Notes on XLR8 Cache Control 1.4.1: there were a few readers that reported problems when updating the v1.4.1 from 1.4.0. XLR8 asks that anyone that saw this problem run Apple System Profiler (under the apple menu) and send the report to tech@interexinc.com. They are trying to determine why some owners had problems with the update while others didn't. The Apple system profiler report is a great help in identifying system software/hardware configuration.

Browser Benchmarks: ZD/Net announced they have an online browser benchmark called iBench. It can test browser performance, streaming audio rates and more. Macs and PCs are supported. I'm not sure how they address the issue of constantly changing internet connection speeds and server loads, etc. (which makes any online test's repeatability questionable) unless their tests run completely local on the machine (not relying on your internet connection speed). I suspect this is the case. Read their iBench requirements for more information (requires Cookies enabled as a minimum, some tests require Javascript 1.1, specific plugins, etc.).

Beta6 Voodoo3 Drivers Coming: According to posts at 3dfxgamers.com mac forum, there should be a beta6 Voodoo3 driver update soon that solves an extensions conflict some owners have reported (often with some brands of G3 CPU upgrade cache enabler software). [See my www.mac3dfx.com sidebar and/or the Video articles page here for later driver updates and reviews.]

PS 5.5/Altivec Update: This just in from a reader:

"Howdy--
Since installing 5.5 on my G4 I've had Photoshop icon problems--blank document icons, generic application icons for Photoshop, and the failure of Photoshop alias (or the main application, for that matter) to recognize JPEGs dropped on its icon as openable files.

I went on the user forum at Adobe's website and asked the question; Chris Cox indicates that he's had other complaints of the same problem and says it's because Apple shipped an earlier version of the AltivecCore plug-in than it should have.

He notes that the updated plug-in is in QA and should be released soon.
Thanks,
Roy Leamon
Manager, Graphics Production
eStyle, Inc. "

Powerlogix had a press release today that they are shipping their PowerForce G4/400 upgrade. According to their online store, the PowerForce G4/400 (CPU card) and PowerForce G4/400 ZIF both list for $899.

Speaking of G4's, over the weekend I'll be testing the XLR8 G4/400 ZIF upgrade received earlier this week. I'll also be testing their MAChCarrier G4/350 upgrade for CPU card slot Macs. [Update - see the G4 reviews page for links to this and other G4 CPU upgrades.]

OS 9/ATI Univ. 4.0x Drivers: ATI has posted a tech note indicating that if you are running ATI Universal Installer 4.0x drivers and install OS 9, the Finder may crash. The reason being that OS 9 replaces only some of the full ATI driver set. The solution is to disable all ATI extensions, and then reinstall the ATI 4.0x drivers (refreshing the entire set).

Proformance 3 OpenGL Beta: [Update: as of Sunday, 11/7/99 these updates were no longer at Formac's beta site. I saw problems with them in games w/OpenGL 1.1.2 as well.] Formac has posted a beta version of their Proformance 3 control panel that includes OpenGL support. Get it at their FTP Beta Drivers area (GA 5.6.2b6 [Control panel] and GA12 2.0.6 [ROM] ). OpenGL 1.1.1 is required. I may have to update my Proformance 3 review and the Mac 3D Card Performance articles if the performance is improved.

Databases Updated: I finally had time to post all the updates from the last week to the Rate Your G3 Upgrade, Game Reviews (including Rainbow Six) and Game Framerates databases.

Included in the CPU review updates were several comments I thought would be of use to readers:

" performa 6400/200
Sonnet G3/300
Great card, I'm very happy with it. No startup or compatibility problems. It initially disabled my geo modem, but installing the shareware application G3 Throttle solved that problem. The card doesn't run very hot either: max temperature is 47 C, but most of the time it will run at 43C. My 6400 feels very, very fast now, this card is a winner!
kees knobbe "

See the G3 Throttle page for notes that it also may solve compatibility issues with Avid Cinema, Visioneer Paperport Strobe and Palm Pilot's Hot Sync.

A PowerTower Pro 225 w/Rage 128 Orion owner reported the ATI universal 4.01 update was required to work with the G3 upgrade:

" PowerTower Pro 225
Newer Tech G3/400
The card is screaming! However, it took me 2 days to get it running stably (I almost gave up and was going to return the card) because it apparently has an incompatibility with the ATI RAGE ORION card. Initially, my computer crashed constantly and then it showed only a black screen. When I upgraded the ATI driver to 4.01, the problems disappeared all together. While PowerTowerPro 225 is not listed as one of the machines affected by the ATI card, the upgrade has apparently solved my problem.
Astar Winoto "

Dramatic gains in Photoshop 4 noted by this Nubus Mac owner with a G3 upgrade:

" 8100/80
Newer Tech 300/200
I love this card! My 8100 is now extremely fast and stable. The only reason that I did not give the upgrade a 10 is the fact that there is no way to overclock the card. Other than that it is great. It is even compatible with my ATTO SEIV and Radius PrecisionColor 24X Nubus cards. ... by the way my Photoshop 4 Bench score is 193.4 for my "new" 8100. The old score was over 1000. Awesome.
Matthew Parker "

This entry notes no problems with audio played back from a Turbomax IDE card in a pre-G3 Mac:

" PowerLogix 220/110 at 300/100/50
PowerTower Pro 225
OS Sys 8.1, 256mb RAM, stock twin turbo (latest drivers), 7680k disk cache, stock 2gb IBM fast/narrow scsi, TurboMax with DiamondMax Plus 20.2gb. MacBench (no LibMoto, full extension set) cpu 768, FP 984, disk 933 (stock) 1475 (DiamondMax Plus), graphics 1246. I had stability problems with the original PL220, which they replaced. First card ran only at 325/113/50 (cpu/FP test significantly higher), but after replacing card I found the same problems with the new card which were resolved by updating to the most recent cache control version. Very satisfied with cost / performance ratio, highly recommended. TurboMax presents no audio problems with 24bit 44.1k multitrack audio recording or playback.
Clay Ruede"

Interesting, as noted here (owner reports) and at the Promax web site, the TurboMax is not suitable for A/V capture or playback (due to audio dropouts/dropped frames) when used in other than Beige G3 or later Macs. (This was also noted in my review of the Turbomax last May). Most owners of the card with pre-G3 Macs verified problems with audio stuttering and/or dropped frames. One reader said increasing his bus speed helped, but that's not always a fix. And note that the improved PCI/memory controller/faster bus of the G3 Macs was also required by Iomega's Buz video capture card.

(Working) VR Rage128 Reports: I've posted a page with many replies to my request yesterday for reports from owners having no problems with their VR128 card. I haven't read them all yet but hope the Rage128 VR Owner Feedback page will be of help to those that are experiencing problems by identifying common factors in working systems.

I had a good laugh from CNN's "The Rare Glitch Project: The legendary search for a stable version of Windows" (Thanks to Christopher Chew for sending the URL)

Jim Hollingsworth sent a link to PowerView(TM) 290, a multiple monitor design that reminded me of the MassMultiples LCD setup I noted here several months ago.

TripleDTools announced their new xSpline application ($69) that converts Illustrator EPS files to .SAT files that are optimized for use with the ElectricImage Modeler.

My Mac magazine wrote they awarded this site their Internet Site of the Month. I've added their badge to my Awards page. (Their server was not responding as of 4AM this morning)

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

Thursday's News Summary

• Unreal Tournament Mutator Mods
• VR128 Owners Request
• Wired4DVD Update
• Sawtooth G4s & SCSI Cards Compat. notes
• OpenGL 1.1.2 list of extensions/versions
• Softhut lowers prices on Nubus MP340 graphics card
• More on Sawtooth (G4/AGP) RAM Upgrades
• OS 9 Keyboard Macros
• OS 9 on Older Macs (reader comments)
• OS 9 update on G4/450
• Other Net News

Wednesday's News Summary

• Rod Paine on ATTO DC Ultra2 SCSI card issues
• Intech updates CDTools driver
• Quicken 2000 Release 2
• Dual-Channel U2 SCSI Cards: VAR recommendations
• Proformance 3 ROM Update
• Virtual PC 3.0/USB Tip
• The Game News (Mac Rainbow Six/TRIII & TrueX CD issues/workaround)
• Mac 3D Graphics Card Performance Compared (MP960/Rage128/Voodoo3 2000/Voodoo3 3000)
• Other Net News

Tuesday's News Summary

• VillageTronic MP960 Arrives
• MAChCarrier G3/500 vs Apple AGP G4/450
• Review of XLR8 MAChCarrier G3/500
• 3Dfx to Announce Napalm Cards at Comdex
• Dual Voodoo2s on One Card - First Obsidian X24 Mac Tests
• XLR8 G4 400MHz ZIF arrives
• Sawtooth RAM Upgrades Feedback
• More ATI VR128 Feedback
• TrueX drive/TRIII CD
• More on Mac OS Security Issue
• iMac DV/Playstation CDs
• iMac drive whine complaints
• Macworld UK reports Apple pulling out of UK Expo 2000
• ByteMark DR/3 and G4/AGP System scores zero?
• Game Sprockets 1.7 SDK
• Other Net News

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

Considering a G3 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

Check Apple's Software Updates
(especially their Recent Updates)

Apple TIL Updates

Apple Forums