Daystar CPU upgrade on Titanium?

[rzzzzz]

I have a Titanium 667 DVI and lately have been using a number of soft synth applications on it. These things are pretty CPU intensive. I've maxed out my ram, minimized extraneous systems operations and have (barely) reached the threshold of being able to make some interesting sounds. But I'm tempted to spend the $450 to send it off to Day Star to get the cpu bumped up to 1.25 g.

I guess I'm looking for opinions on the move. Will my powerbook hang in there long enough to make it worth the investment? Is this a relatively safe upgrade? etc. Thanks.

 

[deadpixels]

well, i don't have a clue about these upgrades but here's a review of someone who did upgrade his pbook from 1.25ghz to 1.92ghz and he had some problems, one is that the fans came on much louder and longer, obsiously because of the xtra heat generated by the higher clocked cpu, so if you're into sound, it's maybe not the best option. hope this helps.

 

[gr8tfly]

Unless you need to boot Classic, I personally wouldn't do it. It'd be better put towards a MacBook (or MacBook Pro). You will have MUCH better capability for soft-synths, filters, etc. No comparison. Only issue would be how many of your audio apps / soft synths are Intel.

If you still need a larger screen and/or still need PPC, then perhaps a used PBG4 17" - they're in the range of $1100, last time I looked. I think you'll get more life out of that, than the upgrade to the DVI.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

The 1.25Ghz Daystar upgrade seems to run significanty cooler than the 1.92, so it will probably be a better experience.

However, the Core Duo in the Mac Mini will crush any G4 in terms of CPU performance (and the difference is even more pronounced in the Core 2 Duo MacBooks and iMacs), so I strongly suggest looking at new Macs as an option.

Put it this way -

$450 will give you a substantial performance boost with the Daystar upgrade.

$600 will give you a MASSIVE performance boost with a Mac Mini.

$1100 will give you a substantial boost over the Mini, with all the convenience of a laptop.

Just as food for thought - notice how the MacBook in this benchmark fries the 1.67Ghz PowerBook in CPU-intensive tasks...

 

[rzzzzz]

yeah, that's what I wanted to hear. I see that Day Star has dropped their price another $50. If $400 can get me by with the apps I have for a couple more years, than I can hold off a couple of generations before I make the plunge again. (Leave us face it, no matter how nice the current model, the clock starts ticking on it a soon as you've got it unpacked.)

 

[Collin973]

Another option you may want to consider is to buy a used but newer powerbook of ebay that's 1.25 GHZ or faster. I've seen some really nice models go for 450-550. You just need to be patient and look around for the best deals. From my own experience, I've noticed that laptops tend to sell for cheaper when they end during the morning or mid afternoon hours (probably because less people are looking then.). You can find some really excellent deals on ebay, craigslist, or forums that will run you about the same price range as that day star upgrade.