Review of Giga Designs 1.25GHz CPU Upgrade

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Review: Giga Designs G4 1.25GHz CPU Upgrade
(7455B CPU, 2MB L3 SDR Cache)
Published: 10/10/2003

Installation Notes, Photos and Observations

Intro | Benchmarks | Apps Tests | Game Tests | Installation | Specs/Design

Installation of this upgrade should only take about 10 minutes or less tops. As with the previous models, this Giga Design CPU upgrade already has an attached heatsink/fan and (along with the OWC mercury extreme models) are probably the easiest to install AGP CPU upgrades available. (No fans or wires to install, no reinstalling the old heatsink, etc.) See the linked installation guide below for more information, but basically it's a simple procedure of removing your existing CPU module/heatsink. (2 clips and 3 screws typically, except for some DA models with the plastic heastink cover and fan.)
Note: Giga Designs has now added an insulating pad between the L2 coil and the heatsink, to ensure even if the coil is pressed on it can't short against the heatsink. This change was made several months ago to avoid a (rare) potential problem seen once or twice with their earlier upgrades.)
Installation/Jumper Settings Guides:
Rather than repeat the info included with the upgrade, you can download a PDF version of the installation guide linked at Giga Design's website Installation guide page. (Includes notes on making sure you have up-to-date firmware in your G4 tower.)
Note that as mentioned in previous reviews here 7455 CPU based upgrades, some jumper settings/CPU speeds will not be accurately reported by Apple System Profiler (due to later G4s re-using some older PLL/ratios settings). For instance 1.4GHz (10.5x ratio) and 1.26GHz 9.5x ratio) settings in my 133MHz bus Digital Audio system are not reported correctly in Apple System Profiler (as well a Xbench). 1.467GHz and 1.33GHz settings (for 133MHz bus speeds macs) are reported correctly by Apple System Profiler in OS X (10.2.6 tested) but the "About this Mac" dialog box reports "1.5GHz" (rounding up apparently) when set to 1.467GHz and "1.3GHz" when set to 1.33GHz. The ratio settings (bus multipliers) that will not be correctly reported are 8.5x, 9.5x, 10.5x, 11.5x, 12.5x and 13.5x.

Giga Designs CPU Upgrade Installed in Digital Audio Tower

See the Specs page for photo of top/backside of the card, as well as notes/info on jumper settings for the voltage regulator (jumpers for vreg on backside of module).

System Compatibility:
These upgrades are compatible with the G4/AGP Towers (Sawtooth thru Quicksilver models). See the installation guides linked above for specific system info.

OS Requirements:
OS 9.2.1 or OS 9.2.2
OS X

The next page has information on the upgrade's CPU and Cache. Or you may use the links below to jump to a specific page.

Index of Giga Designs 1.25GHz Review Pages
Intro | Benchmarks | Apps Tests | Game Tests | Installation | Specs/Design

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The Source for Mac Performance News and Reviews
Review: Giga Designs G4 1.25GHz CPU Upgrade (7455B CPU, 2MB L3 SDR Cache) Published: 10/10/2003
Installation Notes, Photos and Observations
Intro \| Benchmarks \| Apps Tests \| Game Tests \| Installation \| Specs/Design

Installation of this upgrade should only take about 10 minutes or less tops. As with the previous models, this Giga Design CPU upgrade already has an attached heatsink/fan and (along with the OWC mercury extreme models) are probably the easiest to install AGP CPU upgrades available. (No fans or wires to install, no reinstalling the old heatsink, etc.) See the linked installation guide below for more information, but basically it's a simple procedure of removing your existing CPU module/heatsink. (2 clips and 3 screws typically, except for some DA models with the plastic heastink cover and fan.) Note: Giga Designs has now added an insulating pad between the L2 coil and the heatsink, to ensure even if the coil is pressed on it can't short against the heatsink. This change was made several months ago to avoid a (rare) potential problem seen once or twice with their earlier upgrades.) Installation/Jumper Settings Guides: Rather than repeat the info included with the upgrade, you can download a PDF version of the installation guide linked at Giga Design's website Installation guide page. (Includes notes on making sure you have up-to-date firmware in your G4 tower.) Note that as mentioned in previous reviews here 7455 CPU based upgrades, some jumper settings/CPU speeds will not be accurately reported by Apple System Profiler (due to later G4s re-using some older PLL/ratios settings). For instance 1.4GHz (10.5x ratio) and 1.26GHz 9.5x ratio) settings in my 133MHz bus Digital Audio system are not reported correctly in Apple System Profiler (as well a Xbench). 1.467GHz and 1.33GHz settings (for 133MHz bus speeds macs) are reported correctly by Apple System Profiler in OS X (10.2.6 tested) but the "About this Mac" dialog box reports "1.5GHz" (rounding up apparently) when set to 1.467GHz and "1.3GHz" when set to 1.33GHz. The ratio settings (bus multipliers) that will not be correctly reported are 8.5x, 9.5x, 10.5x, 11.5x, 12.5x and 13.5x. Giga Designs CPU Upgrade Installed in Digital Audio Tower See the Specs page for photo of top/backside of the card, as well as notes/info on jumper settings for the voltage regulator (jumpers for vreg on backside of module). System Compatibility: These upgrades are compatible with the G4/AGP Towers (Sawtooth thru Quicksilver models). See the installation guides linked above for specific system info. OS Requirements: OS 9.2.1 or OS 9.2.2 OS X
The next page has information on the upgrade's CPU and Cache. Or you may use the links below to jump to a specific page.

Index of Giga Designs 1.25GHz Review Pages Intro \| Benchmarks \| Apps Tests \| Game Tests \| Installation \| Specs/Design - or - Back to WWW.XLR8YOURMAC.COM
Copyright © 2002. No part of this sites content or images are to be reproduced or distributed in any form without written permission. All brand or product names mentioned here are properties of their respective companies. Users of the web site must read and are bound by the terms and conditions of use.