Other World Computing has released its first processor upgrade: the US$579.99 Mercury Extreme, which has a G4/1.33GHz chip.
Compatible with Power Mac G4 AGP-equipped models (from 350MHz to 1GHz systems), the Mercury Extreme G4 replaces the stock Apple G4 daughtercard and doesn’t use a separate PCI or AGP slot. The Mercury Extreme G4 also includes a heat sink and what OWC describes as “an ultra-quiet cooling fan.”
“Since the Mercury Extreme G4’s custom heat sink/fan system actually operates cooler than the competition, we used heat-resistant parts to further increase reliability and lifespan,” OWC President Larry O’Connor said. “Not only is our heat sink greatly improved over other heat sinks designed for older processors, but our system also includes a cooling fan which directs air across the heat sink for optimum cooling without simply pushing air against it. The fan is also whisper quiet and does not add to system noise.”
The Mercury Extreme G4 features a Motorola PowerPC G4 7455a 1.33GHz processor, 256 Kilobytes of 1:1 L2 cache on-chip and 2MB of high-speed synchronous dynamic RAM (DDR L3) operating at up to 267 Megahertz (MHz). The Mercury Extreme G4 is compatible with Sawtooth, Gigabit Ethernet, Digital Audio, Quicksilver and Quicksilver 2002 Power Macs and supports Mac OS X and Mac OS 9.2.1 (and higher). The processor upgrade uses Tantalum-dipped resistors and capacitors (to resist electroshock discharge).
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