CPU Upgrade

Just finished the upgrade from PT 5.01 to PT 6.1 on a Mix 24 Plus system. I have a Mac G4 AGP. Since the Mac G 5 is looming on the horizon, the prices have dropped for upgrade CPU's. During a discussion with tech support at Digidesign re: another matter, I made mention of the fact I was considering a CPU upgrade for my G4. The tech rep informed me that Digidesign didn't support any upgrades to any systems because of the number of possible permutations. That makes sense from a corporate view, but doesn't always hold water from a technical vantage point. They then suggested I post in the newsgroups to see if anyone had any information to share re: experiences with such an upgrade. The rep suggested I check out Newertech (although supposedly they are out of business) because they were less problematic. When queried about dual processor vs. single processor, they opted for the single processor. So, does anyone have any thoughts they would care to share re: this? Thanks

I upgraded my 9500 with a Newertech G3 processor and it worked great. I have heard similar rumors that G4 processor upgrades aren't so great for use with Pro Tools. Sorry I can't be more specific. (I bought a new G4 QS computer.)

I can't speak for TDM, but with LE G4 upgrades works great. Look at macsales.com. Talk with them, they're smart and fair and have all available upgrades (30 days trial)

If you purchase a Sonnet upgrade card, do not enable their extension. They claim the extension is needed to take full advantage of the upgrade card, but it will make Pro Tools unstable.

I recently sold my mix system and upgraded to hd. I sold my computer with the deal assuming the G5 was available. I had an old graphite g4 400 laying around, so to make due in the meantime, I orderd the sonnet upgrade that gives you the 1.2 gig processor with the l3 cache. I ran my system 12 hours a day last week with PT 6.1 and OSX.2.6. Zero problems. I had at one point 4 instances of Amplitube running and the cpu meter hadn't even moved yet. For $549, it wasn't a bad interim solution. Hope that helps.

One thing to watch out for is the extra heat generated by the new processor. Your mac was designed to handle the heat generated by the original processor. You might need to add an additional internal fan, and possibly some case mods. Do a search on Google for 'cooling', "fans', "CPU'. seems like a good resource, even though they are not mac-specific.

Well I have went all out and updated my 400mhz G4Mac to a 1.4Ghz OWC Processor upgrade and so far so good. No promblems other than I had and old Mac OS Disk 9.04 and I had to update my firmware to the latest. Which was very easy. I had heard OWC processors are some of the best, so you might want to check them out. There great so far for me. I have had no problems and I have a Mix Plus system. Hope This Helps.. Oh by the way I had to order an upgrade disk from Mac for 99.00 bucks. But I got that way after I upgraded My CPU. You will most times have to update to 9.1 or later for your OS. I use 9.2.2 and it has been stable for me. By the way the difference in use of RTAS is worth all of that $549 I spent on the Upgrade. I love it and wake up smiling everyday. Three times more power than I had before. Hope this helps