The 6400 Zone is created to help you gain access to useful software updates and great shareware programs that add functionality to your system. It is also a one stop road map to other informative sites for answering your questions. Most of the info here is geared towards the 6400, but it is useful for all PCI Performa models and even the 6500 and all-in-one Macs based on the same. It's even useful to other MAC systems. I will be referring to my 6400/200 clocked to 220Mhz as just 6400/220, OK.

I will keep it updated as often as I can but I don't have much free time to work on it, so I suggest you check back at least once a week. That should be sufficient. If you don't see something you would like to see here or have your own software / web site that would benefit the MAC community, please write to me at TMK12v@aol.com and I will check it out.

OSX DP3 on a 6400 update: I was able to get my hands on OSX DP3 to try loading it on my 6400. I wanted to try installing it on a SCSI HD from my PB which is OSX compatible, then move the HD to my 6400 and see what happens. Well I haven't been able to get my PB to install OSX onto a SCSI HD but it is running on my PB G3 :) Click here to read what I had to go through to get it installed! By the way I still think the 6400's Open Firmware will be an issue as it was designed to look for a normal Mac OS System folder to boot from. My PB experiences tell me that the firmware must be altered to run the new UNIX style System folder whether its on an HFS+ or UFS formated HD? I'll keep trying :)

More info on using the Beige G3 56k internal modem on a 6400!: Well the verdict is in and the modem does work! It seems several people are using the Begie G3's modem part number #661-1510 in their 6400's with really no trouble at all. Data and fax both seem to work but voice transmitions don't. That means no MegaPhone or Apple Phone but this is a minor issue for most. Kiwi used to sell them but I think they are out right now? Also I was told that SmallDog Electronics had them? Also it seems you don't even need the software if you only go online. One user told me that they just picked the Apple 56k internal modem from the list of modems for AOL and it connected with no problem? This is probably because AOL allows you to pickthe which port the modem is connected to so it may not rely on the modem software for this at all? I do know the software for it is called Telecom (serial) and is located on the OS 8 or OS 8.1 install CD in the CD Extras folder. Thanks for all the info everyone!

Getting the Geo modem control panel to work under OS 9: Thomas wrote to tell me of a little trick to get the Geo modem control panel to open if you have OS 9 installed. Thanks Thomas.

[On your web page you mention that the apple telecom control panel can not be opened with OS 9 installed. I have had that problem with a few other control panels and holding down command and control while opening them worked fine. I did try it with the Express modem control panel and it did open. I havn't done more than change the ring volume with it, but it did work on a PM 6500/225 and a Performa 6400/180.]

I had this info posted on my OS 9 info page but didn't know if it worked or not? Well I guess it does :)

New Sonnet user NOT having trouble with Avid Cinema: Bob just purchased a Sonnet G3 upgrade for his 6400 and says Avid is running fine with the G3. Thanks Bob. Also note that he says the Crescendo driver has been reved to 1.4.2. Its not available on their web site yet though :(

[ I know this is a little late, but I just purchased the Sonnet 300 MHz with 150 MHz/1 MB backside cache and I'm not having any trouble with Avid Cinema..

The card came with Crescendo 1.4.2, and I didn't hack or change the extension, nor install in any way.

I have the Avid Cinema Extension U3 loaded on my Performa 6400/200 with 7200 rpm Maxtor harddrive running OS 8.6 with 72MB RAM.

I haven't found any problems, yet (knock on wood), but I'm not big into gaming. If you have a minute I was wondering if you knew if a Comm Slot II Ethernet card would conflict with the Sonnet card. I've read that the PCI Ethernet card is fine, but can't find anything on Comm Slot II. I hate to eat up my only PCI slot if I don't have to. Thanks!
Bob]

Oh, and COMM II ethernet cards have worked with Sonnets L2 G3 so this should not be a problem.

Strange info from Newer on their 300Mhz L2 G3 upgrades?: I was sent this letter from a person that wrote Newer on the status of their 300Mhz L2 G3 upgrade. They got a very interesting reply! Thanks.

[ Latest Word From Newer!

QUOE! 03/08/00
Sorry for the confusion surrounding this product.

Production has stopped on this product. IBM and Motorola stopped making the 300MHz chip in November, we ran out of stock in January, were promised more chips in February and now are being told that the chips are unavailable.

We are investigating a faster version of this product but have nothing to announce today.

I am very sorry for the delay and any inconvenience that this may have caused!
Tim]

I don't understand why Newer says the 300Mhz CPU's are unavailable? I thought all the other G3 upgrade Vendors were still selling 300Mhz cards? Very strange!

Update on Newer Maxpower 2.0.2fc3 driver and Speed Doubler: Brent wrote me last week that he had trouble getting the new MaxPower beta driver to run if SD was installed. He also wrote MacFixIt who email Newer on this subject and got yet another strange reply! What's with Newer these days?

[Brent Davis has a Performa 6400 running OS 8.6 with a MAXpowr G3 L2 300/200 card. All was going well until he installed the MAXpowr 2.0.2fc3 Update. At this point, Speed Doubler 8.1.2 started crashing on startup and TechTool 1.19 reported a damaged System file. There may also have been an unspecified conflict with Conflict Catcher 8.

We contacted Newer Technology about these matters and they replied:

First off: "The fc designation on the software driver means that Newer is confident that there are no major issues with the software and that only minor changes if any may be necessary, but features will not be added at this point."

As to the report of System file damage: "The latest version of the MAXpowr INIT does add a bit of code to the System file to call our Extension early in the boot process. This code looks for the file "MAXpowr Extension" and calls the 'INIT' in it, like the regular Extension loading process does. If the MAXpowr Extension is disabled, renamed, or the Shift key is pressed at startup, it skips this process. This is all the additional code does." Some utilities, including TechTool and perhaps Conflict Catcher will erroneously report this as "damage" to the System file. [Note: This is a common problem with these utilities, as they often interpret any unrecognized modification to the file as damage.] Newer is working with these other vendors to get their software to recognize the MAXpowr modification.

As for Speed Doubler: "Newer Technology does not feel the use of applications for performance enhancement are necessary when using a G3 processor upgrade. Whether or not these software apps may have worked with an older driver does not change this recommendation."]

Brent was able to get SD working again on a tip from me by renaming the SD extension by adding some spaces in front of it to make it load before the MaxPower extension. I had this same problem with Vimages drivers and making SD load first worked then also. Saying that certain utilities aren't needed anymore is just a cop out in my mind! If it worked before then obviously they caused a problem with their update. They could at least say they are sorry it doesn't work or maybe even try and fix it but to just belittle the product is ubsurd! Thats just my 2 cents :)

Info on why the Sonnet Clocker won't work on a 4400: J.R. writes that the 4400 version of the Sonnet G3 is designed in a way inwhich the Crescendo extension is not needed to activate the G3. Its only needed to turn on the L2 cache. I knew that there were different designs for the 6400 and 4400 but did not know this was what was different? Thanks J.R. Also note that this is how Newer says their L2 G3 for the 6400/6500 works.

[Hi it´s me again from germany,
here are the reasons why the overclocker could not run. unlike the 6400/6500 Mainboard, the 4400 needs no extra programming for the bus. That means a L2 G3 Card for the 4400 does not need the custom chipset that is needed for compatiblity with the 6400/6500. The bus ratio for the 4400 is hard wired and not changeable. The Sonnet clocker works fine with 6400/6500s because it can patch the custom chipset (the cards firmware) by software. You can double check this by starting a 4400 with L2 G3 Card with ext. off. This results in starting with the G3! (only the cache is disabled). Starting the 6400/6500 with L2 G3 and extension off results in starting with the base 603e cpu.
Yours
J.R.]

Fixing sound issues with L2 G3's installed: I read a posting on Accelerate Your Mac's web site that suggested turning off VM or reducing the sound rate from 44Khz to 22Khz might solve the problem? If this works for you then please let me know.

Info from a Sonnet 500Mhz L2 G3 owner: Tiong just recieved a 500Mhz G3 for his 6500 and wrote with some nice things to say about it. Thanks Tiong.

[Hi Tom,
Just got my Sonnet 500 L2G3 this morning. Some things I have noticed so far:

Crescendo 1.4.2 was shipped with my upgrade, but it's not released by Sonnet on its site yet.

Physically, the 500 is the same "newer" design as my 300, so fit is good; no more hot RAM as heatsink doesn't touch RAM.

Runs warmer than my 300 but less than when my 300 is at 375. Normal operating temperature is 39 degrees C but I have gone as high as 47 degrees C when playing games (I have taken all the extra fans, except the V3's Stealth cooler, out for this test). With fans installed (but down to one fan blowing at Sonnet's heatsink instead of two), normal operating temperature is 31 degrees C and can get as hot as 39 degrees C. All tests conducted with room temperature of 72-75 degrees F.

Newer's Gauge Pro indicates that this is a Copper chip with stepping of 3.0 (IBM's site indicates that only 3.x chips support 10x multiplier) versus my 300's 2.2 stepping. Also, with the 300, there's no "copper" word, so I am assuming that those are aluminum chips (but it runs cooler? Must be because its slower?)

Also with Newer's Gauge Pro, memory performance seems to have hit a wall! With my 300, memory performance (mp) is at 31.5MB/s. At 350MHz, mp is 32.5MB/s. At 375, mp is 33MB/s. Now at 500, mp is still at 33MB/s.

Installation woes: unstable system with first two startups. Will crash without warning (with L2G3 bug-like symptoms). Read Sonnet's manual and it says it may have extension conflicts if installed in a system with RD already installed. Uninstalled RD9, uninstalled Sonnet software, re-installed Sonnet software, reboot, re-installed RD9, and everything works again!

Game performance: Unreal 224b7, everything on and at high setting (Vsync off), 1024*768 gets 33-34fps. 1280*1024 gets 28-29 fps.

So far, I am very pleased with the Sonnet 500. If anyone e-mails you with instability after installing a Sonnet L2G3, ask them to read the manual regarding potential software conflicts. An uninstall/re-install may be all they need to bring back stability. : )

Let me know if you need more info.
Regards,
Tiong]

I was wondering if anyone could send me the 1.4.2 driver so I can post it for others to use? Thanks.

Reader Request for DVD info: Brent would like to know if anyone has info on DVD's with the 6400/6500? I have little info posted on this topic mostly because not many 6400/6500 owners tried DVD drives but if you could shed some light on this topic I would appreciate it :) Also please copy me any info you send Brent. Thanks.

[The CD-ROM in my 6500 is a gonner. As I looked around for what might be a better replacement than a stock Apple CD drive, I began to wonder about a DVD drive, as they also read CD, RW, etc. I'm not too sure what kind of PCI card I would need to make DVD's run on my 6500, but I was intregued by the simpleness of ESQuest's ad. It lists the DVD drive and a PCI card that "doesn't tax the processor...?"

http://www.ezq.com/dvd0020.html - {I did not see info on a DVD drive but just the PCI card on this site? Tom}

Anyway, I could not find anything on your site about this setup. Not that your are not spending an exorbatent amount of time providing your services to us--YOU ARE! :-) --but it doesn't appear that your DVD upgrade info is current? DVD RAM, of course is pretty big too. I have found ads for Mac-compatible, SCSI DVD-RAM and DVD-ROM's, internal and external. But I am having a heck of a time sifting through them, making sense or each's total capabilities, and what additional hardware is needed. I only started off by mentioning the EZQuest DVD-ROM Plus drive, because they have the "simplest" writie-up for us tech-deficient guys. Bottom-Line sells it for 259.00

http://www2.blol.com/bld_desc.t?method=&edp=23378&sid=4e01b9&level=l&af=&ecm=

If you could shed some light on more recent hardware developments in DVD and how they would apply to the 6400 and 6500 (I do have both), or post this question to your readers on your site, I would be greatful.

As always, thanks for all your work on your great site,
Brent]

Reader Request on a printing problem: Alexandra is having a problem printing with a Personal LaserWriter NTR. She keeps getting a not enough memory error? Please email her if you can help. Thanks.

[Hi Tom:
I need your help in the following problem. I own a Personal LaserWriter NTR that I use with a Quadra 605 with no problems at all. Yesterday I purchased a Performa 6400/200, (used due to my budget limitations) and I installed all the software that came with my NTR, went to the chooser and selected the NTR. I use Office 98 for school and now every time I want to print a Word document even as small as two lines, a message comes to the screen stating that no memory is available to print the word document (The green light flashes in the NTR). I increased the memory on all the applications such as DesktopPrinter Monitor. Word. etc. etc., and no luck.
I suspect is something with the AppleShare and LocalTalk configurations. Can anybody tell me how do I set up step by step the
printer?

Thanks a million!
Alexandra.

PS. The NTR uses the LocalTalk cables. My System is a Performa 6400/200 nothing extra other than the original set up.
OS: 8.6]

Apple 4400 and the Sonnet Clocker?: Pedro wrote to let me know he tried both Sonnet Clocker apps and neither would change the speed of his 300Mhz Sonnet G3 to 320Mhz which is the max an 8x G3 could go on a 4400 due to its 40Mhz bus. I think Sonnet may have programmed into the driver or in hardware that if its on a 40Mhz bus then 300 is the fastest it will go? Anyone with a 4400 get the 300 car to run at 320Mhz? Thanks.

[Thanks for these useful resource: site Your site has been very usefull I was trying to overclock my 4400 (40 mhz bus * 8 = 320) with a Sonnet G3 Crescendo 300 mhz 1 meg cache to 320 mhz or the cache speed to 3:2 with no luck
I tryed the clocker I and II with different settings on 4 versions of the sonnet driver, tryed erasing preferences, flashing the pram. I think one time I was able to underclock it to 255 mhz only one time was I able to change the clock speed on the card.
I also tryed 3 other drivers in their different versions: the vimage 320/325 booster's, newer tech's, and powerlogix. Also tryed the sonnet hack + power logix almost all the time I was at 300 mhz 2:1 cache finally gave up or should I really give up?
Any suggestions?
------------------------------------------------
Pedro]

Game freeze fixed by removing Sound Manager extension: I read this on Accelerate Your Mac's web site. It seems that remove the Sound Manager extension can help get rid of crashes while playing games? This might not work for everyone as some games require certain versions of the Sound Manager but its worth a try :)

[L2G3 Upgrade/Gaming Freeze Tip: A reader sends a tip for those having problems with games and a L2G3 upgrade. (Note that disabling the Sound Manager also was reported to solve game problems on all Macs some time back when the SM updates were released)

"Hi Mike,
...I have a suggestion for eliminating problems with a Sonnet Crescendo L2/G3 upgraded computer. I have a Performa 6400 that I recently upgraded. I have a Creative Voodoo2 for 3D (I have an ixmicro Ult. Rez for 2D). When I upgraded to the G3 card I experienced intermittent freezes in Unreal (any version). I read that similar problems were occurring with the Sonnet card and ATI video cards.

Someone resolved the problem by disabling the sound manager extension (ver. 2.6). So I tried it. Guess what, no more freezes. This isn't exactly scientific, but it works. Maybe some type of conflict with the sound manager extension and the Crescendo extension? Don't know but it works like a champ....
Have a good one,
Dave"]

OS X on the 6400 update: Steve gave me a suggestion to try installing OS X on an HD from a computer that is OS X compatible and then move that HD to my 6400. this is one way to get OS X on the 6400 but will it still work? DP3 can install OS X onto an HFS+ partition so this part is taken care of but what about the file that the Boot Rom is looking for? The Mac OS is hard coded to look for a "blessed" system folder with a System file in it. OS X may not have te same naming or structure which could be another reason why the OS X installer tries to rewrite the OpenFirmware? Just because it might be possible to get the OS X operating system onto a HD that the 6400 can read does not mean it will see it as a bootable disk? I am going to give it a try and see what happens :) Thanks Steve. Click here to read my previous attempt at getting OS X Server installed.

[Hi Tom,
This is all speculation, I don't have a copy of DP3 or OSXS since I assumed it wouldn't work I never bothered to try, but...

Depending on the hardware (i.e. if Newer really does have the G3 enabled on startup and just activates the backside cache with their extension they might not need this) I think you'd always have to use something like BootX just so you could get the G3 up and running first.

To get it running without BootX would probably require a low-level driver of some kind, that would have to come from the accelerator manufacturer and may need assistance from Apple. I'm not sure that will ever happen.

One thing to keep in mind is that while the DP3 disc may not be HFS+ you can certainly boot from an HFS+ disk in OS X. It may be that they will ship OS X on a normal Mac CD when it comes time to retail it. This would eliminate the Open Firmware problem which is causing you problems right now. It may also be possible to install OS X on the 6400's hard drive (an HFS+ install) in a newer machine and move the drive back to the hard drive. Make sure you have a free partition to use for the OS X install or it'll erase the contents of your hard drive.

Let us know how if it works :).

Oh - one more thing. I'm running 9.0.4f3 and found an extension conflict that was causing the video acceleration from my ATI Rage Pro to get disabled (ATI drivers from the update) - it ended up being the Stuffit extensions. I could also zap the PRAM and the next boot would have video acceleration enabled. Go figure. It's nice and speedy now with Stuffit banished. I thought 9.0.1f1 was faster than this build, but thedifference is fairly small and 9.0.1f1 was pretty unstable.
Steve]

Newer MaxPower 2.0.2fc3 driver works?: I found this on MacFixIt's web site. This person had issues with the 2.0 version and says this preliminary version is working fine. But I had another person (Brent) tell me that the 2.0.2fc3 extension caused him trouble and the 1.0 version worked just fine? I'm not sure what Newer has fixed but I guess they are working n the Geo modem issue since they really didn't have any other problems :)

[MAXpowr and 6400: success Mike Sellers writes: "Since I was one of the first to wail when NewerTech's MAXpowr 2.0 didn't work on my Performa 6400/1800 with the 300/200/1MB card, I'd like to report that the new MAXpowr 2.0.2fc3 installed without a hitch and has worked flawlessly all weekend.']

Here is Brents letter. Thanks Brent.

[Tom,
I just learned some important information regarding Newer Technologie's Maxpowr G3 upgrades and thier drivers that might be of interest to your readers. Check it out:

I have a Performa 6400 running OS 8.6. I have had a Maxpowr G3 L2 300/200 card installed for about 6 months that works quite well with minimal problems. Up until yesterday I had been using version 1.0 of their drivers.

Yesterday I installed the latest software, "MAXpowr 2.0.2fc3 Installer" and made these discoveries:

1. Speed Doubler 8 (8.1.2) will crash the computer upon startup.

2. The installer and/or extension and control panel installed does something to the System File that Tech Tool 1.1.9 reports "System File Damaged. Replace with Fresh Copy." (However, using Conflict Catcher to "Scan Files for Damage" and Norton Utilities to check files shows no problems with the System File. Perhaps this is a problem with Tech Tool???)

I called Newer Tech and spoke to their technical support people and learned this:

1. Speed Doubler 8 is NOT COMPATIBLE with any of their cards or drivers. (This is strange as it seemed to work just fine with the 1.0 driver.)

2. They aren't sure about the "Damaged System File" but it MAY MODIFY it in some way. (I installed the drivers on a non-G3 Mac and found that Tech Tool reports that System File as being damaged, too! Also, replacing the System File with a fresh one will be ok until the computer is restarted using the new drivers. After that, the new fresh System File will now be reported as damaged.)

3. They claim Conflict Catcher 8 is NOT COMPATIBLE with their
cards or drivers either. They won't elaborate on what the conflict is but to my knowledge I haven't had this conflict with either versions 1.0 or 2.02 of their software. They recommend using Apple Extensions manager.

I asked to speak to their software authors or at least to contact me with better answers. I will let you know if I hear from them. I hope these claims aren't true as I don't want to give up my Speed Doubler or Conflict Catcher and am concerned about the "Damaged System Files!"
Thank You,
Brent]

Reply for Jeff: Jeff asked me not to reply to his email but to post it on my website. So Jeff, here it is :) First your original question.

[I own a 6400/200 and am in need of a new internal Hard Drive. I have been looking at a company named Maxtor that makes, all around, very good internal hard drives and servers. I was unsure of purchasing it or spending the massive amount of time going and shopping for something else because of possible incompatability. Please do not reply to this e-mail address. Instead post it on your site with an answer. Thnk you for your time.
Jeff]

The Maxtor IDE drive is a very good drive to upgrade your older IDE drive with. I myself installed a Maxtor 5.7G IDE HD in my 6400 and it runs great. Click here for my install review. Most any IDE drive will work on the 6400 It does not matter if it says Windows only as Apples Drive Setup is able to initialize these drives with no problems. Also it doesn't matter what speed you buy as the 6400 is only ATA-16 and all new IDE HD's are at least ATA-33 and up. They will connect and work but you won't see the full speed unless you also get an IDE/PCI card or install the drive in a MAc with an ATA-33 or faster IDE bus.

Beige G3 56k modem in the 6400?: Kirk sent me a letter asking if the 56k internal modem would work in the 6400's COMM II slot. Here is his letter.

[Hi Thomas,
Still enjoying perusing your 6400 CD, many thanks.
Been thinking of adding a 56k internal modem to my PM6500 (I have a 33.6 GeoPort internal installed now). Looks as if the internal modem for the older G3 will fit, as I pulled out one from a G3 Mac and compared it to the modem in my 6500. They have a very similar configuration and apparently will fit into the same slot. I looked at most of your web site info. and don't see where anyone has tried this. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Kirk]

I did some digging and here is what I found! In the Beige G3 Apple Take Apart Manual it has this listed.

[Modem Slot 112-pin connector to accept optional fax/modem card
Note: Does not carry PCI signals

Modem
Apple/GV
56.6K
661-1510]

In the 6400/6500 Apple Take Apart Manual I found this.

[Communications One internal expansion slot for modem or Ethernet card (PCI bus configuration). Depending on configuration, a modem card may already be installed.]

No part number was listed :( But at www.sunrem.com I did a search on the 661-1510 part number and they have it listed for both the Beige G3 and the 6500! The two Apple manuals seem to contradict each other if they really are the same part? But this wouldn't be the first time Apples printings are incorrect :) I assume to get the modem to work you would either need the software from the Beige G3 or the Apple Telecom (Serial) software which is on the OS 8.0 and 8.1 install CD's. If anyone has more info on this please email me.

Configure TCP/IP for games on a local network: I found this web site which has some good simple info on how to setup a local network to play network games.

Sonnet L2 G3 400Mhz card user letter: Steve sent me this letter just to say that is is well with his new upgrade :) Thanks Steve. To answer his question on getting max performance I would say that no CPU upgrade on any computer (Mac or PC) can get the full benefit unless it also has the newer sub systems structure from the systems they were designed to run on originally. That said you still get a great bang for the buck with a CPU upgrade :)

[ Hi Tom,
Just wanted to thank you again for the great 6400 zone site! I've been a reader for a while now and decided to jump in and buy sonnet's g3/400 card for my 6400/180. It works great! No flaws so far! I also installed 3dfx's voodoo3-2000 card and it works just fine with the card. I do wonder if I am getting max performance from the card or if this is a bit of overkill. Anyway, just thought I 'd let you know.
take care,
steve]

The G3 400 and the Voodoo3 would feel much faster on a 100Mhz mother board such as the B&W G3 but these on a 6400 gives you the fastest 6400 on the block!

Possible reason why Sonnets cards have issues with the Voodoo3 card?: Tiong has been helping my solve the problem of why the Voodoo3 card has problems with Sonnets L2 G3 and may have found a possible reason why? Tiong earlier found out that Sonnet has changed the design of the chip layout on some of their L2 G3 cards and also questioned that just being on a different bus speed may affect it? Thanks Tiong.

[Hi Tom,
I've been thinking, since Sonnet's new 400 has a 10x multiplier to get a true 400MHz when used in a 6400, then in a 6500 why would it run at 400Mhz? Could it be that Sonnet uses something in the card to sense the difference in the bus speed to cause this switching?

Maybe the 10x and 8x (for 6500 use) switching is causing all the problems Stefan had with the 400 cards he had with his 6500? Stefan did mentioned that Sonnet had given him a newer, updated design that was going to solve his problems but it didn't, until he got the 500 cards.
Thanks for any info you can give me! : )
Regards,
Tiong]

[Hi Tom,
I had asked Sonnet about the switching thing and they said that it is a possibility that that could be a cause towards instability. However, they didn't reveal whether it's a software or hardware switch.

Anyway, here's their reply:

Reply to: RE: Question regarding L2G3 upgardes Tiong,
The currently shipping 400Mhz card uses the 10X PPC755 chip from IBM so it will run at 400Mhz in your 6400. In a machine with a 50Mhz bus, it will set itself to 400Mhz by using an 8X multiplier.

I've heard of reports of the Voodoo3 cards having problems in certain machines with certain speed cards but I'm not sure if we have a fix in place. I know we've been in contact with 3dfx's engineering staff and we're working with them to insure compatibility with their upcoming Voodoo4 and Voodoo5 cards. It's quite possible that the way the 400Mhz card is setting itself might have something to do with any incompatibilities that might be generated. Then again, the drivers for the Voodoo3 cards are beta software which might also be a contributing factor.

I'd buy whatever card you want or can afford and try it out. If you buy one of our cards and you get conflicts with any of your hardware or software, you have 30 days to return it for a full refund (less the original shipping charge).

Neal McAuley
End User Account Executive
Sonnet Technologies
(800) 786-6260 Ext. 46
neal.mcauley@sonnettech.com

Notice that they thought I have a 6400? ;-P

Hmm.... about the switching thing, I guess it is possible but then it may not be too? I mean if it were the switching thing, then wouldn't my 300 get the same problem as the 400? More confused now!

Oh well, got to save energy to make decision as to get the 400 or 500.
Regards,
Tiong]

Tiong also sent me some MacBench 5 scores from his over clocked 300Mhz card (to 375) and Stefans 500Mhz card.

Tiongs 375Mhz L2 G3
CPU=1200
FPU=1242

Stefans 500Mhz L2 G3
CPU=1502
FPU=2008

Reader Request on Newer G3 info: Russ would like to hear from anyone thats used the Newer L2 G3 in a heavily used business environment. I reminded him that they are no longer being produced but he still is interested in this. Thanks.

[Hi, I've been following your pages on L2 upgrades and have almost made up my mind. I think I'd like to get the Newer 300/200 card, but I was wondering if any of your readers have had experience in a work environment. I specfically use 8.6 with Quark 4.1, Illustrator 7 and Photoshop 5.5 in a printing company. Does anybody have day in day out observations of these programs? It would really help me justify the expense on our limited budget.
Thanks,
Russ
skylnprntg@aol.com]

I was wondering if anyone would be interested in purchasing a CD with my entire up-to-date site as well as my 6400 Take Apart manual plus many of the past Just Updates included? I think this would be a great idea for anyone who hasn't been able to keep up or never saw my site until recently. Also for those of you with Sherlock the CD is even better cause you can tell Sherlock to index the CD and then you can do a search on any topic and if I ever talked about it, you'll find it! I have info as far back as mid 1997. I'm asking $15 which includes shipping for US residents (not sure what the price for international shipments would be yet?) and I will even include a few surprises! To make this offer even juicier I can add some download that you've been trying to get but just couldn't for some reason. Lets put my cable modem to work :)

I found a great way to earn some money while getting great deals to you on Macintosh books and software plus they have all kinds of other books, music, and more. Please click on the amazon.com link on the top of this page whenever you feel like purchasing something to help sponsor this site. If you're unsure of what you want and wish to get a list of Mac related items, just type Macintosh in the search field on their home page and you will be presented with many choices to select.

Jeff did some digging in to the new code that displays the frames on my site with AOL ads and found a link that can be used which will not show those annoying ads. Here is the address. http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/TMK12v/home.html
Thanks Jeff, for sending this info. PS don't let AOL find out :)

Here's an even better link http://members.aol.com/zone6400 I like this one better :)

I use a Performa 6400/180 OS 8.6, Performa 6400/200 OS 8.6, B&W G3/350 OS 8.6, PowerBook G3/233 OS 9, PM 6100 G3/240 OS 9, and a PowerBook DUO 270c OS 7.5.5. All of the software updates posted here are currently running on one or the other with minimal problems. If I do encounter a problem, I will post it for all to read and respond to. If you are having any problems and would like help just email me and if I can answer it I will, or I will post it here for others to read and respond to.