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 Vimage Vpower G3/300Mhz
Introduction: Specifications and Features:
Vimage promises the Vpower to offer the upgrader all the benefits of the PPC 750 with backside cache, as well as improved performance of the built-in video circuit of the PM 7500, 8500, and 8600. The literature claims a two to four times improvement in built-in video performance in these machines. Test platform and applications:
Benchmarks and comparative performance tests were performed on the original configuration of the 132MHz 604 with 256k L2 cache versus the 8500 with the 300MHz G3/1024k with the original L2 cache removed. Software used in testing included:
Installation:   The installation of the unit into the Power Mac 8500 requires the painful task of removing the level 2 cache DIMM which means removing all PCI cards, disconnecting all cables and dismounting the logic board. All in all, installation takes 15 - 30 minutes depending upon how familiar you are with the innards of the machine. [Note: See my 8500 Cache Upgrade Tutorial for a illustrated Step-by-Step guide.-Mike] A disposable anti-static wrist strap is provided. Obviously, 7500, and x600 users will enjoy exponentially shorter install times. Prior to removing the old CPU, the user is instructed to install the Vpower software. Vimage emphasizes the point that you must remove the level 2 cache. The documentation does not address 9500 machines that have soldered-in caches. The Vpower card fits in the space provided for the CPU card without any difficulty. The fan has adequate clearance to operate safely. The card is quiet and is not excessively hot. After sustained operation the CPU temp. maxed out at 44oC (111oF) according to the Powerlogix SpeedMeter utility. The Vpower Info utility reported the specs of the card as shown below.
The Vpower's backside cache does not appear to be adjustable using the Powerlogix cache control panel. Every attempt that was made use it resulted in a bus error as soon as the cdev loaded at startup. Benchmarks: The charts were edited in Photoshop for clarity, no data was changed.
I also ran the graphics inspection tests, which are tests of the basic Quickdraw toolbox API's, using the Xclaim VR, as well as the built-in video on both systems. A small portion of the results are shown to give a basic idea of the amount of acceleration seen. The amount of acceleration of video varied from insignificant, to over 700%.  The improvement in the graphics scores of the built-in video reflect observations previously made by Mike and others. The built-in graphics system performance is directly tied to CPU speed and thus benefits relatively more than that of dedicated graphics cards. In actual use, however some features of the built-in graphics did not seem as fast as the Xclaim VR, particularly scrolling text documents and web browser windows. One function that did not improve at all over the original configuration was the CDROM test. Benchmarks for the 4X CD were nearly identical in the old and new configuration. (graphic not shown) Real world usage tests:
Windows opened faster, disk access seemed faster. Applications launched quicker and documents opened significantly faster. Scrolling documents, web pages etc. was about twice as fast as originally. All operations in the Finder were faster. File sharing with an iMac via ethernet was about 1.3 to 1.5 times faster. Printing via DeskWriter 550c also improved by a modest amount. Web browsing was noticeably faster, making a 33.6k modem seem to work faster. Most Photoshop tasks were performed instantaneously, including window redraws. The improved graphics performance was appreciated in all areas of use including games such as Marathon Infinity, and particularly in Quicktime playback. Movies captured at 320x240 size could be scaled to greater than 800x600 and still play at 30 frames/sec even without the Xclaim VR's hardware acceleration. Movies played over the built-in video were playable in full screen 640x480 size at a full 30 fps. These feats were not even remotely possible on the 8500/132 system. Since one of my major interests is desktop video editing, I performed several tasks using Strata Videoshop 4.O/3D. All functions were much faster including CPU intensive compression and mixdown tasks. Cinepak compression was more than twice as fast on the new system. Video capture using the 8500's built-in AV input with component video compression to ultra wide SCSI was smooth and at a full 30fps even at 640x480. This was impossible on the 8500 /132. Unfortunately, the 640x480 capture, while being at full frame rate, suffers from interlacing artifacts which renders it unsuitable for serious uses. This phenomenon is related to the limitations of Apple's AV hardware and not the Vpower G3. Game play in Quake was incredibly smooth and fast. Screen redraw was instant and there was neither jerkiness nor lags in response to controls. I was somewhat surprised that the TimeDemo frame rates only increased 30%. The improved feel of the game, smoothness and increase in rate of gunfire would have suggested a greater increase. Movement was so fast as to be dizzying at times. Stability and Compatibility: The Vpower G3 appears to be fully compatible with the Adaptec 2940UW PowerDomain card. Ultra wide SCSI performance was flawless even in situations of heavy bus utilization. Transfer rates to the striped array using Conley SoftRAID 2.O exceeded 20MB/sec for sustained read and write. There were no problems with data corruption, and video capture to the array worked without problems. Using the ultrawide bus for the startup disk also appears to work without problems. Summary and Conclusions: Paul Bassel*
*The author received no payment or inducement from Vimage Corp. for writing this review.
Vimage has a special 'Back to School' sale on the G3/300 card for $888 for a limited time, the regular price is $980. Contact Vimage for more information or check their web site at: http://www.vimagestore.com for more information. *The author received no payment or inducement from Vimage Corp. for writing this review. |
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