Upgrading Your PowerPC - Part 3: Processor Upgrades
Sonnet Technology's Crescendo/PCI G3 400 and G4 450 Upgrade Cards

Reviewed By: Bill Stiteler

Review Date: February 19, 2001

Format: PCI cards

Developer: Sonnet Technologies, Inc.

Minimum requirements: One PCI slot, Mac OS 9 (OS X supported) (see Sonnet's website for compatibility list)

Retail Price: Crescendo G3 400 - $299.00; Crescendo G4 450 -$449.00

Availability: Out now

There are times in our lives that are so good, so right, we simply cannot conceive of them ending. Christmas as a child. Those first days when you discover that the person you are in love with is in love with you, also. The third and fourth seasons of Mystery Science Theater 3000. And for me, January 14th to February 13, 2001. Because between those dates, I had the Macintosh I always dreamed of. Seventeen inch, fine-pitch monitor, quality speakers, large hard drive, 56k modem and (sigh) a G4 450 MHz processor from Sonnet.

There is a sign on the way to Hell which reads, "Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter." We have a sign at Applelinks which expresses pretty much the same sentiment; "Reviewers do not get to keep hardware."

I cracked open the case of my 9600/350, pulled out the original card, along with the little pterodactyl that squawked, "It's a living!" and slid in the first of two cards from Sonnet, the Crescendo G3 400. I've previously tested competitor PowerLogix G4 400. The two cards had comparable speeds, but then, I wasn't using Altivec-aware applications.

I didn't experience any installation problems with the Sonnet cards, nor did either of them require a hook-up to the internal power supply. Likewise, there was no problem on reboot. Sonnet cards are focused on an "install and forget" principle, theorizing that most people, like myself, simply want more power. So, rather than give you dip switches to fiddle with, the cards come with one factory setting. Whether this is a "plus" depends on whether you're someone like me who doesn't care about eking out every erg of power you can, or a real speed-freak who can't stand the idea of a non-overclocked CPU.

As I expected, the speed boost from my PowerPC 350 to a G3 400 was noticeable. As I say, I had a Voodoo 5 and a ton of memory, so Unreal Tournament (with every graphic option set to the max) played like... well, nothing I've ever played before. No stutter, no lag, fast loads. For only the second time in my life (the first being when I reviewed the Powerlogix Powerforce G4 400) I had sufficient power. I hope you can appreciate what this means to me, a Mac user who always seemed to make the wrong choice, who was always one step behind. I was almost afraid to put the 450 in.

And it was different. It was better in a way I couldn't quite put my finger on. Something odd. There were differences, big differences I could appreciate, like even faster load times (UT in less than three minutes... a big step up for me), and more subtle ways in which I began to appreciate the 450, not the least of which is that it never gave me a second of trouble.

About this time, MacWorld Expo SF rolled around, and Uncle Steve announced G4s topping out at over 700 MHz. Wow. Sure, Photoshop users would rejoice immediately, but in terms of gaming, what new engines would be invented to take advantage of this in the near future. The near future...

And then it hit me.

At that moment, my machine...my Mac was 1337.

It was pretty freaky, I'll admit, and it didn't last, especially since my machine may be red hot, my skills aren't. I play a mean CTF, but can't get above 7th place in Death Match to save my life (no pun intended). But it wasn't just a combination of stats, or comparing my Mac to others, the thing seemed to play differently. It was more than just responsive, it was almost, almost like playing in a cut scene.

Is this too emotional for a hardware review? I don't do graphs, and there are a ton of other sites that do. Here then, are the cold facts that I can give you:

A G3 400 will set you back $300; a G4 450, $450. Soon Sonnet will either have to cut the prices or discontinue the models (more likely the second) as upgrade cards migrate to the "new standards" set by the MacWorld SF models. Are you thirsty for power? Really? Are there elements of your daily Mac use which you can honestly say are irritating because your processor isn't fast enough, or is it just speed lust? If it's the first, then save up and buy the best upgrade card you can. If it's the second, remember this; as processor speed increases, so will software demands. You will never reach a lasting parity between the two. But in the few, precious moments that they do align, it's very, very sweet.

As for myself, it's time to leave Nerd-vana and speak to "the people locked up in the cave, in the allegory of the people in the cave by the Greek guy," to quote They Might Be Giants. Back to a world of shadows on walls, Xbox fansites, and Julia Roberts nominations.

Man, that last one's really coming back to haunt me.

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