Guide to G4 Daughter Cards for PCI Power Macs and Clones

Updated 2007.10.31

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Web: Buyer's Guide: G4/400 PCI Upgrade Cards Redux - Save Over $200 On Your G4 Upgrade!, MacReviewZone, 2000.04.03. Only one of four cards is readily available.

The G4 goes two steps beyond the popular G3, adding the Velocity Engine (formerly AltiVec) and the ability to use a 2 MB level 2 cache.

PowerLogix notes: "Unfortunately the G4 chip is not compatible with Catalyst motherboards from Power Computing. This includes the PowerCurve, PowerCenter, PowerCenter Pro, and PowerTower. But those machines can still fly with up to a 500 MHz G3. The PowerBase, believe it or not, is compatible with the G4." It remains to be seen if this will apply to other brand G4 upgrades.

This page uses MacBench 5 processor scores. The previous page with MacBench 4 scores is still available, but it will not be updated to reflect new models, price changes, etc.

Accelerate Your Mac has user reports on various upgrades.

Note that computers upgraded with these cards may not support Mac OS X. (Apple has emphatically stated it will run on all Macs designed with a G3 processor, but has never promised any support for G3-upgraded models.)

Discontinued accelerators are listed for historical reasons.

CPU
Speed

Cache
Size

Cache
Speed

MacBench
5.0 rating*

Estimated
U.S. Price

metabox joeCARD, adjustable bus, discontinued
	450 MHz	1 MB	225 MHz	disc
	400 MHz	1 MB	200 MHz	disc

Newer Technology, MAXpowr G4
	450 MHz	1 MB	xx MHz		disc
	400 MHz	1 MB	200 MHz	1309	disc
	350 MHz	1 MB	175 MHz		disc

PowerLogix G4 PowerForce
	450 MHz	1 MB	225 MHz		disc
	400 MHz	1 MB	200 MHz	1267	disc

Phase 5 Maccelerate! 7400, US distribution by Software Hut
	450 MHz	1 MB	225 MHz	disc
	400 MHz	1 MB	200 MHz	disc
	350 MHz	1 MB	175 MHz	disc

Sonnet Crescendo PCI, updated 2007.10.31
	1 GHz	2 MB L3	250 MHz		$100
	800 MHz	1 MB L3	200 MHz		disc
	700 MHz	1 MB			disc
	500 MHz	1 MB	250 MHz		$50
	450 MHz	1 MB	225 MHz		disc
	400 MHz	1 MB	200 MHz	1267	disc
	350 MHz	1 MB	175 MHz	1116	disc

XLR8 MACh Carrier G4 MPe (solo), adjustable bus, updated 2005.01.06
	450 MHz	1 MB	225 MHz		$199
	400 MHz	1 MB	200 MHz	1274	$159
	350 MHz	1 MB	225 MHz	1028	disc

* Processor score from MacWeek or Macworld when possible, but many MacBench ratings are from manufacturers. End user results will vary based on a number of factors including bus speed and OS used.

Reviews & Overviews

Benchmark: G4 History 101 - Power Macintosh G4/400 & G4/500 Information Page, MacSpeedZone, 2000.02.07. Real advantage comes only if you're using AltiVec enabled applications.
Benchmark: G4/400 shootout, Bare Feats, 2000.01.18. Upgrade beige G3 vs. 7500 vs. Yikes! and Sawtooth G4s.
Benchmark: 1 MB vs. 2 MB cache, Accelerate Your Mac!, 1999.12.17. XLR8 G4/350 prototype shows where larger cache makes a difference.
First Look: XLR8's G4 400 MHz ZIF upgrade, Accelerate Your Mac!, 1999.09.04. Beta drivers show improved floating point performance and better memory bandwidth.

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