| Upgrade your Mac with Maxpowr from Newer Technology by Dan
For those on a tight budget, and looking for ways to increase the speed and power of their aging Macintoshes, take a hard look at the latest CPU upgrade cards from Newer Technology. Until recently quite a few of the pre - G3 and G4 machines were considered impossible to upgrade due to their lack of a processor upgrade slot. This includes many of the Macs and Clones using the 603 chip series and earlier. Enter the MAXpowr G3-L2 upgrade card. Here's how it works:
Newer has taken the proven PowerPC 750 chip, combined it with backside cache, and has produced an ultra fast single chip upgrade system with CPU clock speeds ranging all the way up to 400MHz and still run at a safe and reliable system bus speed. The high speed cache resides on its own bus running at half the CPU clock speed or faster.
For the machines lacking a processor upgrade slot, the -L2 actually fits into the motherboard cache socket. Once the card has been installed and the included Control Panel and System Extension are enabled, the native motherboard processor basically falls "asleep". This allows the "Newer" G3 processor to take over. The MAXpowr G3-L2 runs at 400Mhz, with a 1Mb backside cache running at 200 Mhz.
As a proud new owner of one of these upgrades, I can attest that the MAX PowrG3-L2 has brought new life to my Power Base 240 (Power Computing). This particular machine uses the 603ev chip, and had been upgraded to 112 megs of Ram with OS9.04 installed.
Installation of the card is incredibly simple. After installing the software that comes with this package, disconnect any cables, connections and the power cord and open the case. Plug the power cord back in for proper grounding. Newer was so kind as to include a disposable static wrist bracelet with a copper ground to avoid any static discharges and damage. Attach the copper grounding to the power supply case and your wrist. For my machine, the L2 cache slot contained an existing card, but was the only obvious slot available on the motherboard for any possible changes. Note* the old L2 card may be seated very tightly, and can be difficult to remove. Persistence and a firm but gentle hand will prevail here. The new card is placed and firmly seated with the rubber heat sink facing the center of the computer. Replace the cover, cords and connections and fire it up.
If your installation was successful, a small "Newer Technology" splash screen will display itself during startup. The software package includes the utility "Gauge Pro", which you will use to check to make sure that the new processor is actually functioning and at what speeds and temperature. (The extra high temperature inside my computer pictured here was due to a faulty cooling fan, which I would have never known about without Gauge Pro).
The Apple System Profiler can also be used to verify the card operation with a bit more detail. The software install places an extension in the system folder which must be present for operation, as well as a control panel which will allow you to adjust the speed up or down of the new processor for optimal performance.
Despite the option to do so, I strongly recommend that you leave the speed settings at their default levels for maximum system stability. The addition of extra Ram and turning off Virtual Memory will improve things even more.
Newer claims this upgrade to be compatible with systems 7.5.5 to OS9 as of this date, and gives notice of continued work on OSX Public Beta with some selected drivers now available.
My initial impression of the upgrade is quite favorable. While there is no noticeable difference in the startup sequence speed, programs such as Photoshop, Microsoft Office, Netscape and other Ram hogs are clearly more responsive and quick. Basic Finder functions are noticeably faster. Mac Bench reports indicate an over 500% increase in performance in overall processing speed. Pretty impressive stats if you ask me.
While buying that shiny new blue and white G4 might be the ultimate goal, the family of MAXpowr upgrade cards appear to be an excellent alternative for those who can't justify the purchase of a new system. Well worth a look.
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