New Type of G3 Daughter Card
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Dan Knight - 1999.05.20
With the Power Mac 7500, 8500, and 9500, Apple introduced a new way of upgrading their computers: the CPU daughter card. Prior to this, all of Apple's upgrades (except for PPC upgrades to 68K Macs) meant changing the system board.Thanks to a competitive market, there are dozens of daughter card upgrades available for Power Macs, the Umax SuperMac J700 and J700, and several Power Computing models. Although there may still be a few 601- and 604-based cards out there, the vast majority run a G3 processor at speeds between 220 MHz and 400 MHz (see Guide to G3 Daughter Cards for more details).
There have been some incredible values for significantly boosting the performance of older Power Macs while spending under $500.
Until now, when you bought a daughter card upgrade, that was it. Whatever speed it ran at, whatever cache size it had, that's what you had. Period.
That's changed now. PowerLogix and XLR8, undoubtedly soon to be followed by others, have introduced a new kind of daughter card - one that can be upgraded.
The $149 PowerLogix Z-Force and $189 XLR8 Carrier ZIF ship without a CPU or cache. Instead, they have the same ZIF socket used in the Power Mac G3, allowing you to install the ZIF upgrade of your choice.
What kind of sense does that make when $300 buys a card with a G3 already installed?
It could make a lot of sense.
Say you have a Power Mac G3/233 and a Umax SuperMac J700/180. You want to put a faster CPU in both. Buying a 400 MHz ZIF upgrade will make the G3 about 50% faster (for more information, see Guide to G3 ZIF Upgrades).
Then you have the choice: Buy a $300 G3 daughter card for the J700, replacing its 180 MHz 604e, or buy a ZIF daughter card and install the 233 MHz G3 from your Power Mac G3 now, and then a faster CPU next time you upgrade the G3.
First, it saves you $100-150 over the daughter card. Beyond that, next time you replace the CPU in a Power Mac G3, you can move the old CPU into your J700 for free.
The ZIF daughter cards give you the option of upgrading older Macs at no additional future cost when you upgrade Power Mac G3 systems - just put the old CPU assembly in the ZIF card and get two upgrades for the price of one. And ZIF upgrades are easier to design, less expensive to make. (For current bargains, visit DealMac. I've seen 300 MHz ZIP upgrades listed there for under US$200.)
This could also create a market for pulled 233 MHz and 266 MHz ZIF assemblies from older G3 computers. Until now, there was nothing you could do with them after an upgrade, unless you wanted to keep them as spare parts. They don't sell for a great deal but could make it very economical for those of us with older systems to upgrade by buying a ZIF card and a used G3 module.
In the long run, this will also allow companies such as PowerLogix and XLR8 to discontinue the more costly daughter cards, streamline their product lines, and focus on the future with faster G3 ZIF upgrades - and G4s when they become available.
And it looks like G4 upgrades will also work with the ZIF daughter cards.
Now that's an upgrade option!
Not sure if you should upgrade your old Mac or replace it? Check the Mac Daniel index to see if we've already addressed your problem.
Recent Mac Daniel columns
- Bringing G3 iMacs and other G3 Macs into the Tiger Age, Dan Knight, 12.07. Tips on hard drives, memory, WiFi, and getting Mac OS X 10.4 installed on G3 iMacs and other older G3 Macs.
- Multiple users on the same Mac at work, Dan Knight, 11.15. How to set up a Mac so multiple users can log in and use it - and use the same pool of work files.
- 1 working eMac from 2 broken ones, Dan Knight, 11.14. A pair of matching eMacs, each with a different failure, results in one working eMac and lots of leftovers.
- Problems running Classic mode in Tiger, Dan Knight, 11.08. After upgrading to Tiger, the old Classic installation stopped working. Where to find the pieces to get everything up to date.
- More in the Mac Daniel index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 15" iMac G4/800 MHz, Jan. 2002 - The iMac is redesigned with a flat panel display and G4 CPU.
- Group of the Day: G4 List is for those using Power Mac G4s or G4 upgrades.
- January 7 in LEM history: 97: Mac OS 7.6 - 99: What color iMac do you want? - 00: S900 chronicles - 02: Who let the iMac out? - Expo keynote - iMac G4 - 14" iBook 600 - iCab fastest low-end browser - Addressing battery problems - 03: 12" PowerBook G4 - 17" PowerBook G4 - Changes in Jaguar - 04: Waiting for the tipping point - 05: Headless Mac an upgrade path for low end users - 08: Could OS X DRM drive users to Linux? - Netscape dead, but its children live on
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- Apple's Worst Business Decisions: Another Perspective, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.07. Apple's poor business decisions predate the Macintosh. Let's hope they learn from their mistakes.
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- 17" Unibody MacBook Pro, 01.06. Thinner and lighter than ever, the unibody model tops out with 8 GB of RAM and a 2.93 GHz clock speed.
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- Apple IIe Nostalgia: A Reunion 15 Years in the Making, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 01.06. Sometimes nostalgia is all you remembered, like when you get to recreate your first computing experience from the Apple II era.
- VisiCalc and the Rise of the Apple II, Tom Hormby, Orchard, 01.06. "VisiCalc was first released for the Apple II, which quickly became an invaluable tool for businesspeople - at least until IBM moved into the 'personal computing' market in 1981."
- Apples from Other Orchards: Apple II Clones, Joshua Coventry, Cortland, 01.06. Before the IBM PC spawned compatibles, companies around the world cloned the Apple II - some with more success than others.
- Interview with Dan Bricklin, Inventor of the Electronic Spreadsheet, Joshua Coventry, Cortland, 01.06. Until 1979, a spreadsheet was something you did by hand. VisiCalc changed all that and gave personal computers the first 'killer app'.
- 9.6% Mac Market Share, Quanta to Supply New iMac, New Mac mini a Go, Macintosh at 25, and More, Mac News Review, 01.05. Also what's missing from Apple's product line?, unattended online backup with MyOtherDrive, first USB 3.0 storage solutions, Find Any File, and more.
- Large Form iPod Coming?, Touch Screens a 'Huge Mistake', EarBud Yo-Yo, and More, iNews Review, 01.05. Also iPhone now at Walmart, iPhone trounces BlackBerry Storm for satisfaction, iPod video conversion software for Mac, and more.
- Intel's Quad-core Mobile CPU, Prevent OS X 10.5.6 Crashes, 'Netbook' Name Under Fire, and More, The 'Book Review, 01.05. Also the Age of the Notebook, build a cardboard laptop stand, MacBook reviews, bargain 'Books from $170 to $2,299, and more.
- Origin of the Apple I and Apple II Computers, Tom Hormby, Orchard, 01.05. From the first behemoth computers to the Apple II+, the computer that drove the personal computer revolution.
- Personal Computer History: The First 25 Years, Dan Knight, 01.05. A brief history of the first quarter-century of personal computing.
- Apple Has Always Been a Niche Player, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.05. "Despite the myths, Apple has never been a dominant player in the personal computer industry."
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 01.06. Used 1.83 GHz, $900; 2.16, $1,090; 2.33, $1,295; new 2.4 Penryn, $1,350 after rebate; 2.5, $1,485 a/r; 2.6, $1,649; new 2.4 Unibody, $1,824 a/r.
- Best G3 iMac Deals, 01.06. Used 350 MHz CD, $42; 500 MHz, $59; 450 MHz DVD, $60; 600 MHz CD-RW, $200 shipped; 700 MHz Combo, $379 shipped.
- Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' Deals, 01.06. Mac OS X 10.5, single user, $104 shipped; 5 users, $148 shipped; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $363 shipped; unlimited users, $752 shipped.
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 01.05. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733, $166; 800, $199; 1 GHz, $290; 867 MHz dual, $200, 1 GHz, $300; 1.25, $450; 1.42, $599.
- Best classic iPod Deals, 01.05. Used 40 GB 4G, $135 shipped; new 80 GB iPod classic, $160 shipped; 120 GB, $225 shipped; refurb 160 GB, $249 shipped; new, $280 shipped.
- Best titanium PowerBook G4 Deals, 01.05. Used 400 MHz DVD, $320; 550 MHz, $480; 867 MHz Combo, $500; 1 GHz Combo, $590; SuperDrive, $900.
- Best Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' Deals, 01.02. DVD upgrade from 10.3, $75; full version, $129; family pack, $200; 10-user Server, $350; unlimited users, $400.
- Best iMac G4 Deals, 01.02. Used 15" 800 MHz Combo, $280; 1 GHz, $380; 17" 1 GHz SD, $399; 1.25 GHz, $449; 20", $549.
- Best MacBook Air Deals, 01.02. Used 1.6 GHz 80 GB, $1,100; refurb, $1,149; new 120, $1,740 a/r; refurb 1.8 GHz 80, $1,199; 64 SSD, $1,699; new 1.86 GHz 120, $1,999, 128 SSD, $2,368 a/r.
- More deals in our archive.
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