"ATLANTA, GA - - On the shoulders of Apple's introduction of G4 with its AltiVec^TM velocity engine, XLR8, the award-winning leader in Macintosh® performance and peripherals, announced the availability of its newest upgrade, XLR8 MACh Carrier^TM G4. This new technology builds on XLR8's patent pending designs with plug and play performance for all "beige" Power Macintosh systems from the Power Mac 7300 through the Power Macintosh G3 and clones. XLR8 enhances this package with custom G4 and AltiVec^TM utilities, and additional AltiVec^TM performance enhancements for the leading graphics application, Adobe® Photoshop^TM. "We're pushing the technology forward, and we're thrilled to be leading the performance curve with Apple," said Gary Dailey, Director of Marketing for XLR8, "Additional AltiVec^TM performance software with blue & white compatibility is being readied in our labs now."

XLR8 MACh Carrier^TM G4 - The 2-for-1 Upgradeable Upgrade
The MACh Carrier G4 builds on the XLR8's award-winning technology. It replaces the existing CPU card and is easily upgradeable by simply swapping its ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) daughtercard for faster speeds. Users can also get a 2-for-1 value by "splitting" its cards, then upgrading a G3 system to G4, and using the G3 ZIF card on the Carrier in the older Mac. It uses the standard MACh Speed Control and includes AltiVec utilities and performance extensions.
MACh/G4C400/1 400 MHz MACh Carrier G4 Intro SRP: $999
MACh/G4C450/1 450 MHz MACh Carrier G4 Intro SRP: $1,299
MACh/G4C500/1 500 MHz MACh Carrier G4 Intro SRP: TBA

XLR8 MACh Speed^TM G4z - Supercomputing for the PowerMac G3
The MACh Speed G4z is a ZIF based daughtercard that allows "beige" Power MacintoshÆ G3 owners and XLR8 CarrierZIF owners to upgrade instantly to G4 performance. The board simply replaces the standard G3 ZIF daughtercard.

MACh/G4Z400/1 400 MHz MACh Speed G4z Intro SRP: $879
MACh/G4Z450/1 450 MHz MACh Speed G4z Intro SRP: $1,199
MACh/G4Z500/1 500 MHz MACh Speed G4z Intro SRP: TBA "

[Update - for reviews of XLR8 G4 upgrades, see the G4 reviews page]

500MHz BTO in 30 days? A reader sent a note about availability of the AGP G4s that indicates you may not have to wait 60 days for a 500MHz G4:

"Hey Mike,
I called Apple's BTO line today to get an idea of how long orders will take on the new systems and learned the following:

According to the rep I spoke to, a customized 400 mHz Yikes box will be at your door in 14 days and a 500 mHz Sawtooth will be at your door in 30 days if you order it now.

If we consider that Apple's Seybold keynote address indicated that it would be a good bit longer before we see Sawtooth on the storeshelves, Apple is obviously giving priority sales concession to it BTO department.
Jared."

BTW: In case anyone's considering getting a slower G4 and upgrading later - I have heard for some time that Apple's new G4s may not be ZIF based, so 3rd party upgrades may not be available if these rumors are true. Only time will tell.

Reminder - as noted earlier it appears the low end G4 is based on the existing yosemite (B&W G3) design. I'm personally going to wait for the G4 models with AGP. 30 days is not long considering the benefits they provide, if you can afford the difference that is. The good news is the low end G4 pricing should help increase sales which should help ensure more software support for Altivec.

News.com has an article on the new G4s and OS 9 announcements from Apple.

BTW: Sorry for the state of today's news page - I've gotten about 4 hours sleep in the last few days and it shows. But I'm really charged about today's news from Seybold.

Newer Tech has officially posted their G4 Upgrade press release. Again the most interesting comment is on the B&W G3:

"Testing so far shows that G4 works in the 7300, 7500, 7600, 8500, 8600, 9500 and 9600; Power Computing PowerTower Pro and PowerWave; UMAX S900 and J700 series; as well as the beige Power Mac G3s. MAXpowr G4 upgrades are very similar in appearance to their MAXpowr G3 counterparts. Currently, the most recent Apple ROM update issued for blue & white Power Mac G3s has rendered them incapable of using G4 upgrades. This could change as ROM updates are issued frequently. MAXpowr G4 upgrades use a MAXpowr System Extension and Control Panel with similar functionality to the MAXpowr G3 product line. "

BTW: If all goes well I should have a G4 CPU upgrade tomorrow! [Update - see the XLR8 G4/400 ZIF review install page and the Newer Tech G4/450 ZIF install page for info on the firmware patches from XLR8 and Newer Tech that remove the G4 CPU block in the B&W G3 1.1 firmware. These reviews are linked on the G4 cpu upgrade reviews page.]

Formac Proformance III Updates: Suncroft wrote there is a new Beta v1.9.9 ROM and 5.5.9 control panel at: ftp.formac.com/public/updates/beta/Graphics/.

G4 Hands On: This reader says he had a chance to use a G4 at Seybold:

"i had the chance to play w/ the g4s at seybold. Apple had a bunch of em set up w/ the apple cinema displays. I believe that they were the 500mhz ones because they had dvdram but they only had 128mb ram while the 500s are supposed to have 256. Q3test looks GREAT on the cinema displays. I think the resolution was 1600x1240. I'm not sure what kind of network they had em on, but q3test would have bursts of lag which made it unplayable. They had a few problems... they had only one serial for Photoshop 5.5, and later all the apple guys came around turning appletalk off so it wouldnt see the sns for the other comps.. and I saw one of the cinema displays that had a blue tint on it like some of the old 5200s did... it was fixed when i came back though...
-Farand K. "

(I will not buy a rev 1, I will not buy a rev 1, I will not buy a rev 1, I will not buy a rev 1, I will not buy a rev 1, I will not buy a rev 1, ... ahhh - who am I kidding. My wife had better cut the plastic up quick...)

3Dfx Voodoo4 + Apple G4 = Awesome: Jeff Tickner wrote that News.com has a story on 3Dfx's support for the new Apple G4's announced today. The 'T-Buffer' is mentioned so this has to be the the Voodoo4. There's even a comment from an Phil Schiller, Apple's vice president of worldwide product marketing. Outstanding! [Update - for reviews of the Voodoo4 and Voodoo5 Mac PCI cards, see the Video articles page, Graphics card section.]

APPLE G4s I've been offline but do have some details on Apple's just announced G4 Systems:

• G4/400, 450 and 500MHz systems (400 available today)
• Gray (smoke) colors
• DVD ROM in the 450, DVD RAM in the 500MHz model
• Prices are $1499 (400), $2499 (450) and $3499 (500)
• AGP 2X and ATA/66 in some models (low end PCI only)
• Appears low end (400) is a modified yosemite?
• No ADB port
• Availability: 400 now, 450/AGP model 30 days, 500Mhz 60 days

More news later - including news on G4 CPU upgrades for older Macs. My review of the XLR8 MAChCarrier G3/450 is done, but the Apple announcement changes things dramatically. I'll have to update the comments considering these new developements and pricing will surely plunge now. Stay tuned...

Computers.com has a review of the eOne iMac wanna-be. They mention the fact with the Apple lawsuit pending, this machine's future is in doubt. That's a two-edged sword, some will play wait and see, others will buy one thinking it will not be available for long. Caveat Emptor..

Speaking of Computers.com - check out their reader comments on the PB G3/400. Note the comments from many PC owners that prefer the new Powerbook (there are a few negatives, but overall 95% positive). If you know someone looking for a notebook that's got an open mind, have them read some of these comments before buying anything. I wish I'd seen this earlier as a reader from California called this weekend for help on swaying a PC notebook owner to the Mac (I hope you're reading this Steve).

[3AM Post pulled at by request of the company involved]

I've updated my Interleaved RAM article to include tests in the PowerCenter Pro which does not support interleaved RAM. As shown in the memory bandwidth tests, this results in an an almost 50% reduction in memory performance once data transfers exceed the size of the backside cache; one reason for the lower 3D game framerates compared to Macs that support interleaving. (The 66MHz PCI slot in the B&W G3 also benefits video card game performance by about 10%.)

If you don't check every day's daily news (updated several times a day normally) you might miss something valuable. Check the summary list below for highlights of the last few day's news and the archives page for older new page links. For a blast from the past, read what was on the news page here exactly a year ago.

Monday's News Summary

• OWC $285 400MHz ZIF
• Hotmail Security Hole
• PCPro G3 Upgrade - How Much Gaming Gain?:
• CarrierZIF Setup Guide
• OWC 400 ZIF CPU Marked 450
• Apple B&W G3 Free RAM Promo
• AOL Mail Configuration
• Free TombRaider II Offer from Newer Tech
• More Rage128/Carmageddon Tips
• Rage128 Patch/Vimage G3 Issues
• More PowerCC Feedback
• Serial Ports Sharing/Switching
• 105MHz B&W G3 Bus Speeds
• Tip for Onboard video/G3 Upgrade owners
• Mac Game Performance (framerates) database updated
• Rate Your G3 Upgrade database updated
• Rate Your Mac Games database updated
• Other Net News

Weekend's News Summary

• Game News page updated with Rage128/Carma2 tips
• Mail replies to AOL users bouncing back - AOL mail config settings
• OWC 350 and 400 ZIFs arrive. 400ZIF has 450 marked CPU?
• Stealth Voodoo3 Cooler Review
• XLR8 Software Install won't run on 601 CPU
• RAGE 128 Update/Fix Feedback
• Formac 3D Glasses First Impressions
• Wanted: PB G3 Game Framerates
• PB G3 292 CPU Modules - Sold Out
• TrueX CDrom Drive reader repeat failure report
• More PowerCC failure reports
• Nexus 128/Carmageddon 2
• Mac Game FPS database updated
• Rate Your Mac Games database updated
• Rate Your G3 Upgrade database updated
• Other Net News

Friday's News Summary

• RAGE 128 Update to fix 44-6500, Starmax problems
• Game News page updated
• Atlas 10K RPM HD Review
• (Rare) PowerCC system failure after G3 Upgrade
• PowerCenter Pro Game Performance comments
• Sudden problems with OpenGL games in PowerCenter Pro
• More OWC CPU Specials
• 3Dfx Future Plans (Apple/Linux) interview
• New Mac OpenGL App available for download
• Mactell Voodoo3 Status
• First G4s just modified G3s?
• More Realplayer G2 Comments
• MAC3dfx.com updated
• Mac Game Framerates database updated
• Rate Your G3 Upgrade database updated
• Rate Your Mac Games database

For other recent site news/features links, see the Sidebar to the right and the Recent Site Features page.

If you own a G3/300 or faster Mac, you might want to get our PPC Checker utility that will report if your CPU is copper or aluminum based.

Considering a G3 Upgrade? Check the CPU Upgrade Owner's Survey results and search for owner reports by Mac model and/or card brand. The database is being updated daily for new reports. Also make sure you ask your dealer about any issues with your particular mac model as I have gotten several reports of issues with certain G3 upgrades in some Mac models (Mach 5, PowerBase, 7300). I urge any owners that have had problems to report this via the Survey Form. Always give the most weight to recent owner reports (dated in the listing).

-Freq Asked Questions