[Cube] help

[Stefan]

>x> Hello:
>>
>>  I have a Mac G4 Cube from 1999
>>  with a 450MhZ CPU.  I also have 4
>>  laCie 160GB hard drives.
>>
>>  Primarily because I have over  100 hours of video
>>  to edit, I want to upgrade the CPU
>>  and also the video card.
>>
>>  A/ where would I find a 1GB CPU
>>  at a reasonable price? what would you recommend?
>>  Can I install it myself or will I have to take it to
>>  Tekserve?  {I am in Manhattan)
>>
>>  B/ will a faster CPU enable me to run
>>  Mac OS 10.4? I am now running Mac OS X
>>  Panther which is 10.3.9.
>>
>>  C/ What kind of video card would you recommend?
>>
>>  D/ Is there a risk or a downside to upgrading the
>>  CPU and videocard?
>>
>>  Thank you for your suggestions.
>>
>  > Liza
>

Hi Liza,

I can underline Bill's device (Hi Bill :-):
Upgrading a cube is no job for beginners, but possible of course.

I'd say the risk (and costs for defects) is higher than the price for service.

Main risks when upgrading CPU and graphic card:
electronic defects by overvoltage (sorry, don't no the exact english 
expression just now),
overheating of new CPU and cube at all.

It's a tricky thing!!!

And finally the risk of an overcharged DC/Board is surely the main problem.
A faster CPU can bring problems and before all a new, faster graphic card.

Powerlogix offered a stronger DC/Board. Is it still available?


I regret to give an unpopular advice (am I a Cube-renegade ????) :

Buy an Intel Mac mini (the fastest if possible).
That's surely no designer's tip and of course no idea a mac vintage 
enthusiast would ever give you. But it's a device grown of 
rationality.

A Mac mini Intel Duo Core is faster (out of the box!) than a Cube can 
ever become.
Rendering a videofile will be 4-8 times faster than my 1.5 GHz Cube 
can do it! (Study the performance comparison!)

It is very silent, economic in power consumption, has built-in USB 
2.0, Airport extreme, bluetooth. What else can you want...?
You can speed it up if you combine it with a 3,5 S-ATA drive (means 
you can have a new 500 GB+ drive). See the interesting advice/review 
at AMUG.
If you buy it secondhand but still with guarantee of apple it will 
cost you probably 600 Euros (500$ ?)
A similar amount you will have to spend for upgrading your cube. (If 
you sell the cube for about 200-250$ it might be even less expensive 
for you)


I like my Cube, speeded up with a Powerlogix 1.5 GHz CPU (with 1 MB 
Cache!, the fast one), 1.5 GB RAM, a GeForce 4 MX and a DVI-TFT. But 
this Mac becomes old and one day it will die - surely.


All that is no simple decision, I know.
Wish you a good one.

Regards
Stefan