[DM-MUG] speed & quiet

[Matt W]

On Mar 28, 2005, at 11:02 PM, John Kisner wrote:

> My main desktop is a dual G4 with roughly 800 mhz processors (I think=20=

> they are 767 or so -- I'm on my laptop now).  The machine is peppy=20
> enough for my needs, but there are at least 3 minor annoyances:
>
 =46rom your desc. you may have one of two G4 duals. If you have the=20
Mirrored Drive Doors model (shiny front panels, speaker on top) then=20
you have the G4 DP (dual-CPU.) 867. If you have a QuickSilver model=20
(drives near the top, spkr on bottom), then you have the G4 DP 800. My=20=

guess is the former, as it was much louder than the QuickSilver G4's=20
and there were no 700-ish MHz DP Macs unless you've upgraded with a 3rd=20=

party CPU card.

> 1) The computer fan is very noisy.  2) The combo drive is noisy and=20
> sometimes there are "scratches" when I transfer several music CDs to=20=

> iTunes (I assume from heat buildup).  The same disk usually transfers=20=

> "cleanly" after the drive cools down.  3) Startup seems very slow. =20
> Not sure why it has slowed down (and I have optimized hard drive,=20
> etc.) but it might be a harbinger of trouble on the horizon.
>
If you've the Dual 867 with the Mirrored drive doors (MDD), there was a=20=

power supply fan replacement that addressed a couple of fan-related=20
problems. I'm not certain if you can still take advantage of this, but=20=

as mentioned, Dualies (G4's esp.) were noisy. There's even a Website=20
devoted to it: <http://www.g4noise.com/>.

If you're getting skips in CD rips, then you should throttle down using=20=

the iTunes preferences. Choose the Importing option, and select the=20
checkbox that says, "Use error correction when importing from CD's." If=20=

it gets worse on unscratched discs, starts having problems reading=20
discs, particularly burned or =B1RW discs, consider a new drive.

> Questions for the peanut gallery:
>
> 1) Would Mac Mini be slower than this dual-processor machine?  Would a=20=

> G5 desktop be quieter?
>
The Mini may be faster in some esoteric manner than a DP G4 as it has a=20=

faster CPU and a better gfx chipset. HOWEVER, there are notable=20
advantages in a DP machine that the Mini cannot touch. I would favor=20
the DP over the Mini. Here's a short breakdown:

Mini Pros
1. Faster single CPU.
2. Quieter.
3. Smaller.
4. Better video card (see #2 below).
5. Have to buy it.

G4 DP Pros
1. Dual is better for nearly ALL OS X operations and most recent=20
applications. OS 9 cripples a DP Mac by utilizing only one CPU.=20
Photoshop is a rare Mac OS 9 app that is DP aware.
2. WAY MORE expansion! More RAM cap., more HDD space, PCI slots (for=20
better video card or FW 800).
3. Much faster (and cheaper) full-size HDDs.
4. Already own G4.


> 2) Are there ways to eliminate noise and other problems via some sort=20=

> of tuneup?  Or do noise and G4 desktops go hand-in-hand?
>
See the Web site I referenced above and do a Google search for "power=20
mac g4 noise mod" and you'll find more than you bargained for.

> 3) Does buying a G4 at this point make sense, or will I want a G5 when=20=

> the new version of OSX arrives?
>
G5 is nice, DP anything is also nice. If you're doing video, audio,=20
development, gfx, or other CPU intensive work, buy the best money can=20
buy, or you'll be sitting around a lot and may not even be compatible,=20=

e.g. Radeon 9000 (a respectable AGP vid card) won't run Apple's Motion=20=

software.


Matthew
Maccelerate@earthlink.net