" New Mercury Extreme pricing
OWC Mercury Extreme G4/800MHZ 256K L2 + 2MB L3 SPD now $249.99, was $269.99
OWC Mercury Extreme G4/1.25GHz 256K L2 + 2MB L3 DDR now $449.99, was $499.99
OWC Mercury Extreme G4/1.33GHz 256K L2 + 2MB L3 DDR now $529.99, was $559.99
OWC Mercury Extreme G4/1.467GHz 256K L2 + 2MB L3 DDR - $579.99, was $589.99
All units compatible with PowerMac G4 AGP Graphics(Sawtooth), Gigabit Ethernet, Digital Audio, & QuickSilver Models.
30 Day 100% Money-Back Guarantee, 3yr OWC Warranty
Just got 4 Mice in the latest MacWorld Magazine and was their recommend buy!
Best Regards,
Lawrence R. O'Connor "

I reviewed their G4/1.33GHz in my Digital Audio G4/533DP earlier this year.

"mike, i just saw something on the attotech homepage that i wasn't aware of. all PCI-X-slots revert to PCI-speeds if there's one PCI-card installed!? can you confirm this?
best regards, mike
(from ATTOtech website "Hot Topics" page item on PowerMac G5):

" How does using a PCI adapter in a PCI-X slot affect performance? Using a PCI adapter in a PCI-X slot will result in a performance degradation since all slots on the PCI-X bus will revert to PCI speeds, either 33 MHz or 66 MHz PCI, depending on the bus and adapters you are using.
(the page goes on to say) As such, the UL3D-66 or UL3S-66 is the more appropriate match for the high-end G5 with a PCI-X bus because these will result in the least amount of performance degradation. The standard UL3D/UL3S host adapter is appropriate for the entry-level G5 because both support 33 MHz PCI, which results in a good match. Each of our PCI Fibre Channel adapters support 66 MHz PCI operation. For best performance, use these with the high-end G5 systems. However, they will work in the entry-level G5 at 33 MHz speeds.
Unfortunately, the ExpressPCI DC and PSC SCSI host adapters are not supported in the G5 because of signal voltage limitations.
Additional questions about G5 support should be directed to our technical support staff (available between 8am and 8pm ET by telephone at 716-691-1999 or e-mail at techsupp@attotech.com). They will be able to answer additional questions about G5 support and guide you to the best host adapter solution for your system."

I called ATTO to ask if this affects both the 133MHz PCI-X slot or just the two 100MHz (max) PCI-X slots (they are shown as separate busses). The 133MHz PCI-X slot should not be affected by a std PCI card in one of the two 100MHz PCI-X slots.
The ATTO Hot Topics page also has their latest info on ATTO card/G5 system compatibility. (Info from above not repeated below)

" ExpressPCI Host Adapter and Apple G5 Compatibility
Apple's new G5 platform introduces new levels of performance for professional and individual use. Among the many enhancements in this system is the addition of PCI-X bus support in several, high-end G5 models. This provides a huge data pipe on the expansion bus for today's most-demanding applications. The latest iteration of the PCI specification, PCI-X supports up to 1GB/second shared bandwidth across the bus. This provides up to four times the bandwidth of the PCI bus in the G4!

Many of ATTO's ExpressPCI host adapters support PCI-X throughput in OS X. For SCSI connectivity, the UL4D and UL4S Ultra320 SCSI adapters both support PCI-X.
For Fibre Channel connectivity, the FC 3300 and FC 3305 host adapters support it. If you have purchased a G5 system with PCI-X bus, we recommend these cards for your connectivity needs and for maximum performance. ATTO will be releasing drivers to support each of these products on the G5 very soon.

Will ATTO ExpressPCI host adapters with a standard 33 MHz or 66 MHz PCI interface (not PCI-X) work in a G5 system? Certainly. ATTO has already released updated drivers to support our Ultra3 host adapters. These drivers are available on our driver download site. (Note to date two G5 1.6GHz owner reports on using a UL4S card didn't have good luck - one noted a black screen only at boot (card had latest firmware he said, it appeared to not get far enough to even load a driver, so not sure if the 2.0 driver would have mattered), the other claimed it resulted in having the logic board replaced, but that may have been a coincident failure or other problem not due to the ATTO card.-Mike)
Very soon we expect to release drivers to support our FC 3321, FCSW and FC 2600 host adapters in the G5 systems."

I welcome other G5 owner reports on PCI card compatibility. Please include details on the system and PCI card (OEM or retail, firmware version, driver version, software used, G5 model, etc.). Thanks.
Even with 3.3v PCI cards, there may be compatibility issues seen in actual use. (If there are any problems seen with some 3.3v cards, hopefully they can be resolved with driver for firmware updates.)

"Hi Mike, I've seen the article "Apple Store Japan page on firewire TV tuner".
This product has been available in Japan since early this year. The manufacturer, I-O Data, makes mostly Windows accessories. I remember reading in a article somewhere that this firewire TV tuner is their experiment to see if it still worth developing for the Mac. Although I-O Data does sell a few items in the states, it seems unlikely that you will see this product available outside of Japan.

That being said, if you are interested in a TV tuner with software that is all in Japanese and probably only records shows in Japan, here is my translation for the text that you requested:
-Mark T

"This is your chance to enjoy TV shows on your Mac. You can now purchase a special Mac with TV tuner(I-O DATA GV-1394TV/M) bundles at the Apple Store. When you connect the unit using a firewire cable, you can not only enjoy high image-quality TV shows, but you can also use the captured clips in iMovie3 to freely record and edit the shows. Additionally, you can also use your Superdrive and iDVD3 to record edited TV shows on DVD. Do you want to add highlights from your favorite sports or clips of your favorite music video to your digital collection? This promotion begins from 17:30 of Tuesday, April 22, 2003 and lasts until Friday, September 26, 2003."

One reader also said this would not be usable in the USA (even though it is listed as NTSC.) Another reader from bitcafe said there's a short blurb on the device/offer at www.bitcafe.com down the page at the "Apple Japan Watch" section dated August 4th, 2003 that links to the same Apple japan page as below.
(original post follows) John G. sent a note that the apple store japan has a page noting a (Firewire port) TV tuner at http://www.apple.co.jp/promo/tvtunermodel/index.html. Since I can't read japanese I used a babelfish translation. (Note - Reader Greg E. said that Excite's translator http://www.excite.co.jp/world/url/ is usually better, and included this translated page link.) More info on the device can be found folling the link for the IOData GV-1394TV/M TV Tuner model. (A reader later sent a link to the English/USA IOData product page is here.)

Combo DVD+CDR Drives:
• Exp. bay Liteon LSC-24081(M) (24x12x24x +8x DVD-ROM) in Powerbook G3 2000 (OS X)
  
  DVD+R/RW + DVD-R/RW Drives:
• IDE NEC NEC ND-1300A in G4/AGP (OS X)
  (listed under "other" brands, using 10.3 beta w/edited burn support.)
• IDE Pioneer DVR-106 in Dual G4 DDR (OS X)
  (noted it ejects DVD-R discs, perhaps suspect drive.)
• Firewire (IDE drive in FW case) NEC-1300 (ND-1300A?) used w/G4 Cube (OS X)
  (listed under "other" brands, no itunes, etc. burn support.)
• Firewire (IDE drive in FW case) NEC ND-1300A used w/Powerbook G4 (OS X) (listed under "other" brands, no itunes/db burn support)
  (Illustrated CD drive install guide here covers G4 towers up to the Digital Audio Model, Beige G3 MT, and B&W G3 Macs)
  
  Hard Drives:
• IDE IBM DeskStar 180GXP 40GB in iMac (OS X)
• IDE Maxtor 250GB in Dual G4 DDR (OS X)

You can find full owner reports (latest shown first) by searching the database by drive/brand/interface/mac models (the latest reports are shown first in searches). For guides to installing CD/CDRW/DVD drives or Hard drives in many mac models, see the IDE Articles page. The Firewire articles page also has guides on case kits, installing drives, etc.
If you've added a IDE, SCSI, Firewire or USB hard drive, CDRW, tape drive, etc. make sure you add a report to the database. (If you post an updated entry - make sure you use the same name, etc. as you did before so I can find your past entry. Thanks.)
(Incomplete entries are deleted. Do not post questions in the database, it's for drive reports not questions on what drive to buy - for that try searching the database for reports from owners of your mac model on the drive type/brand/interface, etc. you're interested in.)

• Other World Computing G4/1.4GHz in (Digital Audio) G4/AGP (rated 9)
  (My full reviews of G4 and G3 upgrades w/apps/game tests, install info, etc. are linked here.)

(Warning - Overclocking may not be reliable and could lead to hardware failure or corrupted data.) You can find the full reports by searching the database selecting the indicated Mac model and upgrade card brand/type. If you've upgraded the CPU on your Mac, please post an entry in the database. Search the database for entries from most every upgradable Mac model *before* you buy. (Searchable by mac model/upgrade brand). For detailed reviews with performance tests and install tips, see the CPU Upgrades page.)

• 1 year ago today
• 2 years ago today
• 3 years ago today