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Is It Sensible To Upgrade Your Older PowerBook?
by Charles W. Moore

A question I get asked very frequently is whether it is sensible to upgrade and older PowerBook, as opposed to applying the money that would have gone for upgrade components toward the purchase of a new ‘Book. As always, the answer is: “it depends.”

It’s also a moving target. My current provisional cutoff for sensible upgrade candidates is the Lombard (PowerBook G3 Series Bronze), and then only if it’s a machine in better than average condition.

The earlier WallStreet G3 Series is one of the all-time great PowerBooks, and I’m still getting superb service out of my 1998 233 MHz unit, but I would not spend any serious money on it. There is a law of diminishing returns that applies. The newest WallStreets are just shy of six years old; they are not officially supported by OS X 10.3 and later (although Ryan Rempel’s XPostFacto pack can install Panther on a WallStreet), and they don’t support USB or FireWire natively. I have both USB and FireWire PC card adapters for mine, but it’s not quite the same thing. And the WallStreet only supports 512 megabytes of RAM, which I consider marginal for decent OS X support.

TA possible exception might be if you have a really nice WallStreet, perhaps with the RAM maxed out and a large capacity hard drive already installed. In such instances, a case can be made for buying an Allegro 500 MHz G3 upgrade from Wegener Media for 239.99/269.99 or a 500 MHz G3 upgrade from Sonnet at $249.95. That’s a relatively modest outlay, and will definitely breathe new life into your beloved old WS. Sonnet also makes a 500 MHz G4 upgrade for the WallStreet at $349.95.

For more information, visit:
http://www.wegenermedia.com/wllst500.htm
and
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/crescendo_ws.html

For Lombards, the age issue is also something to consider. The newest Lombards are nearly five years old. The 333 MHz Lombard did not come with built-in DVD drive support (they can be upgraded), and the Lombard also did not have native FireWire support, and like the WallStreet, only supports up to 512 megabytes of RAM.

On the other hand, the Lombard can use batteries and expansion bay modules in common with the newer Pismo G3 PowerBooks, and they are a nice package that has proved fairly rugged and reliable. Daystar offers 433 MHz G4 processor upgrades for the Lombard with low-power PowerPC 7410500LE chips running at CPU rated base speeds of 433 MHz and 1MB backside rated at 250, capable of running 200 MHz - 275 MHz for $269.00, and if you have a nice Lombard in top working condition, it’s worth considering. One potential caveat is whether OS 10.4 Tiger will officially support machines without native FireWire. Another is that Sleep issues do exist. The Lombard is well known for various sleep/wake problems. When running a PowerPC G4, these issues have been fixed by Apple in the latest system software, 10.3 (and, now MAChSpeed Control fixed in 10.2). Some Mac OS 9.2.2 installs may still have a problem waking from sleep. Workarounds do exist, such as opening and closing the MAChSpeed Control panel before going to sleep.

433 MAChSpeed G4 LOMBARD Upgrade - $269.00

For more information, visit here.

With the Pismo (PowerBook G3 2000 FireWire), the issue is less equivocal. the Pismo has built-in FireWire and USB, will support (unofficially) up to one gigabyte of RAM, and I don’t anticipate Apple will be dropping the Pismo from official OS X support for some time yet.

The Pismo is a wonderful PowerBook. The one I have is my all-time favorite Mac that I’ve ever owned, and these machines have certain advantages that have not been matched by any subsequent PowerBook models, like the removable drive expansion bay that also allows you to use two batteries or easily upgrade to a SuperDrive or combo drive, and a tough, polycarbonate case that is much more rugged and durable than the metal-skinned PowerBooks that followed.

There are several processor upgrade options available for Pismo. In mine I have a Daystar 550 MHz processor, and I am very pleased with its performance. With the original 500 MHz G3 processor, the Pismo was a slug in OS 10.2 and a just marginally acceptable performer in OS 10.3 in my estimation. With the Daystar upgrade, which was installed just about a year ago, I find it quite lively in OS X, and it’s no exaggeration to say that the G4 transplant has added at least a couple of useful years to this Pismo’s service life as one of my front line production Macs.

The MAChSpeed G4 Pismo is factory installed and tested by Daystar in a 24 hour turnaround program. Daystar also offers a "Week-ender" installation program, providing 12 hour turnaround. Due to the sensitivity of the electronics within the PowerBook G3, and the need for low-power tuning, Daystar insists on handling the MAChSpeed G4 Pismo as a factory installation, completing all upgrading and testing at its own facility.

Daystar uses a low power G4 7410 LE Motorola PowerPC CPU running at CPU rated base speeds of 500 MHz and 550 MHz, as well as low-power cache components and electronics, thus extending battery life up to 20%. Daystar claims that his also reduces CPU operating temperatures under the stock higher-power consuming IBM G3 while producing increased processing power over any G3, even ones with higher clock speeds. In my experience with a Daystar 550 MHz upgrade in my own Pismo, I've found that the PowerBook runs both cooler and hotter than it did with the 500 MHz G3, depending upon what tasks are being performed.

The Pismo has a slower system bus (100 MHz) than today's PowerBook G4s, but Daystar notes that while any processor will perform better on a system with a faster bus than it will on a system with a slower bus, the fast backside L2 cache that is present on the MAChSpeed G4 PISMO minimizes the importance of system-bus speed. The cache provides over 75% percent of the performance for the G4 CPU, while the bus accounts for less than 10%. Thus substantial benefit of a processor upgrade can be achieved even with a relatively slower bus.

550 MAChSpeed G4 PISMO Upgrade - $329.00
550 MAChSpeed G4 PISMO Upgrade - $280.00

For more information, visit here.

FastMac also offers 500 MHz and 550 MHz processor upgrades for the Pismo, using a Motorola 500MHz G4 7410 or Motorola 533MHz G4 7410 running at 550Mhz, and an upgraded 1MB Backside Cache.

In this case, all you have to do is send in your old processor board in working condition to FastMac and they'll do the rest, installing a new processor and new, faster backside cache. Using your original board not only saves money, but also eliminates third party software issues. FastMac rigorously tests your upgraded board to make sure it's delivering the best performance possible.

Turnaround time is between 8 to 10 days (excluding shipping) from the time Fastmac receives your CPU to the time they ship it back. There is also a FastBack Service for an extra $29.95 with a guaranteed 5-day turnaround (excluding shipping).

Prices for the FastMac Powerbook "Pismo" (Firewire)
G4/500 Upgrade - $239.95
G4/550 Upgrade - $289.95

For more information, visit:
http://www.fastmac.com/products/processors/pismo.php

Newer Technology, through its exclusive distributor Other World Computing, also offers the Newer Technology NuPower Pismo G4/500MHz upgrade with a PowerPC G4 7410 Processor 1MB 2:1 L2 Cache Processor Upgrade for Pismo.

The NuPowr G4/500MHz upgrade is performed on your system by technicians at Newer Systems Technology, Inc. Upon purchase of this product, Other World Computing will ship a padded container to your address with detailed instructions on how to dispatch your system for upgrade.

The NuPowr G4 Pismo upgrade sells for $279.00

For more information, visit:
http://eshop.macsales.com/

PowerLogix offers a Blue Chip G3 Pismo using PowerPC 750FX @ 900MHz or 750GX @ 900 MHz chips and 512k of on-chip L2 cache running at 1:1; 1.0 MB on 750 GX.

If your current processor card is experiencing cache issues, the G3 900MHz may solve your problems as the original cache circuit on the CPU card is no longer used with the 750FX or GX CPU; instead, the on-chip L2 is used.

As with the Daystar product you must send your PowerBook in for upgrading.

BlueChip G3 900 "Pismo" sells for $349

Note that as I post his article, the purchase link on the BlueChip page produces an error message.

For more information, visit:
http://www.powerlogix.com/products/g3_pismo/index.html

Then there are the first and some second-generation Titanium G4 PowerBooks (400 to 550 MHz). Conventional wisdom had been that they would never be upgradable due to the fact that their CPU is soldered to the motherboard rather than mounted on a removable daughtercard as with the G3 Series PowerBooks. However, the innovative folks at Daystar have figured out a way to boost the TiBook’s processor performance with low-power PowerPC G4s running at 550 MHz for the PowerBook G4 (400/500) system, and running at 667 MHz for the PowerBook G4 (550) system. While the improvement (1.2x - 1.3x faster) will not be as dramatic as it is with the Lombard and Pismo upgrades, if you have a nicely tricked-out Ti in good working condition, the Daystar upgrade is worth thinking about.

The XLR8 MAChSpeed Titanium PowerBook CPU Upgrade sells for $269.00,

For more information, visit here.

The Achilles heel of all these older PowerBooks is that they come with just eight megabytes of non-upgradable video RAM on very pokey by today’s standards video accelerator cards. This means that they will never be able to support by OS X Quartz Extreme graphics acceleration in OS 10.2 and later. For my purposes, I haven’t found this much of any issue with my G4 upgraded Pismo so far, but I don’t do a lot of graphics-intensive stuff. I don’t find Finder performance much different from my 700 MHz G3 iBook, which has 16 megabytes of VRAM and does support Quartz Extreme.

And speaking of iBooks, they are the wild card in this PowerBook processor upgrade conundrum. You can buy a brand new one 1.2 GHz G4 iBook with a full warranty that will substantially outperform any processor-upgraded Lombard, Pismo, or early TiBook for a modest $999. I would advise giving that option serious consideration before ponying up for a PowerBook processor upgrade.

Then there are lots of Apple Certified Reconditioned, otherwise refurbished, and used iBooks. The lowest-end model that I would suggest as an alternative to upgrading an older PowerBook is the 700 MHz G3 model with a RADEON 7500 video card and 16 megabytes of VRAM (minimum spec for Quartz Extreme support), but you really need an 800 MHz or 900 MHz G3 to get roughly equivalent performance to a G4 - upgraded Pismo, and the Pismo will still blow it into the weeds running Altivec-optimized tasks.

PowerBook Mystique Mailbag

Wallstreets

Mario S. De Pillis, Sr.

Dear Mr. Moore,

I just ran into your first column for pbcentral and enjoyed it. Your photos, especially of accessories were great. I also was happy to discover the UK firm, Miglia in you column.

Your experience and boldness with Macs was truly impressive. I agree with you that the Wallstreet was a great model. Too bad there is no processor upgrade for it, as there is for the Pismo. From discussions on MacInTouch, I gather many users would love to have a model with the great old dual bays of the the Wallstreet and Pismo. Backing up to an internal hard drive was great, as was using two batteries. Well, enough nostalgia. I am happy enough with my PB G4 17-inch OS X 10.3.7.

I have a couple of questions about ways to abandon OS 9 on the Wallstreet.

First, I wondered if you had ever tried XPostFacto from OWC on your Wallstreet.

Secondly, I wondered how successful you were with Yellow Dog Linux and why you abandoned it. I think I could continue to use the Wallstreet effectively in my work, if it could run Panther-or Linux.

Prof. (Emer.) Mario S. De Pillis
University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Charles