how hard is it to upgrade the PowerPC CPU

[useydess]

so im considering upgrading my 800 MHz PowerPC CPU to something more powerful like a 1ghz or 1.5 and im wonder how simple it will be, like can i just replace the existing 800 with the 1.5 and the device will run it or is it more complicated than that, also did any dual 1ghz PowerPC CPU's ever exist? just wondering so i can make upgrading easier since im currently running on a dual 800 MHz

 

[headlessmike]

There were third-party upgrade cards with G4 CPUs clocked up to 2 GHz for single chip boards and 1.8 GHz with dual CPUs.

Product Comparison Chart - MAXPower® G4 Processor Upgrades

Product Comparison Chart - MAXPower® G4 Processor Upgrades

 

[useydess]

interesting, so would i have to replace the entire processor board or could i just replace the CPU itself, since i found a bunch of cheap PowerPC CPU chips on ebay which i was hoping to just swap out the chip itself
the chip i found

Motorola PowerPC G4 CPU XC7445B-RX1250BF Processor 1250MHz 1.25GHz BGA360 NOS | eBay

Socket Type: BGA360. [New] Antistatic CPU Storage Box. [New] NOS TI486SXL-40. YOU MAY ALSO LIKE. Frequency: 1250 MHz. Core: 7440. Part number: XC7445B-RX1250BF. Type: CPU/Processor.

www.ebay.com

 

[headlessmike]

interesting, so would i have to replace the entire processor board or could i just replace the CPU itself, since i found a bunch of cheap PowerPC CPU chips on ebay which i was hoping to just swap out the chip itself
the chip i found

Motorola PowerPC G4 CPU XC7445B-RX1250BF Processor 1250MHz 1.25GHz BGA360 NOS | eBay

Socket Type: BGA360. [New] Antistatic CPU Storage Box. [New] NOS TI486SXL-40. YOU MAY ALSO LIKE. Frequency: 1250 MHz. Core: 7440. Part number: XC7445B-RX1250BF. Type: CPU/Processor.

www.ebay.com

In this case, yes, you replace the entire processor card.

Just swapping the CPU itself with a new chip would be a massive hassle (it’s soldered on) and would not result in a difference in clock speed. The clock speed is set by the board and not by the chip. It’s just that CPUs have been tested to work up to the frequency the are sold as. If you want to obtain a higher clock frequency with the same board then you’ll have to overclock it. Here is a page showing how that can be done for different old Macs. Depending of which specific model you have it may just involve soldering a few jumpers.

PPC Overclocking Station - The House of Moth

A consolidation of (eventually) everything regarding overclocking a PowerPC Mac. Updated hi-res graphics and detailed instructions where needed.

thehouseofmoth.com

 

[useydess]

i see, well thanks for the information, i'll probably stick to my current CPU as i don't have nor want to spend the money on a new Processor card, it does the job fine i was just interested in trying to get a higher CPU clock speed

 

[headlessmike]

i see, well thanks for the information, i'll probably stick to my current CPU as i don't have nor want to spend the money on a new Processor card, it does the job fine i was just interested in trying to get a higher CPU clock speed

You could try overclocking your current board and CPUs following the instructions I linked to. There’s no guarantee that it’ll work stably, but it wouldn’t cost you anything either unless something broke.

 

[useydess]

from what i read overclocking the 800 won't do much as its running at its max speed, plus idk how much of a difference there would be from 800 to like 900