Sonnet Processors Again: G4 400, Could anybody relate, pls? Options

[zaaresh]

Hello everybody,

I just read the last topic about CPU upgrades on a G4 400 mhz - and yes , although it´s a fine computer, me n´ my producer partner just need mooooore speed , especially because we run Logic Pro 6 and quite lot of other stuff as well - maybe in future Final Cut or similar.
So first of all I would like to ask if generally one would recommend that kind of CPU upgrade . I don´t have a clue if this would have an impact on for ex. the cooling system ,or generally on the computer engine itself .(??), so please tell me.
Then, we will surely boost the RAM, which is actually 512 MB, up to 1GB - still I have to check, if my G4 is ok with that ( System Profiler - i suppose..).
IF this is working, it would be helpful to install OS X ( yes, we still run OS 9 and we don´t despise it!) - since all of the new applications of Logic 7 do run on OS X only ... , but: do I lose some of the efficiency of the OS X when installed on an upgraded G4? I suppose there´s a difference between G4 and G5 there... but how important is it?
--> the main reason for now why we won´t go out and buy a G5 is the money, but on the other hand it would be nice to have a second powermac to use in future, especially if you can connect several macs to improve the capacity of Logic 7 - anyone tried this already?
well, that´s all for now - thanks for replying!

zaaresh

[CanadaRAM]

RAM capacity depends which Dual G4 you get.

The Dual 800 and Dual 1 GHz Quicksilver models can go to 1.5 Gb with PC133 RAM

The Dual 867 Mirror Drive Door can go to 2 Gb with PC2100 RAM

The Dual 1 GHz, Dual 1.25 GHz and Dual 1.42 GHz Mirror Drive Door can go to 2 Gb with PC2700 RAM

The Mirror drive door models will give you better performance. The last model, the FW800, loses Mac OS9 bootability but gains you Firewire 800,

The TC PowerCore won't help you with track count, audio rendering, etc. -- it doesn't boost your CPU. It will only help with those plug-ins and instruments that are written for the PowerCore, so you can use a PowerCore reverb, for example, for much less CPU overhead than a standard reverb.

So if you like the Powercore's effects, and would use them primarily, would it be worth buying the powercore and not the G5? I don't know. My guess is that if you already own high quality reverb and other native effects software, then use the money you'd spend on the Powercore and an accelerator card or whatever, and buy the 2.0 DP G5 instead. If you don't own a good reverb and effects yet, it becomes more difficult to choose, because the Powercore comes with some great software that you'd spend $1000 on otherwise.

Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com