Yikes 400 vs Sawtooth 350: There are several sources of G4/400 Yikes (PCI) systems for about the same price as the new Sawtooth G4/350 systems. Here's a pros and cons of each system:

Yikes Pros/Cons:

• Has ZIF socket to use current CPU Upgrades (but prices make G4 upgrades not very attractive if you already have a G4/350 or 400).

• *IF* you have the Rage128 hardware DVD decoder option, it doesn't suffer from the audio lip-sync issues of the current Sawtooth DVD software decoder/player.

• 400MHz G4 systems available recently at some outlets for about the same prices as the G4/350 Sawtooth (slightly faster performance due to the 50MHz faster CPU)

• More compatible with upgrades (some PCI and USB adapters are said to have issues with the sawtooth design, requiring updates to firmware or drivers)

• No AGP Slot (but currently there's not a lot of boost on the mac with AGP vs 66MHz PCI or even AGP vs 33MHz PCI with the current design and cards available)

Sawtooth Pros/Cons:

• Faster AGP Rage128 *PRO* card. Promises up to 40% faster 3D (however a Voodoo3 PCI card is still faster in 3D Opengl games I'm sure - twice as fast as the previous Rage128 card at 1024x768 mode typically - see my video card reviews for examples and a later direct comparison of the Rage128 pro vs Rage128 card.)

• Rage128 PRO has a digital LCD display output. (DVI port)

• ATA/66 IDE Interface. Provides faster peak rates, but no IDE drive currently can sustain more than the standard ATA/33 IDE interface provides.

• Sawtooth motherboard uses the G4's 'MaxBus' design, providing higher memory bandwidth (even with the same 100MHz system bus and PC100 RAM). However you'll not see this in most applications performance comparisons (note even older Macs with equivalent CPUs or even same speed G3 CPUs perform just as well in most non-altivec enhanced applications). See my XLR8 G4/400Z Review for memory bandwidth tests and application tests between a B&W G3/400 (with G4/400 upgrade) and the Sawtooth G4/450. It seems there is some G4 supervisor registers being changed that affect memory bandwidth, even on the Apple G4 system. Note the XLR8 G4 upgrade with no extension loaded in some tests showed higher bandwidth than the sawtooth.

• DVD Standard. DVD ROM drive now standard, but software player is very sluggish and has lip-sync issues esp. when video window is stretched.

• Airport Compatibility (slot for Airport card and can serve as base station)

• Dual USB controllers (each USB port can provide up to 12Mb/sec, instead of 12Mb/sec shared across both ports). Not really an issue in most cases unless you're running something like USB speakers perhaps.

• Internal Firewire port (most owners probably have not used even the standard 2 external ports however).

• No ZIF Socket. Although sources tell me there are plans for CPU upgrades (including dual processor versions). As noted previously, due to pricing and sub-500MHz G4 CPU limits there is no real market for G4 upgrades for these systems currently. See the Systems page for more info and design details on the Sawtooth G4 CPU Module.

• Some PCI SCSI cards and other devices may need updates for compatibility based on reports.

There has been many discussions on the pros and cons of each system in my G4 Forum lately.

3Dfx cards and DVD: Due to many reader questions recently, I've updated the DVD and 3dfx sections of my FAQ to answer the questions of DVD players with 3Dfx Voodoo3 cards. There is no software player that works that I've found, and Apple's software player requires a Rage128 card (or later). The shareware DVD player did not work with any DVD discs I tried here on a G4/450 - either with a Voodoo3 or Rage128. See the FAQ DVD section for info on the Wired4DVD PCI decoder that seems to be the only option if you're not running a Rage128 card.

Unreal Tournament Review: Although QuakeIII just hit the retail shelves here (PC version - Mac due soon), Unreal Tournament is getting rave reviews. UT offers more gameplay modes and will be real competition to ID for best game of its kind. Gamecenter.com gave it a perfect 10 rating [review link removed after gamecenter.com later was closed.] They were especially impressed with UT's level designs. The full Mac version is in beta test and should be released soon (a demo version (3dfx/software mode) and Rave update patch has been out for some time).

The Game Review, CPU Review and Game/Video Card Framerates databases have been updated recently with more reader reports.

For a blast from the past see what was on the front page news here one year ago.

Friday's News Summary

• 20th Anniv. Mac Cooling Mods
• Phase 5 G4 Upgrades
• More on Price Protection
• Nubus Mac G4 Upgrades
• Older Mac Upgrade Advice
• Proformance 3 GA 5.7 Driver and ROM update
• G3 Upgrades & Onboard Video
• Wanted: Rage128 PRO Results
• ORB Drive Benchmarks Update
• PL updates Spec. Processing/PRAM Zapping article
• OWC Sonnet Nubus G3/233 upgrades for $199
• Reader Mailbag Upgrade Questions:
  
   -Can I use an Apple 604e 250/300/350MHz CPU Card in my clone?
   -I installed a Voodoo3 card and flashed it but my Beige G3 doesn't work.
   -Is the Voodoo3 3000 worth the extra cost over the Voodoo3 2000?
   -Is there a CPU Upgrade for the 7200?
   -Is there a CPU Upgrade for my older Mac?
   -What should be my first upgrade?
   -I'm having IDE drive problems with a B&W G3
   -My B&W G3 has the 1.1 Firmware update - can I upgrade to a G4 CPU?
• 140GB CDROM
• Other Net News

Thursday's News Summary

• ATI Universal Installer 4.2 Notes
• $99 Rage128 PRO AGP Kits
• New Apple 15" Digital LCD
• Price Protection comments
• IDE Raid Feedback page has Turbomax/Remus/Softraid/FWB Raid reports
• Links to SCSI RAID reviews and articles
• TurboMax/OS 9 Compatibility
• iBook 6.4GB HD Upgrades
• OpenGL - Don't Panic
• Adobe Altivec Extensions Due Soon?
• ATI's Reply on VR128 Resource Manager Extension
• No More Yikes - All New G4s are Sawtooth AGP
• Faster Rage128 *Pro* AGP Standard in new G4s
• Other Net News

Wednesday's News Summary

• Reader Request: Turbomax/Softraid Feedback
• Quesa Update (Rave under Opengl/OS X possible)
• Sawtooth CPU Module Speed Settings Info
• ZIF Socketed CPU Cards Feature Comparison
• More Kenwood 72X IDE CDROM reports
• More Airport Networking Feedback
• MP Libraries - Not Just for Dual CPUs
• Tennmax Coolers price reduction
• Lightwave 3D Benchmarks site
• Homeworld Petition
• OS X Client DP2 - Motherboard Support List
• Comments on OS X and software support
• OWC CPU upgrades sale
• Sonnet lowers prices
• iMac Game Wizard/3Dfx Drivers Tips updated at www.mac3dfx.com

Tuesday's News Summary

• www.MAC3dfx.com updated with IMac GameWizard/3Dfx driver tips
• 21" Display iMac Hack
• Review of Unity DS-1 (Mac Audio)
• XLR8 USB hub with Loadmeter
• MacOS X DP2 on G3 Upgraded 7300
• More on Promise ATA/66 Mac IDE Cards
• OS 9/Coolpix PCMCIA Card Tips
• Kenwood 72X IDE CDROM Comments
• Newer Tech ZIF Socketed Cards Discontinued/Not G4 compatible
• Formac ZIF Socketed CPU Upgrades
• Other Net News

For links to older news pages see the Archives page.

The recent features page has a lists reviews/articles you may have missed.

For a guide to finding answers to questions - see my Site Guide page.

Considering a CPU Upgrade? Check the CPU Upgrade Owner's Survey results and search for owner reports by Mac model and/or card brand. Readers post new entries daily and the database is updated several times a week. 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) as in many cases problems are later found to be due to settings errors, slow L2 cache, etc.

-Freq Asked Questions