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Review: BottomLine's Railgun G3/466/233/1MB ZIF Published: 6/28/99

Review Summary and Final Comments

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

The Final Word

Despite the fact I was not impressed with the manual or the software control (not needed for Apple G3 systems), the Railgun ZIF is the lowest cost 466MHz model I know of and the hardware was of good quality and performed well. Basically it's a way to take a Beige G3 or B&W G3 to 500MHz (possibly) for under $600. If you can find a low cost beige or B&W G3 adding this ZIF will make your system a real barn burner at a lower price than anything Apple has to offer at similar speeds. Price/Performance: Since the Railgun G3 466/233/1MB cost $599 and ran reliably at 500/250, I have to rate it highly for value (bang for the buck). If you're looking to enter the half-GHz club at the best price possible, take a look at the Railgun 466 ZIF. Summary of Ratings: Benchmarks: 9 Appl. Tests: 9 SW/Controls: 6 Docs/Installation: 6 Features/Design: 9 Price/Performance: 10 --------------------- Total: 49 (of a possible 60) Overall Rating Based on these scores, you can apply your own weighting of each category to determine if this card is right for your needs.

Availability/Pricing: Update: As of 2000, the Railgun is no longer being made. There are still some seen at ebay from time to time, but remember with no warranty support, etc. buyer beware. An interesting note at the time of this review (June 1999) to those looking to get a new B&W G3. You can get a B&W G3/350 and the Railgun 466 ZIF for less than the cost of the 450MHz Apple BTO cost. You'll get an adjustable ZIF in the bargain and won't need to mess with motherboard jumper settings (voiding the warranty) should you want to try running at 500MHz.

I hope this review has provided you with sufficient information of all aspects of the product, but if you have any further questions or comments you may contact me by email at: news@xlr8yourmac.com. For reviews of other CPU cards at this site, see my CPU Cards page. The home page (www.xlr8yourmac.com) has links to reviews of Systems, SCSI controllers, Video cards (incl. 3Dfx), Game related articles and some of the most useful daily news on the net (updated 7 days a week). Thanks for stopping by!

Index of Railgun G3 466/233/1MB ZIF Review Pages Intro | Benchmarks  | Appl. Tests | Software Controls  | Docs/Installation | Specs/Design | Summary - or - Back to WWW.XLR8YOURMAC.COM

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