Accelerate Your Macintosh! PowerLogix 250mhz 604e card PreView

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=Summary=
PROS: 2nd only to Pro model in speed, bests PowerTower Pro 250 Macbench CPU score.
CONS: Fixed bus/cpu speeds, may require faster L2 cache (1meg recommended).
MacBench 4.0 scores

For an update on game performance, click here.

Intro:

Envious of that new PowerTower Pro 250? Can't afford the 5 grand to go that fast? Well your upgrade Rocketship has just arrived. PowerLogix now offers a special version of the PowerBoost^TM 233 (I nicknamed it the "Ultra") that is configured for a 50mhz bus speed and 250mhz cpu speed. I've been running the card reliably with the PowerLogix 1 meg "Ultra" cache for the last day or so with excellent results. This is one card I am going to hate to return, and is the perfect ticket for graphics intensive work on the Mac. As fate would have it, I also received Virtual PC recently and this card and cache are a big plus for that application as well.

The PowerBoost^TM 233 "Ultra" should retail for the same price as the previously reviewed 48mhz bus/240 mhz cpu model. Although the card has a 233mhz 604e processor, it has run for many hours reliably in our 8500 machine with the PowerLogix 1 meg cache. Since the bus speed is fixed at 50mhz, owners with stock caches my need to upgrade their L2 cache to run at that bus speed. The PowerLogix "Ultra" 1 meg cache makes a perfect match for this card. Fast processors need large caches, and we've proven they do indeed increase "real world" performance by as much as 25% (sorry Henry). Even though I'm using the "Ultra" cache, at the 50mhz bus speed of this card, PowerLogix's standard (less expensive) 1 meg "RapidCache" should work as well.

Photoshop, After Effects, and even general finder operations sing with this card. If you've been eyeing the new Power Computing 250mhz machines, this upgrade combo can get you the same cpu speed at a fraction of the cost. In fact this card's MacBench CPU score slightly exceeds the PowerTower Pro 250's, although the difference is minor. Any way you look at it, this card is a performance dream come true.

Update - Game Speed:
As a game benchmark, I ran the Duke Nukem 3D shareware set to 640x480 mode. Performance was silky smooth and frame rate in the first level averaged 45fps to 55fps, with occasional bursts to 60fps! Even in the hottest rooms the frame rate never dropped below 30fps. Nice to see that kind of speed in a game using only the built-in video of the 8500. This card would be a real advantage in deathmatch play (even on slow modem connections, the faster computer usually has an advantage - I've seen that in everything from Descent to Doom). As Duke would say "Hail to the King, Baby!" For now, this card is King!

This product carries a 30 day money back guarantee, and a three year warranty. Overclocking the CPU does not void the warranty of the CPU card.

Base System Notes:

The base system used to test the PowerBoost^TM was our standard PowerMac 8500, with 128megs of matched memory (60ns), standard built-in video with 4 megs Vram, running OS 7.6. Disk cache was 512k, Speed doubler 2 and LibMoto were active (Speed Doublers faster disk access was disabled). Quicktime 2.5 and Quickdraw 3d extensions were also enabled (as done in prev. testing). To maximize performance the card was tested with the supplied PowerLogix "Ultra" 1 meg cache installed.

Benchmark Notes:

All tests were run using MacBench 4.0 . All graphics tests were run at 1024x768, thousands of colors , not the lower resolutions and color settings used by most of the magazine reviews. We feel our settings are more in tune with actual users. Consider this when evaluating the video scores. Scores in general were the highest we've seen with any card so far, but this is also the fastest clock speed card we've tested with a 1 meg cache - and it shows!.

PowerLogix PowerBoost^TM 233 Specifics:

Fixed 50mhz bus speed.
Fixed 250mhz CPU speed (x5 ratio).

PowerLogix PowerBoost^TM 233 "Ultra" 250mhz Upgrade
MacBench 4.0 Scores
(Scores for PowerBoost^tm233, XLR8-225, and Newer Tech. 225 cards shown for comparison)

For a graph showing the stock 8500/120 (256k cache) scores - click Here

For a graph showing the stock 8500/120 (512k cache) scores - click Here

= Where to Buy =
Visit PowerLogix's pricing and
Order pages for more information.
For the best deals on Accelerators and Cache for your Mac
always check MacGurus! latest prices.

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= Back to WWW.XLR8YOURMAC.COM =

Copyright © , 1997.
No part of this sites content is to be reproduced in any form without written permission. All brand or product names mentioned here are properties of their respective companies.
Users of this web site must read and are bound by the terms and conditions of use.

= Where to Buy = Visit PowerLogix's pricing and Order pages for more information. For the best deals on Accelerators and Cache for your Mac always check MacGurus! latest prices.

Feedback	Send us your questions or feedback Don't like forms? Then send us a quick Email instead!
About Us	About Computer Resources

= Top of Page = = Back to WWW.XLR8YOURMAC.COM =

Copyright © , 1997. No part of this sites content is to be reproduced in any form without written permission. All brand or product names mentioned here are properties of their respective companies. Users of this web site must read and are bound by the terms and conditions of use.

	The Gurus Certify This Site is Cool.
=Summary= PROS: 2nd only to Pro model in speed, bests PowerTower Pro 250 Macbench CPU score. CONS: Fixed bus/cpu speeds, may require faster L2 cache (1meg recommended). MacBench 4.0 scores
For an update on game performance, click here.
Intro:
Envious of that new PowerTower Pro 250? Can't afford the 5 grand to go that fast? Well your upgrade Rocketship has just arrived. PowerLogix now offers a special version of the PowerBoost^TM 233 (I nicknamed it the "Ultra") that is configured for a 50mhz bus speed and 250mhz cpu speed. I've been running the card reliably with the PowerLogix 1 meg "Ultra" cache for the last day or so with excellent results. This is one card I am going to hate to return, and is the perfect ticket for graphics intensive work on the Mac. As fate would have it, I also received Virtual PC recently and this card and cache are a big plus for that application as well. The PowerBoost^TM 233 "Ultra" should retail for the same price as the previously reviewed 48mhz bus/240 mhz cpu model. Although the card has a 233mhz 604e processor, it has run for many hours reliably in our 8500 machine with the PowerLogix 1 meg cache. Since the bus speed is fixed at 50mhz, owners with stock caches my need to upgrade their L2 cache to run at that bus speed. The PowerLogix "Ultra" 1 meg cache makes a perfect match for this card. Fast processors need large caches, and we've proven they do indeed increase "real world" performance by as much as 25% (sorry Henry). Even though I'm using the "Ultra" cache, at the 50mhz bus speed of this card, PowerLogix's standard (less expensive) 1 meg "RapidCache" should work as well. Photoshop, After Effects, and even general finder operations sing with this card. If you've been eyeing the new Power Computing 250mhz machines, this upgrade combo can get you the same cpu speed at a fraction of the cost. In fact this card's MacBench CPU score slightly exceeds the PowerTower Pro 250's, although the difference is minor. Any way you look at it, this card is a performance dream come true. Update - Game Speed: As a game benchmark, I ran the Duke Nukem 3D shareware set to 640x480 mode. Performance was silky smooth and frame rate in the first level averaged 45fps to 55fps, with occasional bursts to 60fps! Even in the hottest rooms the frame rate never dropped below 30fps. Nice to see that kind of speed in a game using only the built-in video of the 8500. This card would be a real advantage in deathmatch play (even on slow modem connections, the faster computer usually has an advantage - I've seen that in everything from Descent to Doom). As Duke would say "Hail to the King, Baby!" For now, this card is King! This product carries a 30 day money back guarantee, and a three year warranty. Overclocking the CPU does not void the warranty of the CPU card.
Base System Notes:
The base system used to test the PowerBoost^TM was our standard PowerMac 8500, with 128megs of matched memory (60ns), standard built-in video with 4 megs Vram, running OS 7.6. Disk cache was 512k, Speed doubler 2 and LibMoto were active (Speed Doublers faster disk access was disabled). Quicktime 2.5 and Quickdraw 3d extensions were also enabled (as done in prev. testing). To maximize performance the card was tested with the supplied PowerLogix "Ultra" 1 meg cache installed.
Benchmark Notes:
All tests were run using MacBench 4.0 . All graphics tests were run at 1024x768, thousands of colors , not the lower resolutions and color settings used by most of the magazine reviews. We feel our settings are more in tune with actual users. Consider this when evaluating the video scores. Scores in general were the highest we've seen with any card so far, but this is also the fastest clock speed card we've tested with a 1 meg cache - and it shows!.
PowerLogix PowerBoost^TM 233 Specifics:
Fixed 50mhz bus speed. Fixed 250mhz CPU speed (x5 ratio).
PowerLogix PowerBoost^TM 233 "Ultra" 250mhz Upgrade MacBench 4.0 Scores (Scores for PowerBoost^tm233, XLR8-225, and Newer Tech. 225 cards shown for comparison)