Voodoo II news: Just a note that a friend got to test a new Orchid Righteous 3D II (Voodoo II chipset). He says it's got the cleanest signal of any Voodoo II card he's seen. Like the original Righteous 3D, it uses the relay method to switch the 2d video, often providing less loss than analog switches used on all the other designs. This is most evident at higher resolutions and refresh rates.

He also noted that 3Dfx has relased new Voodoo II PC drivers that fix a lot of the bugs and gamma issues in the prev. version. Just wish there were Mac drivers available!

In a related note - April 13th is said to be the launch of the new Voodoo Magazine web site. [7:23 PM update]

MacTell Vision 3D Pro II driver Update: MacTell has version 5.2 of the Vision 3D Pro II available for download. Click here to get it. A acrobat version of the manual is also available now at MacTell's product page (or click here to get it now). For more information on the card - see my review.

I've got the card packed and ready to return to Mactell, but I may get time to test the update before shipping it back. [5:45 update]

Stephen Stroud sends another thumbs up for the new Quake upate:

"Hello Mike,
I don't know what everyone is talking about I get about 34.5 fps in 640x480 and about 48.2 fps in 512x384 with a Power3D reveded up to 55mhz SwapBuffer at fastest (0) and stock I get about 27.5 fps in 640x480. I have no 9 frame drop of any kind and infact RAVE quake seem to run faster then before with no pauses like before and added about 3-4 frames per second in RAVE quake and Software accelerated quake runs alittle better too. So Im wondering what happened with these other peaple claiming performance drops. Oh yea im running a 8500/150 with a apple 604e@233 proccessor card with 256k cache, 112mb RAM, Power3D, and X-Claim 3D RAGE ][ card. "

I'm hoping to be able to try the update this weekend. [4:45 pm update]

Quake Performance Tip: Eric Whitmore sent a tip for increased framerates. Most Quakers know about Tweaker, but the console width was a news to me.

" To get increased framerate with 3Dfx and Quake v1.09 try using 3Dfx tweeker and set swapbuffer to 0. Then hold option when starting Quake and type "-conwidth 320" in the box. Then you will have normal sized console. This increases framerate alot. Try it and see what you think."

Thanks Eric! [4:45 pm update]

FORUMS DOWN TODAY: The server for the message boards only will be shut down for several hours starting at about 10 AM Eastern Time to approximately 2 PM Eastern Time, for a disk upgrade and other maintenance. This site will be on 24/7 as usual. Try to avoid using the forums just before the shutdown. Thanks!

Based on this message it looks like FWB will be releasing a new update to CDROM ToolKit (to version 3.02) within a few weeks.

From: Techsupport, tech_email@fwb.com
To: FWB Customer,

We will be posting an updater to CD ROM Toolkit within the next couple of weeks which will directly support the Sony PRD-250 drive. The update will be posted to our web site and allow all current users of CD ROM Toolkit 3.0 or later to update to 3.0.2. I hope this answers all of your questions, if you need further assistance please let me know.

Joshua Gallagher
Technical Support Rep
FWB Software, LLC

Not sure what else is added in the update.

More Quake 1.08.9 Feedback: I received more mixed feedback on the latest update, with generally more positive feedback than yesterday. In fact one RageII owner says the RAVE version is now playable at lower resultions. Here's a few samples:

" Mike -
I updated Quake RAVE to 1.09, and saw slight increases in frame rates (22.5 fps now with shadows at 640x480, up from 20.9). However, I see a weird texture problem now, that I wonder if anyone else has reported seeing. It seems like bilinear filtering is being used only on some surfaces.

For example, if I start a new game, turn around and approach the wall, then turn slightly away from the wall, then the wall surface gets that gigantic pixelized look (like with regular Quake). It is especially annoying because some surfaces are mapped using bilinear filtering, and others, right next to them, aren't.

I tried running without shadows, at different resolutions, etc, but no luck.

I have a XClaim 3D card with current drivers in a PCP 210 w/ 64 Mb RAM, virtual memory on. The texture mapping looked fine w/ 1.08.5, btw. Has anyone else has reported a similar problem?

I read your site first thing every day. Keep up the good work."
Aaron Bos

" Well, I just downloaded and installed the new Quake patch and I am now able to play Quake RAVE at the "lower" resolutions and I get 25fps on my P.O.S. ATI Rage II board! If you ask me it is one heck'va upgrade!!"
-Luke

" I have a power Center 132 with a Power Logix Mach 9R running at about 178 MZ 59HZ bus speed. Atlas 2.1 HD /112megs ram/Diamond Monster 3d and a ATI Rage II VR card with 4 megs.

I just installed the update and the textures sure look better. I did not check the speed yet but it does not appear any slower.

I think I got about 27 FPS before with all my extensions cut down for gaming and at least low 20"s with a full load of extensions. I just installed Malice last night and it is very smooth. Cool.

I was excited when I seen the update because I just picked up Malice a short while ago and was waiting for the update to try it out.

No complaints from this Guy."
John Selinger

I welcome comments, tips or tricks on the latest version of Quake. Send them in.

6500 EDO DIMMS: Eugene Shekhtman wrote that he installed a standard FPM (fast page mode) 64MB DIMM in his 6500, which was working fine, before he discovered that the machine is supposed to support only EDO (extended data out) DIMMS.

" By mistake, I installed a 64 Megabyte FPM Dimm in my new 6500, and the computer seems to run fine. Apple's TIL files state, however, that the 6500 will not support FPM DIMM's. Should I change memory, or could i keep the FPM module that I have inside now. I have a 32Meg EDO 5 v. chip and a 64 Meg (bank one) FPM 5 volt chip.

I did run ramometer for about 10 minutes, not one error. I am beginning to suspect that the DIMM that I thought was FPM is actually EDO, as I've read numerous postings on the apple 6500 support forum, and all aggree that FPM is simply not recognized by the computer.

Curious, how do you tell a FPM chip from an EDO chip. Are there markings on the chip itself that identify it as EDO, FPM, or SGRAM? Do you know?

Many thanks for your help. Your site is the 8th wonder of the electronic world."

Unless the vendor placed a label on the Dimm stating that it's EDO, the only other way I know to verify that is to take the part numbers from the chips and use either the vendor's web site or data book to verify the part. Often company names are abbreviated (TI = Texas Instruments, MT = Micron Technologies, etc.). But if it's running fine I'd expect it was the correct DIMM. It's shocking how many DIMM formats there are (3.3v and 5V EDO, FPM, SDRAM, Buffered SDRAM, ECC (error checking and correcting) SDRAM, BEDO (Burst EDO)) and if you look at the form factor spec for 168 Pin DIMMS - there are many different physical types (locations and widths of the slots, etc.).

According to the Apple TIL, the 6500 only supports 5 Volt, EDO 2k refresh DIMMS, not FPM (fast Page Mode). EDO (extended data out) saves one clock cycle typically compared to FPM memory. However with L2 cache installed the performance difference minimal. EDO RAM does help a bit (10% or so) in cases with no L2 cache installed, and was popular for use in notebook PCs for this reason.

" I think the japanese guys instructions are pretty clear. The trick is: you MUST use two irons, so that you can heat up both sides of the resistor at the same time.

I've accelerated my 9600/350 to 400MHz. runs stable, the heatsink stays COOL!

[I] thought, if there are apple-employees running it @500MHz, it must work. macbench-score isn't that spectactular: 852 points cpu. oh, and again, it seems that there are different revisions of the cpu-card: the first one i tried, produced much more heat at 350 MHz and didn't boot at 400.For me, the only thing to distinguish between them is as follows: on the PCB, there's a lot of printed stuff on it (e.g. things like R20 etc., describing the parts soldered on it) on the worser card, it's printed much "fuzzier", i just couldn't read which resistor I've had to de-solder. on the fast one, everything is printed sharp and clear."

I've sold the 8500 to raise money for a 9600 for site use (comparisons, tutorials, etc.)

I hope to have a page with the T-Shirt design samples posted this weekend. PowerLogix says they can help with the printing of the first run.

I want to have a contest on the 17th, the 1st Anniversary of the site. I'll be giving away 50 of the shirts (possibly more) in this contest. Stay tuned!

I received more artwork samples for the Site T-Shirt, and next week may show the thumbnails of the submissions to get your input on which you think is best.

Mail of the Day: Nelson Biddle wrote asking for tips on adjusting his PowerBoost Pro 604E card. (see also my PowerBoost Pro 233 Review for info).

" Mike,
Hate to bother you but since it was your site gave me the courage to try this stuff...

Did my first "homemade" processor upgrade on an old PCC 120/512/160RAM. Put in a Power Boost Pro 225. Easier than I expected and it's up and running big time. I've had it running several hours at 58.33 Bus/4:1 ratio turning 233.33mhz. (When I hit 233 I weenied out and stopped and haven't pushed it any further.) So far no problems but I'm wondering if hitting that close to 60 Bus on a PCC 120 is a bit hot."

PowerCC machines all seemed much better about fast bus speeds than the apple machines. The cache was faster too in most cases.

" Despite your valiant efforts to explain the process on your site I haven't quite got the Bus to Ratio concept YET imbedded in my head...so...if I need to tweak from here, should instability raise its ugly head or I am running Bus too hot on the 120, do I back off on bus and increase the ratio? That the game plan?"

The first step is usually to find the max bus speed, so set the ratio low (on a 225 I'd set it to x4 at most at this step). You want to isolate the CPU speed from being too high so that you know when a problem occurs, that it is the bus speed limit , not CPU speed )

When you hit errors - back off at least two clicks back to make sure it's reliable. Then write down the setting and the bus speed. If it's close to 60mhz bus, leave ratio at X4 to not overdrive the CPU.

Run Macbench and see what FPU and CPU scores are. Save results with a name you can identify. Run your favorite app. Time some test write it down and with the settings used.

Now you can play with ratios to see what the top cpu speed is. If you're doing close to 60mhz bus, you can't use the X5 ratio - too high a CPU speed for any 604E (60mhz x 5 is 300mhz!)

Set the bus speed to 50mhz, then try the X 5 ratio setting. Run for a few hours to see if it's reliable. I'd personally not want to run a 225 604E much beyond 250. You could go up one click at a time if it stays reliable but I'd be careful and back off at the first sign of problems two clicks. Make sure you run each high speed for at least a few hours (I leave Newer Tech's clockometer running continious for several hours at least - with the case on!) (ByteMark is a good test of reliability as well.) If 50x5 is reliable, then:

Run the same macbench tests and your favorite app again. Compare scores and times. then choose which is the better performer.

I plan to post my replies to commonly asked questions, in hope it will help other readers.

I've sold the 8500 and today will have to clean off all my software and package it up for sale. The proceeds will go towards a fund for purchasing a 9600/300 to allow comparison tests and coverage of the Mach 5 Apple systems. Since the 8500 sale only raised about 1/3 the cost of the 9600, it may take a few months before I'm able to buy the 9600 (hope they are still available then!). I also have the following items for sale to help raise money for the 9600:

• Twin Turbo M8 (8MB Vram) [like new - came with the PowerTower Pro]: $250
• PowerComputing 1MB L2 Cache DIMM from PowerTower Pro 180: $75
• Fast 256K L2 Cache DIMM (fits 75-8500s) [ran 57mhz bus speed in the 8500] $40
• #9 Imagine 128 Series II 8MB Vram w/250mhz RamDac: $550

If you're interested in any of these items please contact me.

Genesis Feedback: Here was one of the more humorous mails on "Elvis" (the Genesis):

" Mike,
Please! Please! Stop talking about your Genesis Mac! I am already drooling too much thinking about such a machine (hot rod?)! You are creating the worst case of Mac-Envy. I am sure all your other readers are feeling just as inadequate! ;-)"
-Devin Comiskey

What can I say, I'm addicted. If I keep this up, the goverment will also have debt-envy. ;-)

Microsoft Cries for Help: The spin doctors are working overtime at MS lately, according to this CNET article. I was shocked at the words "Innovate". Shouldn't that be "let us Emulate"?

Other industry news stories:

• Apple Stock close to 52 week high
• Skinny Debaud on Apple Fiscal report
• Rewritable CDs elbow into DVD Territory
• Intel releases 3 new chips
• PII Notebooks prices already dropping.

Site T-Shirt Artwork Wanted: As mentioned Tuesday, I'm asking for readers to submit ideas for a 1st anniversary T-Shirt design for the site. I can't pay those that submit designs anything but a "thanks", credit for the design and a free T-Shirt of course. If you are a creative type who has an idea for a design, please submit a sample. All input is welcome.

Don't forget to check the FAQ, Performance Basics, Links, and Forums for solutions to your problems or answers to tech support questions. They have a lot of good info and are a great source of help.

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