Did you ever get your Cinema Display PSU resolved? Was it an acrylic or alum? Anyway, a PSU for the alum you can build for $28, super easy.
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Resolved Heat is the enemy, was: $4 and I'm happy!
- Thread starter eyoungren
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My only Cinema Display is the acrylic one.
If you are referring to my mention in another thread about how the power light was blinking, then yes, that was resolved.
It was a matter of pulling the ADC cable out of the converter and waiting a bit, then plugging back in.
However, the issue has not recurred simply because I resolved my OTHER issue of the Mac failing to turn off the displays. That issue was a corrupt file sharing problem. Deleting the drives (which had been since renamed) from sharing allowed the displays to turn off. That has prevented the Cinema Display issue from recurring.
ADDENDA.
Bought a 60mm SilenX intake fan to replace the current one by the CPU today and another bGears bBlaster 80mm fan to replace the 120mm I have sitting on top of the hard drive. The SilenX I believe has much lower CFM than the stock fan but it's more efficient.
It's early, but I'm running 106º on the main drive and 100º on the secondary (green drive) under load. The bGears is the same one I'm using inside the PSU and at 78cfm these just seem to be badass fans.
Looking good so far. Can't wait for the new Sonnet!
Bought a 60mm SilenX intake fan to replace the current one by the CPU today and another bGears bBlaster 80mm fan to replace the 120mm I have sitting on top of the hard drive. The SilenX I believe has much lower CFM than the stock fan but it's more efficient.
It's early, but I'm running 106º on the main drive and 100º on the secondary (green drive) under load. The bGears is the same one I'm using inside the PSU and at 78cfm these just seem to be badass fans.
Looking good so far. Can't wait for the new Sonnet!
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If you want to compare (the one that says 933GHz G4 is a Quicksilver fan) http://web.archive.org/web/20070303184013/http://infohost.nmt.edu/~holstien/g4info.html
There are three different types of the Silenx fan though in Europe http://geizhals.eu/?cat=coolfan&xf=355_60~1034_SilenX (in the UK the IXP-34-12 version is not available, https://skinflint.co.uk/?cat=coolfan&xf=1034_SilenX~355_60#xf_top I don't know about the US) the -16 model would be 30m3/h instead of 39.9m3/h on the apple fan, but the numbers differ from testbed/manufacturer to manufacterer anyway and are only slightly comparable.
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Well, the SilenX I got is 18cfm. That's a difference of about 5cfm from the stock fan, but it's more efficient so I'm ok with that.
The case fan I have is 95cfm so it outperforms the stock case fan and the PSU fan (the bGears I used so long ago) is 78cfm which is about 40cfm more powerful than the stock fan.
Add in two more 80mm fans (another bGears 78cfm) and the 120mm fan I put in the bottom (exceeds the 95cfm of the case fan) and I've got a lot of airflow in there.
None of this includes the CPU fan.
I think I'm going ok. Will try and get a pic of the SilenX fan a bit later.
The case fan I have is 95cfm so it outperforms the stock case fan and the PSU fan (the bGears I used so long ago) is 78cfm which is about 40cfm more powerful than the stock fan.
Add in two more 80mm fans (another bGears 78cfm) and the 120mm fan I put in the bottom (exceeds the 95cfm of the case fan) and I've got a lot of airflow in there.
None of this includes the CPU fan.
I think I'm going ok. Will try and get a pic of the SilenX fan a bit later.
Actually, I've won!Eric, it seems like you are locked in an everlasting and bloody battle with heat, as am I with my overclocking
I found the solution that works for me. At this point the only thing I am doing is making minute adjustments.
I have the hard drives averaging anywhere from 100-108º on the main drive and 95-100º on the secondary (a green drive) depending on load. And this is with three video cards pumping out heat, one of which has an inop fan (part of my fan placement is blowing cool air on to it). That is extremely respectable to me considering that my MacPro at work idles around 100º and goes up to 110º under load.
EDIT: Heheheheh. My QS is actually cooler than the MP. Drive temps on the MP are 104º for the main drive and 111º for the secondary.
So…I"m right in there. Unfortunately, HD temps are the only metric I have to go by on the QS.
Compare to when I started. Average temps were around 118-123º for both drives!
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A couple of weeks ago I reported in another thread that my SATA card died. Another member here had a spare and graciously sent it to me. It's a four port card so I was able to take my external laptop SATA drive and put it inside the case for three SATA drives.
I am finding now that even under load all three drives are hovering in the 95-97º F range.
I find this very strange and the only explanation I can think of is that my previous SATA card was (not) functioning in such a way as to force my drives to overwork and thus heat up beyond what they normally would.
I am absolutely ecstatic that my drive temps are this low. It means that the inside case temps are in an even better operating range than before.
I am finding now that even under load all three drives are hovering in the 95-97º F range.
I find this very strange and the only explanation I can think of is that my previous SATA card was (not) functioning in such a way as to force my drives to overwork and thus heat up beyond what they normally would.
I am absolutely ecstatic that my drive temps are this low. It means that the inside case temps are in an even better operating range than before.
So, this has to be the biggest and best thing for me so far with this new SATA card. These are moderate use temps!
And the highest temps I've reached under load have been 106º.
This makes me very, very happy considering that with the start of this thread I was dealing with temps in the 110-120º range.
![Finder.png]( "Finder.png")
And the highest temps I've reached under load have been 106º.
This makes me very, very happy considering that with the start of this thread I was dealing with temps in the 110-120º range.
The battles cataloged in this thread have given me the key. I put it to good use when I cleaned my case up last night and my solution is working perfectly now, with repeatable results.
These temps with a full load of PCI/AGP cards and three drives in the case.
![Finder.png]( "Finder.png")
These temps with a full load of PCI/AGP cards and three drives in the case.
Nice! I need to buy some molex splitters and adaptors to play with your old card
Don't forget, you don't need to tape pins. The card is the G4 version.Nice! I need to buy some molex splitters and adaptors to play with your old card
Which is great! It might be a bit before I get to use it, since I need to find another monitor, find a new location for the iMac G4, and build a PSU for the new monitor.Don't forget, you don't need to tape pins. The card is the G4 version.
Keep in mind, you cannot expect power from the fan hookup on the card to power the fan!![5f41eb41c7f6012d75501793a84281f7.jpg]()
Frankencard Rises! I grabbed a new heat sink, reapplied thermal paste, and secured a fan to the heat sink. Wednesday, I get parts to run the new SATA power and PWM power to the GPU fan
I burned that out trying to hookup a new fan and unless you fixed/replaced whatever it was your new fan will need power from somewhere else.
That's why it had an oversized heat sink on it instead of the regular fan.
Yup. All expected. I've ordered a molex to SATA for my SATA-> PWM controller. I've built the PWM to the fan connecter already.
In honor of Steve Jobs…one more thing!
When I declared this finally resolved a few months back it was the end of summer.
Guess what? It's summer now and my QS is feeling the heat. Last three days the heat has averaged around 115º here in sunny (and blistering) Phoenix (we keep the AC around 80º during summer because, well I don't fancy $400 electric bills for three months).
So, one last newly placed fan, one of my 80mm bGears with high CFM blasting away right at the video card.
We'll see how this goes. It's night now and of course it's cooled off a bit so tomorrow will be the test.
*Oh. Yeah. Of course doing this messed with my cables which disconnected hard drives and blah blah blah. A five minute job turned into 30 mins or so because getting those cables back into a smaller PCI card sandwiched in between two larger video cards was less than easy.
When I declared this finally resolved a few months back it was the end of summer.
Guess what? It's summer now and my QS is feeling the heat. Last three days the heat has averaged around 115º here in sunny (and blistering) Phoenix (we keep the AC around 80º during summer because, well I don't fancy $400 electric bills for three months).
So, one last newly placed fan, one of my 80mm bGears with high CFM blasting away right at the video card.
We'll see how this goes. It's night now and of course it's cooled off a bit so tomorrow will be the test.
*Oh. Yeah. Of course doing this messed with my cables which disconnected hard drives and blah blah blah. A five minute job turned into 30 mins or so because getting those cables back into a smaller PCI card sandwiched in between two larger video cards was less than easy.
So, I have a question here. I have a G4DA (with OWC 1.467 GHz upgrade) and multiple AGP cards to throw at it. I have the "stock" GeForce2 MX and also a GeForce4 MX which can both easily run while the "side door" is closed. The latter is faster and also allows me to use DVI instead of VGA, which I like because the quality is a lot better.
I also have a GeForce4 Ti 4600 and a FireGL X3 card (pins 3 and 11 taped). Problem is, with these two cards I can't find a way to keep the box cool enough with the unit closed. After a few minutes, it gives me a lot of beach balls, eventually freezes or gives me the "restart your computer" which is basically the OS X BSOD. With the door open and the innards exposed, they work beautifully and this sucker flies -- for as long as I want to use it.
Is this unit even capable of staying cool enough to use these latter two with the door closed? Are there any reasonably priced solutions that could allow it (with bonus points if it doesn't sound like a 747 taking off)? When I need to use it closed for a long time, I am limited to the GeForce4 MX which is a decent card for ordinary use but not all the time.
I also have a GeForce4 Ti 4600 and a FireGL X3 card (pins 3 and 11 taped). Problem is, with these two cards I can't find a way to keep the box cool enough with the unit closed. After a few minutes, it gives me a lot of beach balls, eventually freezes or gives me the "restart your computer" which is basically the OS X BSOD. With the door open and the innards exposed, they work beautifully and this sucker flies -- for as long as I want to use it.
Is this unit even capable of staying cool enough to use these latter two with the door closed? Are there any reasonably priced solutions that could allow it (with bonus points if it doesn't sound like a 747 taking off)? When I need to use it closed for a long time, I am limited to the GeForce4 MX which is a decent card for ordinary use but not all the time.
It's capable.
Apple has a poor thermal design here, mainly with the exhaust fan having to vent exhaust at a 90º angle, but there are things you can do.
I would start (where I started) and this is replacing every fan, including the PSU fan, with fans of the same size but as high a CFM as you can get.
My exhaust fan is 95cfm, my PSU fan is almost double the CFM of the one it replaced and my intake fan (the Quicksilver has an intake fan) although somewhat less CFM of the stock fan is more efficient in how it moves air.
So start there. And don't cheap out. The $4 fan I mentioned in this thread was me cheaping out and it never solved the problem. Buy the highest CFM you can get.
Lastly, and this is the solution I chose but may not be something you want to do.
I knocked a hole in the bottom of the case, and installed another 120mm exhaust fan. This fan is over 100CFM. I also took out the front speaker and put another intake fan in there (80mm).
My major problem at the moment is that we keep the house around 80º in the summer. My fan setup apparently will work during the spring, fall and winter, but is not sufficient to defeat the ambient temps of the house during summer.
And now of course since I've been trying to fix this the Mac has developed other problems unrelated to heat. So will be a while before I get the thing back on line.
Yeah, Apple completely reworked the thermal layout with the MDD. Much better design.
My guess as to why is that around that time period people were starting to pack more stuff in to their Macs. The DA's and Quicksilvers were entirely capable with stock CPUs, one stock GPU and one or two hard drives. But people started adding more video cards and more hard drives, something I don't think Apple anticipated with those older G4s but corrected with the MDD.