Issue with Gigadesigns Dual 1.6GHz

[indibil]

Hi. A friend sold me a Gigadesigns Dual 1.6GHz MC7447A upgrade. I tested it myself in his Quicksilver 2002 and then removed it. Now I’ve tried installing it in my own QS 2002, but it doesn't recognize the CPU. I tested it in a DA model, and it works there.

At first, I thought the applied patcher might be incompatible; I use the NewerTech Patcher (7447, 7448 & 7457) on almost all my G4s. I removed that patcher and applied the one I have for a Gigadesigns Single 1.6GHz, but that didn't work either.

I tried it in another QS I own, and it didn't recognize it there either. Yet, it works fine in my friend's machine.

Could it be that it requires a specific Gigadesigns patcher for Dual configurations?

The QS units have something different in their firmware, as they are the only ones that allow a CPU with a damaged L3 cache to boot. Could it be that they fail to recognize the processor without the proper patch?

Something similar happened to me when I performed a swap to a Gigadesigns 1.4GHz card and installed an MC7457. After the swap, it works in all G4s except the QS models. I haven't managed to get it working, and I thought the Newertech patcher was to blame.

 

[indibil]

Maybe i need Giga Designs Updater 3.0.1 ??

Someone have it?


.

 

[indibil]

I finally found version 3.0.1 on one of my hard drives. I uninstalled version 2.1.0 and installed 3.0.1, but it still doesn't work!!!

Was there a specific patcher for the Dual models that allowed them to run on the QS models?

Does anyone still have the original CD? I’d appreciate an ISO.

 

[indibil]

It seems this topic hasn't sparked any interest.

Anyway, I’ve continued running tests. That QS machine refused to recognize the new Gigadesigns 2x 1.6GHz processor—whether using the Newertech patcher, the two from Gigadesigns, or the one from Sonnet. I have three other QS logic boards and tested them all; they all share the same part number and firmware version: 4.3.3f2.

Coincidentally, the two boards that were originally installed in QS units don't recognize it, whereas the other three do. However, one of them doesn't work with the processor running at full speed (I’ll explain that later).

I don't know if anyone else has run into this, but it appears there is some difference in the QS 820-1342-B logic boards that determines whether or not certain Gigadesigns processors will work.

The top one doesn't work; it's the original one that came with the Dual 1GHz model. The bottom one works fine with the Gigadesigns card.

Before swapping the motherboards, I tried changing all the components—graphics card, RAM, PCI cards, and even the PSU. The result was the same. It only worked after I swapped the motherboard.

Once I got it working, I ran some further tests. The processor module uses two 1.25GHz MC7447A chips and came with the Vcore set to 1.5V. That seemed high to me, given that a G4 Mini 1.25GHz set to 1.3V can reach 1.5GHz. So, I lowered the Vcore to 1.4V, and it remained stable. After that, I bumped the processor speed up to 1.73GHz; it wasn't stable at 1.4V—it would freeze under heavy load—so I adjusted it to 1.45V, and it runs stably at 1.73GHz.

It was after this test that I noticed one of the three motherboards "compatible" with Gigadesigns couldn't handle 1.73GHz, even though the processor draws 12V power via a Molex connector. It was able to run once I dropped the speed to 1.6GHz.

Remember how I mentioned that an MC7457 installed on a Gigadesigns card didn't work for me? Well, it now works on these three motherboards too; however, the "speed-limited" motherboard can't handle 1.67GHz—a speed that is perfectly stable on the other boards and even on the DA models.

I should also mention that any patcher works on the functional boards: I used the Newertech 7447/7448/7457 patcher on one, and the Gigadesigns 3.0.1 patcher on the others.