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Top stories of the day: |
| First Feedback on Diablo II 1.03 Patch: |
| A 6400 owner with Voodoo2 card reported problems with the 1.03 patch noted earlier today:
"
I just got done trying the newest update. It claims, among other things,
to fix a color problem with 3dfx/glide and improve disk performance when
using VM. Great. I have a Performa 6400 w/a g3/300 and a GameWizard 12MB
voodoo2 card. Version 1.02 worked all right, but sometimes it was a bit
jerky. So, of course, I downloaded the update and gave it a try.
I don't know about the disk performance. I didn't even get that far. It
was quickly evident that the game was only running with 256 colors.
Different attempts at configuring the game to run properly failed. I am
now redownloading v1.02. Which, of course, they have taken off of their
website and I had to dig for at the FTP site.
hope you all have better luck
Steve Huizinga"
If you've tried the 1.03 update (see below for links/info) let me know how it worked for you in your system.
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| Feedback on Rapster 1.0B12: |
| Bob Friede sent a note that Rapster beta12 had none of the problems he (and some others) experienced with beta11:
"
Rapster 1.0b12 works. No problems this time. As usual, I increased the
"Minimum" memory size to the "Suggested" size and added 1024K to that
for the "Preferred" size. (And btw Rapster and Ragester both offer dozens
of alternative server connections which I haven't tried yet.)
On another note, Bob Bradley from the MP3 Rage/Ragester team explained to
me that the Artist and/or Title fields in these Napster apps are mere
artifices. The app simply searches the filepath in the napster.com server
for whatever words are entered in the field(s). For instance, in his
Ragester search engine's window there's only one entry field, but
entering the artist and title together there obtains the same result as
when they're entered in separate ones. I tried it and it's true. Typos of
course will do you in...
Bob Friede"
(The Software Updates/TILs/Other Net News links for today have been updated. See bottom of page.) |
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| Readers Note Mac Voodoo5s Arrived from Sparco & Buy.com: |
| (Update: - Several readers also noted they received their Voodoo5s from Buy.com preorders today. Don't forget to enter your results of game tests in the FPS Database.) Although some said the Sparco $298 Mac Voodoo5s noted in yesterday's news were actually PC models - this reader said his order just arrived:
"
Hey guys!
I just recieved the Voodoo5 card I ordered yeaterday from Sparco.com ...
I can confirm that it is in fact the Mac version (!)
It came in completely Mac-Specific packaging, including a Mac game demo CD, a
Mac driver CD and a Mac-specific intallation manual (which interestingly
enough includes install instructions for both PCI ***and*** AGP versions of
the card ... interpret that as you will ;-)
I won't be able to actually test it out until I get home from work later
today ... I'll let you know how it goes =)
FWIW,
***matt"
Based on a reader mail from Sparco yesterday afternoon, the original availability quantity may not have been accurate, but their mail noted just under 200 cards in stock as of yesterday. They may be sold out now.
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| Comments on Firewire with Legacy Macs: |
| After seeing a reader note on problems using a Sony Firewire 10X /4x/32x CDRW drive with a firewire PCI card equipped 7600 (he noted he tried 3 firewire different cards and both the bundled Discribe as well as Toast 4.1), I decided to retest my Sony drive (same model) in my S900 with Rocketfire Firewire/USB card.
I'm using Toast 4.1, OS 9.04, Firewire 2.3.3 and only the Toast 4.1 firewire support extension (the Sony iLink extension is disabled). Toast recognizes the Sony Firewire drive by name and model number, and a 10x data burn completed fine (including verify) for me this morning.
As I said in a reply to the problem post, the whole legacy mac and Firewire issue is often confusing and with all the variations in OS versions, extensions, software revisions (and with firewire cases, the firewire/ide bridge and firmware versions), it's almost impossible to say for sure that something will work. It's very frustrating.
The drive compatibility database is for reporting things like this and checking others results, but with all the variables (even more so with firewire case kits), nothing may be a sure thing.
Currently the database has only one 7x00 mac owner report using the sony firewire drive (he didn't mention if it was a 7300, 7500 or 7600 but did note he's running OS 9 with Firewire 2.4 and a Ratoc Firewire/USB card). So far there's a total of 21 entries on the Sony Firewire CDRW (if you don't select a Mac model you'll see all entries for the selected drive type/brand/interface you choose).
It may be totally unrelated to the 7600 owner's problem, but one reader noted that his beige G3 with Firewire/Usb card had freezes even with a USB mouse until he zapped the pram.
The Firewire topics page here has several articles on Firewire cards/drives/case kits, but be aware the Firewire to IDE bridge/firmware revision of case kits, firewire drivers, etc. can change over time (and with some brands, perhaps even the OEM mfr of the case).
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| Wanted: G4 MP Owner Comments |
| I'm not sure how many readers may own a new dual-processor G4 system (at least one owner has posted game FPS results however). The reason I'm asking is I'm wondering if G4 MP users have seen any problems with their systems in use. I've added all new Mac models (Apple Dual G4, Cube, etc.) to the model listings in the CPU review database. Although it's normally for upgrade reports, if any new Mac owners would like to post an entry on how their new system performs, their overall impressions, etc. I'd welcome it. Thanks.
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| New Rate Your CPU Upgrade Database Reports |
| The Rate Your CPU Upgrade database has been updated with the following reports:
- Newer Tech G4/400 in 7600 (rated 8)
- PowerLogix G4/350 in Umax S900 (rated 8)
- XLR8 G3/220 in PowerCenter (rated 10)
- XLR8 CarrierZIF w/OWC G3/450 CPU in 9600/300 (rated 10)
- OEM G3/450 ZIF in Beige G3 (filed under 'Other' brand)
- Beige G3 OC report
You can find these full reports by searching the database selecting the indicated Mac model and upgrade card brand/type. If you've upgraded the CPU on your Mac, please post an entry in the database. Search the database of over 4200 entries from most every upgradable Mac model *before* you buy. |
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| New Drive Compatibility Database Reports |
| The Drive Compatibility database was updated with the following reports:
CDRW Drives:
- Acer IDE CRW8432A-032 in Beige G3
(Some problems noted)
- Plextor IDE 12x/10x/32x in B&W G3
(v1.02 firmware/notes slow audio extraction rates)
- Yamaha 8424S (using Firewire/SCSI adapter)
Hard Drives:
- IBM Travelstar 18GB in PowerBook Wallstreet
- Maxtor DMPlus 40GB in Beige G3
(notes DS 1.6 shows less 10GB size, problems formatting)
- Maxtor DMPlus 40GB in G4/AGP
If you've added a IDE, SCSI, Firewire or USB hard drive, CDRW, tape drive, etc. make sure you add a report to the database.
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| New Mac Game/Video Card Framerates Database Reports |
Today's updates to the Mac Game FPS database included new entries on Unreal Tournament and more Throughput 1.4 results. (When searching for Throughput results don't select a screen resolution. Until I can get a special results page made the Demo1, Demo2 and Demo3 scores are the CPU, FPU and Copybits results in MB/sec.)
If you're curious how a CPU upgrade or new Video card would help game performance, the search page options can help you find similar system/configurations to get an idea before you buy.
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FasterMac.net
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