they should owe him one if its not capable of it. Unless theres some fine print on it. Like what OWC states about their processors. They will say they can do such and such speed but its only tested at that. No gurantees. I haven't seen this with Giga tho. Even on their site they say 1.33-1.5Ghz operation.

I know the guys on xlr8 would say to run DETC (sp?) overnight to make sure the CPU is stable. I've never done that with mine cause I didn't want to d/l the software and run it overnight. I just let time and game usage test things. Course I don't run my machines all the time due to energy costs out here in cali.

Alien,
Do you have a barrier between your Geforce 3 and the VRM?  I followed genehack's advice when I had a Geforce 3 and the VRM stayed a lot cooler.  Just a thought, the higher temps influencing the VRM's stability...

Nightcougar, has your cube been stable with the 10 inch VRM extension cable?

Well, here's a quick update on the status quo:

Two kernel panics yesterday, both while converting my iPhoto 4 library to the iPhoto 5 format. Second panic rendered the library useless; iPhoto 5 would crash on startup every time. I fixed it by removing all the changed files (the thumbnail files, as it turned out), and leaving iPhoto running in the foreground while converting the libvrary, with all other apps closed. That did the trick. Guess what Software Update had for me this morning: iPhoto 5.0.1. "Fixes issues with conversion of iPhoto4 libraries." Damn. So now I still don't know if yesterday's panics were due to iPhoto 5 or the Giga upgrade.

I also installed the 10.3.8 update, and left the Cube on overnight again. It was still running this morning, and running very cool, too. I left it at the login screen with no-one logged in, though, so that might just be the difference. Left it on this morning, too, with my account logged in, to check if it is still running tonight when I get home from work.

On the whole, the issues aren't grave enough to make me suspect I have a totally dud upgrade, but they are grave enough to make me not trust my machine to run as stably as it did before, and that's bad. I'll definitely be shooting off an email to Giga support on Saturday, outlining my experiences over the past week. I'll rather eager to see what their take on the whole thing is.

,xtG
.tsooJ

Xbench is a bad bench for graphics but for other stuff its not bad.

Doubt the R9600 will work. After looking into it a lot, its keyed wrong for the Cube. So far the only ones i've seen keyed for a 2x AGP slot are rare finds in Japan auction sites. If I didnt need at least a DVI port the flashed R9700s would be nice to go with. I don't think i've seen a flash yet which resulted in a perfect working DVI port.

Best you can get now without flashing is the GF3/R8500/R9000. They aren't bad. Heck, might be able to get one in without removing the VRM if you got one of those GigaDesigns VRMs. Last picts I saw of one seemed like the tall components were removed from the area where the GPU board would be. If you want a Cube, nows the time to buy. Upgrade market is nice and some Cube owners might be switching for Minis.

Shame ATI can't bring us at least a smaller R9800se even if it has 4 less pipelines.

Might need to get one of those Giga VRM replacements. Be sure to ask about those if you get a chance .

Quickie update:

Tried a few different core voltage settings, at the request of Giga, but the upgrade still isn't stable at anything more than 1.3 GHz. Giga are now suggesting going for their VRM replacement module.

Well, I might, but only if this upgrade turns out to run stable at 1.5 GHz with the original Rage128 Pro which I dug out of my spare parts mountain. Even then, I'll expect at least a discount, because I sure never read any disclaimer on the 1.5 GHz upgrade about video cards or anything. So I still say they need to own up to their "tested and guaranteed at 1.5 GHz" claim.

More to follow.

,xtG
.tsooJ

NightCougar_37 wrote:

Good idea, try it with the Rage.

Yeah, that'll determine if the "it might be because of the GeForce3" hunch has any bearing on reality.

I got a feeling they are just using the get a Giga VRM as an excuse for "we have no idea"

Exactly, and I don't like it none. I was considering the VRM upgrade anyway, what with the high power-draw upgrades I have in it, but that doesn't mean I will accept this as a solution to my issues with the 1.5 GHz upgrade. Had there been any sort of disclaimer that I might experience problems with a high power-draw GPU, I could have accepted this, but as it is, this would basically mean a $99 investment on my part to make an upgrade work as promised.

If push comes to shove, I can make my Cube entirely stock (64 MB RAM, 20 GB HD, Rage 128 Pro) to see if that helps any, so that'd still leave the burden of proof with Giga to get this upgrade to perform as advertised without any further effort on my part.

So far I haven't heard many good reports of their new VRMs. Last few I saw the ppl said they worked for a few weeks at the most then burnt out.

I didn't know they were ven shipping those VRM's, yet. I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the heads-up.

,xtG
.tsooJ

Well, now that I've completed my Ultimate G4 Project (see signature), what always happens to me after completing an Ultimate Machine project has happened... I've lost interest in the machine because theres nothing left to upgrade.

So, she's on eBay as we speak.

So I'm left pondering my next move?

The G5 Power Mac is within my budget, but... no. They're no fun.
The G5 iMacs are sleek, integrated, clutterless and due for an update. Maybe...
And then, a return to a machine I have had a rather odd relationship with: The beloved Cube. I've had two. Both of which I was aesthetically in love with, but neither of which I ever sunk money into upgrading. The aesthetics and function of the machine make it incredibly easy to fall in love with it. A 450MHz G4 and a Rage 128 make it just as easy to fall out of love.

However, it would be different this time around: I'd be willing to allocate just about all of the cash I'd get from the sale of my G4 and a few other various toys, which would get me... quite a Cube.

This all started with, finally, the notification of shipment on the Dual 1.3GHz 7457 Cube upgrades with integrated VRMs.

To join the Cube fray with a roar, or not... Pondering, pondering, pondering...

PowerMacMan wrote:

This all started with, finally, the notification of shipment on the Dual 1.3GHz 7457 Cube upgrades with integrated VRMs.

My advice:

Wait, wait again, then wait some more. Let some other chump play PowerLogix beta tester.

,xtG
.tsooJ

Is the clock speed on this new PowerForce57 Dual user selectable? I see a dip switcher on the PCB in the high-res picture on OWC's site, but wasn't sure it was for setting voltage or what. Especially since PL has long since been out of the user-selectable-clock-speed game.

Last edited by PowerMacMan (2005-04-03 5:55 pm)

PowerMacMan wrote:

Well, now that I've completed my Ultimate G4 Project (see signature), what always happens to me after completing an Ultimate Machine project has happened... I've lost interest in the machine because theres nothing left to upgrade.

So, she's on eBay as we speak.

...

NightCougar_37 wrote:

I've been rather afraid of that happening to me if I finished my comps. I don't quite remember what life is like without having something to upgrade . Course I guess my upgrading money would goto other projects and such.

Guess this is what happens when ppl I know build multiple PCs. They get one built then they get that empty feeling and start building another.

...

Ditto on that stuff, but I've reached a point whence I'm ready to be more productive with my machine, as opposed to working on it.

My last custom Macs for a while will be my next Pismo, which I'm purchasing next week,
as well as a 2400c I've been trying to ressurect.
I may build one or two for clients ( my friend in the school's IT department wants to start passing freelance hardware work onto me ), but otherwise, now that I have decent speed and a robust overall system for painting with Painter and Photoshop, I think I'll mod out my "new" Pismo, and have two workhorses for illustrative work, and the 2400c as a lightweight portable for web-surfing and toy stuff.

I've done enough for/to my machines, now they need to earn their keep

The 2GHz on 1.6s is about as much of an overclock as the 1.8 on 1.42s.

And yes, 512K is not enough. Part of the reason my G4 is on eBay. I am not at all impressed with it's performance.