• AppleCentral Network:
  • Tech Support
  • |
  • Open Source
  • |
  • Apple News
  • |
  • Register Domains
  • |
  • SSL Certificates
  • |
  • iPod Deals
  • |
  • Mac Deals
  • |
  • Mac Book Shelf
  • AppleCentral Home
  • MacTech Magazine
    • About MacTech in Print
    • Issue Table of Contents
    • Subscribe
    • Risk Free Sample
    • Back Issues
    • MacTech DVD
    • MacTech Archives
    • MacTech Print Archives
    • MacMod
    • MacTutor
    • FrameWorks
    • develop
  • MacNews.com
    • MacNews News
    • Blog
    • MacTech Reviews and KoolTools
    • Whitepapers, Screencasts, Videos and Books
    • News Scanner
    • Rumors Scanner
    • Documentation Scanner
  • Apple Expo
    • by Category
    • by Company
    • by Product
  • MacForge.net
  • Job Board
  • Advertising
    • Benefits of MacTech
    • Mechanicals and Submission
    • Dates and Deadlines
    • Submit Apple Expo Entry
  • User
    • Register for Ongoing Raffles
    • Register new user
    • Edit User Settings
    • Logout
  • Contact
    • Customer Service
    • Webmaster Feedback
    • Submit News or PR
    • Suggest an article
  • Connect Tools
    • MacTech Live Podcast
    • RSS Feeds
    • Twitter
You are not logged in. [Log In] AppleCentral » Forums » Mods and Hacks » Laptop Mods » Hardware Mods » speed up pismo
Register User    Forum List        Active Topics    FAQ
Topic Options
Hop to:
#462714 - 10/11/05 04:45 PM speed up pismo [Re: Anonymous]
maestro Offline


Registered: 11/16/07
Posts: 1656
So I have this new Pismo and its a little sluggish. It will probably be fine for my wife, but I need some help. Its got 512mb ram and 400mhz. I was wondering what settings I could use in Panther to speed it up a bit.
Thanks.
-maestro

Top
#462715 - 10/11/05 05:29 PM Re:speed up pismo [Re: Anonymous]
destructospin Offline


Registered: 07/03/05
Posts: 149
i'd create a partition for the swap file and put it there
works wonder for me

Top
#462716 - 01/09/06 11:23 PM Re:speed up pismo [Re: Anonymous]
iKst Offline


Registered: 06/05/04
Posts: 6
I recently got a 400mhz pismo with 384mb of ram and a slow, 6GB hdd drive. I run Tiger on it and i use it for basic work, like web surfing, word procesing and some light web development. I just started a mission to make this computer as fast as possible for this type of work. This is what ive done so far.

- I disabled dashboard to free some ram
- I removed all printer drivers and localization in OSX to get some more disk space (I just gor a new 40gb hdd. They are very cheap and performance boost from faster hdd is huge. Its also nice to have all your data in one place.).
- I removed font smoothing. It is uglier, but you get used to it and scrolling is MUCH faster. Safari is now actualy plesat to surf with even on large sites.
- I used TinkerTool to disable some gfx effects like gennie effect, dock animation etc.
- I boosted keyboard repeat speed an mouse tracking speed. You can do that in system preferences under "Keyboard and mouse". When i first read that tip i didnt even want to try it because it sounded stupid to me, but in fact it helps alot in general snappines.
- I used Aticcelerator II to overclock gfx card (cpu 140mhz / ram 120, maybe i can go even higher). I also boosted cache speed from 160mhz to 200mhz (it should go up to 267mhz in pismos but mine is crashing with that settings. Not much improvement there, but better something than nothing).

Thats about it. I also tried shadowkiller to remove shadows but performance boost wasnt that big and i find shadows useful. Im also experimenting with themes to remove transparency, but dont want to change the system too much since i like the way OSX looks. Not a big performance boost either...Aqua stays.

The only benchmark i used is a "let 1k windows bloom" proggy that opens and closes 1000 windows. You can find it on google. I managed to get the results around 35 seconds with these settings, even few seconds less with shadowkiller. Thats is more than 100% improvement over stock Pismo 400. In real world my computer is now not only usable but very plesant to work with and OSX still looks very nice.

I hope that helps

Other than that i just finished repacking my dead battery with new 2000mah cells so i should get 5, 6 hours of battery life (on my first charge cycle i got more than 3 hours). Im also planing to install internal bluetooth and internal airport card smile

Top
#462717 - 01/10/06 12:26 AM Re:speed up pismo [Re: Anonymous]
StillbornChrist Offline


Registered: 09/26/05
Posts: 42
Loc: UK
iKst wrote:
Quote:
Other than that i just finished repacking my dead battery with new 2000mah cells so i should get 5, 6 hours of battery life


Ooh.. not heard of this before - is it really possible to bring dead batteries back to life?

Will it work for other powerbooks? I have a Titanium with a battery that lasts about 10 mins.

Top
#462718 - 01/10/06 01:03 AM Re:speed up pismo [Re: Anonymous]
maestro Offline


Registered: 11/16/07
Posts: 1656
You repacked your own battery! You must do a mod guide! I knew that was a possiblity, but with the dangers of explosions, it always turned me off. My battery is dead also, so this may be a mod I will try. You have some interesting ideas here, and for that I givea karma point. When money permits I do plan a HD upgrade first, then I hope to test some cpu upgrades coming up in the near future for this site.

-maestro

Top
#462719 - 01/10/06 09:15 AM Re:speed up pismo [Re: Anonymous]
iKst Offline


Registered: 06/05/04
Posts: 6
Mod guide is allready available here: http://www.wwc.edu/~frohro/Powerbook/Pismo/Battery/

This is not my guide, i found it on google and followed it step by step. I know there is a lot of talk about exploding li-ion cell and stuff, but i didnt think it was that hard to do. You cant really blow up anything if you are careful and dont short the cells smile The hardest part is putting everything back together, since there is NO place in there. Even if you use slightly bigger wires it can be a problem smile

Anyway, li-ion cells were $70 with shiping. For you guys in US it should be under 50 bucks.

As for cpu upgrades. I want a G4 badly smile I cant watch hi-res movies on 400mhz g3 and i have to convert them to iPod format on my PC. Even a 500mhz G3 swap OCed to 550 wont be much better im affraid. But $300 is 2x more than i paid for my pismo and i dont want to spend that much.

Top
#462720 - 01/10/06 02:13 PM Re:speed up pismo [Re: Anonymous]
maestro Offline


Registered: 11/16/07
Posts: 1656
Great, that will save me some cash. I hope to get around to it soon. Ill post how it went. If you do decide to get a G4 for you Pismo,
a comparison article on replacements should help. I should be able to get started on it yet this month.
-maestro

Top
#462721 - 01/10/06 02:59 PM Re:speed up pismo [Re: Anonymous]
StillbornChrist Offline


Registered: 09/26/05
Posts: 42
Loc: UK
I think someone's answered this before, but just to check, am I right in thinking you can't accellerate a G4 to a G5 can you in the way you can a G3 to a G4?

What's the average delay time in people making accellerator cards for old computers?

Eg I've seen a company that will let you turn an old Performa into a G3 with their card, but they obviously haven't tried making cards to speed up G4s yet... just wondering how many years I'd theoretically need to leave it. :-)

Top
#462722 - 01/10/06 07:27 PM Re:speed up pismo [Re: Anonymous]
Waragainstsleep Offline


Registered: 02/13/05
Posts: 1723
I think the 64-bit nature of the G5 makes it too tricky. The G5 would probably have to run as 32 bit. Not sure thats even possible. G5 clock speeds aren't much better than the G4 desktop upgrades currently available so there's little point in bothering I guess.

Top
#462723 - 01/10/06 09:18 PM Re:speed up pismo [Re: Anonymous]
maestro Offline


Registered: 11/16/07
Posts: 1656
A G5 card probably wont be made. Its time has passed unfortunately. Did I say that out loud?! A G5 for a PowerMac G3/4 will never be made either. You can get a G4 xlr8tor from many different companies at speeds from 450 to 2000mhz. Try http://www.fastmac.com or http://www.macsales.com.

-maestro

Top
Previous Topic
View All Topics Index
Next Topic

Tweet

Preview

Moderator:  Acumowchek 
Print Topic
Switch to Threaded Mode
Publications, Articles and Industry Discussion
   »MacTech/MacNews Article Discussions
   »Apple World
Marketplace
   »Deals and Special Offers
      »Expired Offers
   »Trading Warehouse
Mac
   »Hardware
   »Software
   »Servers, Security, and Networking
   »Programming, Web Dev & Scripting
   »Windows and Virtualization
   »Cloud and Online Services
Mobile Technologies
   »iPhone Apps, AppStore, and iTunes
   »iPad, iPhone, iPod and Apple TV Hardware
Mods and Hacks
   »General Mods
      »Techniques
      »Miscellaneous
      »Mod Logs
   »Laptop Mods
      »Case Mods
      »Hardware Mods
      »Misc. Mods
   »Desktop Mods
      »Case Mods
      »Hardware Mods
      »Misc. Mods
   »Peripheral Mods
      »iPod Mods
      »Misc Mods
   »Software Hacks & Mods
General Discussion
   »Site Feedback & Issues
   »Stan's Lounge
   »Soapbox
Now Software Support
   »Announcements
   »Now X
      »FAQs
      »Discussion
   »Now Up-to-Date & Contact
      »Community Help
      »Tips and tricks
View profile
Send a PM
Add to your Watched Users
View posts
View profile
Send a PM
Add to your Watched Users
View posts
View profile
Send a PM
Add to your Watched Users
View posts
View profile
Send a PM
Add to your Watched Users
View posts
View profile
Send a PM
Add to your Watched Users
View posts
View profile
Send a PM
Add to your Watched Users
View posts
View profile
Send a PM
Add to your Watched Users
View posts
View profile
Send a PM
Add to your Watched Users
View posts
View profile
Send a PM
Add to your Watched Users
View posts
View profile
Send a PM
Add to your Watched Users
View posts
Board Rules · Mark all read
Contact Us · AppleCentral · Top

MacTech Only Search:
Community Search:

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
  • SPREAD THE WORD:
  • Slashdot
  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • Reddit
  • Newsvine
  • Generate a short URL for this page:



AppleCentral. www.applecentral.com
Main office: 805-494-9797
Xplain's use of MacNews, AppleCentral and AppleExpo are not affiliated with Apple, Inc. MacTech is a registered trademark of Xplain Corporation. AppleCentral, MacNews, Xplain, "The journal of Apple technology", Apple Expo, Explain It, MacDev, MacDev-1, THINK Reference, NetProfessional, MacTech Central, MacTech Domains, MacForge, and the MacTutorMan are trademarks or service marks of Xplain Corp. Sprocket is a registered trademark of eSprocket Corp. Other trademarks and copyrights appearing in this printing or software remain the property of their respective holders.
All contents are Copyright 1984-2010 by Xplain Corporation. All rights reserved. Theme designed by Icreon.
Generated in 0.071 seconds in which 0.048 seconds were spent on a total of 13 queries. Zlib compression enabled.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.5.8