Some readers are upset over the MacWeek G3 CPU cards article (noted in yesterday's news), which can be upsetting if you don't know all the facts. If I didn't know better and read this article
I'd think that that serious problems were typical with G3 CPU upgrades in 604 based
Macs in general. There are compatibility issues, as noted in the FAQ (Question #31), on several Tips articles (specific systems notes) and the Retrospect Workarounds page. For comments and ratings from G3 CPU card owners, see my Rate Your CPU Upgrade database, viewable by card brand and Mac model. As you'll see there most owners are very happy with their upgrades. There have been problems with some brands, often on a build by build basis but overall I think most owners are happy with their G3 upgrade. [Update - in 1999 upgrade vendors solved the issues like Retrospect by disabling speculative access via NOVRAM "virtual firmware". See the CPU Upgrades page for the most recent CPU upgrade reviews.]
Speaking of upgrades and compatability - Rod Paine of Aztec, a VAR here in Virginia writes that he's had great results with Vimage cards and Adaptec SCSI
PCI cards (generally only the Newer Tech G3 cards have had universal compatibility with Adaptec SCSI cards and wide SCSI drives, until 1999 when the "Virtual Firmware" fixes were used by other upgrade vendors.).
"
Mike,
FYI... we're running two Vimage Vpower 300MHz 1MB units. One in a 196MB
7500 and the other in a 256MB 7600. The 7600 is using dual Adaptec 2940UW
cards supporting a 16GB 4-drive RAID 0 system and backing up to an HP DAT24
(C1556B) on the native SCSI port via Retrospect v4.0. The internal is a 2GB
Segate Barracuda running on the internal Fast SCSI port.
The 7500 is running an ATTO ExpressPro PCI-DC to an 8GB 4-Drive RAID 0 and
uses an HP DAT24 (C1556C) connected to an Adaptec 2940UW and Retrospect
4.0. A 4.5GB Cheetah is running on the internal Fast SCSI port. We've seen
no problems at all with these configurations under OS 8.5 in over a month
of performing 80 to 514MB size backup's, according to our logs.
If there's a problem with G3's in a 604 based Mac, we haven't seen it yet,
with the Vimage Vpower 300 cards, in our configurations.
BTW, we use the Adaptec 2940UW's in our G3 266 DT units to support the HP
DAT24 also, because the native SCSI port speed of the factory G3's is
awful, as you know. OS 8.5 helped a bit, but not enough to fully utilize
the fast HP DAT24 drives.
Regards,
-Rod Paine
ASTEC Company, Inc.
Consulting, Systems Integration and Systems Management
Services for Apple Macintosh Business Users, since 1988.
"
OS 8.5 Audio Tips: In the past we've had several reports of OS 8.5 audio problems (dropouts, cutouts, distorted audio, etc.). Paul writes:
"
Mike,
I've recieved quite a few good suggestions, and so far the thing that seems
to have solved this problem (at least partially) is to simply disable the
new 8.5 theme sounds. In the last day and half I haven't noticed that my
sound has cut out, where before it would die at least 6 times a day.
It has been suggested that there might be something in the bus timing of
the machines with this problem that casues this hiccup in the audio. This
seems very possible to me, as this problem often manifests itself when you
are really taxing the system (such as capturing video or playing very
graphically intensive Director movies). That might be the issue here, but I
frankly don't have any time to diagnose something like that. I would assume
that Apple has done some internal tweaking to 8.5 to add in this new
feature, and it just doesn't like my clone now.
I'll just live without my fancy little accent sounds I guess.
-Paul Carpenter
"
I'll add this tip to the OS 8.5 Feedback page later today.
Dan Kuraisa and David Badovinac both wrote of new utility from Chocolateware called Emailer2Eudora which converts address books between those two email programs. More info is available at http://www.vivaladata.com/Chocolateware.html
More on MkLinux and Ram Size
"
Mike,
While it's not a 9600, I have MkLinux running on my 8600/300. It's not the
final release of DR3, but it's what was avaliable from Apple in May. The
only problem that I have is that if there's more than 255 megs of RAM
installed (I have 288 megs), MkLinux crashes about half way through the
boot process. If I pull a 64 meg DIMM from my system, it boots and runs
fine.
Paul M Schwartz
Technical Specialist/Webmaster
Internet Scout Project
"
Another Call for Standards/Support: The reason I've harped on standards and getting more affordable graphics cards for the Mac is illustrated in the following mail, which is typical of many I've gotten in the last year as the graphics card performance gap has widened.
"
Mike,
Just a quick note to express my support for your article concerning AGP
support in future Macs. I was beginning to think I was the only one
bothered by the state affairs with Mac video cards. I've been very
critical of Apple on several points, trying to point out these problems
to other Mac users has made me feel a bit like a traitor...especially
based on reactions to my criticisms.
With my main interest now with Lightwave, I can really see the glaring
differences between the different "high end" platforms (Mac, Unix, &
NT). After being a ardent mac supporter for almost ten years, I have
almost talked myself into getting an NT box at times.
* The video card gap between the PC world and Mac must be bridged with
some inexpensive high performance cards. I think you are right on the
mark about adopting INDUSTRY STANDARDS.
* The imac is great, but I think this success on the consumer level has
come at the expense of the high end. It is sad to see the last true
workstation class Mac, the 9600, fade into the distance. While NT
vendors are clamoring for the business from 3D animators, video
production, and multimedia professionals, Apple is claiming that this
sector is an insignificant 1% of its customer base (did someone say
clones?) and telling high end users to find their own six slot solutions
with an add on chassis. I doubt seriously that this marketing tactic is
going to win the hearts and minds of media professionals.
* OS X: OK, this is it. I'm tired of waiting ONE MORE YEAR for a fast,
stable and truly modern OS. How many years have they said this to us?
8.5 is less stable than 8.1 and about the same in performance. Apple
needs more than a search engine to get me to shell out another $99. Apple
NEEDS to get OS X off the ground next year or it is in serious trouble
with high end users.
Sorry to rant, but I'm starting to be more analytical and less emotional
about my choices. These are just tools after all and it is always a
balance between the choices of price/performance/ease of
use/availability...etc. Switching to NT would be a bitter pill to
swallow after all these years of die hard Mac support, but unless Apple
starts to remedy these isssues, I'll have no choice. I'll be watching
the next year very closely when it comes time to upgrade my hardware.
Thanks for all your efforts,
Tim Catlin
"
There are thousands of people like Tim out there that we may lose if Apple
does not start actively getting more industry support for the Mac, especially in the graphics/3d area. Look what USB in the iMac did for Mac support from PC companies. I'll stop harping on this for now but I hope you all understand why it is important to speak out on things that need to be changed. To do nothing will surely cost us market share and customers. That affects all of us - in the form of less products and higher prices.
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.
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