curious-G4 giga-what other mobos fit?

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curious-G4 giga-what other mobos fit?

basically wondering if anyone knows or can provide a link to the info.
wondering what other mobos will fit in the giga case either with no modification or little.

I know alot of you recommend getting a sonnet upgrade, but honestly don't want to sink that much into this yet. besides, modding and swapping cheap parts (that can eventually add up to a sonnet upgrade) is much more fun.

thanks.

Hawaii Cruiser's picture
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ain't so easy

I know you are newly arrived from PC land where motherboards are easily swapped because backplates are all the same practically universally (well, there's a lot of exceptions, but you know what I mean). Unfortunately, that's not the way it is with Macs at all. Almost every model has a different backplate, so swapping motherboards is not so simple, not to mention the differences in some required powersupplies.

Here's two pages to help address your question:

Differentiate G4's Pt. I

Differentiate G4's Pt. II

You might be better off just buying a whole better machine unless you're really into modding. Like I said before, probably the biggest drawback of your machine is the 2x AGP, but that may not even be much of an issue for you. Check the prices of G4 motherboards on eBay. They might not be cheap and most often don't come with processors unless they're the slower model.

eeun's picture
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You may also encounter differ

You may also encounter differences in the power supplies.

The Giga PSU is the same as the Digital Audio G4, and that's it. The DA board will give you a 133MHz bus - for which you may need new memory; 4x AGP, and different ports that won't fit the Giga's back panel knockouts.

The Gigabyte G4 PSUs often go for $100+ on ebay, since there's no ATX equivalent. You could sell just that alone and invest in a DA model and use the Gigabyte case for replacement panels, etc. or just sell the Gigabyte system outright. The difference in price if you watch for ebay bargains is negligible and your upgrade will almost pay for itself.

As an example, I'd put in a bid on a Sawtooth G4 which I fortunatly lost. Only a few days later I snagged a DA model for -less- money, and my original bid on the sawtooth had been quite reasonable.

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thanks

thank you. while I will end up selling this one, i figure with the small investment i can afford to screw around with swaps etc.

my first pc was a gateway p2 266, back when that was the newest cpu intel made. being curious (and lacking sense) i started playing with it as soon as it arrived. it didn't take long for that 2000 to cost me way more, but i learned a lot.

having never really used a mac, i figured i could play with a $40 computer and not be too upset if this one got hosed. i don't mind spending somewhere near another $200 playing with it.

power isn't an issue. honestly for the most part it does what i need. i use photoshop for work, office for various stuff, and then surf the web. swapping parts is to learn and for fun.

once i get my feet wet (maybe a year) i'll start looking for a serious machine. that's why i keep asking questions, and i apologize if i'm getting on anyones nerves.

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