For comparison purposes, I performed a clean install of Quake 3 v1.0 from the CD and tested with my Voodoo5 on my G4/500 single CPU system. (All Quake3 settings at Max (texture detail slider, HQ audio, HQ geometric detail, trilinear filtering [on voodoo5 made no perf. difference, may not be supported], all game options on, but VSYNC off). Virtual Memory was off, 128MB allocated to Quake3 on a clean install from the original CD. Voodoo5 used latest drivers v1.08 drivers and set to 'fastest performance' (dual chip) setting.

Of course the Radeon system has a later OpenGL version than my G4/500 which supports some of its advanced features like hardware transform (which Quake3 uses I assume even in v1.0).

Due to the large difference in 1024x768 results, but Matt later verified he did have the texture sider, etc. at max as I'm surprised at the lower Voodoo5 scores (but then the 1.0 Quake3 version may have some effect). In previous tests with Q3 v117, I did not use the HQ audio setting and texture quality was one notch down. The Voodoo5 scores are much lower than I expected with these settings, at least with Quake3 v1.0. (required to allow a 1:1 comparison to the reader's tests).

My G4/500 MP w/Radeon is set to arrive on Monday (could be as late as 7PM however) and I can then test with Q3 v117.

Update: Quake 3 v117 Radeon Tests: Another G4/500 Cube w/Radeon owner sent results with Quake3 v117.

" Mike,
Finally got a chance to test Quake 3 (v117) in video modes 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, both in 16 bit and 32 bit. All the other options were as requested on your frame reporting page. I've got a 500MHz Cube with 32MB Radeon, 512MB RAM, and 80GB Maxtor 5400rpm HD [replaced original drive]. When I tested 32-bit I changed both the color depth as well as the texture quality to 32-bit. Sound quality for all scores is on low. With high quality sound setting @ 32-bit 1024x768, there was only a 0.7 decrease in frame rate. Here's my scores:

640 x 480, 16-bit = 52.8
800 x 600, 16-bit = 52.1
1024x 768, 16-bit = 49.1

640 x 480, 32-bit = 52.3
800 x 600, 32-bit = 50.1
1024x 768, 32-bit = 45.1

I hope to test UT, Unreal, and Quake 2 soon, and will email you as well as post them in the games database.
Martin

Martin's tests were run with texture quality one notch down from max.

All results here are with Max Quality Settings (Textures, Detail and Audio).

I tested again tonight with my G4/500 (single CPU) system with Voodoo5, 1.08 drivers, in fastest (dual chip) mode. The only results I can post are for 16bit Glide however, which is the best API for UT. I tried OpenGL mode with max settings but in every case (5 times in a row, despite 160MB allocated to UT), the Voodoo5 locked up when starting to run the Cityintro demo. Medium detail was used in past tests here (G4 reviews, Voodoo5 review) but his settings were all max, so I tried to duplicate those. So far nothing but lockups at max settings. I'll try to troubleshoot that when I can but at least wanted to post the Glide scores. This is not the best benchmark for video cards by a longshot - being heavily CPU dependent as well as the fact the Cityintro test is a simple flyby, but it's the only detailed Radeon data available so far.

"Unreal Tournament 425a, Cityintro, Mac OS 9.0.4, VM off, texture detail high, model detail high, audio high, 32 bit color, Rave mode.
RAM (allocation to UT) was set to 128 MB, and yes 'Min Desired FPS' was set to 0
Matthew Martin"

Other Radeon owner game scores are welcome also - email me with your results and game settings.

" Mike-
I bought an Epson 1200U scanner from Outpost.com. I then bought the Canon N1220U at Best Buy locally as Outpost had none. I proceeded to have a shoot out between the two. Both scanners are ~ $200.

The Epson is faster (1.5-3 times, depending on rez, etc.) and produces sharper scans, with better color saturation, contrast and fewer artifacts.

The Canon is very sexy and is the perfect choice for scanning on the run, as it were, with its miserly 2.5 watts power consumption and single cable connection and its light weight. Its scans are about 90% (quality) of those from the Epson. The N1220U, though, was much less persnickety about which USB jack it was plugged into, whether directly into the computer, a stand alone, self powered hub, or the powered hub in my monitor (Mr. Bishi Diamond Pro 900u). The Epson will only function when plugged directly into the computer.

I have OmniPage Pro 8.0.1 and the Epson consistently produced better OCR results, hands down. Much more accurate.

Though I'm no graphic artist, I do some work for local, non profit folks, and as such, every so often I like to scan 3D or organic objects. The 1200U excels here. A scanned watch face, for instance, will be very sharp, down to the minute demarcations, etc., inside the face. The Canon, though, has _no_depth of field.
Objects with more than 1-2mm of relief were *way*out of focus and completely unusable. The N1220U seems to only function with paper and the like.

The Canon will supposedly scan _on its side_. There is a plastic stand that the scanner sits in to hold it vertically. I did not try this configuration.

So, the long and short of it. If you need to scan on location and/or have little desktop space, and/or prefer form over function, the Canon is the scanner for you. If you scan at your desktop only and don't mind another beige box, the Epson is the top in its class. I've seen scanners costing 2-3 times as much with output hardly distinguishable from the Epson 1200U.

The technology in the Canon is relatively new (CIS) and will surely get better. The Epson is a tried and true design (CCD) and shows it in its superior scans.

I returned the Canon.

All the Best-
Ed O'Briant

P.S. I have a PTP with a 400Mhz G3 upgrade and USB PCI card. This is an unsupported system for the Canon. It nonetheless functioned flawlessly."

I noticed the same lack of focus on 3d objects also with an older (LIDE design) Canon USB (PC version) scanner model last year. I've not scanned any 3D objects with the N656U but it's sure to have the same issues since it's based on the same design. I suspect this would be true of all 'thin' scanners.

" Mike,
My Radeon equipped 500MHz Cube arrived today (Thurs), two days after it shipped. Here's a few notes:

1) The Radeon video card DOES have a fan on it! When you make the hard drive spin down, you can hear the fan. It is pretty quiet, but this means a Radeon equipped Cube will never be completely silent when the hard drive stops spinning (like an iMac DV). But, small price to pay for the Radeon! And this Cube is a LOT quieter than a tower!

2) Haven't had time to test the Radeon other than to quick open Nanosaur and hold F8 to see the FPS. It occasionally went over 200fps!

3) I've got a couple scratch marks on my casing as others have reported (Apple wants to call them "mold lines.") It looks sort of like a hair is laying over the side of my Cube, just that you can't brush it away.

4) I've run this Cube for a few hours and had a couple freezes, but no intermitent shut down/sleep problems that others have reported.

5) I replaced the 30GB hard drive with an 80GB, which was quite a chore as the three Torx-8 screws were stripped!! (It arrived this way!) I'll spare you the details, but it took a lot of ingenuity to get those babies loose (they were on very tight.)

6) The updates this Cube shipped with that stuck out at me are Firewire 2.6 extensions, Mac OS Rom 5.5.1, and the following ATI extensions:

ATI 3D Accelerator 5.0
ATI Driver Update 1.6.4
ATI Graphics Accelerator 5.1.5
ATI MPP Manager 1.2f1
ATI Radeon 3D Accelerator 6.0.7
ATI Rage 128 3D Accelerator 5.9.1
ATI Resource Manager 2.7
ATI Video Accelerator 4.6.1

If someone doesn't need SCSI/PCI slots, the Cube is THE PowerMac to get. I sold my last couple SCSI peripherals with my Blue G3 and got firewire/USB replacements, and think the Cube lives up to all the ranting and raving.
Martin"

I've asked that any Radeon owners please send an email with results and also enter their benchmark and game results in the Mac Game/Video Card Performance Database. (Instructions on Benchmarks like Cinebench 2000, Throughput, many games, etc. are listed on the entry page.)

" My upgrade version of Office 2001 came from outpost today in its plastic CD holder case. The installation process was easy: just drag the app to the hard drive and use an installer for the Value Pack items. It installed on my hard drive and ignored O '98.

When I launched a very easy installer assistant did a smooth import of my email, addresses, rules etc. from OE 5.0.2. Couldn't have been easier and offered the option of importing now or later. And it asked if I wanted Entourage to be my defaulty email. It took my "no" graciously and told me I could change this later via the control panel.

Launching word brought up an overly gaudy window called the Project Gallery with buttons to launch the various apps. I configured it with 2 clicks to just launch a Word doc @ startup.

So far so good. the only negative thus far was an overly elaborate and poorly designed email registration template which didn't even take advantage of all the auto-fill features of OE, which I found odd and tie consuming.
BTW, I'm running a Cube 500 with 128 meg and lots of stuff. I installed it with SoundJam playing in the background but launched it solo.
Tom L."

I welcome other Office 2001 user comments, especially regarding performace and new features.

" I am sorry for the confusion. We are in the middle of completing this sale. We have run into technical difficulty in Atlanta with both telephone and Internet service. It looks like these problems will be cleared up by Friday and we should be able to begin shipping again either Monday or Tuesday.

Please contact me if you have any concerns about your order. NO CREDIT CARDS WILL BE CHARGED UNTIL THE ORDER ACTUALLY SHIPS.

We are currently working on a special promotion for our customer who stuck with us during this transition.
Thank you very much for your patience
Scott"

The reader noted as of today he still has no confirmation that his order has shipped but I've written Scott again today as well as the president of Bottom Line for an update. For any customers that have questions on existing orders - write Scott Lyons - email address: scott@bldistribution.com.
I will post any additional info I have on Bottom Line when it is received.

• Newer Tech G4/450 in PowerTower Pro 225 (rated 9)
• OEM G3/450 ZIF running 500Mhz in B&W G3 (rated 9)
• Powerlogix Zforce w/OWC G3/300 ZIF running 375MHz in 9500/120 (rated 10)
  (notes the ZIF is actually a 333)
• XLR8 CarrierZIFw/OWC G3/300 ZIF running 396MHz in 8500/120 (rated 8)

• B&W G3/400 Rev 2 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 of over 4,500 entries from most every upgradable Mac model *before* you buy.

The Drive Compatibility database had new 13 entries today (current total 1548). (Note - I welcome OS X reports in the database from users of non-Apple CD/DVD/CDRW/Firewire drives - select OS X on the entry form)

Combo DVD/CDRW Drives:
• Toshiba IDE SD-R1002 in G4/AGP
  
  CDRW Drives:
• Que! Firewire 12x10x32x w/PB G3 2000
  (Notes DAO mode issues, as have others)
• Que! Firewire 12x10x32x w/G4 AGP
  (Notes he had to disable Radialogic firewire driver)
  
  Hard Drives:
• Clubmac Firewire 20GB w/B&W G3 using OS X
• Clubmac Firewire 20GB with PB G3 2000
  (noted firmware update 2.7 fixed mounting problem)
• IBM Deskstar 75GXP 46GB in B&W G3 rev 1
  
• IBM Deskstar 75GXP 45GB in G4/AGP
• IBM Deskstar 75GXP 15GB in S900 w/PCI IDE card
• IBM IDE DJN A-352500 25GB in B&W G3 w/PCI IDE card
• IBM IDE DJN A-352500 25GB in G4/PCI w/PCI IDE card
• Maxtor 40GB in G4/AGP
  (post asks questions on jumper settings, I noted info in my comments on that entry)
• Quantum IDE Fireball Plus LM 30GB in B&W G3 rev 1
  (no tests done for data corruption)
• Updated report on WD Caviar 20GB tests w/7500 and PCI IDE cards
  (notes on audio stuttering and more)

If you've added a IDE, SCSI, Firewire or USB hard drive, CDRW, tape drive, etc. make sure you add a report to the database.

Software Updates:
• SimpleImageX
• ArKaos VISUALIZER
• OmniWeb 4.0 beta 6
• Virus Barrier 1.0.1 (direct download link)
• After Effects 4.1.1 (direct download link)
• Virex October defs (direct download link)
• Extension Overload 5.4
• NAV v6 virus defs, Oct. (direct download link)

Apple TILs:

OS X Related:

• Mac OS X Public Beta: Internet Applications Do Not Work in the Classic Environment
  
  Others:
  
• iBook: How to Upgrade Memory (RAM)
• Memory Configurations: Portable, PowerBook, iBook
• Power Macintosh G3 FireWire Card: Testing Ports
• Apple Pro Mouse: Safety Standards