Accelerate Your Mac! -Accelerate Your Mac's Reader review of the Newer Tech G3 333-400 CPU Upgrades Review

Click for Universal Drive Adapter specials!

A Click on this Banner shows your site support to my Sponsors

Newertech G3 Upgrades Review
(333-400MHz CPU Cards and ZIF Upgrade)
Bryan William Jones
Review date: 2/15/99

Plug and Play G3 Upgrades

Intro | Benchmarks | Appl. Tests | Software/Controls | Documentation | Specifications | Summary

Introduction

I have spent much time with upgrades in the past ranging from the Daystar `030 and `040 upgrades for the Mac classic and Mac II series to the current G3 upgrade products, and have seen some good, and some bad. The Daystar `040 series in my mind were very good, and the transparency of operation has set a sort of benchmark in my mind by which other upgrades should be compared. With these cards, all that was ever seen after the physical installation of the card was the Daystar logo underneath the MacOS startup screen and the significant performance increases that followed installation.
When it comes to upgrading, unfortunately we no longer have Daystar making upgrades, however, I have been impressed with the quality of Newer's products in the past and they seem to have kept this tradition of quality with their latest G3 card upgrades for CPU upgradeable Macintosh systems. Newer technology sent three CPU card upgrades for older Macs (the Apple Power Macintosh 73/75/76/85/95/8600, and 9600. Power Computing's Powertower Pro, and Powerwave, and the UMAX J700, and S900.), and one ZIF upgrade for the G3 Macs with which to review. All four G3 CPU upgrade cards range from 333 to 400 MHz, and I have been curious to see how they would perform given the many problems I have seen from Mac owners who have placed G3 upgrades from other manufacturers in their systems. (More on this later.)
When the boards arrived, I was surprised to find out that Newer does not support clocking of the CPU on their boards. [Note: this has mentioned in my CPU card reviews. Adjustable speed cards from some other vendors allow higher than rated speed settings that will vary depending on the model and machine used. In somes cases dramatic boosts are seen (i.e. - the 220/110 G3 cards often run 300Mhz or more reliably), as noted in the CPU Card survey taken last year and in my reviews of PowerLogix and XLR8 adjustable speed cards. However overclocking is risky and done at your own risk. Powerlogix and XLR8 are reported to honor the warranty on the card regardless of the speeds used.-Mike] (Changing the MHz at which the CPU itself operates at.) But after thinking about it for a while, I came to the following conclusion: I enjoy tinkering around with computers in my spare time but when it comes down to it, I use my computer to get work done. When I have work to complete, I do not want to have to fiddle around with things constantly to make them work at the ragged edge. I want reliable performance that's easy to use, and this is why I use a Macintosh. A simple analogy will suffice, If I want to pound nails, I pick up a hammer. I should not have to spend time figuring out how to make the hammer work or configuring the hammer to make it work. I should be able to just pound nails. If a CPU upgrade card will significantly increase performance without giving me too many problems to deal with, I can either: 1) spend less time working, or 2) pound more nails in the time allowed for work.

Review Tests/Ratings: This CPU card review is broken down into the following categories:

BenchMark Performance: MacBench 5.0. Other unaccelerated system scores are shown for comparison.

Applications Performance: How the card did in several CPU intensive tests like Photoshop, Bryce 2, JMP etc...

Software/Controls: Ease of use and features of the supplied software and hardware controls.

Documentation: How clear and complete the installation and setup instructions are in the supplied manual.

Specifications: Features and details on the hardware design. Includes compatibility information.

Summary: Final comments, and pricing/availability.

Test System:
The test machine for the CPU card upgrades was a 9600/300 with 384 MB of RAM, and dual 4 GB SCSI hard drives. In addition, it also has dual monitors, and a 3DFx Voodoo II card. The graphics card used for testing was the iXMicro Ultimate REZ with 8 MB of VRAM in slot 6 hooked up to a Applevision 750. Slot 5 contained a iXMicro Twin Turbo with 8MB of VRAM. Slot 4 contained the 12 MB Voodoo II card from Micro Conversions. On both machines, I did not run with minimal extension sets as I wanted to know what the real world performance of these cards were, additionally, some of the applications that I was going to test included extensions of their own that were required in order for the application to run. I did run tests both on the stock machine and tests with the various upgrade cards with Libmoto because Newer includes it with their cards as part of the installation process. This seems a little deceiving to me as I and others have seen very little if any real world performance increase from the Libmoto extensions but they do increase floating point benchmarks considerably. Additionally the game Hornet 3.0 seems to conflict with the Libmoto extension, and I am sure that there are other programs that conflict as well. However, I can't be too hard on Newer for this as all CPU card manufacturers seem to either include this extension with the installation software, or they recommend getting this extension to 'speed up FPU performance'.
[Note: I do not recommend the use of Libmoto due to accuracy and compatibility issues as well as seeing literally no benefit in other than MacBench. Even Newer Tech's latest MaxPowr G3 FAQ recommends removing Libmoto with OS 8.1 and later (which has much improved FPU performance over previous OS versions). See my Libmoto page for more details-Mike]
The test machine for the G3 ZIF upgrade was a stock G3/233 desktop with 32MB of RAM, and a single 4GB HD with a Techworks VooDoo I card in slot 3.

System Hardware Summary:
Apple PowerMac 9600/300
384 MB RAM (two stock 32 MB, 2 additional 32 MB DIMMS, and 4 64 MB DIMMS.
Dual 4GB IBM (both same as stock) Hard Disk (60% full and defragmented)
Ultimate Rez graphics card set to 1152X870 in millions of colors.
OS 8.5 8160 MB disk cache, VM off, Libmoto included.
Apple PowerMac G3/233
32 MB RAM (two stock 16 MB chips)
Single 4 GB HD
On board video
OS 8.5 Virtual memory enabled, Libmoto included.

You can follow the preferred path through the review by continuing to the next page, or use the links below to jump to a specific page.

Index of Newertech G3 CPU Upgrade Review Pages
Intro | Benchmarks | Appl. Tests | Software/Controls | Documentation | Specifications | Summary
- or -
Back to WWW.XLR8YOURMAC.COM

Copyright © Michael Breeden, 1999.
No part of this sites content or images are to be reproduced or distributed in any form without written permission.
All brand or product names mentioned here are properties of their respective companies.
Users of the web site must read and are bound by the terms and conditions of use.


Newertech G3 Upgrades Review (333-400MHz CPU Cards and ZIF Upgrade) Bryan William Jones Review date: 2/15/99
Plug and Play G3 Upgrades
Intro \| Benchmarks \| Appl. Tests \| Software/Controls \| Documentation \| Specifications \| Summary
Introduction
I have spent much time with upgrades in the past ranging from the Daystar `030 and `040 upgrades for the Mac classic and Mac II series to the current G3 upgrade products, and have seen some good, and some bad. The Daystar `040 series in my mind were very good, and the transparency of operation has set a sort of benchmark in my mind by which other upgrades should be compared. With these cards, all that was ever seen after the physical installation of the card was the Daystar logo underneath the MacOS startup screen and the significant performance increases that followed installation. When it comes to upgrading, unfortunately we no longer have Daystar making upgrades, however, I have been impressed with the quality of Newer's products in the past and they seem to have kept this tradition of quality with their latest G3 card upgrades for CPU upgradeable Macintosh systems. Newer technology sent three CPU card upgrades for older Macs (the Apple Power Macintosh 73/75/76/85/95/8600, and 9600. Power Computing's Powertower Pro, and Powerwave, and the UMAX J700, and S900.), and one ZIF upgrade for the G3 Macs with which to review. All four G3 CPU upgrade cards range from 333 to 400 MHz, and I have been curious to see how they would perform given the many problems I have seen from Mac owners who have placed G3 upgrades from other manufacturers in their systems. (More on this later.) When the boards arrived, I was surprised to find out that Newer does not support clocking of the CPU on their boards. [Note: this has mentioned in my CPU card reviews. Adjustable speed cards from some other vendors allow higher than rated speed settings that will vary depending on the model and machine used. In somes cases dramatic boosts are seen (i.e. - the 220/110 G3 cards often run 300Mhz or more reliably), as noted in the CPU Card survey taken last year and in my reviews of PowerLogix and XLR8 adjustable speed cards. However overclocking is risky and done at your own risk. Powerlogix and XLR8 are reported to honor the warranty on the card regardless of the speeds used.-Mike] (Changing the MHz at which the CPU itself operates at.) But after thinking about it for a while, I came to the following conclusion: I enjoy tinkering around with computers in my spare time but when it comes down to it, I use my computer to get work done. When I have work to complete, I do not want to have to fiddle around with things constantly to make them work at the ragged edge. I want reliable performance that's easy to use, and this is why I use a Macintosh. A simple analogy will suffice, If I want to pound nails, I pick up a hammer. I should not have to spend time figuring out how to make the hammer work or configuring the hammer to make it work. I should be able to just pound nails. If a CPU upgrade card will significantly increase performance without giving me too many problems to deal with, I can either: 1) spend less time working, or 2) pound more nails in the time allowed for work. Review Tests/Ratings: This CPU card review is broken down into the following categories: BenchMark Performance: MacBench 5.0. Other unaccelerated system scores are shown for comparison. Applications Performance: How the card did in several CPU intensive tests like Photoshop, Bryce 2, JMP etc... Software/Controls: Ease of use and features of the supplied software and hardware controls. Documentation: How clear and complete the installation and setup instructions are in the supplied manual. Specifications: Features and details on the hardware design. Includes compatibility information. Summary: Final comments, and pricing/availability. Test System: The test machine for the CPU card upgrades was a 9600/300 with 384 MB of RAM, and dual 4 GB SCSI hard drives. In addition, it also has dual monitors, and a 3DFx Voodoo II card. The graphics card used for testing was the iXMicro Ultimate REZ with 8 MB of VRAM in slot 6 hooked up to a Applevision 750. Slot 5 contained a iXMicro Twin Turbo with 8MB of VRAM. Slot 4 contained the 12 MB Voodoo II card from Micro Conversions. On both machines, I did not run with minimal extension sets as I wanted to know what the real world performance of these cards were, additionally, some of the applications that I was going to test included extensions of their own that were required in order for the application to run. I did run tests both on the stock machine and tests with the various upgrade cards with Libmoto because Newer includes it with their cards as part of the installation process. This seems a little deceiving to me as I and others have seen very little if any real world performance increase from the Libmoto extensions but they do increase floating point benchmarks considerably. Additionally the game Hornet 3.0 seems to conflict with the Libmoto extension, and I am sure that there are other programs that conflict as well. However, I can't be too hard on Newer for this as all CPU card manufacturers seem to either include this extension with the installation software, or they recommend getting this extension to 'speed up FPU performance'. [Note: I do not recommend the use of Libmoto due to accuracy and compatibility issues as well as seeing literally no benefit in other than MacBench. Even Newer Tech's latest MaxPowr G3 FAQ recommends removing Libmoto with OS 8.1 and later (which has much improved FPU performance over previous OS versions). See my Libmoto page for more details-Mike] The test machine for the G3 ZIF upgrade was a stock G3/233 desktop with 32MB of RAM, and a single 4GB HD with a Techworks VooDoo I card in slot 3. System Hardware Summary: Apple PowerMac 9600/300 384 MB RAM (two stock 32 MB, 2 additional 32 MB DIMMS, and 4 64 MB DIMMS. Dual 4GB IBM (both same as stock) Hard Disk (60% full and defragmented) Ultimate Rez graphics card set to 1152X870 in millions of colors. OS 8.5 8160 MB disk cache, VM off, Libmoto included. Apple PowerMac G3/233 32 MB RAM (two stock 16 MB chips) Single 4 GB HD On board video OS 8.5 Virtual memory enabled, Libmoto included.

You can follow the preferred path through the review by continuing to the next page, or use the links below to jump to a specific page.

Index of Newertech G3 CPU Upgrade Review Pages Intro \| Benchmarks \| Appl. Tests \| Software/Controls \| Documentation \| Specifications \| Summary - or - Back to WWW.XLR8YOURMAC.COM
Copyright © Michael Breeden, 1999. No part of this sites content or images are to be reproduced or distributed in any form without written permission. All brand or product names mentioned here are properties of their respective companies. Users of the web site must read and are bound by the terms and conditions of use.