PowerLogix 1 GHz G4 CPU Upgrade in a Cube--How Fast Is It?

Early owners of Power Mac G4s and Cubes have been waiting for over 2 years for someone to produce a G4 CPU upgrade substantially faster than 500 MHz. PowerLogix was first out of the chute a couple of weeks ago with its PowerForce G4 Series 100 for Power Mac G4s and Cubes running a 100 MHz system bus. Hooray!!!

The Series 100 currently peaks at 1 GHz (1000 MHz) for $696 but also comes in an 800 MHz model for $448 (current retail prices at OWC). CubeOwner.com has a further $15 discount deal with OWC on the 1 GHz CPU and $10 on the 800 MHz CPU. A 700 MHz model (SRP $369) is due out in 30 days. Even faster dual 800 MHz (SRP $799) and dual 1 GHz (SRP $1179) models are due out in two weeks! PowerLogix will also be making the Series 133 (single and dual) for the more recent Power Mac G4s with a 133 MHz system bus. In addition, their web site mentions single and dual 1.2 GHz possibilities which are as yet unannounced. Things are getting exciting again in the CPU upgrade market.

Our New England Editor, Dana Baggett, ordered a PowerLogix 1 GHz PowerForce G4 Series 100 from OWC for his G4 Cube which he received last Tuesday, the first retail batch available for the Cube. The specs for Dana's Cube are:

• 450 MHz G4 CPU
• stock 20 GB hard drive
• stock DVD drive
• GeForce2 MX graphics card (pulled from a G4 tower)
• 1 GB of RAM

We installed the 1 GHz Series 100 on Saturday and ran some speed tests on it.