Upgrading my G4 MDD with a SONNET Encore/Crescendo MDX G4 Duet 1.8GHz Dual CPU Upgrade

Irinikus

6502
I've finally managed to get my hands on one of the very rare SONNET CPU upgrades for the PowerMac G4 Mirror Doors: (I purchased this one from a seller in Japan)

s-l1600-424.jpg

s-l1600-428.jpg

s-l1600-429.jpg

s-l1600-430.jpg

s-l1600-431.jpg

s-l1600-432.jpg

s-l1600-433.jpg

s-l1600-434.jpg

s-l1600-436.jpg

s-l1600-437.jpg

This is what the machine originally looked like on the inside: (It was originally a single 1.25GHz Machine with Radeon 9000 Graphics)

Mirror Doors - on the inside-4.JPG

This is what it looks like now: (It's now a dual 1.83GHz machine with a Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Edition and a Belkin 5-port USB 2 PCI card, giving it four external USB 2 ports.)

IMG_1259 copy.jpg

IMG_1260 copy.jpg

IMG_1262 copy.jpg

Here's how OSX sees the system:

MDD_Sonnet1.png

MDD_Sonnet2.png

The Blender Test Result for this one are out:

Blender_2 copy.png

Here's where it fits in with the other G4's I've tested: (I still have to test my MDD Dual 1.42GHz machine at some point!)

Screenshot 2026-02-07 at 10.54.22.png
Here's where it fits in with all of the other systems I've tested:

Screenshot 2026-02-07 at 10.44.35.png

Not too shabby! (It's performance is pretty much exactly where it's supposed to be.)

I’ve added an extra fan which blows directly onto the CPU module:

7BCE499D-6E2F-41D9-9F9A-3F4293800F0B.jpg

I ran a Blender test to stress the CPU with Temperature Monitor running, and the highest temperature it reached was: 63'8 Degrees C (The current ambient temperature's in the region of 32 to 33 degrees C.)

Blender_1.png

Blender_2.png

It just beat it's last Blender score, as it did it in 1 Minute and 41 seconds!

I'm not quite finished with this system yet, as I still need to upgrade the drives to SATA SSD's (IDE to SATA converters), give it its full complement of DDR 333 RAM (2GB), install an Air Port wireless card which is compatible with modern WI-FI routers and install a 3-port FireWire 800 PCI card.
 
I've finally managed to get my hands on one of the very rare SONNET CPU upgrades for the PowerMac G4 Mirror Doors: (I purchased this one from a seller in Japan)

View attachment 95341

View attachment 95342

View attachment 95343

View attachment 95344

View attachment 95345

View attachment 95346

View attachment 95347

View attachment 95348

View attachment 95349

View attachment 95350

This is what the machine originally looked like on the inside: (It was originally a single 1.25GHz Machine with Radeon 9000 Graphics)

View attachment 95351

This is what it looks like now: (It's now a dual 1.83GHz machine with a Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Edition and a Belkin 5-port USB 2 PCI card, giving it four external USB 2 ports.)

View attachment 95352

View attachment 95353

View attachment 95354

Here's how OSX sees the system:

View attachment 95355

View attachment 95356

The Blender Test Result for this one are out:

View attachment 95357

Here's where it fits in with the other G4's I've tested: (I still have to test my MDD Dual 1.42GHz machine at some point!)

View attachment 95358
Here's where it fits in with all of the other systems I've tested:

View attachment 95359

Not too shabby! (It's performance is pretty much exactly where it's supposed to be.)

I’ve added an extra fan which blows directly onto the CPU module:

View attachment 95360

I ran a Blender test to stress the CPU with Temperature Monitor running, and the highest temperature it reached was: 63'8 Degrees C (The current ambient temperature's in the region of 32 to 33 degrees C.)

View attachment 95361

View attachment 95362

It just beat it's last Blender score, as it did it in 1 Minute and 41 seconds!

I'm not quite finished with this system yet, as I still need to upgrade the drives to SATA SSD's (IDE to SATA converters), give it its full complement of DDR 333 RAM (2GB), install an Air Port wireless card which is compatible with modern WI-FI routers and install a 3-port FireWire 800 PCI card.
Well, that is a very fancy processor. I don't have any G4s anywhere near that clock speed. I did find a Radeon 9800 at one point, but it has graphics artifacts, so that is a project for some point in the future. I suspect it got hot and a VRAM chip partially detached at some point in its past.

Which direction is the heatsink fan blowing, and which direction is your new big fan blowing? Make sure they're working together.
 
Awesome! I do have exact same boxed CPU and its not even opened either, bought it from Japan as well but very cheap at that time back in 2016 I think it was.
Tempted to sell or install in my G4 MDD...
Cheers
A
 
Well, that is a very fancy processor. I don't have any G4s anywhere near that clock speed. I did find a Radeon 9800 at one point, but it has graphics artifacts, so that is a project for some point in the future. I suspect it got hot and a VRAM chip partially detached at some point in its past.

Which direction is the heatsink fan blowing, and which direction is your new big fan blowing? Make sure they're working together.
The fans are blowing in the same direction.
 
Nice write-up and cool benchmark graphs!
Fun to see a comparison with a variety of hardware too
My Sawtooth G4 has a single 1.6GHz Sonnet upgrade
 
Sweet setup! Does it still boot into OS9 after the upgrade?

I've got a dual 1.42 GHz MDD with a Radeon 9250 for OS9 gaming and a Radeon 9800 Pro for OS X gaming. I've been playing some Dungeon Siege, CoD, and CoD United Offensive on it recently.
 
Back
Top