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12/28/98 - Monday's News:	Click for Current News Page
More on ProMax PCI IDE Controller: ProMax sent a PDF Datasheet with more details on their TurboMAX UltraDMA dual-channel IDE controller card mentioned earlier today. As noted earlier they will show the card at MacWorld SF but the cards will be late January shipping to retailers. If they do list for $99 I suspect they will sell very well. It's going to be a very interesting year ahead for the Mac don't you think? [Update: For later reviews of IDE controllers and drives - see the IDE articles page. ] Carmine's (MiM) News Feed AppleTIL Updates (MONDAY.12.28.98)  no new postings as of 2pm est The Dubious Achievement Awards (Yahoo) Main Street Goes High Tech (News.Com) The predictions game MSNBC takes a look at what's ahead for the game industry in 1999. (ZDNet) Faster and Cheaper iMacs on the Way (ZDNet) = [3:30 PM Update] = Inside Elvis : Regular readers know my Project Ultimate Mac is nicknamed Elvis and I've finally had time to post a page with a look inside the Genesis base system. Where else could you stuff 6 hard drives (boot cheetah, 4 drive raid set, backup barracuda narrow) properly cooled , 6 PCI cards, 768MB of RAM all inside one box. Granted it's loud, but it's one impressive Mac. This system will be upgraded as faster components are released (ie Rage128 perhaps) and the project page will be updated. The VillageTronic MP850 (Banshee) card has been shipping since Dec 22 some sources report (3D/game drivers are said to be available on Feb 1st). One owner report in the newsgroups indicated that he was disappointed in the 2D performance of the card but we'll have to wait for a full review to know for sure. Often it takes a card that's twice as fast to "see" a real benefit in actual use (his system was a PowerCenter pro with ATI RageII onboard video). MacWelt magazine (and Village Tronic) claimed the fastest 2D ever topping even the previous king the MacTell/Formac Ticket 2 Ride chip cards (apparently in Photoshop tests - not MacBench). The Village Tronic comments in my Interview with them indicated that peformance would be the best so far on the Mac. I have high hopes but that remains to be seen. = [12:00 PM Update] = More reader feedback from this weekend's posts on G3 card compatibility (see Saturday's and Sunday's news for important notes for PowerBase and Mach 5 owners) " Mike, Here are some updates for you. I tried my recent (manufacture date 12/98) PowerLogix G3 Card Model 220/110 (which is zipping along at 357/119 with a 44.7 mhz bus MacBench processor 907 Floating point 1164) in my 8500, however i cannot use this card in another 8500 that contains the Pinnacle DV/300 card (i.e the Fire Wire/Ultra SCSI card) the computer just fails to startup or see this drive. (The SCSI capability on the pinnacle card is courtesy Adaptec, and the Display Name Registry tool lists it as an Adaptec 8945 Card) One area where I'd appreciate feedback, is from users who have successfully run MacOS X server on a machine upgraded with a G3 card. I tried MacOS X server with the PowerLogix card, and it won't boot ) gives a kernel panic message), However I have heard from some one who is successfully running MacOS X server on an older Newer G3 300/300 card in an 8500, the issue may have to do with bus noise/bus speed. (BTW I tried several bus speeds on my PowerLogix card, and it still wouldn't boot MacOS X server, BeOS R4 boots and runs fine on this machine no matter what the bus/processor speed is set to.) Roger " If you've run Mac OS X server on a G3 CPU card upgraded Mac please contact me with specifics. Maxtor DiamondMax Plus in a PowerBase: " Mike-- Here's the progress report you asked for. I installed my DiamondMax Plus 2500 (the mispackaged 10.0GB model) in my low-profile PowerBase (PowerLogix 220/110, running at about 289/116), and it's great! Your instructions were terrific--it wasn't difficult adapting the installation to a LP box. I just removed the screws holding the power supply in place (so I could slide the old HD out), and I had to unscrew the floppy, too, so I could access the HD mounting screws on the motherboard side. The drive works great. It's quiet and fast, and I sure like having the extra storage space. Now I'm looking for a used external SCSI HD case for my full-height 4.3 MB Seagate Hawk. I've got a bid in at ebay, so we'll see what happens. Thanks again for the tip. --John " Every since posting the G3 IDE Drive Upgrade article I've gotten many mails from owners of IDE Macs that took the plunge. ProMax IDE PCI Card: ProMax is to be showing its $99 TurboMAX Ultra DMA IDE controller PCI card at MacWorld San Francisco in January. The card is a dual channel (2 drives per channel) model that is expected to be shipping in late January. Several kits (card/drive(s)/cables) will be offered from a $525 kit with one 16.8GB drive to a $1095 Kit with two 16GB drives and Remus Raid. Note that IDE RAID is limited to one drive per channel as IDE cannot write to two drives on the same channel at once. I've already requested a loaner card for review. [Update: For a review of the Turbomax and other IDE controllers and drives - see the IDE articles page. ] Upgrading Advice: Jeff Swayze wrote a mail asking when is it time to stop upgrading an older system and just get a new one. I always try to caution readers who write me about spending too much on upgrades, especially in older Nubus Macs and models like the 7200 where in the case of the former you still don't have PCI slots (limiting video options severely) and in the case of the 7200, the usual path of replacing the motherboard and adding a CPU card can be as expensive as getting a new/used/refurbished more upgradable Mac with faster CPU, Video, Hard disk and Cdrom. Always total the cost of upgrades and the resulting benefits against the cost of replacing the machine. As noted in my summary on the XLR8 400 card review for instance, expensive CPU cards make the most sense for 6 PCI slot macs, where there are no equivalent new models, in cases where owners may have tons of ram (now very expensive to replace since the G3's use SDRAM) and where they need more expansion/interfaces than are present in a newer model. If you can't live with 3 PCI slots then the older 6 PCI Slot macs are well worth keeping. Properly equipped they have many years of good service left. And remember that systems will only get faster and cheaper as time goes buy. Many owners of well equipped Macs don't want to or can't afford to determine if their installed hardware/software from the old system will run reliably in the new system. There is an old saying - 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. Each person should weight all these factors carefully before chosing an upgrade path. The OSX issue is another factor. It may run on more machines than the G3 series but you should not bet on it. My source thinks it will eventually work on Rhapsody supported machines (at least the 8600/9600 series). That's just rumor however. Don't forget that OS 8.x is still by far the largest installed base that software companies will cater to and support for years to come. From what I've seen of OS X server - I do not like the interface as well as I do OS 8 (granted I've only used it during a demo and it will take time to get used to). OS 8.x will be viable for many years to come and support for OS X will take time to approach the level of available applications that are currently available. I'm not looking forward really to upgrading and/or replacing the tons of applications I have with OS X versions (I cringe to think of the total cost of doing that). The main thing to remember is to be realistic with your needs. Do you really need a new system/cpu/card/etc.? The longer you wait the less it will cost and the faster it will be. New systems almost always have bugs and incompatibilities - do you want to be the first to find them? Note how Apple G3 and iMac early buyers were stuck with RageII video and less value overall than later models which contained RagePro graphics chips and other improvements. The better you define what you really need the more you can save. If it's gaming or 3D, a new video card might provide most of what you need for a lot less than a new system. And in many cases adding RAM (noted in my Performance Basics article) or a $339 G3/220/110 card might add years of life to your existing Mac for far less money. Before adding any expensive addons make sure you've covered the basics like RAM. A fast CPU card in a system with only 16 or 32MB of RAM is like having a Ferrari with a one pint gas tank. Make sure you read the Performance Basics article published here last year before spending a lot of money. It's the first bit of advice you see on the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). In response to yesterday's post on Zoom Modems being omitted from the MacWorld R PowerBook addons article, Jim Stelljes commented that another great product was not mentioned either - the IREZ Capsure (video capture) card. Their Kritter camera looks pretty cool as well. MacMagic Contest Reminder: Don't forget to enter our Mac Magic Contest. Write one paragraph on how the Mac has improved or changed your life and you could win a MacMagic 3Dfx card. Send your entry to: Frank Bernier. The winner will be announced on New Year's Eve. New ATI drivers On Myth II CDrom: (From Today's Massive Unreal News page update) Those new ATI drivers are supplied on the Myth II CD (along with the universal installer) and apparently are special versions made specifically for Myth II. One wonders if they will be incorporated into the next release of the ATI Universal installer. Its only 2 files and their names are 'ATI 3D Accelerator' & 'ATI Video Memory Manager'says jm Chavez If you're a Mac gamer you have to check out today's Unreal News page for a ton of new info including Unreal engine games in development, a Duke Nukem TC for Unreal, news on the latest Unreal patch and more. Other Net News: Hands-On Review: YOOT Tower, game (MacsOnly) Game Wizard review (Applelinks) The Top 10 Dangers for Apple in 1999 (MacOpinion) Faster and cheaper iMacs on the way (ZDnet) Blake's PC to Mac Page (PC owner plans to get Mac) Sunday's News Summary Carmine's TIL and net news updates Brown Box Ult. Rez reader report iMac sales double Apple market share Reader report on overclocking PowerTower Pro 200 G3 compat. note to PowerBase and Mach 5 system owners (new reader reports of problems) Other Net News Saturday's News Summary Carmine's TIL and net news updates Brown Box Ult. Rez reader report iMac sales double Apple market share Reader report on overclocking PowerTower Pro 200 G3 compat. note to PowerBase and Mach 5 system owners (new reader reports of problems) Other Net News For other recent site news/features links, see the Recent Site Features page. Please verify your Email address when sending support mail: I'm still getting a few bounces on mail I send to help readers with tech support problems. Please ensure you verify your correct email address (repeat it in the mail as a safety measure). Also, please check the FAQ, and Troubleshooting page for possible solutions first before writing - and please try the Men in Mac Help page as an alternative on requests for tech support to help me be able to spend more time on reviews. Thanks. Note: Before sending tech support related questions please check the Freq. Asked Questions, Site Contents, CPU Card reviews/articles, SCSI reviews articles, Graphics card reviews, Tips/Misc, Message Boards and Help pages - in many cases the answers to your questions are there and they have far more detail than I can list in an email. For Apple G3 system info - see the G3-ZONE. News and guest reviews that don't require a reply are always welcome. I hope to catch up in the next few weeks. Thanks. Looking for past articles? Check the menu frame topics links (CPU Cards, SCSI, Graphics Cards, Systems) under the logo above or in the menu frame below or check the Recent Features page. Make a Difference: Be the Difference Randy Mita, Brad Lau and I came up with a new slogan and theme for Mac advocacy - "Make a Difference: Be the Difference". We're asking that all Mac owners take advantage of every opportunity to let others know the Mac advantage. It's a grass-roots approach that will surely help. You might save someone from a lifetime of Windows in the bargain.