Tell me about computer memory/processor speeds (macintosh)

I’m trying to upgrade the memory in my G4 so I can play World of Warcraft when it comes out. It’s a G4 (either AGP Graphics or Gigabit Ethernet, I have to check it when I get home) and apple.com will tell me which type of RAM to get in any eventuality.

It’s got 384 MB now, and I need get up near 1 gig. I’m pretty sure I know how to install it, but I would love to hear about any pitfalls before I get my mitts into its innards.

Also, I have a dual processor (450 or 500, again, I will check later). How do I relate dual processor speeds to the speeds needed for the game?

Would it be cheaper to just screw it and buy myself a $500 PC rather than upgrade my four year old Mac :eek: ? (please say no)

Help?

It’s pretty simple to upgrade your Mac. I have a similar model. The motherboard has four slots for PC100 DIMMs. PC133 DIMMs wil also work, and may be cheaper or easier to get. The motherboard supports a maximum of 1.5GB of RAM. I would buy two 512MB DIMMs
and add them to the motherboard.

Most games only take advantage of a single CPU, so 2x500 is not the equivalent of 1x1000. The other problem may be the video card. My Mac came with an ATI Rage 128 Pro, which although it works great for most things, is too slow for games designed to run on more modern video cards. Read the “minimum system” label on the game box.

Apple has a bunch of QuickTime movies on the support section of their web site that will show you how to install or replace various system components. These are helpful if you don’t feel comfortable opening up your Mac.

I’ve given up on trying to run many of the new Mac and PC games. I’m not going to spend a ton of money for the latest CPU and video card when I can buy a game console for much less money.

If you have 384 Mb, that’s almost certainly a 256 and a 128. I don’t know how many sticks your computer can take, but make sure that your board has four slots like mks57’s does. If not, you’ll have to remove one of your existing ones. Make sure you account for that in your calculations of how much you need.

It looks like the minimum requirements for WofW haven’t been released yet. You should certainly wait for those before you buy, but I’d guess that dual 450’s or 500’s would be enough. Even if the game isn’t specifically designed for multiple processors, there are probably multiple threads, so you will get some benefit (but, as was pointed out, it’s not like having one proc that’s twice as fast). Most modern games are video card or memory limited; the speed of your processor isn’t as important as either of those. With a gig of RAM, you should be fine on memory.

What kind of video card do you have?

I will definitely have to get a new video card (I’ve got an ATI Rage 128 with 16 mb vram). I will have to wait for the specs to come out. I was going off the beta specs, not realizing they are most definitely going to make those specs much more accessible.

Any suggestions on a video card? Cheap but functional is what I’m looking for.

Luckily our PC is new and way better than the specs even for the beta, so at least we can play, we just can’t play side by side.

I just bought a pair of 512mb 133 sticks for my G4/867. They were around $89 a crack, iirc. I upgraded the memory on my G4 Dual 450 as well. I suggest you check out Datamem.com as they have a comprehensive assortment of Mac memory databased and accessible from their homepage.

Cheers,

BP

I suspect the graphics card is going to be the biggest problem. My G4 pretty much choked on the pretty graphics in Warcraft. But if the problem turns out to be processor speed, you can upgrade the processor for $250-350 dollars, depending on how fast you want to go.

As usual, though, by the time you’ve upgraded memory, processor, and graphics card, you’re a significant way to buying a new machine anyway. It’s too bad Apple hasn’t manufactured a sub-1K monitor-less iMac G5.

Look on eBay for an aftermarket Radeon card. I got an original Mac Radeon for $65 a few years ago; by this time you could probably get something better for the same money. Make sure you don’t get a PCI version by mistake.

Double check your model number and find out what kind of RAM it can take. Many older systems that came stock with PC100 also support PC133, which is the same size (form factor, pin number) but runs faster. You can’t mix and match between types of RAM running simultaneously, so just installing one new stick of PC133 won’t work. However you’ll probably notice a slight increase in speed with an upgrade to all-PC133.

Also, you should install your RAM with the biggest sticks in the lowest-numbered slots. So if you’ve got 256 + 128 right now, you could get a stick of 512 (remember to match your current RAM’s speed) and bump each stick down one slot, so you end up with 512+256+128 = 896MB of RAM, which is quite a bit. You could also stockpile the old stuff or sell it on eBay, and buy two sticks of 512MB PC133, which would give you 1GB of RAM.