PowerLogix
,contrary to our expectations, has come out with not
one but two upgrades for the iMac. Dubbed the iForce, these
upgrades work in iMacs A-D (233MHz to 333MHz machines). How
do these cards compare with Newer's
iMac upgrade? Well for one thing there is a low-end card
running at 400MHz with 512K of backside cache running at half
the processor speed (200MHz) and also a high-end card with
a processor speed of 500Mhz and 1MB of backside cache running
at 40% of the processor speed (200MHz). The Newer card has
a processor speed of 466MHz and 1MB of backside cache running
at 30% of the processor speed (155MHz). While the Newer card
has a full MB of backside cache it is hobbled somewhat by
the slower speed.
In addition PowerLogix says that they have created this card
from the "ground up", instead of recycling old iMac
processor daughter cards, which is the way Newer creates their
iMac upgrade.
We are waiting to hear from PowerLogix how they did this
(since the Apple ROM resides on the original daughter card
and you cannot run an iMac without it). This approach will
be a boon for iMac users who want to upgrade, as they will
be able to hold onto their old processor cards instead of
returning them for a rebate (which you have to do with Newer,
or the card will cost you $150 more than the current price
of $449).
PowerLogix says the iForce should be available at retailers
sometime later this month. We plan to do a review of both
cards as soon as they are available...so stay tuned.
Below we explore what performance
gain you will see with these cards installed in the machines
they are made for. We are including scores for the current
iMacs so you can make a speed comparison to those as well.
We also take a comparative look at the price/performance
equation of each card.
New Prices and the Machines The Cards Are
Intended For
What kind of performance gain are you getting for the money
you'll be shelling out for the various cards?......
Scores marked in Red indicate this information was provided
by PowerLogix. Scores Marked in Blue indicate that this information
was independently verified by MacSpeedZone.
.And how much
do you pay per performance point ................
Note: we have added the current crop of iMacs
from Apple in the chart above to give you an idea of how much
you would pay per processor performance point to acquire a
new machine...You are of course getting a lot more when you
buy a new machine!
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