It's Celeri's turn to give us his recipe to “silence” a G4 MDD
Here's my DIY recipe to lessen the noise done by a dual 867 G4 MDD ! Coz even with Apple replacement kit, things didn't sound good enough 2 me. I've been perfecting it and testing it thoroughly 4 weeks, and now feel just like I've reached the desired sound level!
First of all, a little reminder: when one boots a MDD under OS X, it's not that noisy at the beginning. With OS 9, it's already a bit noisier, coz the firmware controlling the central 120mm fan is not as efficient that under OSX, even using the last upgrade we were offered 6 months ago or so. Then, under OS X, depending on the work, high or low CPU request, as well as the ambient temperature, the fans get turning quicker and quicker, producing a quite displeasing incremental sound level. My goal was to reduce the overall beast sound level, but also to make it more constant by some means.
Many solutions exist, often quite expensive (Verax kit costs around 250 euros) or a modification in the computer, which voids the warranty. I found inspiration in a XLR8yourmac article found on MacBidouille [french version of hardmac.com for those who wouldn't know yet :-) NdT}:
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/mdd_cooling_mods.
But even there I wasn't glad with the results, so I tried to go further.
To sum up the process :
- central fan is unplugged from its variable power supply located on the motherboard and plugged back to the second power supply (of constant power) used by the optical drives, thru a 3 pins -> 4 pins Molex adapter with a 5V tension. Between the two of them, I placed a potentiometer in order to regulate this fan rotation speed according to circumstances. One can also do without this latter, the fan noise stays reasonable, but above all it's CONSTANT! (see photo 1)
- adding a second fan (NoiseBlocker S2 80mm) directly on the CPUs heat sinker , linked to the second power supply of the ATA-100 bay via a 12 V, 3 pins -> 4 pins Molex adapter (this fan is so silent, one can go frankly with it !). To fix it to the radiator, I just did what they have suggested in the article : I used 4 "slics" rubber fixations, which don't need to be screwed and therefore limit vibrations. I tested the two possible positions, the one where the air flow is TOWARDS the CPUs and the opposite one, the latter giving the best results : the fan sticker has to be face to the top, not to the bottom, when it is fixed to the heat sinker. The solution given by the article, where you get the 2x 60mm fans from the former G4 power supply is valuable, but 4 slightly worse results because of their noise : they get really noisy when tension is over 7 V , thus not so much air is boosted than with S2 with12V which one could almost not hear ! (see photo 2)
- adding a new 80mm fan behind the case, so that hot air is repelled from the G4. I, for once, used a NoName fan that I had in stock, which I linked to the same power supply than the S2 but this time with a 7V Molex adapter, so that it's silent. Even using a S2, it's useless to use more power, since above that level, the air output is so high that only the air flow going through the case holes causes much noise. I fixed that fan with classical cable holders passed thru the case holes, after recycling small sticking rubber pieces from one of the two fans of the former power supply ; I fixed them at each of the 4 corners of this 80mm fan, to reduce vibrations, hence noise. If one doesn't want to trickle the Molex to get the tension from 12V to 5 or 7V (it's easy enough though : one just has to invert the yellow and red cables for 5V using tweezers to extract them from white plastic), there are adapters to do that, but a potentiometer, such as the one delivered with the "BOX" version of the S2, will do (see photo 3).
Results :
- the noise due to my G4 is now quite alleviated : low and above all, constant. I managed to find the perfect central fan speed so that it both is silent enough and lets enough air in.
- long hours spent using DnetC for calculations (when you're an user you know how much it might cause a machine to heat up !) and measuring thru Loudometer (what an incredible soft !) give me a maximal temperature of 58° C. And in idle mode (computer turned on many hours without doing anything), 51° C max. I have to mention that ambient temperature is 28° C (I use the current summer heat to improve my settings !). So NO RISK at all to see the CPU burn or even malfunction. Therefore I've had ABSOLUTELY NO CRASH ever since I've tried those setting adjustments.
Drawbacks :
- there's room left for only one HD in the bay linked to the IDE ATA-100 bus, because of the fan on the radiator
- it's a bit tricky not to be overwhelmed by all those cables in the machine, especially to avoid torsions when closing it or contacts with the heat sinker that still gets quite hot.
- one has to be a DIY man, especially to fix the fan behind the machine and get the cables thru the door, as well as some threads with the molex, but yet I think many beginners will be able to do so.
Advantages :
- LOW and CONSTANT noise despite CPU request and ambient temperature
- a very hot HD can be used in the ATA-100 bay, as the fan on top of the radiator boosts its air directly on it.
- This whole assembly is totally reversible, the G4 bearing no scar. All that belongs to the G4 itself remains UNTOUCHED, so no problem with the warranty in case of a breakdown !
- it's really cheap ! when considering every single piece that has to be bought :
1) 2x NoiseBlocker S2 BOX = 30 euros
2) 1x slics fixations = 3 euros
3) adapters : 4 to 10 euros, and useless if you use the ones provided with S2 BOX.
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We just learnt that from now on, Macway would deliver all its ICE devices with Macdrive 5 software. This allows you to mount HFS or HFS+formatted HDs, and to use them on a PC using Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 4.0, 2000 and XP. You will not have to fomat your HDs in FAT32 to share data. That's good news for those who often havee to share date between those two environments, as FAT32 format slows down exchange processes much on Macs.
To learn more about it:
Macway
MacdriveHere are other testimonies about problems encountered because of the RAM.
From François
I just wanted to say I met exactly the same problem with a G4 iMac I'd just bought.
The extra 512Mo memory upgrade I had were cause to the same problem described by Thierry (screen off as if the video card was down and OS X install couldn't go on after the 1st CD). Once it had been replaced all symptoms were gone. But the customer service had to take this brand new iMac three times before they could get what was going on !
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From Teo
I bought from a mate who'd got it eleven months before his Ti 400, under OS9, in January 2002 (RAM 256+128): RAM was instable according to the one I chose to put first. Eventually kept the 256 only, though Dimm First Aid certifies it's OK.
Sept. 2003: upgrading to Jaquar, no pb with my 256.
Jan. 2003, add 512 Mo RAM, no pb
Feb. 2003: X.2.4 upd: KP repeteadly, session log out followed by Blue screen, applications crashing all the time, two clean install processes later, the pb is not solved. Testing my RAM under OS 9 again with Dimm First Aid: no pb, no crash under OS 9. A new test without 256 under 9 & X : no pb. Without this 256 Mo no pb any more for 3 months. Jaguar seems to tolerate better some older memory upgrades, which came from a "certified" place though... |
Apple published an interesting info on their site (
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=32155)
It explains why some times a G4 PowerBook (867 MHz & 1GHz) will not charge.
The first suggested solution is to unplug the small adapter from the electric supply box and then to plug it again.
More important, you'll learn that the 65 W adapter might deactivate by itself if the electric tension should vary too much. That is the case if too many electric devices are linked to the same power strip, or if this strip is in a bad shape, which is rare in France.
On the most desperate cases, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) device that corrects and filters the stream will address the problem.
One of our Portugese readers, Miguel, discovered what seems to be a WallStreet Prototype !
Here are some photos from the inside:
What's all the more surprising is that this machine seems to have been sold to a Portugese client as if it had been an ordinary one.
We had announced on July, 24th that a new 7B21 seed of Panther was sent to beta testers. Since that news,
Think Secret gave some information on this version. Here are a few more from a very productive US source.
- Version 7B21 is extremely stable. As under Windows XP, Apple inserted a crash reporter that will automatically report any bug to them. No-one could tell if this feature is to be maintained in the final version.
- It is now possible to compress data (.zip format) directly via the Finder, a bit like what Stuffit's True Finder Integration does.
- Firevault, users' data encryption technology, is not yet implemented.
- This version is even faster than the preceding one. And we've been told there's still room for improving windows display speed.
- Exposé has been refined and its effects improved. If we mask the windows, a small portion of them remains visible to indicate their "hidden" presence.
- Address Book may now be synchronized with Ms Exchange.
- Finder preferences were entirely renewed.
- A simplified Aqua look is available for the Finder, instead of brushed metal. In that case, there's no toolbar on top, nor any column on the side.
- Here are the versions of some utilities as found in this seed: iCal 1.1, iSync 1.2, Safari 1.1, iChat 2.0, QuickTime 6.4, Mail 1.3, TextEdit 1.3, AddressBook 3.1
We also received some screenshots to illustrate those info, but we've chosen not to publish them so that we're not forced to clear them in a few hours.
Those two photos that were sent to us show some weird repairs done on Apple machines.
Here a small plastic piece is used to "fix" an electric leak:
On this one, how to "repair" a burnt FireWire port:
Professionnals should never do such things. Though nice DIY manipulations, they won't last long and can't be charged as if they were "mending".
Thx to Thierry whose testimony proves electronics follows its own rules.
I was given an indigo DV iMac that had a problem, and told that if I managed to have it work or could fix it, that would be all the better for me.
The screen was absolutely "dead". Nothing left. Black. Everything else seemed to be functionnal.
Sometimes, though, I still obtained a but very brief and distorted image, with pink of green reflections, somehow liquid, which eventually wore off. This problem was partially solved by connecting an external display on the VGA port, which yet denied me access to the slot-in drive, on/off button or USB and FireWire ports and so on.
So, after I opened the iMac without noticing anything special (I'm not a competent technician though) and after repeteadly zapping PRAM, I had to give up and decided to use the external display. Mac OS 9, the only installed system, took an infinite time to let me handle things after booting. I had decided to install Jaguar, but this caused a systematic bug, always occuring at the same instant, shortly after the beginning.
There was definitely more than this screen device problem. But as this machine had generously been given 512Mo extra RAM I thought I could take it off, as it could explain the sluggish boot under OS 9 (RAM check routine) and the bugs under OS X (same reason). Once I'd taken it off, not only did OS 9 boot normally, not only was OS X install perfect, but the screen also worked perfectly !
As much as I can understand why adding low end RAM could account for system problems, this screen malfunction was an astonishing surprise ! Though searching the web, never heard of it. And I definitely had neither the spare pieces nor the courage to change the screen, though I had found a tutorial explaining how to do it. |
