There are a lot of good products that are not on this list, and many categories that are not listed as well. What is on this list are my ten personal favorites by category, based on what I've tested this year.

I'm sure in some categories there may be better products out there that were not submitted for review, but in the CPU card, Cache and Video card categories I've tested most of the popular models. With technology changing so fast, lists like these are obsolete the minute they're posted. Consider it a look back at 1997's Macintosh performance hardware and software from someone who's tested most of the popular offerings on the market.

In most cases clicking on the product name in the list will take you to my review of it, where you can learn more of why that particular product was chosen. Otherwise the link will take you to the manufacturers product page.

1. MacOS System: PowerCenter Pro and PowerTower Pro systems.

   Why? I couldn't decide which I liked better so I chose them both. They are fast, easily upgraded, came with a nice software bundle and offered a lot of performance for the price. Since they are no longer manufactured I felt it important to recognize their place in Macintosh history. I will miss Power Computing. Honorable mention: PowerTools Xforce - which was the top performer but priced out of most buyers range. I never had a chance to test the Apple G3 line, which also deserves recognition.

2. Best G3/750 CPU Upgrade Card: PowerForce 250 from PowerLogix.

   Why? Although this card is a rev 0, the 250mhz model here has been 100% reliable at 45/292/292 (45mhz bus, 292mhz CPU & cache speed) and is amazingly fast. It was an easy choice as the best CPU card I've tested this year. Although it currently has problems with the Adaptec SCSI controller with wide drives, it works great with the ATTO SCSI card. I like PowerLogix's philosophy of giving the user speed control options, and they even guarantee the 250mhz card will run at 275mhz in your system or your money back. It also has the longest warranty of any G3 card sold in 1997 - three years.

   This PowerForce 250 is the fastest and most stable CPU card I've seen all year, bar none - and that's a rare combination. Currently priced at around $1800 (ouch I know... a new G3 system costs less than $3000), but is a better value than the higher speed (266 and 275mhz) G3 CPU cards and delivers almost the same performance for a lower price. This card can make your existing Mac faster than any production model available now. Honorable mention: Newer Technology MaxPowr Pro for the most affordable G3 card on the market and a fine product.

3. Best 604E CPU Upgrade Card: PowerBoost Pro 233mhz.

   Why? I couldn't ignore probably the most popular CPU card line this year. The remote control and amazing number of speeds available practically made other 604E cpu cards obsolete overnight. Outstanding performance and the ability to fine tune the card to your particular Mac were primary reasons this card sold so well. From my Overclocking Survey results so far, it's by far the favorite card of the "Need for Speed" crowd.

4. Best L2 Cache: Rapidcache 1 Meg L2 cache.

   Why? At the start of this year nobody had a reliable 1 Meg cache except Power Computing, and they weren't selling it separately. Many "experts" and magazines cited that cache size really didn't matter, and that 256K was all you need. Well I knew different, based on experience and realizing that cache is a major benefit with the slower bus speeds of most current Macs - and my tests results proved it. After this came to light - it seemed everyone got religion and changed their tune.

   As shown on my "Cache Crop" page, I evaluated just about every cache on the market - and the Rapidcache was the best hands down. Many other companies are now selling the Rapidcache as their own so chances are if you buy a current 1 Meg cache for your PowerMac - it's probably made by Powerlogix. Street prices start at about $170 for the standard 1 Meg version.

5. Best Storage Product: Seagate Cheetah 4LP Hard Disk.

   Why? Although I don't own one due to blowing my budget this year on other hardware, after testing the Cheetah for the MacCPU Cheetah Bundle Review I was impressed with its performance. It is the fastest drive on the market without question, and would be my first choice of hard drives for the Mac.

6. Best Video Card: Imagine 128 Series 2.

   Why? This board reeks of quality from its software controls to its performance. It excels at hi-res true color modes than have other boards gasping for breath. Instantaneous zooms in Photoshop and the best hi-res performance I've seen on the Mac made this a easy choice for best 2D card of the year. If IXMicro had released the Ultimate Rez in time, it may have been a different story.

7. Gaming Hardware: Techworks Power3D Video Card.

   Why? The 3DFx Voodoo chipset finally came to the Mac! Although only a game card, and limited (full screen only, 640x480, 60hz) this card really brought Mac gaming to a new level. 3Dfx MacQuake is stunning and plays smoothly even on lower speed machines thanks to the Voodoo chipset's parallel processing FX and Texture engines. With some monitors you may need a adjustable VGA adapter to restore some higher resolutions (i.e. 1152x870), but this card kicks serious butt compared to any other mac card and is my choice for Mac Gaming Hardware of the Year.

8. Performance Utility: Connectix's Speed Doubler.

   Why? This is the first piece of software I install on a new Mac. Faster performance on non-PowerPC code (still a lot of that in the MacOS) and much improved copy performance keep it on my list of must have software. Version 8 adds macros and scheduled copies as well. Speed Doubler just keeps getting better, and has earned a place on all my Macs.

9. General Utility: Connectix's Virtual PC.

   Why? Virtual PC was the first affordable Windows/Dos emulator on the market, and many agree still the best value. I've not personally tested RealPC, but from what I've read VPC is still a better overall product. I've had geat success with it - and just showing it to your PC friends is worth the price of admission. On faster 604E's and G3 systems performance still trails a real PC, but some dos games actually run well enough on it. DirectX video performance is still sloooow however, so don't expect many of the new Windows 95 games to run well. For general applications use with a faster Mac, it's fine. I wish Windows 95 installs on Intel hardware went this smoothly.

10. Techo-Geek Product: MacGurus External SCSI Enclosures.

    Why? I'd wanted to build a external drive RAID setup for some time, and the MacGurus enclosure and accessories made it a work of art. Although with all the trimmings the price was not cheap, the end result was very satisfying. I'll have a full report soon as part of the Ultimate Mac pages. The 5041 model I bought has 4 drive bays, 250W power supply, external SCSI id selection capability and more. Paired with the optional front bay fans and active terminators with LED remotes this is the ultimate high for the Mac do-it-yourselfer. A worthy addition to the Ultimate Mac.

    MacGurus carries a full line of practically every SCSI hardware add-on you'll ever need, and the highest quality cables and terminators I've ever seen. Their soon to be released "SCSI Pages of Doom" will be a blessing to Mac owners looking to roll their own SCSI solutions.

Update - Best Notebook of the Decade!
Although it arrived after I created this list, I must mention what is now one of my favorite products of any year - the Apple PowerBook G3. It's no lightweight, but you're packing more performance than most desktop Mac's. With a 5GB hard disk, 20X cdrom, 250MHz PowerPC G3 processor and 512K of backside cache it's a great notebook computer.

My main gripe is that the 5GB hard disk comes formatted as one volume, which is extremely wasteful of disk space - for instance a 8K gif file takes up 77K of disk space. OS 8.1 will address this problem however (HFS+ w/smaller minimum block sizes).
Overall I give the PowerBook G3 an A+. A landmark product that takes portable performance to new heights - Well done Apple!

While on the subject of the PowerBook G3, I'd also like to thank PowerLogix for making the G3 Cache Utility freely available. It has allowed this PowerBook G3 to run the backside cache at 1.5:1 (166mhz) - up from the stock 100mhz speed. So far it's been completely reliable at that speed, with no errors of any kind in weeks of use. Although not all PowerBook G3 owners seem to be able to run 1.5:1 speeds, most can run the 2:1 (125mhz) speeds. A welcome boost. Although it's not related to their own products - I'm glad they spent the time to make this utility available. Thanks PowerLogix!