September 6, 1999 by Misha Sakellaropoulo SRP: $499 (300 MHz), $529 (333 MHz), $659 (366 MHz), $729 (400 MHz), $879 (450 MHz) XLR8 MACh Carrier G3 Supports: Apple PowerMac 7300, 7500, 7600, 8500, 8600, 9500, 9600; UMAX SuperMac S900, J700; PowerComputing PowerTower, PowerCenter PowerTower Pro, PowerCenter Pro, PowerWave; DayStar Genesis MP 720 up and Millennium Pros: allows for top performance today and tomorrow, marginal monetary premium, slick packaging Cons: none significant

    With the MACh Carrier G3, XLR8 was the first company to ship an "upgradeable upgrade," which gains that terminology from its unique design. The card, which is designed for PCI-based PowerMacs and clones, features a ZIF socket on the daughtercard allowing it to use a more modern ZIF-based processor rather than traditional processors that are soldered directly onto the daughtercard. This approach effectively allows you to upgrade the upgrade card down the road with a newer ZIF processor, allowing your Power Mac to accept faster and better chips than a normal daughtercard would allow.

Y3K Ready

    The MACh Carrier G3 is available in processor speeds from 300 MHz to 400 MHz, with a 450 MHz version in the pipeline. The recently announced MACh Carrier G4 uses the same carrier card but features the latest G4 chips at speeds of 400 and 450 MHz. Of course, the MACh Carrier G3 can support G4 chips as well and XLR8 offers a Trade-Up program which allows MACh Carrier G3 users to purchase discounted G4 chips.

    Because of their expanded upgradeability, XLR8 touts the MACh Carrier as being "Y3K Compatible" and even ships the card in an amusing plastic black briefcase with the words "Y3K Survival Kit" emblazoned on a camouflage background. Along with the MACh Carrier, the briefcase also holds a camouflaged Mini Maglite, Maglite belt holder, and a sealed package of nuts.

    Our 400 MHz MACh Carrier G3 performed on par with any other 400 MHz G3 upgrade, and at $729 carries a premium of less than $100 over standard daughtercard upgrades.

The Final Word

    XLR8 pioneered the "upgradeable upgrade" concept and although similar products from competing companies are beginning to emerge, XL8 shipped their carrier card months before. The MACh Carrier G3 allows older Power Macs to take advantage of the latest PowerPC technology today with top-speed G3s as well as the G4s of tomorrow, enabling three year old Macs to come close to matching the latest offerings from Apple, a previously unheard idea.