At a fixed 233MHz speed, this card is primarily of interest to owners of less than 200MHz 604E systems, as owners of faster CPU speed systems (8600/250's and up) may be disappointed in the performance and should look at faster G3 upgrades. However I am impressed with Vimage's ease of install, compatibility with Adaptec SCSI cards and Retrospect backup software that has plagued some other brands of cards. There were no errors of any kind during any of the tests.

If you're in the market for a 233MHz G3 card and don't want to mess with switches or compatibility issues, the Vimage cards deserve serious consideration.

Price/Performance: At about $350 this card is one of the more affordable G3 upgrades on the market. For risk-takers that are comfortable with adjusting speeds (with the risks and time associated with that) the adjustable speed 220/110 G3 cards may be a better value. However if you're looking for a plug and play card with Adaptec compatibility and don't want to mess with speed adjustments the Vimage card is worth serious consideration.

Summary of Ratings:

• Benchmarks: 6
• Appl. Tests: 6
• SW/Controls: 7
• Documentation: 9
• Features/Specs: 8.5
• Price/Performance: 8
  ---------------------
  Total: 44.5 (of a possible 60)

Based on these scores, you can apply your own weighting of each category to determine if this card is right for your needs. If you want a easy to install card that is compatible with Adaptec SCSI cards and don't care to mess with speed settings or risk overclocking - then this card may be perfect for you. Cards with similar compatibility and stability features would be the Newer Tech G3/220/110/512K model, which sells for about the same price. For a list of reviews of other CPU upgrades see my CPU Cards page.

The OS X Issue: I know many of you (and I) are wondering about the issue of OS X (coming next year) running on non-Apple G3 Macs. Many people wonder if they should invest in a G3 CPU card upgrade vs. the safer bet of getting an Apple G3 system. In some cases that's not an option, for instance those that need more than 3 PCI slots or have a large investment in their existing Mac of hardware that does not fit or work in the Apple G3. For lower priced G3 cards it's less of an issue since these $350 upgrades are far cheaper than a new G3 and can extend the useful life of your Mac for many years.

OS X support for older Macs is uncertain, but with only one of my Macs being an Apple G3 I certainly hope Apple does not abandon the millions of existing owners of pre-G3 systems. Also keep in mind OS 8.x will be supported by software vendors for many years to come, as that will be the the largest segment of the Mac market for some time to come. I still get mail from companies running OS 7.5 and 7.6.

Availability/Pricing:

Vimage's web site had the G3/233 as of the review date (Jan. 2, 1998) listed at $389 plus shipping. (Note - the later went out of the CPU upgrade business. Links removed since they were n longer working.)

Warranty: The Vimage card had a 2 year limited warranty.

Shopping Tip: As with any major computer purchase, verify the shipping costs/total costs and the return policy before you buy in case problems arise.

Related Vimage Links: (Removed after Vimage later went out of the CPU upgrade business and the links no longer worked.)

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!