Accelerate Your Mac! - Formac Pro G3 450 ZIF Review

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ProG3 Box
Review: Formac Pro G3 450 ZIF CPU upgrade
Published: 7/6/2000

Affordable, Adjustable CPU upgrade for AIO, Beige, B&W G3 Macs

Intro | Benchmarks | Appl. Tests | Software Controls | Docs/Installation | Specs/Design | Summary

Introduction

Pros: Lowest cost adjustable G3/450 currently available to my knowledge. ZIF Switches mean no motherboard jumper changes required. Retail box model selling for less than OEM versions. Overall very postive owner feedback to date.
Cons: Poor printed docs (Online PDF Manual is much better). Only 1 year warranty. I didn't care for the heatsink, using the Apple stock one instead.

TransIntl.com recently sent a Formac ProG3 450MHz ZIF upgrade which they are currently selling for $275. Considering this is a retail box upgrade with switches on the ZIF (therefore not requiring any motherboard jumper settings changes) this upgrade is especially attractive for the price. For owners of slower speed Beige G3 and B&W G3 Macs that are looking at an affordable CPU upgrade, the ProG3 is worth a serious look. I saw no issues that some have noted with Copper G3/450 OEM CPUs in some models of Beige G3s. My rev 2 Beige G3 ran the ProG3 at 466/233 reliably.
The ProG3 review sample contained an IBM 450Mhz rated G3 CPU (8x max ratio) with 1MB of backside cache running at 1/2 the CPU speed. Note that this upgrade is designed to run at 450MHz in Blue G3s (100MHz bus speed) and 466MHz in Beige G3s (66MHz bus speed). The ZIF ships set for a B&W G3, but the switch settings are adjustable for the 'Classic' (Beige) G3 (or AIO Mac).
Since it's adjustable, many will try running higher speeds, which may or may not be reliable. Formac may not honor the warranty if overclocked. The ZIF booted fine for me at 500/250 but I did not run extended tests at that speed. You can review the Formac owner reports on the Pro G3/450 upgrade by searching for Formac brand entries in the Rate Your CPU Upgrade database (select Beige G3 or BW G3 as the Mac model depending on which Mac you own). Remember when reading overclocking reports that many may not post updated entries down the road should problems occur.

ProG3 ZIF Module

Compatibility:

The ProG3 ZIF is listed as compatible with the following Mac models:

Apple: Beige G3, Blue and White G3
(All-In-One Macs should also be compatible)
Older CPU Card Slot Macs only if you use the Formac Carrier card. (I did not test for compatibility with the XLR8 CarrierZIF or PowerLogix Zforce cards.) Note that one Rate Your CPU Update database entry recently noted problems with a Formac Carrier board and a PowerTower Pro. I do not know if that is common, but contact Formac if you have questions on older Mac/carrier board compatibility.

Review Tests/Ratings: As with most all my CPU reviews, this one has pages covering the following categories:

BenchMark Performance: Using MacBench 5.0, GaugePro and RaveBench.
Apps/Game Performance: CPU/FPU intensive application tests and 3D Games performance.
Software Controls: Ease of use and features (not applicable to this upgrade).
Docs/Installation: How clear and complete the installation and setup instructions are in the supplied manual. Includes general installation info.
Specs/Design: Features and details on the hardware design.
Summary: Final comments, ratings summary and pricing/availability.

Test System Hardware Summary:

Apple Beige G3 (rev 2)
160MB RAM (stock 32MB DIMM, one 128MB Dimm)
Maxtor 27GB IDE Hard Disk (60% full, not optimized)
Toshiba 6X DVD ROM drive (reviewed here)
ATI VR128 (Rage128 chip) PCI Graphics card (driver v4.2)
OS 9.04, 4MB Disk Cache, VM off, QT 4.1, [No Libmoto]

You can follow my preferred path through the review by continuing to the next page, or use the links below to jump to a specific page.

Index of Formac ProG3 450 ZIF Review Pages
Intro | Benchmarks | Appl. Tests | Software Controls | Docs/Installation | Specs/Design | Summary

- or -
Back to www.XLR8YOURMAC.com

Copyright © Mike, 2000.

No part of this sites content or images are to be reproduced or distributed in any form without written permission.
All brand or product names mentioned here are properties of their respective companies.

Users of the web site must read and are bound by the terms and conditions of use.

The Source for Mac Performance News and Reviews
Review: Formac Pro G3 450 ZIF CPU upgrade Published: 7/6/2000
Affordable, Adjustable CPU upgrade for AIO, Beige, B&W G3 Macs
Intro \| Benchmarks \| Appl. Tests \| Software Controls \| Docs/Installation \| Specs/Design \| Summary
Introduction
Pros: Lowest cost adjustable G3/450 currently available to my knowledge. ZIF Switches mean no motherboard jumper changes required. Retail box model selling for less than OEM versions. Overall very postive owner feedback to date. Cons: Poor printed docs (Online PDF Manual is much better). Only 1 year warranty. I didn't care for the heatsink, using the Apple stock one instead.
TransIntl.com recently sent a Formac ProG3 450MHz ZIF upgrade which they are currently selling for $275. Considering this is a retail box upgrade with switches on the ZIF (therefore not requiring any motherboard jumper settings changes) this upgrade is especially attractive for the price. For owners of slower speed Beige G3 and B&W G3 Macs that are looking at an affordable CPU upgrade, the ProG3 is worth a serious look. I saw no issues that some have noted with Copper G3/450 OEM CPUs in some models of Beige G3s. My rev 2 Beige G3 ran the ProG3 at 466/233 reliably. The ProG3 review sample contained an IBM 450Mhz rated G3 CPU (8x max ratio) with 1MB of backside cache running at 1/2 the CPU speed. Note that this upgrade is designed to run at 450MHz in Blue G3s (100MHz bus speed) and 466MHz in Beige G3s (66MHz bus speed). The ZIF ships set for a B&W G3, but the switch settings are adjustable for the 'Classic' (Beige) G3 (or AIO Mac). Since it's adjustable, many will try running higher speeds, which may or may not be reliable. Formac may not honor the warranty if overclocked. The ZIF booted fine for me at 500/250 but I did not run extended tests at that speed. You can review the Formac owner reports on the Pro G3/450 upgrade by searching for Formac brand entries in the Rate Your CPU Upgrade database (select Beige G3 or BW G3 as the Mac model depending on which Mac you own). Remember when reading overclocking reports that many may not post updated entries down the road should problems occur. Compatibility: The ProG3 ZIF is listed as compatible with the following Mac models: Apple: Beige G3, Blue and White G3 (All-In-One Macs should also be compatible) Older CPU Card Slot Macs only if you use the Formac Carrier card. (I did not test for compatibility with the XLR8 CarrierZIF or PowerLogix Zforce cards.) Note that one Rate Your CPU Update database entry recently noted problems with a Formac Carrier board and a PowerTower Pro. I do not know if that is common, but contact Formac if you have questions on older Mac/carrier board compatibility. Review Tests/Ratings: As with most all my CPU reviews, this one has pages covering the following categories: BenchMark Performance: Using MacBench 5.0, GaugePro and RaveBench. Apps/Game Performance: CPU/FPU intensive application tests and 3D Games performance. Software Controls: Ease of use and features (not applicable to this upgrade). Docs/Installation: How clear and complete the installation and setup instructions are in the supplied manual. Includes general installation info. Specs/Design: Features and details on the hardware design. Summary: Final comments, ratings summary and pricing/availability. Test System Hardware Summary: Apple Beige G3 (rev 2) 160MB RAM (stock 32MB DIMM, one 128MB Dimm) Maxtor 27GB IDE Hard Disk (60% full, not optimized) Toshiba 6X DVD ROM drive (reviewed here) ATI VR128 (Rage128 chip) PCI Graphics card (driver v4.2) OS 9.04, 4MB Disk Cache, VM off, QT 4.1, [No Libmoto]

You can follow my preferred path through the review by continuing to the next page, or use the links below to jump to a specific page.

Index of Formac ProG3 450 ZIF Review Pages Intro \| Benchmarks \| Appl. Tests \| Software Controls \| Docs/Installation \| Specs/Design \| Summary - or - Back to www.XLR8YOURMAC.com
Copyright © Mike, 2000. No part of this sites content or images are to be reproduced or distributed in any form without written permission. All brand or product names mentioned here are properties of their respective companies. Users of the web site must read and are bound by the terms and conditions of use.