Processor Upgrade: Worth It?

Hello! I think you would notice some difference but how much ram do you have. Tiger likes a gig or so for itself and running PS etc. would probably run better with 2-4 gigs. Tom

How much RAM do you have in your computer (you can use Apple System Profiler (A.S.P.) to check this. In OS X, click Apple Menu --> About This Mac --> More Info... That should open A.S.P. it should tell you right off the bat how much Memory you have.)

Upgrading your memory with at least another 512 M.B will speed up the computer significantly, even more if you max it out with to 1.5 G.B.'s with three of those chips.

I think you would experience a speed bump with a 1.6Ghz chip, but unless you intened to wait more than two years to upgrade to an Intel Mac it may not be worth it.

Hi

I think it's worth considering upgrading the processor in the QS 733 at least, and perhaps swapping the computers over if you need the more powerful one at home.

Whilst they're not major pitfalls at all, some third party processor cards (primarily 7447 based ones) do require a firmware update, which depending on the upgrade manufacturer may have to be performed via OS 9. Also most come with their own heatsink and fan(s), either in addition to or in place of the existing processor fan, which may increase the noise level slightly. Finally there's also a small amount of risk involved in swapping the cards over, for example, if the screw driver slips when removing the heat sink clips or the card isn't lifted straight up, you could potentially end up damaging the logic board.

I recently upgraded the processor in my QS and rather than going for a third party card managed to get a dual 1GHz card pulled from another QS. Like your's mine was the base model (733/800MHz without level 3 cache) and the extra processor speed, level 3 cache and second processor have all contributed to a very noticeable speed increase.

Even if you do eventually get an Intel based Mac, it may be that you need to initially continue using your PowerPC ones for certain applications, either because they're not available as a universal binary or because of the expense of buying newer versions.

I hope this helps.

Rodney makes some good points. I have upgraded several MACs in the past, and am sure you would be very pleased with the processing speed bump at 1.6. Faster HDs also would speed up performance.

I never had a problem using a 3rd party processor upgrade. Good luck!

I have your same machine, upgraded with a Sonnet 1.8GHz. It runs smoothly and considerably faster than befor. It took me about half an hour to install the firmware update and the new processor. Very powerful and not expensive.
Ciao

Ngr