Squeezing the Apple

Squeezing the Apple
G3 Beige PowerMac Minitower in ’04

BY EDEN MAXWELL

Mar | Apr 2004
Issue No.15

G3 computer For users, life may well begin at fifty, but is there life after five for their trusty companion computers?

That’s what my five-year-old plus PowerMac G3 Beige 300MHz MT may be asking itself. I had watched my G3 age from Porsche-like performance to that of a Pinto. Was it time for digital euthanasia? Like automobiles, new computer models come out every year – at least. But unlike cars that mostly offer new styling, evolving generations of Apple computers present us with style as wells as substance in the form of processing speed, and other technological enhancements.

My rule for getting a more powerful computer system is this: upgrade when software requirements demand it. As I mentioned in a previous article, Macromedia Studio MX 2004 was the first to raise the CPU minimum power bar, requiring a PowerPC G3 processor running at 500MHz, OS X 10.2.6, 256 MB RAM (512 MB recommended), and 500 MB available disk space. I had everything more than covered except the CPU speed.

Of course, I wanted to squeeze more juice from my Apple. If, for example, you have a great running car, why incur the cost of the latest model, unless, of course, you have the disposable bucks, or are a slave to fashion. But, ultimately, for most of us, the question always comes down to money. Depending on the cost for upgrading your current machine with a faster CPU and perhaps other components, does getting a new computer make better sense? Other factors to consider include: the time involved in setting up a new hard drive with the operating system, plus your software, and files; how much do you have invested (usually peripherals and PCI cards) in your computer, and will these devices work with your new machine?

In this case, my peripherals included an Olympus 35mm slide scanner and a Castlewood Orb – both SCSI devices that worked on my Beige G3, but not if I upgraded to a machine with USB and FireWire built in, and no SCSI connection on the back. Over a year ago, I had installed a Sonnet Tango card in one of the G3’s PCI slots. This card has 2 USB and 2 FireWire ports. I used the USB ports (USB is required by OS X) to accommodate my printer, a four-port USB hub, a Wacom Intuos 2 Graphics tablet, and a ScanDisk reader to download photos directly from the smart media card (that stores the images) instead of using the USB cable to my Nikon 5400 digital camera. I could still use my ORB in OS X, but the 35mm film scanner would only function in Classic (OS 9.2) mode – tedious but workable.

Apple had released Panther, which required a PowerPC G3 with built-in USB – something I thought my Sonnet Tango card would handle. To make use of all the new features in Panther, I decided to bite the byte and get a CPU upgrade, plus a DVD “read and write” drive to bring me up to speed.

The CPU

In many real world tests, the G3 900Mhz ZIF upgrade outperformed the G4 card by nearly 2:1.

The PowerForce 900 MHz G3 ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) from PowerLogix is a CPU upgrade ($249, but you can do better by searching the web for best buys; Other World Computing has this item for $229.99) for Beige Power Mac G3’s, G3 All-in-One educational models, Blue and White G3’s and the PowerMac G4 PCI (also known as the ‘Yikes’ motherboard G4.) This upgrade boosted my G3 from 300MHz to 867MHz (Blue and Whites will get the full digital “Monty” of 900MHz). If you’ve ever replaced a memory module in your computer, you can install this upgrade by carefully following the directions. You will have to configure the CPU by selecting switch setting levers to either the “on” or “off” position. Keep in mind that the up position designates on. Also, I used the point of needle to gently flip the switches into position. Once the ZIF module is positioned, or keyed in correctly over the ZIF pinholes, the module lets gravity seat (zero insertion force) it easily into place. Although Mac OS X does not support processor upgrade cards, the PowerForce module performed as promised with an increase in overall processing speed of about two and half times over its predecessor.

Note: Check your motherboard before upgrading. If there is a Royal Tech VRM (voltage regulator module) module inside the beige G3, then you can’t run any speed G3 upgrade (from any manufacturer) unless you replace it. This issue is related to Apple PowerMac Beige models and it is estimated that less than 2% of these machines could have the Royal VRM. The word Royal is printed on the module for easy identification. If you put a G3 upgrade into a machine with the Royal VRM, the likely result is the burn out of the G3 as well as the logic board. A company called Creative Connections offers a replacement VRM Ultra ($79.95) for the Beige G3 computers.

The DVD Drive
The idea here was to add a drive with Apple SuperDrive power, compatibility, and flexibility in working with various disc formats. After looking at a variety of DVD drives that were OS X friendly, I selected the LaCie ($249) external Dual DVD±RW Drive (FireWire interface) that comes thoughtfully bundled with Toast 6 Titanium software that does an admirable job for basic recording needs. This sleek yet substantial aluminum design features 8x record speeds in DVD-R and DVD+R formats, which is comparable with the Apple SuperDrive. The LaCie drive reads and writes discs from CD-R through DVD formats. A DVD format disc holds nearly five times as much data as a standard CD – your CD music player, however, will not play DVD discs, or CD-RW discs – although some newer players will accept CD-RW.

DVD drive Burn brilliant, professional-quality DVDs on Mac OS X: The universal LaCie Dual DVD±RW Drive combines DVD+RW and DVD-RW formats, eliminating the need to choose one DVD format over another. This sleek aluminum cased combination drive is also capable of writing to most CD and DVD formats for wide playback compatibility.

With the ability to store digital data on CD or DVD media, I could now easily back up valuable information, share photos, archive MP3 collections, and, if you must, personal DVD videos, too. Mac OS X users can burn up to two hours of theater-quality video on DVD discs. I rate the LaCie DVD drive a first class product at an affordable price.

I was ready to plug in and burn away.

USB – Device Errors
Here’s an issue that may have given you an annoying bordering on frustrating time as well. As my Tango card had only two USB ports, I bought a small 4-port hub that allowed me to connect additional USB devices – power for these devices should be bus powered, coming directly from the USB interface, but this set up can be misleading. For example, if you’ve got a printer and a scanner plugged into an external USB hub, and have been getting connection or power type errors (prevalent with complex documents on the printer) when using these devices, you may need a powered hub (one with an external AC power adapter) to can handle the additional power requirements these devices demand. Since plugging the printer or scanner (including my Wacom Intuos 2 Graphics tablet which wouldn’t work when plugged into the hub) directly into one of the USB slots on the Tango card had solved the error messages, I deduced that my generic hub was the usual suspect and inadequate to boot.

G3 Beige Minitower:
Still a contender if you
don’t need to upgrade to Panther – but this old
war horse may turn
out to be a digital “Rocky”
with Ryan Rempel’s
XpostFacto in your corner.

Panther –
Making the Leap
Now that I had a speedier computer fitted with USB and FireWire ports and a DVD burner, I was prepared to install Panther. When the new operating system arrived, I was ready. I clicked install and then got the news: Panther would not install on this unsupported computer. When Apple required built-in USB support for Panther, they meant hardwired; my Tango card wouldn’t cut it. If I didn’t need to upgrade to Panther, I could have easily worked with my G3 system as described in this article for the foreseeable future. Officially, support for my G3 Beige ended with OS X 10.2.8.

For those willing to push the limits further, try the most recent version of Ryan Rempel’s XpostFacto (3.0a11), a utility that helps you install and boot Mac OS X, Mac OS X Server, and Darwin on certain unsupported systems. When Mac OS X installs successfully, its stability on unsupported systems appears to be excellent. There are cases, however, when Mac OS X is difficult to install, and there are a variety of problems you can run into. You be the judge.

When Apple OS X 10.3 states that it supports only those machines with USB built-in, it means it. PCI adapter cards with USB ports, which worked well on pre-USB Macs, will leave you USB-less.

Moving On
After some research and searching the web for a reliable reseller of used Macs, I bought a reconditioned (under $800) G4 733MHz Digital Audio Power Mac with 768MB SDRAM, 60 GB HD, internal modem, 250MB Zip, DVD, and Apple Pro keyboard/mouse. The internal DVD was a read only and would work well (copying DVD format files) with my LaCie drive. Instead of going through many tedious hours of reinstalling OS X plus all my apps and files, and configuring network connections, I removed the 60 GB HD (the one containing OS X, my apps, and files) from my G3 and installed it in my “new” Mac as the secondary, or slave drive on the ATA bus. After closing up the computer, I started it up and Panther installed smoothly. I used the “Archive and Install” option that preserves User and Network settings and saves your old system to another a folder.

Panther is a significant upgrade and is worth the upgrade cost. With all its features and refinements, Panther makes Jaguar look like the beta. I don’t want to spring for another $100 either. But, after all, Apple does have to recoup its research and development costs. You’ve got to pay to play.

Note: Before installing Panther, boot from your hard drive again and repair permissions on your boot volume. To do this, launch Disk Utility, click the First Aid tab, select your hard drive in the drive/volume list, and then click “Repair Disk Permissions.” Do this housekeeping while booted from your hard drive, rather than from the OS X install CD or another volume, in order to perform the “correct” repairs.

As iLife ’04 users have already discovered, the iDVD 4 app now opens in a non-SuperDrive machine where you can do your design work, then save and transfer your work to a SuperDrive machine for burning – you must have an internal Apple SuperDrive to burn a DVD from within iDVD. Apple’s higher end Studio Pro, however, will work my external LaCie drive.

Although this was a G4, it only had four USB ports (2 on the keyboard, 2 on the computer) and two FireWire ports – still inadequate for all my USB devices. The two ports (on the right and left side) on the keyboard are handy to accommodate the mouse for right and left-handed users, but attaching another USB device to the keyboard is cumbersome on my desk.

The Last Tango In New Jersey
You may be thinking: Why doesn’t he simply install the Tango card in the new machine for the additional USB ports? I did. Although the ports worked, Panther didn’t know how to handle the card, which resulted in a sleep issue. If I put the computer into deep sleep, it wouldn’t wake up, and the only solution was a hard reboot. So, as Sonnet wasn’t going to develop a new driver for the Tango card, out it came, and the powered USB hub, previously mentioned went back into active service – I plugged in my USB devices and all worked without a glitch.

My Olympus SCSI film scanner is obsolete on the G4. The Castlewood Orb, however, will work if buy a Castlewood Smart Cable ($75). Using the Smart Cable with an External ORB SCSI drive allows users to convert the SCSI drive into a USB solution. As I have nine removable 2.2GB Orb drives (39.95 each), the Orb, in which I’m heavily invested, is still up in the air, but I will most likely get the Smart Cable – which could have been some 75 aural treats (.99 each) from iTunes.

Another issue is the Iomega 250MB Zip drive. Although the drive is backwards compatible, saving files to 100MB disks (I had a stockpile of 10 disks that I used with my G3 Zip 100 drive.) is torturously tortoise slow, especially when writing large files. According to Iomega: “Performance can be significantly reduced when you write large files or many files to a Zip 100MB disk from a Zip 250 drive. This has to do with a combination of system cache and four-pass writes, which are required to write to 100MB media. The system cache may give you the appearance of speed by reporting that a write has completed before it actually has. Wait for the green light on the front of the drive to go out, indicating that the drive has finished writing to the disk. Writing smaller or fewer files will result in increased performance.”

The short story is that I bought an 8-pack of 250MB ZIP disks on eBay for fifty bucks, and writing files is now substantially faster.

Music While You Work
After downloading a few tracks from iTunes, it was clear: The little built-in speaker on the front of the computer and I were not going to make beautiful music together.

For the sake of harmony, I got a set of Apple Pro Speakers ($59.00 Apple Store, better prices on eBay). Designed to work with the Power Mac G4, the speakers, which employ Harman/Kardon audio technology, are designed to connect to Apple’s proprietary speaker minijack on the G4 system using a single cable. These diminutive 4-inch tall spheres produce awesome sound, and for good reason. The G4 has a powerful built-in amplifier for the Apple Pro Speakers, delivering 20 watts of floor-thumping sound (10 watts per channel) to the speakers. (Griffin Technologies makes iFire and PowerWave, external devices that allow users who have computers with FireWire and USB ports to enjoy the Apple Pro Speakers.)

Watts Up! Apple Pro Speakers will tune up your Mac. They are marvelous.

These speakers were one the best investments I’ve made. I can now enjoy downloading my favorite music via iTunes, burning my own CD’s, and listening to good vibrations while working on my “keyboard.”

End of an Affair
The Bottom Line: If you already have quite a bit invested in your Power Mac G3, it’s worth considering to upgrade the processor rather than opting for a G4 or G5 system. Apple has eliminated all of the legacy ports – ADB, serial, as well as SCSI. If you don’t need to upgrade to Panther, you can keep your investment in these peripherals as well. Do the math and decide for yourself.

My G3 served me well for years, but it’s important to know when to move on, when to cut your losses, when to let go, when to make a change. This is starting to sound like therapy. My G4 is calling me.

About the author: Eden Maxwell is a fine artist and published book author. He has contributed to many publications, including Popular Science, Art Calendar Magazine, Drachen Foundation Journal, Popular Mechanics, MacStreet Journal Online, Omni, MacUser, MacDigest, and Computer Gaming World. His art has been exhibited on both the West and East Coasts and his work has appeared in the Encyclopedia Britannica. Eden is currently writing a book for artists to be published in 2004. Visit Eden’s Atelier and Gallery website. You may also reach him via email.

G4 733MHz Digital Audio Power Mac: Although a few years old now this Apple continues to be an amazing performer.