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[This is a past news page, the current news page is at www.xlr8yourmac.com/]
There's a massive update to today's Software Updates/TILs/Hardware/Other Net News (bottom of page). Today's listing includes several TILs for B&W G3 owners along with sections on hardware news, gaming, general mac news and even a separate section with the latest on Microsoft's woes.
= 7:05 PM Update Follows =
Buy Creative DTT2500 Speakers, Get Free DVD Player: A few readers asked for a specific link to the free DVD player (with purchase) offer noted by my Creative Labs contact yesterday.
Here's the link to the DTT2500 speakers page that has info on the free DVD player offer.
= 2:52 PM Update Follows =
More feedback on large file copy problems with PCI Firewire cards has come in. Due to length, I'll have to create a separate page for these reports. One common thread seems to be the Orange Micro card, but that may be because they are one of the most popular brands. One owner reported the Firewire 2.4 update seems to have helped.
OWC Ram Price Comments/ZIF Sale: George Cole of OWC wrote with notes on RAM prices rising and a ZIF sale:
"Hey Mike,
Just wanted to let you know that memory prices continue to go up, and
we had the 2nd price increase this week. We will continue to try and
keep RAM prices as low as we can, but readers should be aware that
prices are changing almost daily.
We are running low on ZIFs, but here are some specials:
OWC MercuryZA G3/400mhz Motorola Apple ZIF w/1024k 2:1, Adjustable,
2yr Warranty, Part Number: Z400APL
XLR8yourmac Special Price: $229.00 (save $6.00!)
OWC Mercury ZA G3/450mhz w/1024k 2:1 Cache w/2yr (Motorola Aluminum)
- Adjustable 8X. Part Number: Z450APL
XLR8yourmac Special Price: $280.00 (save $5.00!)
I also have a killer price on the IXmicro Ultimate Rez Bulk at
$49.00. Not as good as the Voodoo cards for sure, but great for
adding an additional monitor or speeding up onboard video.
IxMicro ix3D UltimateRez 8mb PCI New w/5yr IxMicro Warranty 'bulk'
Part Number: IXMU8MB XLR8yourmac Special Price: $49.00 (save $10.00!)
Again, readers might want to check our ram pricing at
http://www.macsales.com/ as prices are starting to get a little
high...however prices are still a raging bargain compared to RAM
prices of 2-3 years ago;)
Cheers,
George Cole
OWC Sales Manager
"
One note on the IX3D cards, IXMicro went out of business so future driver updates are not likely. George told me OWC warranties the card for 1 year. He also said he's running the card in a Beige G3 with OS 9, using only the OS 9 installed drivers (the Ult. Rez was at one time an option from Apple for those systems). Bottom Line also raised RAM prices today but noted they have a few 256MB Dimms left in stock for $249 (when these are gone their new price of $269 applies).
Formac $299 G3/450 ZIFs: I just received a Formac G3/450 ZIF upgrade for testing from Transintl.com ($299). These are retail boxed upgrades, with switches on the ZIF for setting speeds (so you do not have to change the motherboard jumpers). The CPU is an IBM version (copper I assume) on this sample. I'm going to install it in my Beige G3 for testing. My Beige G3 is a rev 2/rev B model, but Transintl said they have had no Beige G3 problem reports with these upgrades (they also work with B&W G3s of course and I suspect CarrierZIF cards as well). Currently there are only 20 entries in the Rate Your CPU Upgrade database from Formac owners, but you can search the database for Beige G3 owner reports on this upgrade.
= 11:50 AM Update Follows =
Airport 1.2 Performance Raves (Updated): [Everyone's reported stronger signal strength (more dots *and* longer range to back that up), but any file copy performance tests would be welcome. And remember OS 9's file sharing via TCP/IP vs Appletalk has always been faster with Airport.]
This reader notes an almost unbelievable increase in performance:
"Hi Mike,
I've just undated to AirPort 1.2 with no problem of any kind... my old
settings still here. One thing I noticed is that when I copy files between
my (Ethernet wired) Beige G3 and my (wireless) iBook, I got no lag at all!
In version 1.1 and older, whenever I tried copying something via the base
station, there is a unusually long pause between the copy process, causing a
long copy time (1mb transfer took ~1 minute, now it takes ~5 seconds).
Way to go Apple!
Beyond Chiu"
(Previous reports follow)
"
Mike,
I realize that you will probably get a million emails just like this, but I
might as well just tell you what's up anyway:
Airport 1.2 has more than doubled performance here‹the base station has to
penetrate several walls before it can communicate with our two G4s. The
control strip on one read 1 green cot before (weak signal) but now it is at
three (average strength). That's a pretty nice increase. The other
computer went from 1 or 2 dots to 4 dots!!!
I must say that this is by far the most improved update that Apple has released in the past half a year. Normally I do not see any real gains in performance or ability when I update
my software, but this time there really was a visible difference! Three
cheers for Apple!
Ryan Mantle
"
Another reader also notes increased signal strength:
"Just updated. Installation is a breeze; mount the disk image,
double-click the installer, it copies the files, reboots and updates
and resets the base station. My signal strength went from about 1/3rd
to about 2/3rds (from 1/2 dots to 3/4 dots in the control panel). So
far so good.
Thierry
"
I welcome comments on Airport 1.2 performance and setup.
Related Links:
More IBM 75GXP 60GB Drives Feedback: Although a previous report noted the 60GB drive worked well, one of the latest Drive Compatibility database reports is from an owner of several 60GB drives who says he can't get the drives to be recognized by Apple drive setup or Intech's Speedtools.
As I noted here previously when my 46GB 75GXP drive arrived, the jumper settings label is confusing compared to most IDE drives. There are several sets of jumper settings on the label, I can only guess that the jumpers may have been set incorrectly.
If you're adding the drive as a slave in a system with a Western Digital drive, as noted in the FAQ HD section, some Western Digital drives may require a jumper settings change. Check www.westerndigital.com/service/FAQ/jumpers.html to make sure the WD drive is jumpered properly. If using a Turbomax or Acard ATA/66 PCI card (same hardware) make sure you have the v3.01 firmware update from the Bios updates page at www.acard.com. This update not only improves performance and compatibility.
Speaking of the IBM 75GXP drives, I've updated the IBM 75GXP HD Performance page with another database entry from a Beige G3 owner with Turbomax ATA/33 card using the 20GB model. He included several performance test results.
Firewire External Drives & Large File Copy Problems: I've received a few reports recently from older Mac owners with PCI Firewire cards that very large file copies (100MB in one report, some didn't mention exact file size) froze the system. I've not sorted out all the details (case model, Firewire PCI card brand, drivers used, OS version, Mac model/PCI slot, etc.) but welcome reports from other readers if this is a problem. Please list your system and case/card/driver details in your email.
IBM's Roadmap for 750CX CPUs: Michiro Isobe (author of PPC Checker) posted a note in the forums that included a link to the official IBM docs on this new G3 CPU chip. The information is in IBM's PowerPC 750CX Processor presentation at embedded processor forum (PDF File). The author of the document is Peter Sandon, IBM's Senior PowerPC Processor Architect. Contrary to some reports, the L2 cache size is 256KB and no L3 interface is planned for the chip according to the document.
CarrierZIF & Yikes G4 ZIF Report: One of today's new entries in the Rate Your CPU Upgrade includes this report of using an Apple G4/PCI (Yikes) G4 ZIF module with XLR8's CarrierZIF card:
"
Mac Model: 7500/100
Upgrade Card Brand: XLR8 CarrierZIF
with Apple (Yikes PCI) G4 400/200 ZIF module
Using an XLR8 CarrierZIF with a 2.6rev G4 from a Yikes! System ran fairly unstable, could not mount a disk copy image without checksum errors until I de-interleaved RAM. This stabilized things.
The XLR8 software set the cache at 266mhz which seems fine- but it also disabled write-through. I re-enabled write through and it still works fine at 266, but i dialed it down to 200 since as you said fast cache speed pleases Macbench and not much else. Macbench reports 1220/1503.
The 400mhz G4 runs *much* hotter (at least the reported temp) than the 400mhz G3 i took out. It was reporting about 68 degrees C. I bought a "586" fan and heatsink from Radio Shack but it was a little too high (wouldn't fit in the 7500 case) so i attached the fan onto the heatsink that came with the carrier. Now the temperatures are much higher (reaching 80 degrees C)! I thought I might have replaced the cpu clip on wrong but i double checked this and I was ok. I even used thermal grease on the cpu... I am going to try just removing the fan and seeing if the temp goes back down.
With that said, I haven't had a crash that i would blame on the heat (i left the machine running overnight twice and it was still ok in the morning). But I'd like to get it to run cooler if possible.
I extracted the altivec extensions from the 9.0 tome as well as the updated one from the 9.04 tome (vMath extension). Gauge pro however reports that altivec may not be properly enabled... Not sure how else I can test this. Of course now I'm hungry for any altivec enabled app i can get my hands on :) [Note - see the FAQ's Apple G4 section for a list of applications that support Altivec-Mike]
This is the second upgrade (first was a PL 220/110 card) that I bought after browsing your cpu card database very carefully- and it paid off for the second time. I don't know how I could've done it without your excellent site!
Jay Craft
"
I've never had to deinterleave RAM with the CarrierZIF cards I've tested (see many articles and reviews at listed on the CPU upgrades page), but my RAM is all matched pairs (I do that to avoid any issues and to be able to run interleaved RAM for best performance).
Speaking of the database, Paul J. Tetreault posted an entry on problems with a Sonnet G4 and video capture in his 8500. Search for 8500/8600 as the mac model and Sonnet G4 as the card brand to see the entry.
BTW: Total entries in the Rate Your CPU Upgrade database should exceed 4000 within the week. Thanks to all that take the time to enter your CPU upgrade experience.
Database Updates: The searchable Rate Your CPU Upgrade,
Drive Compatibility and Mac Game/Video Card Performance databases were updated this morning with new entries.
BTO Petition Status: As of 10:00 AM EDT today, there are 9,075 entries in the 3Dfx BTO Petition. I'm closing the petition on Monday.
Software Updates/TILs/Other Net News: (Thanks to Barney Buoy)
Monday's News Summary
- Airport 1.2 Released
- Apple USB Printer Sharing
- Apple & RealNetworks internet streaming collaboration
- Notes on CuSeeMe Compatibility
- X-10 Feedback
- Info on Creative Labs Mac Products/Web Site
- Intel's Mac cover-up Article
- Pioneer IDE 16X DVD ROM Drive Report
- Plextor 12X SCSI CDRW Report
- More Turbomax PCI IDE Card & ZIP 100 Reports
- $19.98 Kensington USB Camera
- X-10 Home Control 'Free' Offer
- Booting with ADS Firewire Case
- OS X DP4 on 8500 w/G3 Upgrade/ATI Rage128 VR
- Rate Your CPU Upgrade, Drive Compatibility and Mac Game Framerates databases updated.
- BTO Petition Status
- Software Updates/Apple TILs/Other Net News Links
Weekend's News Summary
- Soldier of Fortune Coming to the Mac!
- Interview with John Romero
- OWC weekly specials (good from 6/9-6/15/2000)
- Creative Labs Mac Web Page
- More Turbomax and Removable Drive Reports
- More on Monitor Refresh Rate Tips
- More Reports of Apple ROM Maxtor Drives at Retail
- S900/WD Firewire Card/iMovie Problem report
- Tiny 2MegaPixel Digital Camera
- Rate Your CPU Upgrade, Drive Compatibility and Mac Game Framerates databases updated.
- BTO Petition Status
- Software Updates/Apple TILs/Other Net News Links
Friday's News Summary
- 3dfx Voodoo3 Driver Archive (B9-B12 Versions)
- Bad news regarding Mac Quickbooks Pro
- Report on RAM prices rising again
- Info on Appian Dual Output Mac Graphics Cards
- Explanation of Monitor Refresh Rate Sensing
- Mac Support Planned for Nomad 6GB MP3 Jukebox
- FireBox Portable Firewire Drive Kit
- Bottom Line's weekly specials
- More Info on Turbomax ATA/33 Card/5120 Series Maxtor HD Compatibility
- Rage128 PRO AGP Refresh Rate Tips
- Apple Labeled Maxtor Plus40's at Retail??
- Latest Sonnet L2G3 Upgrade/PCI Video Cards Report
- Rate Your CPU Upgrade, Drive Compatibility and Mac Game Framerates databases updated.
- BTO Petition Status
- Software Updates/Apple TILs/Other Net News Links
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? Search the CPU Upgrade Owner's Survey results and search for owner reports by Mac model and/or card brand. The current database has more than 3,900 reports and growing daily.
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.
Thanks to my wife Kay, the ultimate computer widow
for putting up with all the time I spend with the site work, tests and email.= Top of Page =
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