>From: "mark" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: G3 or PCI PowerPC? >Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2003 19:12:22 -0000 > >I've seen people mention that theres a limit of a G4/400 or G3/800 on a G3 >model. But you can get a G4/800 for a PCI PowerPC. How so?
My guess is that it's because the PCI upgrades sit on a ZIF carrier card, and the G3 upgrades go straight in the ZIF socket. Perhaps it was easy to accommodate the faster ZIFs in the circuitry of the carrier, but hard to make them live happily in a naked ZIF socket. But that's only a guess. One of the reasons I chose a beige was the existance of XLR8's dual processor upgrades. Of course, they promptly went broke :-( However the G3/800 for the ZIF series is pretty new, so maybe some progress is being made. It might be worth emailing Sonnet and Powerlogix for information on their future plans. >Does this >limitation mean that something like a 9500 is a better cheap Mac than a G3 >for future upgrades? I would say it depends on how far out from purchase you see yourself upgrading. If you need a G4/800 system now, the PCI is your only option apart from a complete new system. But bear in mind the slower system bus, slower video processing (unless you spend $ on a video card), pricier RAM and SCSI discs. CPU speed is not the only thing that makes a computer fast or slow. If you plan to upgrade gradually over months or years, then bear in mind that used G4 based systems with faster buses and a much better upgrade path are going to come down in price over that period, and it might be worth getting the relatively speedy G3 now, and moving up to a faster box when it is time. If you plan to run OS X the beige is probably a better bet. The video acceleration is supported, and it is possibly more stable than running it on an unsupported machine with XPostFacto. However, many people are quite happy with X on PCI, especially with a fast PCI video card. Personally I'm happy with my beige for the moment - I'll probably upgrade from the stock G3/300 some time this year. When I need to go faster than a G4/550, probably another 12 months after that, I imagine that AGP G4 systems will be relatively cheap, and they can be upgraded to dual-1gHz. Clae. -- "As a net is made up by a series of knots, so everything in this world is connected by a series of knots. If anyone thinks that the mesh of a net is an independant, isolated thing, he is mistaken. It is called a net because it is made up of a series of connected meshes, and each mesh has its place and responsibilities in relation to other meshes." - The Teaching Of Buddha, (c) Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (Buddhist Promoting Foundation), Tokyo 1966, -- PCI-PowerMacs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Sonnet & PowerLogix Upgrades - start at $169 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> PCI-PowerMacs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/pci-powermacs.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive:<http://www.mail-archive.com/pci-powermacs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
