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daystar
Administrator
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Posted: Tue Feb 14th, 2006 09:56 pm |
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This area is for posting Frequently Asked Question. If you have a question which you would like to see added, please post it in the Technical Support area. Thanks,  Last edited on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 10:18 pm by daystar
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daystar
Administrator
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Posted: Tue Feb 14th, 2006 10:00 pm |
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Q: What is the MAChSpeed G4 ALUMINUM ?
A: The MAChSpeed G4 ZIF is XLR8's 100% compatible G4 upgrade for PowerBook G4 (Aluminum) systems. This upgrade replaces the CPU on the PowerBook's logic board with a faster, newer version of the Freescale PowerPC CPU. The newer CPU provides additional performance, and lower temperatures in most systems.
The upgrade is factory installed at Daystar.
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daystar
Administrator
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Posted: Tue Feb 14th, 2006 10:02 pm |
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Q: Is any software required ?
A: No, none at all. We do modify the system's firmware slightly, but all modifications are completely transparent to the OS. We also include our "award-winning" software, MAChSpeed Control. This software utility monitors your CPU, and system. It also is an excellent testing applicaiton.
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daystar
Administrator
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Posted: Tue Feb 14th, 2006 10:10 pm |
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Q: Is it really faster than the MacBook Pro ?
A: Yes! Apple's "advertised" 2x and 4x speed of the MacBook Pro is mearly smoke and mirrors. For years Apple has battled Intel benchmarks as being optimized for the CPU and not at all relevent to real-world gains. The only difference today, is that Apple is now trying to play the same old "Intel" game.
Macworld.com has published benchmarks for the new Intel-based systems. Even with completely optimized, universal "Intel" software, the systems were only 10-15% faster than the PowerPC systems running the same apps (and on a single core CPU!). In cases where they benchmarked against PowerPC apps, the new Intel-based systems were 200% SLOWER.
XLR8's MAChSpeed G4 ALUMINUM on the other hand, is always 25-40% faster than your current system.
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daystar
Administrator
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Posted: Fri Feb 17th, 2006 01:38 pm |
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Q: Why Don't You Have Upgrades for the 17" 1GHz ?
A: Well, we are limited to the contraints of the existing logic board. We only change the CPU and some additional power related components.
That particular system (like the high-end Titaniums), uses a different CPU family that is not compatible with the 360 Pin CPU family used on the systems that we do upgrade.
The 483 pinout on the 17" 1G, would require us to use the 7457 CPU which is limited to a max of 1.35 GHz, and is twice the cost of the 744x family that we do use.
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daystar
Administrator
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Posted: Fri Feb 17th, 2006 02:09 pm |
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Q: Is there any sacrifice in reference to heat and how long the battery would last?
A: The upgraded system does run a little warmer. About 5c when measured from the outside bottom of the case. The internal fans cut on at 68c ambient temperature and hold the temp below 69.5 internally. The fans only cut on during heavy Altivec rendering (like running 3 HD QuickTime movies at the same time).
The upgraded CPUs only draw a fraction more power (1/5 watt). The main draw on the battery are the fans, and the drives.
The real question on battery time, is tough to answer though. Energy Saver settings vary the power consumption widely. At reduced speed (normal for battery), the system runs at half speed, and 3/4 power. The drives are usually set in this mode to shut down when possible, thereby extending battery life as well. The CPU is running extremely cool, so the fans do not cut on. So, the result is no "real" difference on battery life.
However, if a person runs in "highest" mode, with the drive set to run, sleep off when running on the battery, then yes, the additional temp will cause the battery to run down faster. But then again, even before the upgrade, with these settings... the battery is only good for an hour or so.
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daystar
Administrator
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Posted: Tue Feb 28th, 2006 10:53 am |
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Q: Is battery Life Affected?
A: That is a very good question.
Yes, the 1.92/2.0 GHz at full speed is using up to .2 watts more power. Running the CPU at higher power/speed does effect the battery life.
One thing that we have noted, is that in cases of runing say... AltiVec Carbon Fractal and/or H.264, multiple QT movies, do push the CPU to the limit, requiring maximum power to maintain performance. This is our normal "burn-in" test. it does push it at times over the Power Supplied by the Power Adapter, which is fine, as long as you have a battery installed. Hence, these very heavy duty scenerios will not run from 'battery only" with Energy Saver set to the "highest CPU" speed setting.
In reduced speed (normal for battery) we are running like normal PowerBook at the 50% CPU and 1-1.5 volts. The wattage is pretty much within 10% of "pre-upgrade. So measuring battery life is a tough qustion to answer.
If you are concerned with battery life, then I suggest using the stock settings. When Power Adapter is plugged in, use Better Performance. When Battery, use Better Battery Life (in the Energy Saver menu pull-downs. This will provide battery life within 10% of the pre-upgraded system.
Also, I should note, that the CPU and video Power Draw (the largest two at a total of 20-50 watts total, is very dependent on the applications running. Background apps like Temperature Monitor and iBatt (a great app for checking that the battery is reaching its true potential) can radically effect the power consumption, as they prevent the CPU from napping and/or utilizing its power conservation methods.
Daystar is also offering an alternative upgrade option at 1.7 GHz which uses exactly the same Power Settings as Apple's Standard PowerBook offerings.
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daystar
Administrator
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Posted: Sat Mar 18th, 2006 05:12 pm |
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Q: You say that you don't offer an upgrade for the 1.0Ghz PowerBook because you'd have to use a 7457 G4 which you say is slower and more expensive.
I was under the impression that although the 7457 CPU's don't clock very high, they do have 512Kb of L2 Cache and 2Mb of L3 Cache which actually massively increases performance. In fact I have seen benchmarks of a 7455 (a 7457 but with only 256Kb L2 cache) at 1.45Ghz outperforming a 7447 (512Kb L2, no L3, the CPU used in all recent PowerBooks) at 2.0Ghz. So I'd imagine even a 1.35Ghz 7557 would be a match or even superior to a 2.0Ghz 7547. Or have I got it all wrong....!?
A: GigaDesigns has completed extensive benchmarks comparing their 7455, 7457, 7447 upgrades to each other. Basically, the L3 adds 5-10% speed. The increase in the L2 is the most noticeable. Note that the L3 was only added, when Motorola "short sheeted" Apple and took away the optimum 1MB L2 cache support.
On the 7457, in the PowerBook at 1.35, the L3 cache would have to be disable because of Apple's problems in the configuration of the cache structure (similir to the issue when we install the 7457 into an older iMac G4).
The result, is that a 7457 at 1.35 will perform about the speed of a 1.5GHz 7447. it is an increase in perofrmance for the PowerBooks you mention. But, we haven't found anyone willing to pay the $700 price tag.
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daystar
Administrator
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Posted: Sat Mar 18th, 2006 05:15 pm |
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Q: Why is the XLR8 MAChSpeed G4 Aluminum CPU upgrade not available for the 1.67 GHz PB?
A: The 1.67 has an improved Logic board design... which is compatible with the next generation 7448 CPUs as well. We actually working on a 7448 solution for the 167 GHz Powerbooks. We didn't want to muddy the water with a 2.0 GHz upgrade for the 1.67, then confuse everyone with a 7448 choice (less GHz than the 7447 though) in a month or so.
We will be offering a solution for these units shortly. You'll have two choices at two different prices. Most likely a 2.0 GHz 7447 vs a 1.84 7448.
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