PowerMac G4 Dual Optical Upgrades
G4 Dual Optical Front

This page covers all the upgrades we sell for the PowerMac G4 Dual Optical (non-FireWire 800). Choose the type of upgrade you are looking for from the tabs below.(Not the right Mac? See here for more PowerMac G4s, or here for all Macs.)

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If you want specific upgrades for your exact model, choose it from the Model ID links below, or enter your serial number here:


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G4 Dual Optical Rear

History

In August 2002, Apple announced a new range of PowerMac G4s.

Known as "Dual Optical" for its twin CD bays, or "Mirrored Drive Doors" for the polished finish of the optical drives' fascia plate, this PowerMac was a significant upgrade of the PowerMac G4 line.

In particular the bus speed was upped from 133MHz in the previous Quicksilver machines, to 167MHz (in all but the earliest Dual Opticals). Also DDR RAM was used for the first time, giving much quicker memory access rates.

These PowerMacs are the last ones capable of booting into OS9. Subsequent PowerMacs can only run OS9 software by using Classic emulation under OSX.

This range of PowerMacs was officially replaced in January 2003 by the PowerMac G4 FireWire 800, however Apple continued to sell a variant of this machine for a considerable length of time, to customers who still required native OS9 support.

The original Dual Optical was released in August 2002. Dual processors were used as standard for this entire range, with three configurations being shipped: a dual 867MHz, a dual 1GHz and a dual 1.25GHz configuration. A 64MB Radeon 9000 graphics card was included on the base spec machines. Apple's specs for this Mac are here.

In January 2003 (at the same time as the FireWire 800 model was launched) an updated model of this older dual optical was released in a single 1.25GHz model. This Mac was still able to boot into OS9, unlike the FireWire 800 model, and was kept in production for people who needed to run OS9 natively. Apple specs for this model are here.

How to Identify these Machines

The G4 Dual Optical, and its successor the G4 FireWire 800, can be easily distinguished from other G4 towers by their mirrored front panel. They are the only PowerMac G4s capable of mounting two CD drives, all preceding PowerMac G4s could take an optional ZIP drive below their single CD bay.

The easiest way to distinguish the two dual optical models is the connectivity. This page deals with machines which have standard FireWire (FireWire 400). If your PowerMac has FireWire 800 please refer to the page for the PowerMac G4 FireWire 800. If you are unsure of your connectivity, you should use the Apple System Profiler utility.

Processor speed can also be helpful, these machines came in a dual 867MHz, dual 1GHz, dual 1.25GHz or single 1.25GHz configuration. However there was a dual 1GHz Quicksilver 2002, and there was a dual 1.25GHz PowerMac G4 FireWire 800.

If you are still unsure you can contact us on 01223 833 412 or by email for confirmation. If you want to upgrade but aren't happy to install the upgrades yourself then we can help. Simply ask our engineers for further details.

Memory Upgrades

The PowerMac G4 Dual Optical has 4 memory sockets. The machines can accept up to 2.0GB in RAM in 4 x 512MB modules. The machines use PC2700 DDR RAM.

There are none available.

Difficulty 1 / 5 - Very Easy

Turn off the machine and open the side of the case.

The RAM sockets are obvious, placed at the top of the side door, and the RAM is designed so it cannot be installed the wrong war around.

Apple's instructions can be found here.

If you are unsure please call or email our team.

CD/DVD/Blu-ray Drive Upgrades

An internal CD/DVD drive could either replace your existing optical drive or be installed alongside it. There are also external FireWire and USB options (FireWire highly recommended for this machine).

Any replacement internal 5.25" IDE CD unit will install into this PowerMac, and should work to read data. However, unless there is an Apple ROM on-board the CD unit, the computer cannot be booted from the CD, and the unit will not integrate with Finder burning and Apple software like iDVD. Burning can still be accomplished by third party software such as Roxio's Toast.

Look for the footnotes on any internal drive listed below, to see if there are any issues as described above.

INSTALL SERVICE - Internal CD/DVD Drive in a PowerMac/Mac ProStock: Available£15.00 + vat (£18.00)

Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.

Difficulty 2 / 5 - Easy

Turn off the machine and open the side door.

The CD caddy is held in by two screws, one at the front of the case and one near the top.

Remove these screws and disconnect all cables, the CD caddy can then be removed.

If installing a second optical unit, set the jumpers on the new unit to slave and fit it in the free space in the caddy.

If replacing the existing drive, remove this drive, set the replacement's jumpers to master, and fit in place of the original.

Connect data and power cables and secure caddy with the two screws.

Close up the machine and install any supplied software.

Apple's instructions can be found here.

If you are unsure, please call or email our team.

Internal Hard Drive & SSD Upgrades

The PowerMac G4 Dual Optical can can take internal IDE hard drives of sizes up to 250GB. Up to two extra drives can be added alongside your existing hard drive - a straight replacement is obviously possible as well.

If you want to use a larger hard drive you will need to use a SATA drive and install a SATA controller into a PCI socket. See the expansion cards section at the end of this page for details on available cards.

If you don't want to fit a new hard drive yourself, you can take advantage of the MacUpgrades Installation Service. Add the installation service from the list below to your cart along with your chosen hard drive. We can also clone your existing hard drive onto the new one, simply add the Clone Original Hard Drive service below to your cart.

Once you have booked the service, send your machine to us, we will carry out the work and return it to you. Alternatively, we do offer a Collection Service with our courier, please see here for details.

Installation Services

Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.

Difficulty 2 / 5 - Easy

Turn off the machine and open side door.

If drive is a replacement then simply remove all cables and screws from the existing drive, and replace the unit.

If installing as a second drive then change the jumper setting to slave, and add the drive above the existing hard drive.

Connect power and data cables, and initialise the disk.

Apple's instructions can be found here.

If you are unsure call or email our team.

Graphics Cards and Displays

Your PowerMac G4 Dual Optical has one available AGP socket for upgrading your video capabilities. You also have three 33MHz PCI slots, which can take a second graphics card - however the AGP socket is superior and should be used for the primary graphics card.

There are none available.

Difficulty 1 / 5 - Very Easy

Install any supplied software and turn off the machine.

Open side door and locate the (brown) AGP socket. Remove holding screw and remove the original card.

Insert the new card, and secure with the screw.

If you are unsure please call or email our team.

Expansion Card Upgrades

This PowerMac G4 has four PCI sockets for connectivity expansion. Since the machine was released FireWire 800, USB 2.0, faster internal IDE controllers, faster wireless and wired connectivity, and much more, has become available.

With the use of PCI expansion cards, you can update your machine to use current spec connectivity types. Please note that some cards have an operating system version requirement - see the notes in the table below for any that apply to this machine.

INSTALL SERVICE - Expansion Card in a Desktop MacStock: Available£15.00 + vat (£18.00)

Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.

Difficulty 1 / 5 - Very Easy

Install any supplied software and turn off the machine.

Open the side door and locate a free (cream coloured) PCI socket.

Remove the holding screw and remove the blanking plate. Fit the new card and secure with the screw.

To fit an Airport card, refer to Apple's own guide here.

If you are unsure please call or email our team.

Keyboards & Mice

The following keyboards and mice are compatible with this Mac.

Trust 3 button USB Optical MouseStock: Available£6.75 + vat (£8.10)
Cherry Strait 3.0 USB Keyboard - UK Mac LayoutStock: Available£32.00 + vat (£38.40)

Power Supplies & Batteries

Listed below are power supplies, batteries and related products we supply for this Mac.

3.6V (half AA type) Lithium PRAM/Clock Battery for MacStock: Available£9.00 + vat (£10.80)

Any fitting information below is intended as a guide before purchase ONLY, when fitting these products you should refer to the original manual for your computer, and any instructions that come with the item. Please see this page for more information, or here for information on our fitting service.

Cables & Tools

Listed below are power cables, tools and related products we supply for this Mac.

Cables & Adaptors

FireWire 400 - 800 Adaptor Cable M/M (6pin - 9pin) 6 ftStock: Available£11.00 + vat (£13.20)
DVI-I - VGA M/F Video AdaptorStock: Available£6.50 + vat (£7.80)
Sonnet Tempo eSATA Cable Set - 1m (2 x eSATA Connectors)Stock: Unavailable£16.00 + vat (£19.20)1

Tools

Precision Screwdriver Set, 31 Piece - Phillips/Torx/TR6Stock: Available£12.50 + vat (£15.00)
Hard Drive Screws - Pack of 4Stock: Available£1.25 + vat (£1.50)
Anti Static Wrist StrapStock: Available£8.50 + vat (£10.20)
1For use with an eSATA PCI card, e.g. Sonnet Tempo X4P eSATA PCI/PCIX Card, to connect to an eSATA external device.

External Drives & Enclosures

This Mac can use any of the following external hard drives.

3.5" USB Enclosures

2.5" USB Enclosures

Complete Machines - Refurbished

Any complete machines of this type or similar that we have for sale are listed here. Please note that these are refurbished models with a 3 month warranty, and that delivery is likely to take 3 - 5 working days. These can be purchased online with the standard website courier delivery charge for the mainland UK only. Please contact us for a quote on shipping to other areas.

There are none available.

Repair Services for this Mac

Here are the various repair services we offer for this Mac. You can have us take the machine in for evaluation, or book a fixed-price repair if you already know what the fault is and the service is listed below (for services without parts, please see the relevant tab on this page for compatible parts that we sell). If you know what the fault is, but we don't have a fixed-price repair listed below, please contact us for a quote.

Evaluation Services

Mac Repair - Evaluation ServiceStock: Available£39.00 + vat (£46.80)

Installation Services (parts not included)

Collection ServiceStock: Available£24.68 + vat (£29.62)
INSTALL SERVICE - RAM in a PowerMac/Mac ProStock: Available£10.00 + vat (£12.00)
INSTALL SERVICE - Expansion Card in a Desktop MacStock: Available£15.00 + vat (£18.00)
INSTALL SERVICE - Internal CD/DVD Drive in a PowerMac/Mac ProStock: Available£15.00 + vat (£18.00)