Verbalism Personified

How about a Revision B G5?

After four years of tireless service, my Graphite G4 has taken a dive. Running through a few episodes of The West Wing earlier yesterday evening, my Mac refused to boot up again after a brief shut down.

Initially it was thought that the Parameter RAM battery had gone flat. But replacing it today did not solve the problem. It was only after I had reset the Power Management Unit, did it reboot.

However my trusty workhorse isn't completely out of the woods.

A hardware diagnostics check revealed that the Level 3 processor cache on the CPU module was not functioning. This is a 1.4GHz CPU upgrade that I had purchased in July 2004. Subsequent shut downs also failed to restart my Mac.

After re-installed the original 450MHz CPU, my Mac chimed back to life, confirming that the 1.4GHz module was as good as gone. As such, I have written to Other World Computing on the options for a replacement.

So now, my machine runs cooler and the fan does not blow as loudly as when the 1.4Ghz module was installed. This is a trade-off for a machine running three and a half times slower compared to the night before. Such is the nature of things.

At the same time, I've been looking forward to Apple's rumored offerings of new G5 desktops and a revamped iMac line. I had held off buying a new Mac due to inherent deficiencies in their current offerings. I know I'm fussy when it comes to hardware but as a rule, I never buy Revision A equipment.

Till then, I'll await for OWC's reply before deciding if my trusty workhorse is due for retirement.

posted by Teutoburg @ 8:09 PM