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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