More OOMPH for the Half-Breed

At 768mb my G4 hack project (DA computer with QS processor oc'd to 800mhz) has never been well endowed with RAM. Until now. I decided to spring for 2x 512mb sticks from other world computing . I decided to go with OWC for compatibility reason. I didn't expect any issue with other major brands but I wanted to be sure that in the severely unlikely event that it didn't work on an Apple that I could get a refund. Not much to say about it besides it's RAM. Now I'm sporting 1.25GB of crushing random access memory. It definitely helps performance but it's still a dog with the Quicksilver 733/800mhz processor (stupid lack of L3 cache!). I'm tempted to through in a dual 1.0ghz but those are pricey ($200 on ebay). My other thought was to do a dual 533mhz. Less numbers but more processors. Given Leopard's love of multiple processors that might be the way to go.

Still no speed bus

I've typed the code in openfirmware to overclock the bus speed like 15 times and it still doesn't work! Does anyone have any advice or alternate code to use? I swear, I can't be that stupid. I tried the magic code into the openfirmware of my Dual 500mhz Gigabit multiple times but it made no difference on each restart. The system profiler still reads 100mhz and nothing changes. I even tried the code to overclock it to 167mhz. I think the issue might be the particular models I have. I wonder if certain revisions were able to do it and others not. Or maybe I'm just not that good at typing in code.

Modifying the Frontside Bus Speed on a G4 using Open Firmware

Well I've done CPU overclocking so now it's on to other types, like front side bus overclocking!! I've found various articles on www.XLR8yourmac.com and other places on how to change the bus speed on older 100mhz systems (like the Power Mac G4 Yikes!, PCI Graphics, Gigabit Ethernet) and I've really been wondering if that truly works. Basically you boot into open firmware (Apple-Option-O-F) and you type in a bunch of code. (I'll have to posts the links later as they're on a different computer). The code basically tells the computer to run a script to bypass the ROM and read from it to adjust the bus speed. Since I really wanted to try this but didn't want to mess up the Gigabit Dual 500mhz that my wife always uses I decided to give it a shot on my already modified Digital Audio 800mhz. But since this system is already running a 133mhz front side bus I decided to go to 167mhz, like what's found in later Mirror Door models. So I opened things in openfirmware, typed the code in, rebooted and crossed my fingers. It started fine, everything looked good. I opened system profiler for the moment of truth and.....it still read 133mhz. HMMM. I ran Geekbench and Xbench to be sure it just wasn't registering. Sure enough, no difference from previous runs. But I have to say, and maybe it's just a mental thing, it did feel a little faster. But that might also be the difference from the 733mhz to 800mhz overclocking. I haven't had much use with it since I modified it. But we'll see. Maybe later this week I'll change the bus speed on the Dual 500mhz Gigabit. I think I might have better luck with that. I have a feeling the modified Digital Audio doesn't register the changed bus speed because the memory isn't fast enough (SDRAM 133mhz). Problem is, the next step up is DDR RAM which won't physically fit in the slots. Maybe, maybe not.

update: I talked with the apple repair guys and they believe this might be try. They think it's plausible.
Helpful links if you want to try this (for 100mhz-133mhz):
http://xlr8yourmac.com/G4ZONE/sawtooth/SawtoothCPUdesign.html
http://xlr8yourmac.com/systems/sawtooth_bus_overclock/sawtooth_bus_overclock.html
http://jonathanrenaud.g.googlepages.com/home2

Turbocharged

Well tonight I tried my hand at overclocking, with mixed success. I've been looking up a lot of info on the internet on how to overclock the 733mhz Quicksilver processor that I put in my Digital Audio. Since it doesn't have an L3 cache, it needs it. There's a lot of info out there on how to boost it to anywhere from 800mhz to 933mhz. The best info I found was on this site.
It took me a while to wrap my head around it but it's pretty easy. Basically you need to pull off one of the connecting tabs between two of the lines on the processor. Depending on which ones you modify, by either pulling it off or soldering one shut, you modify the multiplier which in turn modifies the speed. Since I knew I wanted to make the 733mhz processor the end product I decided to practice on the stock 533mhz that came with it. I got a little greedy on this one and went for 667mhz. This also was the easiest modification to do, just clip off one resistor. Well I clipped off one resistor and booted it up. IT RAN!!! For a while. After I put Geekbench on it froze and had to be restarted. On each subsequent restart it would think for along time, then flash a message saying it needed to restart. Rats. So I decided to back it off to a more reasonable 600mhz. This required soldering a resistor bridge. Well my soldering skills aren't the greatest and I ended up making a big mess. I still put it all back together and gave it a shot. Nothing. Wouldn't even boot. I think I soldered it to another resistor.
So with this failure under my belt I decided not to get greedy and keep things simple with the 733mhz. Although I've seen these processors on ebay clocked to 933mhz I decided that a modest boost to 800mhz would be safe enough. I desoldered the resistor and, after putting things back together, it ran! Surprisingly the extra 67mhz DOES make a difference. I ran xbench and geekbench in both Tiger and Leopard. Below are the scores. I'm really surprised that there's almost no difference on the geekbench scores between Leopard and Tiger. I think if I ever try overclocking again it will only be in cases where removing a resistor is necessary. Soldering sucks.

800mhz Quicksilver (in Digital Audio) 768MB RAM
Xbench
Leopard - 22.02
Tiger - 28.56

Geekbench
Leopard - 433
Tiger - 430

733 mhz Quicksilver processor in a 533 mhz Digital Audio

So here's what I've learned. You can stick a 733 mhz processor from a Quicksilver into a 533 mhz digital audio motherboard. Yes, it's true. But here's the kicker: You get NO performance gain. As a matter of fact, the 533 mhz DA BEATS the 733 mhz. (I'll post the xbench and geekbench results later). Seriously, I was stunned too. But this is logical as the 733 has no L3 cache. Why, I don't know. So there's something you can try at home. Just be aware that you need to add 12v of power to the fourth mounting point of the processor. This is easy to do, just buy a power connector extender, cut the wires from the connector, take the yellow one and put a loop wring on it (shield the other wires) and attach it to the card with a 5/16 screw/nut combo. Fires right up! From what I've read you can do this magic trick with ANY processor from a Quicksilver (mirror door procs. don't work). But if you do this and screw up your computer you didn't hear it from me. I give no guarantee for your actions! You can only do this with a digital audio motherboard, not with a Gigabit or AGP graphics board. Well, technically you can do it with those boards but you need to hack off the motherboard side IDE connector for the DVD rom for clearance.

I'm like King Midas

Well, maybe more like his 2nd cousin, the guy whose touch turns things into broken. I managed to fry not just one but 2 computers over the weekend! Yes, yes, I'm sure you're all wondering, how did he do it? How did me make this magic happen? Well let me tell you, it was easy. I fried my new experimental IBM ThinkPad 390E after I took out the processor and reapplied thermal paste. It kept rebooting randomly and overheating was deemed the culprit. Well that won't be much of a problem now as it won't even start. Nice. Then my PC gave up the ghost. I installed two case fans to keep things running cooler and one of them was kind of old. When my wife started to smell a burning odor I told her to ignore it as I figured it was dust burning off the fun. No no, that's the musky odor of a motherboard. Ah yes, the wonderful scent of burning ozone. HMMM. Take it in, yes it's rich, hearty aroma. I guess it makes sense. It was running kind of slow, especially at startup, and the CPU fan would intermittently start late. I think it may also be the culprit of the mysterious DVD drive that wouldn't connect. But I don't think it's the motherboard's fault. I blame the power supply. This is the second board I've fried and I think my el cheapo diablotek junker is the culprit. To be safe I'll buy a new one...and a new motherboard.
That's what I like about Macs, they use quality parts. I often curse them for their proprietary parts ways but I guess here's an instance where it makes sense. If you guarantee the machines have good parts and you make them incompatible with others you're getting more reliability. More reliability equals better reputation which makes satisfied customers that evangelize your product. Makes sense to me. Not that Macs don't have hardware issues. Oh they do. Just far fewer.

Projects, Projects, Projects

Alright, it's been a while since I last posted. You know how it is, with the holidays and stuff. I've had lots of little projects going on so here's the skinny.
I still haven't loaded Ubuntu Studio (mentioned last post) on my PC. The old school DVD-RW I had would cause Windows to stall at startup when connected (Ubuntu Studio is only DVD installable, no live disc like other Linux distros). So I tried it with other drives (CD and DVD) I had laying around. No go. I finally got so frustrated I took it to the computer repair guys. They concluded the DVD drive wasn't compatible and then proceeded to play games on it for the 1.5 days they had it. I can't complain, they didn't charge me anything. So I ordered a new drive from newegg.com. It's even got lightscribe. I'm top shelf, it's who I am.

Although Ubuntu Studio has been going no where fast I have been able to test drive other Linux distributions aimed at the 'creative folk'. I've been using 64Studio, Dyne:Bolic, Musix, and the venerable Ubuntu/Xubuntu. My brother gave me his old ThinkPad so it's now my Linux machine. I haven't used the creative Linux versions too much but I have been feeling out Ubuntu. I like it! It's pretty cool. Although it keeps crashing for no reason. So I tried Xubuntu, it's like Ubuntu light for slow computers (with a Pentium II 300mhz I'd say it falls in that category). I don't like it as much. It's based on a different desktop version and it's not as fun. Plus it doesn't come with OpenOffice, just AbiWord.

But in addition to my Linux adventures I've been keeping up with my Mac projects. My QuickSilver 733mhz processor finally arrived from ebay. After winning the auction I realized it wouldn't work on my AGP G4 due to voltage differences. I found instructions on how to provide the needed additional 12v but after I made all my preparations to install it last night I found out it wouldn't fit. The instructional I found online show the project on a Gigabit board, not an AGP. Damn. So I thought about putting it into my pristine Gigabit dual processor and put the Gigabit's DP into the AGP. But that seems wrong. So I guess I'll try and sell it back on ebay. Unless I find another use for it. HMMMM.....

My stupid media server project is in a similar state; the stalled kind. I've made a little (underline LITTLE) progress on transferring all of my music onto it. So far so good, it's just slow going. Several weeks ago I traded the Mac repair guy a PNY nVidia 6200 for an Mac card with S-video out that he was going to obtain somehow. I plopped one on my desk yesterday but it has no S-video out, and it's a flashed PC card. ARGH. But he did locate a video transfer thing on ebay that I bid on. Only problem is it hasn't been tested, could be DOA.

And to top it all off I was freaking out about my MacBook Pro. My wireless router died and when I tried to hook up the ethernet cable to the MB Pro it wouldn't recognize a signal. It also wouldn't read a USB card on the same side. DEAD MOTHERBOARD I feared. But after having the same network problem on my other machines I wonder if it's the modem. You have to restart the stupid thing every time you want to connect. HMMM. I'll have to call Time Warner. I brought the MB Pro to work today to try and connect. I think I still might have the repair guys replace the one speaker while it's under warranty. It kind of rattles.

So there's the project status for the moment. Lots going on and lots of fun. Although I did cut my finger on my PC's cooling fan last night. Ouch. Keep your fingers clear when it's on. Seriously.