Macintosh FAQ

by Tekserve wins our Day 1 best free hand out. Written by David Lerner and Aaron Freimark, the FAQ is chock full of useful information on Mac OS Classic and Mac OS X.

800 MHz and 1 GHz G4 CPU Upgrades by Sonnet allow older Power Macs and, indeed the G4 Cube, to leap forward to near current top Mac speeds. Sonnet has an 800 MHz upgrade for the PCI Power Macs 7300-9600 and equivalent clones for a show special pre-order price of $369.52. We're thinking about one for our 7300. Sonnet will also have 800 MHz and 1 GHz G4 CPUs for the Sawtooth Power Mac G4s (AGP), including the G4 Cube. The 800 MHz will cost $500 and the 1 GHz will cost $700. The Cube needs an additional kit for $30 that includes a manual and fan along with the recommendation that the installation be done by a qualified technician. We spoke to Peter Anson, Sonnet's product manager, and he demoed the 1 GHz model in a Power Mac G4--super impressive. He said the upgrades are definitely set for an August delivery. The Cube kit will be out in early September. The upgrades are based on the latest 7455 G4 chips. Peter also confirmed that the 1 GHz G4 chip will be available for the Cube despite a note on Sonnet's web site.

There were many more goodies worth mentioning in the south hall and we may report on more later. However, Day 2 (today) will be devoted to walking the north hall and talking to the vendors there. Look for our report on what we find in tomorrow's edition.