G3 900 or G4 550 Powerbook Pismo Upgrade

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G3 900 or G4 550 Powerbook Pismo Upgrade

I was wondering which is a better bet, I just bought a Powerbook Pismo G3 500 and I want to eventually upgrade it to a faster processor. I saw that there is a G3 900 upgrade available and a G4 550 upgrade also available too which is better? I will be using my powerbook exclusively for web design as well as a photoshop and Final Cut and so on, basically a media creator.

Thanks
Steve

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G4 vs. G3

While the G4's Altivec may make it faster than a 550 G3 in certain situations, I don't think it would approach the speed of the 900 G3. As long as the prices are simialr and doable for you, I would go for the G3.

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G3 900. You won't use altive

G3 900. You won't use altivec that much

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Thanks Guys thats what I figu

Thanks Guys thats what I figured so I am gonna go with the 900 (eventually)

Steve

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I disagree.

I will be using my powerbook exclusively for web design as well as a photoshop and Final Cut and so on, basically a media creator.

G3 900. You won’t use altivec that much

I disagree. If you do plan on using it for content creation (especially FCP), go with the G4. Altivec makes a huge difference there.

But does this topic belong in "Hacks?" Are you going to overclock that G3/900 to a G3/1GHz? Wink
Peace,
Drew

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MHz *does*matter

Altivec will help substantially in FCP and other similar software, but there is a *big* difference between 550 and 900 MHz. I don't think that Altivec will make up a 350 MHz deficit. I could be wrong, but I'm doubtful.

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Overclocking a 800 mHz TiBook

I'd like a small bump in speed- maybe to 867 or 900 from my stock 800 MHz if possible. Is there anyone out there that has done this successfully on an 800 MHz TiBook? I'm considering trying some of the video acceleration software/shareware out there to see if that works and if it does, then I'll be happy.

E. G., I've been able to play C.O.D. effectively on my machine, but in the very complex scenarios the frames are jerky to very jerky even with the least demanding settings. So- I'd like to hear if any of you have had luck in increasing the performance of your TiBooks just a bit.

Or could I be nuts for even wanting to try to do this? I've built my own scientific instruments (that actually worked, didn't explode very often and even gave me publishable results) so I'm not a complete klutz with a soldering iron, but I wouldn't say I was a god at it.

I've taken a job with an all WinTel shop and now I don't have the opportunity to write grants for new toys (or get them from the Dean as part of my sinecure anymore) so I'd like my TiBook laptop to zip along a bit faster rather than cough up for the last non-intel Macs.

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