A
year ago, upgrade options for the iMac and G3 PowerBooks were
nonexistent. Now, Newer Technology makes upgrades for both
machines although the process for the PowerBook upgrade is
a little more convoluted than ordering and installing your
average upgrade card. Specifically, you need to order the
card, remove your processor card, and return it to Newer for
testing and retrofitting. Newer then returns your upgraded
processor card for installation.This represents some serious
downtime if you use your PowerBook on a daily basis. The specifics
of this process are outlined on Newer's site. Is the upgrade
worth the wait? Read on to find out...
Installation: We actually got to skip the back and forth
shipping as Newer was able to provide us with a review unit.
This was a good thing as we use our G3/266 PowerBook daily
to maintain and update our sites. The box contained all of
the items the user would need to remove and return their original
processor. Newer foots the bill for FedEx overnight shipping
in both directions.
Supported Models
Original PowerBook
Newer Upgrade Speed
G3/233
G3/466/ 233
G3/250
G3/458/152
G3/266
G3/466/233
G3/292
G3/458/152
G3/300
G3/466/233
G3/333
G3/466/233
G3/400
G3/466/233
While mucking about with PowerBook innards is definitely
not for the timid, Newer provides excellent documentation
to get you through the process. The manual includes a quick
overview of the removal & install as well as clearly illustrated
instructions for each step of the process. I only hit two
minor snags when installing the card. The hard drive, which
has to be removed on PowerBooks that don't have the "bronze"
keyboard, snagged against the body on the way out. After identifying
the holdup, I was able to pull the drive with a little gentle
coaxing. The processor card itself fits in pretty tightly,
necessitating some gently prying action to get it out. Use
extreme caution during this step as it is easy to damage the
card's circuitry.
After installing, you simply reset the PowerBook's power
manager and boot your machine. For a refreshing change, there
are no extensions or control panels to install, contributing,
no doubt, to the stability we note below. Newer does provide
a copy of their Gauge pro software so you can confirm your
operating speed and temperature. Gauge Pro also lets you test
your RAM.
For
Great Prices On Upgrades Check The Quality Vendors Below
Performance and Stability: As I mentioned above, we use our
PowerBook on a daily basis, so Newer's card got a thorough
workout over the course of several weeks. From the moment
it was installed to the sad moment when we pulled it out for
return it performed like a champ. As you would expect, the
G3/466 made itself felt in a big way. Processor intensive
tasks like 3D rendering, Photoshop filter operations, and
log file analysis, all saw remarkable improvement. Even Spell
Catcher's performance was greatly improved, with spelling
corrections happening in the blink of an eye as opposed to
their usual crawl at 266 MHz. We had some initial concerns
about the heat a 466 MHz processor might generate in the PowerBook's
cramped quarters, but numerous checks with Gauge Pro and other
utilities revealed that the G3/466 performed at or below the
temperature of our G3/266. The benchmark scores below
speak for themselves.
Conclusions: There is a lot to like about Newer's upgrade
card. Performance for processor intensive tasks is boosted
nicely. Performance is rock solid, thanks to the fact that
no drivers are required for this card. The downtime while
you wait for your original processor card to be retrofitted
is a drag but you will be amply rewarded for your patience.
If you are looking to extend the life of your G3 PowerBook,
look no farther. Newer is (for a limited time) bundling their
FireWire 2 Go card with the upgrade, making for an attractive
package. Post your comments on this card on our discussion
board below.
Hits: Good preformance, excellent installation manual,
bundled with FireWire 2 Go card (as of this writing)
Misses: Sending in your processor card for retrofitting
means you will be without the use of your PowerBook
for a while...
SRP: $599
MacBench 5.0 Results
The scores below are from MacBench 5.0. MacBench 5.0 is
a subsystem-level benchmark that measures the performance
of a Mac's processor, disk, and graphics subsystems to name
a few. MacBench normalizes all scores relative to the base
machine, a Power Macintosh G3/300. The base machine receives
a score of 1000. For all MacBench tests, higher numbers indicate
better performance.
"Real World" Tests
The tests below are from our newly revised
suite of real world application tests. These tests feature
a diverse selection of applications commonly used by the Mac
community. The test suite was designed to render an accurate
and well rounded picture of an upgrade's performance. Click
here for detailed information on each test and our machine's
configuration. All of the tests below (with the exception
of the Quake III tests) were timed with a stopwatch. The times
are then converted to percentages with the unaccelerated PowerBook
set to 100%. Lower numbers indicate a better score.
HandHelditems.com - Personalize your iPod with us. Shop hundreds of unique iPod accessories and save up to 80%.
Apple Store
- The size of a pack of gum, iPod shuffle weighs less than a car key. Which means there’s nowhere your skip-free iPod shuffle can’t go. Click Here
Copyright 1996-2007 by Cider Press Publishing LLC all rights reserved.
MacSpeedZone is not authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple
Computer. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPod, iBook, iMac, eMac, and
PowerBook are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Additional
company
and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby
acknowledged.
For
Great Prices On Upgrades Check The Quality Vendors Below
