Power Mac MDD
Sonnet 1.8Ghz CPU
1.5GB RAM
Ati Radeon 8500
Symbios 89x
UW SCSI Drive

Would that make the ultimate MorphOS box currently?

> Power Mac MDD
> Sonnet 1.8Ghz CPU
> 1.5GB RAM
> Ati Radeon 8500
> Symbios 89x
> UW SCSI Drive
>
> Would that make the ultimate MorphOS box currently?

At least not regarding CPU speed:

https://morph.zone/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=7707&forum=11&start=11
https://morph.zone/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=7727&forum=11&start=6

@redrumloa

You're asking for the best current MorphOS system and not for the fastest Your question really depends on several factors, so it's difficult to say. For some people a Powermac with the same specs than yours is the best system, for other a Mac mini G4 1,5GHz is the best system. And I'm pretty sure opinions will change with an eventual Powerbook G4 release...

Yeah, I am aware of the newertech 2.0Ghz CPU upgrade option, but AFAIK they are not available for the MDD. The MDD has DDR RAM (333Mhz) opposed to PC133 or PC100 of older models. The MDD has 167Mhz bus, opposed to 100Mhz or 133Mhz.

My thought process is the faster ram and bus speed would more than make up for the somewhat slower CPU (1.8 vs 2.0). Wouldn't benchmarks in real life applications and games be better in the MDD? Looking thorugh the old threads you link is interesting but no clear answer. I guess it is pros and cons.

@analogkid
I mean raw performance and not form factor. If I was to load up and play Quake III, what would give the best FPS? Best performance in blender? Most likely to not suck on Youtube;-)

Comparing Mac mini and PowerMac is like comparing Amiga 1200 to Amiga 4000. Both have pros and cons.

> I am aware of the newertech 2.0Ghz CPU upgrade option

...which Ruud runs overclocked at 2.13 GHz :-)

> AFAIK they are not available for the MDD.

Correct. If you meant to ask for the "best current" PowerMac G4 MDD "MorphOS system" then Ruud's system is clearly out, yes.

> My thought process is the faster ram and bus speed would more than
> make up for the somewhat slower CPU (1.8 vs 2.0).

Might be. I don't know how much additional RAM and FSB speed are required to make up for the lack of 330 MHz in CPU speed. What I know however is that with a G4 the use of DDR RAM over SDR RAM has an advantage only under certain circumstances:

https://morph.zone/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6910&forum=11&start=11

So what we can consider for certain is a 25% faster RAM and FSB on your side vs. an 18% faster CPU on Ruud's side.

> Wouldn't benchmarks in real life applications and games be better in the MDD?

Might be. Start the real life benchmarking! ;-)

Quote:

Let's find out. You can find some real life benchmarks (and their results) here. Feel free to repeat as many as you want. As you can see there's a wide spectrum of hardware to compare to.

What softtware produced the bar charts?

I had similar MorphOS machine:

Power Mac MDD 2003
Sonnet Encore MDX Duet 1.83 GHz CPU (card from E-Bay USA, 290 USD)
1.5 GB RAM
ATI Radeon 9000 Pro 64 MB VRAM

It was fastest machine I had for MorphOS - compared to the Mini G4 1.5 GHz, Power Mac G4 FW800 2x 1.25 GHz, Power Mac MDD G4 1.25 GHz, Pegasos G4 1 GHz, Pegasos G3 600 MHz or EFIKA 400 MHz :)

RC5-72 benchmark ... 2x ~37-39 Mnodes/sec
OGR-NG benchmark ... 2x ~19.5 Mnodes/sec

Speed like PowerPC G5 2x 2.6 GHz :D

Fastest Quake III Arena, Quake II, PeaceKeeper in OWB, etc.
I have exact values for these tests aswell, compared to other machines, but I couldn't test more, because:

I had this dual 1.83 GHz for 3 weeks. Than MDD motherboard and even expensive Sonnet G4 Duet 1833 MHz CPU card suddenly died + CPU G4 1.25 GHz died :,( Recently I bought another MDD motherboard from E-Bay UK, but Sonnet card unfortunatelly didn't work, so another G4 1.25 GHz card was required.

I don't know if it's possible to fix Sonnet Encore/MDX G4 Duet 1.83 GHz. It was expensive, but also very rare - so it's not possible just buy it again.

I would have bought G4 1.42 GHz card / MDD, but they are hard to find.

It was bad luck, only 3 weeks of fun for too much money. I would like MorphOS machine with warranty, but there is none. I hope no more bad luck for dying MorphOS hardware.

[ Edited by luky-amiga 21.06.2011 - 22:34 ]

Quote:

Umm... You definitely got me here. I'd need to ask APC74 (the guy that's kind enough to host my benchmark results on his site) so the question is: Do you really want to know? :)

Quote:

Sadly that experiment came to an end when the system proved unstable under heavy cpu load. Clockspeed is now returned to a "mere" 2Ghz.

I also own an MDD with Sonnet MDX1.8Ghz installed. The memory test results under morphos are very poor compared to the original 1.42Ghz card. I can't remember off hand but they were similar to the (also dissapointing) results of my Quicksilver with 7448 @ 2Ghz. Maybe performance will improve in a later version of morphos, maybe not...

I'm in the lucky position of having multiple morphos machines but if I could only keep one, my mac mini G4 silent upgrade would be the one to stay. It's overclocked to 1.83Ghz and has the best memory speed results out of the currently supported hardware so it's a nice unit :)

Actually the reason I asked, I thought I had a found a MDD with sonnet card locally for sale. It turns out the seller was vastly misrepresenting the system. It turned out to be a Quicksilver with dual 1Ghz. So my quest goes on...

In case anyone wonders, yes I somewhat recently PowerMac Digital Audio with Newertech 1.8Ghz. I parted that and sold it when I decided to give up all of my retro hobby. Here I am now with the itch again as MorphOS continues to improve. Lately Craigslist seems to be flooded with G5 models. It would be nice if G5 could be used, even an unsupported beta release.

Anyhow, I won't wait. I'm going to pull the trigger when I find the right system.If there are people in the USA looking to sell a high end system, let me know specs and a price with or without MorphOS license.

> my mac mini G4 silent upgrade would be the one to stay. It's overclocked to 1.83Ghz and has the best memory speed results out of the currently supported hardware so it's a nice unit :)

time to start my summer projects not hijacking but what is the easiest (haa) best, straight forward way to overclock my mini?
I saw some links last year, but if anyone has a nice step by step, that would be nice
and to keep on thread yea an overclocked mini may be the best current system (me being patial obviously)

@luky-amiga,

You can still buy new Efika boards in some places with warranty's, but I don't think that is what you are looking for.

Luky: recently I bought two daugther cards for my MDD 1.42Ghz. I should have them at about 10th of July. If I would be able to spare one I'm more than happy to sell one of them for you.

Ruud: nice to hear that my ex-MacMini is still working fine ;)

itix,
Quote:
Wouldn't it be so much easier, if we only had a single "official" supported hardware option, with mostly just cons