Hands-On: Apple AirPort In A Combo Wired/Wireless Network

Over the weekend Macs Only! set up and tested an AirPort network with a Base Station, a Power Mac G4 and an iBook as part of a wired ethernet network. It took minutes, not hours or days, to set up and works great except for file copy speed. There are, however, two essential steps. Check it out..

First Touch--PowerLogix G4 350 MHz ZIF: PowerLogix sent me their brand new G4 350 MHz ZIF-socket CPU upgrade card for review ($599 list). The G4/350 ZIF has 1 MB of backside cache set to one-half of the CPU speed (nominally 175 MHz). It is designed to run on Apple's B&W G3, Beige G3 and All-In-One G3 and PowerLogix CPU cards are made for speed. This G4 card is no different. It has a dial switch to change the system bus to CPU clock ratio from 3.5 to 7.5 leading to a theoretical speed of 750 MHz with the B&W G3's system bus speed of 100 MHz. Using the G4 in the B&W G3 first required PowerLogix's patch to overcome Apple's G4 upgrade block incorporated in a firmware update. The patch installed fine. Here are some early benchmark tests of the G4 ZIF running at 400 MHz in the B&W G3 as compared with a G4/400 Sawtooth:

G4 Performance Comparisons*

Test	PowerLogix G4 ZIF	Power Mac G4 (S)
400/200	400/200
MacBench 5 CPU	1256	1257
MacBench 5 FPU	1473	1492
MacBench 5 Disk	1025	1954
MacBench 5 Graphics	3602	3541
Walker Spin (fps)	40.0	n/a

*Apple B&W G3 with G4 ZIF CPU set to 400 MHz and backside cache to 200 MHz, VM off, No Libmoto

The results are virtually identical. If you have a B&W G3, you can upgrade it to a "Yikes" G4 running at 400 MHz for $599 without cracking the the Apple warranty sticker over the jumper block. A full will review, including long term use, will follow in a few weeks.