Just an upate to say that I just installed the ATI Video 1.0 update over my
B&W G3's previous OpenGL drivers and Quake3Test, which requires OpenGL, ran fine.
A reader asked if the ATI Video Software Update 1.0 noted earlier today was an addon to the OpenGL 1.0 release. From the Readme file it appears to be a complete set of drivers. I've not tested it yet to see if it contains OpenGL support, but I suspect so (esp. since it does not support the RageII, just as OpenGL 1.0 didn't). Here are a list of the extensions included in the update (which is for Apple systems only, not ATI PCI Cards in older Macs which the installer will no recognize):
- ATI 3D Accelerator v4.6.2 [for RagePro]
- ATI Driver Update v1.4.8
- ATI Graphics Accelerator v3.9.7
- ATI MPP Manager v1.2f1
- ATI Rage128 3D Accelerator v5.3.3
- ATI Resources Manager v1.2.4
- ATI Video Accelerator v4.2.2
- ATI Video Accelerator Update v1.0.2
- iMac ATI Driver v1.0 [iMac only]
The update requires OS 8.6 according to the Readme. To see what type of ATI chip your Mac G3 has run Apple System Profiler and check the 'Devices and Volumes' tab. Click the triange next to the display card in the PCI section and the card name should say 'RageLTPro (PB G3s, after wall street 1), RagePro or Rage128. If you need to update your version of ASP, see the Apple Software updates page for the latest version.
News.com has an interesting article on the upcoming TNT movie "The Pirates of Silicon Valley"
News.com also has a story about Divx DVD Backers Call It Quits.
ATI just wrote that my Rage128 Orion review card should arrive by the end of this week.
It will not include the Tomb Raider II 4-level game that the full retail box will contain.
The 3D Game News has more info on shipping dates and pricing and an interesting post from Ruffin Bailey with Logicware's reply to the rumors (noted here) that Quake II would be released at Macworld NY.
A reader sent a reminder that Transintl has the PF 466/233/1MB ZIF for $655. It's in the list
of xlr8yourmac site specials (drop down the menu to see all specials). I see they have lowered prices on 128MB SDRAMs to $97 as well.
Site sponsor Other World Computing sent a list of XLR8 CarrierZIF (reviewed here) bundles:
"Now in Stock! XLR8 ZIF Carrier/Mercury G3 ZIF Combos. Both components
carry a 2 Year Warranty.
XGZM233 XLR8 Zif Carrier w/G3 233mhz 512k Cache OWC Mercury $235.00
XGZM266 XLR8 Zif Carrier w/G3 266mhz 512k Cache OWC Mercury $275.00
XGZM300 XLR8 Zif Carrier w/G3 300mhz 1024k Cache OWC Mercury $335.00
XGZM366 XLR8 Zif Carrier w/G3 366mhz 1024k Cache OWC Mercury $465.00
XGZM400 XLR8 Zif Carrier w/G3 400mhz 1024k Cache OWC Mercury $749.00
Best Regards,
Larry O'Connor
Other World Computing, Inc.
"
Mactell has a new press release on their partnering with Pinacor who will be one of the first distributors to stock the complete second release of Mactell's FirePower Firewire drives.
New Apple ATI Drivers: Dave Glen wrote with a note that Apple has
posted a TIL 11475 on new ATI Video drivers. These drivers are said to require OS 8.6 and are for all
ATI RagePro or Rage128 equipped Macs (iMac, PB G3, Beige/Blue & White G3 -Not for older macs with ATI PCI Cards)
and according to the TIL fixes the following issues:
Corrects the following issues:
- A freeze when using CPUs with high processor speeds (>=400MHz) and high screen resolution (1280X1024) after heavily using offscreen graphics memory.
- A crash when millions of colors are used with a high resolution monitor.
Also corrects an instance with certain third party applications where scrolling could result in a crash.
The ATI Video SW Update 1.0.smi file is 1.2MB (Bin) and 1.7MB (Hqx). I welcome reader feedback on these
new drivers (please note your Mac model, RagePro or Rage128 chip, etc.).
New Rage128s are Faster: As I suspected, the new heatsinked Rage128 cards are faster
than the previous versions as Jake Beck found out in game tests:
"
It is true, some of the new speed-bumped Power Mac's do have a faster
RAGE 128. I had the chance to test an old RAGE 128 against the new one,
here's some specs for you. Tests were taken in a G3 400/DVD/192MB. Both
the new and old card were used in the exact same machine.
| Test | Old Rage128 | New Rage128 |
Quake 1
(Timedemo 1) | 59.4 (640x480)
34.2 (800x600)
24.6 (1024x768) | 64.3 (640x480)
44.9 (800x600)
28.7 (1024x768) |
Unreal 2.24
(flyby) | 31.6 (640x480)
22.4 (800x600) | 35.0 (640x480)
26.5 (800x600) |
Also, haven't seen this on your site yet, but you might want to point out
a *VERY* cool OpenGL-based screen saver for the mac called "Setting
Sun"... two thumbs way up here. URL: www.webthing.net/settingsun/
Jake Beck"
More Info on Rage128 Clock Speeds: The latest reader info on using the Display Name Registry
to read Rage128 clock speeds:
"
okay, there are two fields of interest in the name registry on the new
G3/450 machines for the Rage128 chip, MCLK and XCLK. MCLK is the memory
clock I think, and XLCK is the core clock of the chip. They are 90MHz and
100MHz respectively (8994 and 10001 for the registry entries), which is
pretty close to the retail card clocks of 103MHz (I think). One thing is
certain, Quake3 flies on that card and a 450MHz G3. One other thing to
note: my laptop (powerbook g3) has XCLK and MCLK registry entries of 8163
and 16302. I'm pretty sure those aren't right or don't mean MHz, as I'm
pretty certain there is no 163MHz RAM in this machine.
thanks,
nate
"
The original PB G3/250 had a 83mhz main memory bus, the later versions 66Mhz, but
I'm not sure what the SGRAM/SDRAM (video ram) memory speed was, I assumed 100Mhz (which is
what most PCI SGRAM cards have run in the past. That's video ram speed, not the graphics chip
clock speed.
Display Name Utility: This reader sent a link to the utility alone instead of having to
download it as part of the 7MB+ Dev kit posted here yesterday. (Yesterday's news had a post that this utility reads the Rage128 clock speeds) :
"
Hi Mike,
Display name registry can be nabbed at the following URL:
developer.apple.com/techpubs/hardware/DeviceManagers/devicemgrs.html
Click on Name Registry, then click on PCI Drive 2.0 SDK. I've included
the root URL above because of the potential for all sorts of goodies.
The specific URL is below, it's a hefty 7.2 megs (a couple of minutes on
my DSL, though): [this URL was noted yesterday-Mike]
ftp.apple.com/developer/Development_Kits/PCI_Driver_SDK.sit.hqx
Haven't been able to run the app yet, but perhaps somebody with some
free time can fiddle with it and let us know how it works.
Cheers.
Kenji Watanabe
WorkMedia--Web Site Localization,
English-Japanese Translation
http://www.JapanTranslate.com
Apple Drive Setup 1.7.3 No Cure for WD Expert: I'm sad to say that Apple's latest Drive Setup 1.7.3 did not solve my data corruption issues with my WD Expert drives. Tests with even a 1.2MB SMI file showed
checksum errors. I repeated the tests with DS 1.7.3 installed on both the stock 6GB drive and WD Expert with the same results. My UltraATA cable is shorter than the standard length UltraATA IDE cable so that is not to blame. (Other WD Expert/B&W G3 owners reported that DS 1.7.3 did not fix their problems either.)
A LOT of people here are upset over having a B&W G3 with this IDE controller 'defect' (their wording not mine) that Apple has fixed now with the new rev of the CMD 646 controller chip on the latest builds of the B&W G3. They suffered through the months of waiting for firmware updates to PCI Cards, compatibility issues, data corruption and now the fix is not for them. I can sympthasize as I'm in the same boat. Thankfully not all drives seem to be affected (just the fastest ones ;-) and as noted here, Apple's Drive Setup 1.6.2 (part of OS 8.5.1 update) does solve the problem but with a performance (and CPU cycle time) hit. As in the case of the PB G3, iMac, Beige G3 and now B&W G3, buying early gets less for more as is normal in the PC industry. The main difference is I could replace any PC motherboard for well under $200 (for a quality name brand motherboard), not so with the Apple B&W G3.
More on TNT2/PowerPC Code: A reader wrote that my post last week from an insider that was asked to write nVidia PowerPC code may be for the next generation AmigaNG from Gateway (due this fall). He speculated the PowerPC code may be for that machine.
Formac's Permedia3 Chip Graphics Card: Al Brower sent a URL to a Yahoo Press Release on the Formac Permedia3 chip based Mac graphics card.
Sounds promising. If I can find a U.S. Formac dealer I will try to obtain a review loaner card to test.
As noted here in the past, the 3DLabs Permedia 3 chip looks to be an impressive OpenGL performer. Apparently the card will be offered in 16 and 32MB RAM versions.
More on TurboMax/CDR Burning: Barney Buoy writes he's not having any problems burning CDRs with his TurboMax card in an all IDE HD 8600 with external SCSI CDR:
"
Mike,
I've got a TurboMax/Maxtor combination in a 8600 and burn CD's without
any problems except for the previously reported headaches with the blue
Kodak's - and other brands (note that these problems have been confirmed
with numerous other MAC's with standard SCSI drives etc)
The Maxtor 10Gb DiamondMax Plus is the only drive in my 8600 and if I
use media that I know work, I have no difficulties whatsoever - and I
burn a LOT of cd's using Toast. My burner is a Yamaha 6x2 SCSI External
Best wishes
Barney Buoy
M A C M E C H A N I C S
"
QT4 and MP2 - Reader Request: The reader that originally posted a comment here on not being
able to read MP2 files with QT4 asks that those that are able to please write him with specifics.
He says he's still getting the error message "It can't run it because it is not a file that Quicktime
understands".
Initio Miles Firmware Update: Derrick Yamaura wrote that Initio has a v1.10 firmware update to the Miles
(INI-9100UW) Ultra-Wide SCSI Card. More information is at Initio's Software Download page.
Rage128 Status: As noted yesterday ATI told me the Orion cards were to ship within the next two weeks and are to send a review card. Daevad wrote with a copy of an email from ATI sales with similar dates cited:
"
Timeframe for release of the Nexus 128 and RAGE Orion is scheduled for the
end of June 1999 timeframe. The XCLAIM VR 128 is on target for release at
the end of July 1999 timeframe. It will however take several days for
products to be shipped to distributors and on to resellers and then to final
customers once available.
"
As noted here last week, my ATI contact said that these dates are conservative and take into account the backlog of existing orders (which I take to mean may ship to dealers sooner). That's all
speculation at this point but I will keep you posted on any new developments.
TrueX/Plextor CDR Note: After a reader report of problems copying large files from CDs burned with a Plextor CDR drive, I verified that my 8X Plextor CDR here also has the same bizarre issue. The CD mounts fine, but copying a large folder of files results in errors reading some files (typically larger files - but size is not the main factor as a 7MB file was read fine, yet a 5MB file reported an error). CDs burned on my Philips (APS case) CDR drive seem fine. Blue and Gold CDs made no difference, both exhibited errors when burned in the Plextor drive. I've written Kenwood asking why the TrueX drive would be sensitive to Plextor written CDRs when other Apple CDrom drives are not. Note that one reader said he saw a TrueX 52X SCSI version at CompUSA recently, for the same price as the IDE drive he said. I want to get a SCSI version to see if it works with the Apple CDRom extensions.
IBM 37GB Hard Drive for $420 this Fall? That's what this PC World article is saying .
Unfortunately IBM IDE drives seem to be prone to the same data corruption issues as the Western Digital Expert drives in the B&W G3 (those without the new rev IDE controller chip).
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 two days 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.
Other Net News:
Tuesday's News Summary
- Bottom Line sale on PF 466/233 ZIFs
- 3D Game News updated
- Reader says Auto-Start Virus on LinuxPPC CD
- Display Name Registry download URL
- Reader comments/tips on USB CDROM recorders
- Sony Firewire CDR due July
- TurboMax/CDR Recording Feedback
- More owner comments B&W G3s (ZIP bezels/Rage128s)
- Update from reader w/overclocked ZIFs/HD Data Errors
- PB G3 (Bronze) Overclocking page
- New Fuse card software bundle
- Apple Drive Setup 1.7.3 info
- Peeking at Open Firmware: reading Rage128 clocks
- CarrierZIF/PowerTower (Catalyst mb) Feedback
- Off-The Shelf ZIPs/B&W G3s
- Bottom Line Specials
- More on nVidia TNT Graphics cards for Mac (doubtful)
- IXmicro promises to ship Game Rocket June 20th
- More on QT4 & MP2 File Support (Soundapp)
- Rate Your G3 Upgrade database updated
- Other Net News Links
Monday's News Summary
- 3D Game News updated
- Wanted: Mac Rage128 Tweaker for clock speeds
- ORB Drive Tip for large file copy freezes
- B&W G3/ZIP 250 Feedback
- IBM SCSI Drive Jumper Settings
- More on CarrierZIF/PowerTower Pro
- XLR8 CarrierZIF review revised for latest PTP info and OWC overclocking warning
- Report of data corruption on overclocked OWC ZIF
- PowerCenter Pro owners followup on IX3D Card problem report
- MacWorld Rumors: P1, C2 (iMac 2?) & Quake II/Carmack to appear?
- QT4 can't play MP2 files
- Article on possibility of Apple being bought
- Apple has registered macmate.com
- PB G3 spotted in Austin Powers movie
- Rate Your G3 Upgrade database updated
- Other Net News
For other recent site news/features links, see the Sidebar to the right and the Recent Site Features page.
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