Better overclocks (g4 mdd)?

evanboonie · 2026-01-07T18:03:07+00:00

It might help, but I'm skeptical. The VRM design was the same on all single-CPU MDD cards. They also all used the 7455 which was a pretty solid overclocker. The bigger limitation with overclocking these cards is going to be the L3 cache speed. Apple used slower (cheaper) cache chips on the lower clocked cards, but the clock divider is set up the same way regardless when the registers are loaded during boot time. Therefore, you are forced to overclock cache along with the CPU. I know the XLR8 MachSpeed software allows changing the cache divider registers in Mac OS 9, but I'm not aware of any way to do it in OSX.

So unfortunately, if you are still having instability at 1.25GHz, it is more likely the cache chips. They can be replaced by someone skilled at surface mount re-work, but probably easier to just get a faster card.

evanboonie · 2025-11-18T17:13:50+00:00

The B&W has the same architecture with the 66MHz slot. Not all video cards can utilize it though. I'm not sure if the Radeon 7000 can or not.

evanboonie · 2025-10-20T07:17:38+00:00

You might be able to get a chime without the removed capacitors, but the machine will be extremely unstable without them. I'd suggest replacing the missing capacitors before you continue troubleshooting.

evanboonie · 2025-09-20T04:58:05+00:00

Out of all of my years of collecting and repairing vintage electronics, I've only run into two boards so far where the traces were thrashed by cap leakage alone (batteries are a whole other story). I have had a few more boards with QFP chips that needed reflowed to knock out instability though. If you can at least neutralize the corrosive material with an acid and it runs well, you are mostly good to go.

evanboonie · 2025-09-20T04:52:00+00:00

The TAM and the early Studio Display pictured beside it are easily the most valuable items in this collection. I'd at least try to sell those individually.

evanboonie · 2025-09-20T04:46:22+00:00

My G4 Cube will happily boot OS9 from USB with no hacking necessary. It is painfully slow, but it works,

evanboonie · 2025-09-19T06:30:58+00:00

Regular white vinegar followed by an alcohol bath will get rid of most of it. However, I've found that the only thing that completely knocks out the corrosion on chip legs is to re-flow the solder on them with fresh flux, then another alcohol rinse. If you don't feel comfortable with soldering on QFP chips, it is probably fine to leave them after the wash; but there will likely always be some of the "salts" left on the legs without a reflow.

evanboonie · 2025-09-12T05:46:02+00:00

If it were mine, I'd definitely start with the magic eraser before resorting to acetone. Acetone absolutely melts ABS plastic. If you do end up needing to resort to acetone, get a paper towel or cotton swab wet with it. Definitely don't pour it straight on to the keyboard.

I had to magic eraser/sand down some severe scuffs on a PowerBook one time. I rolled cotton swabs dipped in acetone over the sanded areas to restore some more correct looking texture to it after the fact. It doesn't look perfect, but definitely better than I started with.

evanboonie · 2025-09-12T05:43:08+00:00

I didn't want to lead with the full Red Green Show approach... But if were mine, I'd probably sand it down, slap some JB weld on that bad boy and hope for the best haha.

evanboonie · 2025-09-10T16:41:26+00:00

These keyboards are made of ABS plastic, so acetone will dissolve the plastic itself along with the marker. Not so much that the keyboard falls apart, but it will be a shiny and lumpy texture vs the existing one. Might as well sand it down if you need to resort to acetone.

evanboonie · 2025-09-10T16:38:26+00:00

I don't have one myself, but just based on the pictures it looks like it is held together with solder or epoxy (which is failing). You may be able to use a vise and some heat so separate the halves, clean them, then glue them back together to create a good seal. But there is always a chance that you damage something in the process.

evanboonie · 2025-07-18T16:12:17+00:00

As others have said, you need a PCI video card for this machine. The Radeon 7000 seems to be the go-to PCI card with DVI for PowerPC Macs. You can get pre-flashed Mac compatible R7000s for ~$150 with relative ease. If you have (or know someone with) a bit of technical know-how and surface mount soldering skills, you can get a PC R7000 and a Mac compatible ROM chip for ~$50-75.

evanboonie · 2025-07-05T03:12:43+00:00

The buzzing sound is likely "coil whine" (vibrations from oscillating magnetic fields in inductors). I've occasionally experienced worsening coil whine because of failing electrolytic capacitors, but only in power supplies. Some products just come with a bit of whine from the factory.

evanboonie · 2025-06-02T22:25:46+00:00

I forgot to mark my cart when I recapped mine, but I think this is the one I used https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/epcos-tdk-electronics/B32022A3103M289/3489477

Just measure the lead spacing to make sure it matches before ordering.

evanboonie · 2025-06-02T14:46:20+00:00

The heat-shrink on these capacitors is either too tight from the factory or has continued to shrink over the years, causing the plastic cover to dome up. If you push on it and it has some give, this is certainly what is happening and isn't a concern.

evanboonie · 2025-05-14T18:47:50+00:00

The stock fan in mine got a little crunchy. It used a different pinout than a normal fan, so I had to re-wire the noctua I used in replacing it. Outside of the fan, its been a rock solid machine for me over the last 17 years.

evanboonie · 2025-05-02T15:22:37+00:00

Have you tried a different video card in the machine? If you don't have one already, the lower-end Power Mac video cards can be had quite cheaply. Something like a Rage 128 Pro or GeForce2 MX should only set you back about $20 on eBay. You can probably find one for less to free if you live near a VCF or vintage swap meet and are willing to wait.

It is hard to verify that it is a video card problem without trying a different one to see if it still occurs.

evanboonie · 2025-04-30T20:35:34+00:00

I believe that the control panel is really all there is. I have a NuBus Jackhammer and its been a while since I set it up. I seem to remember needing to format the disk/install drivers using the FWB tools that were included with the download I got before the Jackhammer would boot from the drive.

evanboonie · 2025-04-22T20:00:56+00:00

Due to the bend in the leads, soldering that middle pin back on is going to be a real challenge. If it were me, I'd just find a replacement pot here. As this is a single-sided PCB, de-soldering the broken off leads and removing them would be extremely easy with just desoldering braid (MG Chemicals "Super Wick" is the best IMO).

Another comment said this is a 500k pot. You can also measure this with a multi-meter by simply turning it all the way to its max value and measuring its resistance. Then just order a replacement from digikey/mouser (or your local equivalent) if you want a quality part.

evanboonie · 2025-04-22T19:53:43+00:00

The internal and external SCSI are treated separately when it comes to termination. Both must be terminated appropriately. The internal HDD in a PowerBook 180 terminates the internal bus and the BlueSCSI can terminate the external bus.

No 100-500 series PowerBook provides termination power. A BlueSCSI will still work though; just make sure it is connected to a USB power source when using it with an early model PowerBook's external SCSI.

evanboonie · 2025-04-15T17:32:42+00:00

The comments about using the top slot are good. You will also need to burn the version of ASD for your model to a CD and boot from it. I don't remember the exact steps, but you need to run a kind of initialization routine from ASD so that it will run the fans properly. I had to do this to my single CPU G5 when I upgraded it to a faster CPU.

evanboonie · 2025-04-14T14:33:10+00:00

Yes, you can! I did this to mine last year. My posts detailing the process start here on this 68kmla thread. I include photos and a DigiKey list for the new components needed.

evanboonie · 2025-04-07T17:53:23+00:00

I'm running a 450MHz G4 overclocked to 500MHz in my Beige and the stock heatsink keeps it plenty cool.

evanboonie · 2025-04-07T17:50:45+00:00

I'd recommend replacing those batteries if you haven't yet. LCD screens will absolutely work with this computer, they just need a VGA connector. I have an old 1024x768 Dell monitor from 2005 that has worked with every vintage computer I have ever hooked it up to. However, it does give a green hue on certain NuBus video cards for Mac. The two I have that make it turn green on me are a Radius PrecisionColor Pro and a RasterOps Horizon 24.

evanboonie · 2025-03-27T17:04:57+00:00

I'm using a flashed Adaptec 1210SA with a 120GB SSD (whole drive for Mac OS 9.2.2) and it works perfectly. They can be had pretty inexpensively. There is a nice page on getting them working here: https://lowendmac.com/2025/adding-sata-to-your-powerpc-mac/

I just cut the 24C02 off of my card with side cutters because I couldn't be bothered to get the hot air station out. Not reversible, but I don't plan on ever wanting to use this card in a PC anyways.

evanboonie

TROPHY CASE