Guide to G4 CPU Upgrades for G3 and G4 PCI Power Macs

Updated 2007.11.06

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• Benchmark: G4/400 shootout, Bare Feats, 2000.01.18. Upgrade beige G3 vs. 7500 vs. Yikes! and Sawtooth G4s.
• Overview: G4 History 101 - Power Macintosh G4/400 & G4/500 Information Page, MacSpeedZone, 2000.02.07. Real advantage comes only if you're using AltiVec enabled applications.
• Benchmark: 1 MB vs. 2 MB cache, Accelerate Your Mac!, 1999.12.17. XLR8 G4/350 prototype shows where larger cache makes a difference.

The G4 goes two steps beyond the popular G3, adding the Velocity Engine (formerly AltiVec) and support for a 2 MB level 2 cache.

If you have a Power Mac G3, whether the original beige model or the blue & white one, moving to a faster CPU is as easy as removing the current one and inserting a new one in the zero insertion force (ZIF) socket. The same goes for the "Yikes!" version of the Power Mac G4, which has the same 100 MHz system bus as the blue & white G3. (For faster G4s, see our Guide to Upgrades for Power Mac G4.)

The information is as accurate as I can find, but specifications and availability are subject to change; I suggest you check with the manufacturer to verify current models. Prices keep dropping, so these prices may be outdated. (Prices are in $US.) In fact, models are added and discontinued so often, it's impossible to keep track of which models are current.

• DealMac tracks special deals on ZIF upgrades.

NOTE: Not all upgrades are compatible with the Blue & White G3.

Discontinued accelerators are listed for historical reasons.

Manufacturer

CPU Speed

Cache Size

Cache Speed

Estimated Street Price

metabox joeCARD Z adjustable bus discontinued	500 MHz	2 MB	250 MHz	disc
	500 MHz	1 MB	250 MHz	disc
	450 MHz	2 MB	225 MHz	disc
	450 MHz	1 MB	225 MHz	disc
	400 MHz	1 MB	200 MHz	disc

Newer Technology MAXpowr G4 discontinued	533 MHz	1 MB	266 MHz	disc
	500 MHz	1 MB	250 MHz	disc
	450 MHz	1 MB	225 MHz	disc
	400 MHz	1 MB	200 MHz	disc

OWC Mercury discontinued	450-500 MHz	1 MB	213-250 MHz	disc
	500-600 MHz	1 MB	213-250 MHz	disc

Phase 5 G4 Power Booster discontinued	450-466 MHz	1 MB	180/186 MHz	disc
	400 MHz	1 MB	200 MHz	disc
	350-366 MHz	1 MB	175/183 MHz	disc

PowerLogix PowerForce G4 ZIF	550 MHz	1 MB	220 MHz	disc
	450 MHz	1 MB	225 MHz	disc
	450 MHz	1 MB	225 MHz	disc
	400 MHz	1 MB	200 MHz	disc
	1.0 GHz	1 MB L2		disc
	1.1 GHz	1 MB L2		disc

Sonnet Encore/ZIF updated 11/6/07	1 GHz	1 MB	250 MHz	$299
	800 MHz	1 MB	228 MHz	disc
	700 MHz	1 MB	233 MHz	disc
	500 MHz	1 MB	250 MHz	$149
	400 MHz	1 MB	200 MHz	disc

XLR8 MACh Speed G4 ZIF updated 11/6/07	600 MHz	1 MB	250 MHz	$199
	550 MHz	1 MB	250 MHz	$199
	500 MHz	1 MB	250 MHz	$179
	466 MHz	1 MB	250 MHz	$139

XLR8 MACh Speed G4 ZIF MPe discontinued	500 MHz	1 MB	250 MHz	disc
	450 MHz	1 MB	225 MHz	disc
	400 MHz	1 MB	200 MHz	disc
	350 MHz	1 MB	225 MHz	disc

Reviews & Overviews

• First Look: XLR8's G4 400 MHz ZIF upgrade, Accelerate Your Mac! Beta drivers show improved floating point performance and better memory bandwidth.

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