"FYI, I've been running a GeForce2MX card in my cube for a week now. I've played several DVD movies back-to-back as well as the fly through sequence of Unreal Tournament for 24 hours straight to test the card and system for thermal stress. The entire card gets quite hot when stressed, but no failures or anomalies occurred. Under normal, (i.e., non-3D & non-DVD) usage, the card doesn't get quite as hot (as would be expected) and everything appears to work normally.

I would also say, unscientifically, that while the GeForce card does get quite hot, the rest of the cube appears to maintain about the same equilibrium temperature as when the BTO Radeon was in place. A touch test of the case and the internals after usage appear about the same with either the GeForce or the Radeon.

In other observations, the GeForce is definitely slower in 2D than the Radeon. However, it appears to produce reasonable 3D performance. Sorry, I don't have any benchmarks to quantify this. Despite this, I am sticking with the card to get away from the extremely annoying fan on the Radeon. True silence is worth the speed drop!
Cheers,
Roland E. Miller, III
Manager, Computer Services"

Although I'm not sure it was related to using OpenGL 1.2.1 vs 1.2 that ships with the GeForce2MX card equipped systems, I saw some strange behavior in Lightwave 3D 6.5 noted in my comparison article of the Radeon vs GeForce2MX in my G4/400 dual processor system. For a first driver release however, overall the drivers are better than I expected otherwise.

• Every time I exit and restart the game Audio quality is set back to High. (One reader also noted it seems to reset back to high when graphics modes are changed in the game)
• The old command to turn off Gibs doesn't seem to work
• On the PB G4, I almost always see pausing in the Timedemos (in two places), regardless of RAM allocated, etc. This I suspect is hurting the average score. (Make sure you set the Music volume to 0, esp. on a Powerbook, otherwise there will be severe pausing in the game in my experience.)

There's two game forum threads here on the Quake3 beta (here and a later one started here) which include other reader comments on the update and links to converted Timedemo files from the 117 version.

" Dear Mike,
Thanks for your very informative site.
You noted in your OS9.1 feedback page that OS 9.1 installation removes the Altivec extensions.
[They are not a part of OS 9.1-Mike]

I have been carrying out some tests over the weekend on my Newer Tech. MaxPowr G4/450 upgraded B&W G3/350 Power Mac, and the conclusion I have reached is that neither OS 9.0.4 or OS 9.1 need the 9.0 Altivec extensions (vBasicOps, vBigNum, vectorOps etc) to have the velocity engine enabled, at least for PhotoShop 6, N2MP3 1.5b3 and for the Newer Technology's Guage Pro v1.2.

My configuration is a PowerMac G3/350 B&W (Yosemite rev 1) which has been upgraded with a Newer Tech. G4/450zif, and is running at 450/225 with 1Mb backside cache. 384Mb RAM, upgraded HD (16Gb Maxtor DiamonMax 40) with 2 additional internal IBM Ultrastar 9Gb scsi lvd drives on an Adaptec 29160N interface.

I ran tests with PhotoShop 6 (which had been allocated 293Mb memory) on a 99.6Mb RGB A4 size 600dpi photoshop file, timing a rotate canvas 90 degree CW operation using PhotoShop's internal timing display, ensuring that all disk activity after opening the file had completed before initiating the operation.

On both OS 9.0.4 and OS 9.1, I got the same timings with and without the Altivec system extensions (extracted using TomeViewer from MacOS 9.0). (rotate 90deg cw took approx 1.8/1.9sec).

Removing the PhotoShop Altivec core support plug in (v6.0 which ships with PhotoShop 6) _did_ make a difference (the rotate 90deg. cw took 3.8sec).

In all 4 combinations (OS 9.0.4 & 9.1, with & without 9.0 Altivec system extensions) Newer Tech's Gauge Pro v1.2 reported that Altivec was fully supported. (I have the MaxPowr extension and control panel always installed, but I think this only enables the 1Mb backside cache. The MaxPowr control panel appears defective/inoperable under OS 9.1-- I hope I don't need it in the future.)

And in all 4 combinations N2MP3 v1.5b3 took the same time to encode a 10minute AIFF file from disk to disk. (2'59" to encode the 1st movement of Bach's Brandenberg 4 Philips/English Chamber Orch (duration 9'59") at 128kbps fixed rate Better quality to MP3)

I tried the same operations on MacOS 9.1 with my cpu swapped back to the G3/350, and found speed differences which were more than could be accounted for by the change in CPU clock speed.

Incidentally, iTunes 1.1 seems to be Altivec aware -- under Edit>Preferences on the 'Importing' tab, the settings section displays 'using Velocity' as well as my MP3 encoding settings.
[Since SoundJam MP supported altivec it's not surprising that iTunes does -Mike]

In general, I have had good results on upgrading to OS 9.1. I'm trying to troubleshoot a problem where the machine does not wake up from sleep, but it might mean changing the hard disk driver, which I don't have time to do at the moment. I am using Hard Disk Speed Tools 3.1.1

I hope this will be useful to you and others.
best regards, Sayling Low"

Several readers replied with what I had always suspected - the OS 9.0x Altivec extensions are for OS support of Altivec - applications can have the support embedded via an Altivec aware compiler.

"Mike,
I've been using the GeeThree adapter for months. It works, but the driver is quirky. I have to disable the control panel to run Unreal Tournament. Diablo II worked fine until a few days ago. Now I have to disable "use multi-button mouse" in Diablo and set the GeeThree control panel to use cmd-click for the right mouse button (I'm not sure what that's about). Starcraft also works, but again, it requires the GeeThree control panel to be set to cmd-click. It's an inconvenience if you plan to use contextual menus in the Finder. I haven't run into conflicts with other applications.

On the other hand, I've tried several different PS/2 mice. All have worked as advertised, including scroll wheels. Because PS/2 mice are so inexpensive, the GeeThree adapter is a good value if you don't have a free PCI slot for a USB card.
Take care,
Rich Brude"

• Formac G3/400 (carrier model) in 7600 (rated 8)
• Metabox G3/400 in Umax S900 (rated 1)
• Metabox G3/333 in 7500 (rated 10)
• Metabox G3/00 in 7600 (rated 9)
• Other World Computing G3/400 in Beige G3/233 (rated 7)
• Other World Computing G3/333 in Beige G3/266 (rated 10)
• PowerLogix G4/350 in Umax J700 (rated 7)
• PowerLogix Bluechip G3/500 in PB G3 Wallstreet2 (rated 7)
• Sonnet G3/500 in Beige G3 (rated 9)
• Sonnet G3/375 in 8600/200 (rated 10)
• Sonnet G3/266 in 7100/66 (rated 10)
• XLR8 G4/500 in Beige G3 (rated 9)
• XLR8 G3/300 in 7500 (rated 10)
• XLR8 CarrierZIF (MAChCarrier) G4/450 in 7600 (rated 7)
• XLR8 CarrierZIF w/G3 400 ZIF in PowerTower 180 (rated 10)
  
  
• G4/400 AGP OC report
• B&W G3/450 OC report
• Beige G3233 OC report

You can find these full reports by searching the database selecting the indicated Mac model and upgrade card brand/type. If you've upgraded the CPU on your Mac, please post an entry in the database. Search the database for entries from most every upgradable Mac model *before* you buy. (Searchable by mac model/upgrade brand). For detailed reviews with performance tests and install tips, see the CPU Upgrades page.)

• Quake3 Retail (640x480 ) results from PowerBook G3 2000 (G3/400 Firewire)
• Quake3 Retail (640x480 ) results from iBook G3/466
• CineBench 2000 results from Dual G4/450 with Radeon PCI card
• CineBench 2000 results from PowerBook G3 2000 (G3/400 Firewire)
• CineBench 2000 results from B&W G3/450 w/Radeon PCI card
• CineBench 2000 results from 73-7500 w/G3 300 CPU upgrade and Voodoo3 card
• ThroughPut results from 73-7500 w/G3 300 CPU upgrade and Voodoo3 card
• ThroughPut results from Dual G4/450 with Radeon PCI card

Total entries in the database to date: 2,536. If you haven't already, enter your results with any of the game titles or benchmarks listed on the entry page (details on how to test are there). If you're curious how a CPU upgrade or new Video card would help game performance, the search page options can help you find similar system/configurations to get an idea before you buy.

Software Updates:

• MacVCD 2.0 (direct download link)
  (Shareware Mac Video CD player app)

Apple TIL Updates:

• AirPort Base Station: DHCP Client ID Support
• AirPort Base Station: Factory Default Settings
• AirPort: Compatibility With Older Macintosh Products
• AirPort Card: Disable During Air Travel
• AirPort: How to Set Up File Sharing Between AirPort and Ethernet Computers
• AirPort: How to Set Up Bridging When Using a Cable Modem
• Final Cut Pro QTM Reader Document and Software
• Final Cut Pro 1.2.5: Eliminating Dropped Frames on Rendered Material
• Mac OS: "Finder Could Not Start" Error Message
• USB Adapter Card Support Read Me Document and Software Download
• iTunes: Extension Has a Red "X" Through It at System Startup Time
• iMac (All Models): How To Differentiate Between Models
• iMovie: FireWire 2.7 May Resolve Dropped Frames
• Mac OS 9.1, FireWire: About FireWire Versions 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8
• iMac: Testing for Power at J9 on the Logic Board
• Mac OS 9.1, FireWire: About FireWire Versions 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8
• iMac (Early 2001): What's New and Different
• iMac (Early 2001): Colored Plastics Identifier
• PowerBook Software: Frequently Asked Questions
• iMac (Slot Loading): Screw Locator
• iMac (Summer 2000): Cable Identifier
• iMac (Early 2001): Exploded View Diagram

Mac News: (Note: Regurgitated press releases, etc. are not listed)

• Apple Computer to open retail stores (ICSC.org)
• Using EIDE Drives in DV: (LA Final Cut Pro User Group)
• Two more sites join Apple retail chain (the register)
• Digital Camera Magazine: Features: Mac OS X Goes Mobile (photopoint)
• Terminal-Tips: 'df' and 'du' (resexcellence)
• Macintosh Owners Most Loyal, But Gateway Not Far Behind, As Compaq Leads Overall Share (businesswire)
• Mac OS 9.1 (macworld UK)
• Insider Comments on G4+ Misconceptions and PowerPC's Future (thinksecret)
• Running with Apple's big cats (zdnet)
• New ads, products help Apple polish its business image (Btobonline)

• Plextor IDE CD/CDRW Firmware Updater
  [more IDE drive articles]
• First G4/733Mhz Performance Tests
  [more Systems articles]
• Geforce2MX vs Radeon in G4/500 2xAGP System
  (Lightwave3D 6.5 tests and Quake3)
  [more Video/Graphics Card articles]
• Mac GeForce3 Features & Questions Answered
  [more Video/Graphics Card articles]
• Sony F900 WideScreen Mode Support
  [more Video/Graphics Card articles]
• My PowerBook G4/400 First Impressions
  [more PowerBook articles]
• PowerBook G4 Owner Comments
  [more PowerBook articles]
• Review of "Hammerfall Lite" audio card
  [more Audio articles]
• Review of Acard's AEC6712 Ultra-SCSI PCI Controller
  [more Storage related reviews]
• Audio Apps and CPU Upgrades
  [more Audio or CPU Upgrade related articles]
• Review + Install Guide for PB BlueChip G3/500 CPU Upgrade
  [more CPU upgrade reviews]
• Newer Tech ZIF Carrier Card
  [more CPU upgrade reviews]
• How to create a universal adapter from a Plaintalk mic
  [more Audio articles]
• Review of G4/533 w/GeForce2MX
  [more Systems articles]
• Interview w/Nvidia on GeForce2MX, GeForce2GO
  [more Graphics card articles]
• 7500 to ATX Case Conversion
  [more ATX conversion articles]
• PC ATX Power Supply Conversion for 8600/9600
  [more ATX conversion articles]
• OS 9.1 Update Feedback/Issues/Tips
  [more software/OS articles]
• Acard SCSI to IDE Adapter Review
  [more Storage articles]
• Audio Notes From Macworld Expo
  [more Audio articles]
• Macworld SF 2001 Coverage
  (articles on the new PB G4, New G4 Towers, iTunes, iDVD and Q&A/Photos of the first Mac Nvidia Graphics card!)
• Mac GeForce2MX Pix and FAQ
  [more Graphics card articles]
• OS 9.1 Feedback/Tips/Compatibility Issues
• File server performance tests: Quantum Snap 1000 vs Appleshare
• First Report on Sonnet 7200 G3 CPU Upgrade