Conclusion

The 1 GHz PowerLogix PowerForce G4 100 adds a very significant speed increase to an original 450 MHz G4 Cube. If you have owned a G4 Cube from when they came out to when they were discontinued nearly a year later and run Mac OS X, this CPU upgrade is definitely for you. The speed increase is substantial and noticeable in all operations. If you enjoy the original Cube's virtually silent computing, the fan in the 1 GHz PowerLogix upgrade in unobtrusive and fairly quiet, much like the fan in a new flat panel iMac--go to an Apple Store and listen to it. If there is any noise at all in the room, the fan is not heard.

Based on our tests but a very short usage time, we highly recommend this upgrade. We will be installing another later this week and will update our report if we find anything different. We usually test review items for 30 days so we will be updating this review after about 30 days use.

We will also be testing an 800 MHz upgrade and a dual 800 MHz upgrade when the latter is available. At $200 less than the 1 GHz CPU, the 800 MHz upgrade may provide the best speed increase for the dollar. The dual 800 MHz may be the best upgrade for those who really need speed, i.e. those who process images. We look forward to testing them.

If you don't want to wait, you may be a candidate for the PowerLogix PowerForce Trade-Up Program announced in this July 17th press release:

"PowerLogix also announced the PowerForce Trade-Up Program, which allows customers to select the affordable speed upgrade of their choice, and trade up later to a faster processor. For example, a customer might decide to purchase a PowerForce G4 700 MHz Series 100 for their PowerMac G4 AGP now, and may trade up to any faster model at a later time. The Trade-Up program allows the customer to trade up for the difference in the retail price of the two cards. Full program details will be available shortly on the PowerLogix website."