[GPBoy4]

I've always thought about upgrading my G3 to a G4. But I was wonder, is a 400MHz G4 any better than a 400MHz G3? It's just an idea/something I might do someday. Right now I'm trying to get parts for my iBook.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by GPBoy4 I've always thought about upgrading my G3 to a G4.

They're not pin-compatible, so you're looking at buying an entirely different logic board, which I'd argue really isn't worth it.

That said: per clock rate, a G4 is faster than a G3 in most operations (mainly due to the added vector engine), but slower in others (mainly due to lower cache).

[PB PM]

Do you mean for your G3 B&W tower? If so you can get G4 ZIF upgrades from Sonnet, or a used ZIF based CPUs from early PCI based G4 Power Macs (good luck finding that though, I've seen one on eBay in the last two years). G4 upgrades also tend to cost more per clock, so technically you could get a faster G3 for the same price as a lower clocked G4.

Unless you are ripping CDs all day, the consensus I've read is, that you should go with the G3 based upgrades, because G4 based ones for G3 machines have a nasty tendency to lower the BUS speed (for G4 upgrades over 700Mhz).

If its for the Clamshell, I'd say don't bother.

[Dave]

Or really, at this point, spend a bit extra an get a used intel mac mini off eBay.

[PB PM]

A bit extra? Thats like $500 extra.

[Dave]

Nah, you can get them on eBay for less than that if you're patient. How much does the CPU upgrade cost?

[PB PM]

You can get a new 1Ghz G3 for $100-150, or less on eBay if you look.