Apple Mac Upgrades - RAM, SSD Flash, External Drives and More

CPU Loading - Photoshop & iTunes	L2 Cache	L3 Cache	Time, Sec.

Reference Apple Systems

PM G4/350 AGP Graphics (Sawtooth)	1024k	0MB	2625
PM G4/400 Gigabit Ethernet	1024k	0MB	2162
PM G4/450 Gigabit Ethernet	1024k	0MB	1918
PM G4/500 AGP Graphics (Sawtooth)	1024k	0MB	1667
PM 2x G4/450 Gigabit Ethernet	1024k x2	0MB	1076
eMac G4/700MHz	256k	0MB	1435

Acceleration Cards

GigaDesigns G-Celerator G4/800MHz	256k	2MB SPB SRAM	1211
OWC Mercury Extreme G4/800MHz	256k	2MB SPB SRAM	1211
PowerLogix PowerForce G4/800MHz	256k	2MB SPB SRAM	1254
Sonnet Encore/ST G4/800MHz	256k	2MB DDR SRAM	1240
GigaDesigns G-Celerator G4/1GHz	256k	2MB SPB SRAM	1072
GigaDesigns G-Celerator G4/1GHz (@ 1.2GHz)	256k	2MB SPB SRAM	943
Sonnet Encore/ST G4/1GHz	256k	2MB DDR SRAM	1014
PowerLogix PowerForce G4/1.2GHz	256k	2MB SPB SRAM	935
Sonnet Encore/ST G4/1.2GHz	256k	2MB DDR SRAM	911
GigaDesigns G-Celerator G4/1.25GHz	256k	2MB DDR SRAM	805
OWC Mercury Extreme G4/1.25GHz	256k	2MB DDR SRAM	805
OWC Mercury Extreme G4/1.3GHz	256k	2MB DDR SRAM	795
GigaDesigns G-Celerator G4/1.4GHz	256k	2MB DDR SRAM	862
OWC Mercury Extreme G4/1.4GHz	256k	2MB DDR SRAM	842
PowerLogix PowerForce 2x900MHz	256k x2	2MB SPB SRAM x2	701
PowerLogix PowerForce 2x1.0GHz	256k x2	2MB SPB SRAM x2	660
PowerLogix PowerForce 2x1.2GHz (@ 1.3GHz)	256k x2	2MB SPB SRAM x2	525

Time to execute Photoshop 7 test script while iTunes visuals are running full screen in the background. All times in seconds, shorter bars are better. The above test is a seriously difficult task for any processor to run. If you wish to duplicate it, this is what is involved. I would use caution - this CAN AND WILL overheat processors. If you have problems with your machine locking up while running this test, investigate the thermal bond between the heatsink and processor - this will stress your computer more than anything!
Set your monitor's resolution to 1280x1024, millions of colors. Open iTunes and play a song. For this test I chose a 10 minute live version of a Rolling Stones track, and had it repeat in a loop so all of the processors tested in this series would be having the same visual patterns displayed. Some of the iTunes visuals differ in CPU load, and this levels the playing field, so to speak. Expand the iTunes window to fill the screen Activate the visual effects, at full screen resolution. Open Photoshop Select the action script to run, and start the stopwatch.