68kMLA Classic Interface
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| Help Identifying a G4 CPU Upgrade | |
| Posted by: quicksilver on 2025-08-29 17:53:14 I picked up a Quicksilver after I spotted this CPU upgrade inside it. No manufacturer or speed listed and spots for assembly number (Assy No) and serial number (S No.) are blank. I haven't taken the heatsink off yet. Unfortunately the Quicksilver doesn't seem to want to power on and I haven't had time to move the card to another one. I don't recall ever seeing a heatsink like this before. Does anybody recognize the card?     | |
| Posted by: herd on 2025-08-29 18:45:08 Nice find! Commissioned/sold by OWC under Mercury line. Looks like a 7455 at 1.3GHz with 2MB of L3 cache. It would probably do 1.4-1.53GHz without much trouble, but the heatsink is not great. One of the few boards that will fit the Cube. | |
| Posted by: Byrd on 2025-08-29 18:49:44 Is this the one? The heatsink threw me off, agree it's not great design and the CoolerMaster fan isn't stock. Replace the fan if going back into your QS as its pretty crappy. | |
| Posted by: MacJunky on 2025-08-29 18:55:27 That heatsink was used on the FastMac branded upgrades as well. One thing of note might be the ©FM2003 on the bottom of the board near one of the mounting holes. Might be fun to browse through the ads in the back of Mac magazines sometime, there was some neat stuff back then. And installation instructions here: | |
| Posted by: herd on 2025-08-29 20:05:43 Was FastMac one of the OWC brands? Or was it left over from Giga Designs somehow? I've seen the exact same boards with different labels. I think OWC sold from all of the labels but I don't know the relationships. I think at one point they bought Powerlogix and converted it to their Newer Technology label. Sonnet also seems to have other labels, some sold by OWC and perhaps different ones for other countries. Those small black PCB upgrades are maybe the most pure "OWC" upgrades because I don't remember seeing them somewhere else first. The board pictured dates from 2004. | |
| Posted by: quicksilver on 2025-08-30 05:40:56 Thanks! I’ll need to get this tested in another QS. The one I’ve built for myself is meant for OS 9 (GF 4600 Ti, 2x 1 GHz) and I know a single processor would be a better choice but this one seems like overkill any maybe better for paying for another Mac toy. | |
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