A lot of our readers keep asking where
they can find cheap Cube parts. We have found a source
for you: Shaye.co.uk. It is in the UK, but they ship
internationally for a small fee. (We are not affiliated
with them in any way, and all transactions between you
and them are your responsability and the responsability
of the Shaye store.)
They have:
900 Cube logic boards for £100
60 modem cards for £30
2 power cards for £100
450 Mhz CPUs for £89 (update : CPUs are sold out)
100 graphics cards including ATI 128 for £69, Cube 32MB
Radeons for £149 (update: Radeons are sold out) , 32MB
cube Geforce 2MX for £119 (update : GeForce2Mx are sold out)
That's probably the last opportunity you'll
have to buy some of those parts...You'd better hurry....
If you want to buy them, you can contact them at engineering@shaye.co.uk
. (Tell them you come from the Cube-Zone...)
Readers feedback and questions
It is highly unlikely
that Hypertransport is in the new PowerMac's.
They simply put all those system features
into one chip. That is right at the
edge of what you can do in one chip.
And many server PC's do have GE on the
system controller, some have more than
one PCI. The purpose of HT is to allow
multiple chips to connect together with
few pins, and with only one chip this
is not needed. Apple is at the edge
of capability and needs to go further
as does the rest of the industry. A
single 33Mhz PCI is simply not adequate
for server type applications, even if
it is 64 bit. You are likely to see
HT in an upcoming G5, where I expect
the memory controller will be on the
CPU! Processors need to get Main Memory
closer to them, so they will be including
a Memory controller right on chip very
soon. Some embedded processors have
already done this, and the stand alone
processors are not far behind. So you
will see a main processor with a fast
DDR-SDRAM port for main memory, perhaps
a tertiary cache bus (like currently)
(DDR or QDR SRAM), and one, two, or
three Hypertransport busses for all
I/O. If there is only one HT bus, then
a HT switch chip will be connected to
it providing several HT links. One will
likely go to the graphics subsystem,
one to a PCI interface chip, and one
to an I/O chip with GE, Firewire, USB,
and ATA ports. The whole architecture
looks a lot different. No AGP port,
perhaps more than one PCI bus to support
66MHZ (which apple cannot do with its
central system controller right now),
Disk (and GE and Firewire), will connect
to a HT link, not PCI. No time for a
picture, sorry. The hitch in all this
is that Motorola is supporting RapidIO
which is an alternative bus to HT. It
will be interesting to see what the
G5 has!!! I bet it is HT.
P.S. There is NO WAY that
the G4 used DDR SDRAM for its cache.
It is DDR SRAM, a very different chip.
Someone needs to tell apple, it looks
really bad that they don't know what
they are talking about.
Mark
Patrick from http://macgamecube.com
incorrectly states that slot load Cube and slot load iMac are
not able to use mini CDs. Apple states in their knowledge base
that mini CDs (77mm, 3") are actually supported in both the
Cube and slot load iMac. The only limitation is the mini CDs
can't be odd shaped (triangles, squares, etc). I bought a spindle
of 50 mini CDrs last summer which burned just fine in my 600Mhz
iMac SE (Blue D) slot load CDrw on advice from another Mac friend
that had been using them. I recently sold that iMac but am still
able to read those discs in the internal DVD drive of my 500Mhz
Radeon Cube. I've been using mini CDs as an alternative to Zip
disks. With the 8x Cube/iMac burner they write at 1.2MB/s (faster
than Zip). And they read back even faster. The mini CDs are
not effected by magnetic sources (telephones, speakers, etc).
Physically, they are actually smaller and thinner than a standard
3.5" PC floppy diskette - and that's including the mini sleeve.
They hold 185MB and don't suffer the usual Zip incompatibilities
both on Mac and cross platform. I just burned a mini CDr using
discburner (OSX) last weekend for a PC owning friend. While
I had to use an external burner with my Cube, I tested the CDr
in the Cube slot load DVD drive. Needless to say, it worked
great on my friend's PC as well.....
Joe
PS. yesbuy.com
has mini CDs in 10, 50, and 100 packs for as little
as 55 cents each
Hy, since it«s possible to operate a BTO GeForce3
wit ADC in a Cube, do you think the BTO GeForce4 will also work
in the Cube? Sincerly yours, Boris ps: Please keep this site
alive, it«s the best Mac Page i«ve seen yet (and i«ve seen a
lot)
It will probably work... The BTO GeForce3
works. I don't see why the GeForce 4MX wouldn't work. If some
of our readers have a new PowerMac and a Cube and if they could
try that....we'll know for sure.
Can you help with updated information on the success (or failure)
of the dual G4 cube projects? I am curious if melt-down has occurred.
I really want one of these, but am a little pessimistic...
Thanks: Richard
Well...we want one too...but we still have to find a dual
processor... We only know about three of those dual Cubes...that's
probably not enough to tell if all the Cubes can work with that
hack and how long they can.... If anybody made a hack and can
comment on that, please
drop us a line!
01/29/02
New PowerMac G4 using Hypertransport?
Several weeks ago, Apple joined the Hypertransport
consortium, created by AMD. NVIDIA and ATI are also
members of that consortium. What is interesting in the
new architecture (see picture below) of the new Powermac
G4 is that there is a new System Controller. Is it some
kind of Hypertransport technology? Maybe.
According to AMD, "HyperTransport
is used to provide high-performance interconnect between
integrated circuits that comprise the system's core.
Peripheral device interconnect is provided by existing
industry standard busses such as IDE, SCSI, etc".
That seems to be the case with the new Powermacs. According
to Apple, "integrated high-speed I/O FireWire and
Gigabit Ethernet are two high-performance technologies
for connecting to the latest peripherals and high-speed
networks. On PCs, these features are often installed
as PCI cards, adding more data congestion for the PCI
bus and the I/O controller. On the Power Mac G4, FireWire
and Gigabit Ethernet are connected directly to the system
controller. This dedicated connection guarantees low
latency, resulting in optimal FireWire and Ethernet
performance".
Update : Apparently we are not
the only ones to think that the new architecture is
Hypertransport. One of our readers sent us a link to
a French site called MacFinder.org.
They have a good comparison of the AMD hypertransport
definition (with picture) and the Apple new architecture.
01/22/02
Firewire keychain (update)
We have received an e-mail from Kathy
Wiebe, Director of Marketing of WiebeTech, about WiebeTech's
firewire keychain : "Following is a news release
for Jan. 23 announcing pricing and new features for
WiebeTech's FireWire KeyChain. We think customers and
dealers will be pleased with the reduced physical size
and the new user/dealer configurable unit retailing
at $99.95 :
WiebeTech announces new features and pricing
on revolutionary FireWire KeyChain : New reduced physical
size and User Configurable to 1GB, starting at $99.95
with delivery scheduled for March.
WICHITA, KS Jan. 23, 2002 WiebeTech LLC
announces pricing and new features for the FireWire
KeyChain, a high speed, portable FireWire (IEEE1394)
keychain-sized storage deviceÊwhich supports capacities
of up to 1GB using nonvolatile CompactFlash storage
modules. FireWire KeyChain's physical dimensions have
been reduced, and it is user configurable and will ship
without a storage module installed for a retail price
of $99.95. CompactFlash modules are easy to install
to meet desired capacity needs. The FireWire KeyChain
now offers these outstanding features: In response to
customer input at the Macworld Expo show in early January,
James Wiebe, president of WiebeTech, said that significant
features have been added to the revolutionary FireWire
KeyChain. WiebeTech introduced FireWire KeyChain at
Macworld along with its new line of micro storage solutions.
Readers comments about yesterday's
articles
"I can confirm that the iSub does indeed
work with the G4 Cube. I've had this setup for a little over
a month now, and it works beautifully. The bass from the iSub
combined with the output from the Cube's speakers makes for
a very nice computer speaker setup. I think OS X 10.1 brought
some changes to how USB audio is handled, and as a result more
than one USB audio device can now be handled by the system simultaneously.
Thus, the iSub and the Cube speakers work together without any
problems. I did try the iSub on my B&W G3 running 10.1.2 as
well, and while it "worked," the iSub's output distorted every
so often. I have yet to hear that on my Cube setup. For those
Cube owners looking to add some nice bass to their setup, I
highly recommend the iSub".
Dave
"Hi there Cyril! Hope you don't mind that I'm sending you
this link! It shows which CD's are compatible to which drives!
I think that could be of interest of your readers! Cheers,"
Francis M
Hi there!! Hey, your site is just GREAT!! I
am very happy to see that it has begun to be updated again!!
GREAT!! Please, do not fall in temptation of opening the size
attention to stuff that are not much cube-related, like that
stuff of publishing pics of non-cube desktops!! :)) I«ve seen
today that you published that the new iMac supports miniCD«s,
while the Cube doesn«t. However, in some PDF«s I«ve seen at
Apple Support pages, slot drives do support smaller CD«s, but
don«t support non-round shaped CD«s. Are you sure that Cubes
don«t support mini CD«s? Keep on the great job! Yours, Francis
01/21/02
A Firewire keychain.
Several months ago, we posted articles
about USB RAM disk keychains. If those small devices
are not fast enough for you, we have good news, there
is now a Firewire version available. It is produced
by Wiebetech.
The FireWire Keychain is housed in a tiny
rugged enclosure which may be slipped onto a keychain.
Because of its FireWire interface, the FireWire Keychain
can be attached to virtually any personal computer.
The FireWire host port to which it is attached provides
power for its operation. FireWire Keychain features
capacities up to 1GB, which provides plenty of storage
for critical files and personal data. And with an interface
based on the Oxford Semiconductor 911 bridge, you can
obtain real world transfer rates of approximately 5MB
/ second.
Looking for cube parts?
If you are looking for Cube parts, we
have a solution for you.
MacResQ is selling Cube power supplies for $149.99
and CD-RW for Slot-Loading iMac or G4 Cube, Internal
8x/4x/24, for $199.99. By buying them you will also
support our site and help us buy a new server.
Harman Kardon iSub working with
the Cube (under OSX) ?
Under Mac OS 9, you could not use an iSub
with your Cube. It apparently works with OSX 10.1.2
We have not tried it since we don't have one, but several
readers sent us e-mails about that. We also checked
Harman Kardon
web site. Here is the pictures that is on the site
:
However, on Apple Web Site, it is still
listed as "compatible with slot-loading iMacs with
CD-ROM, DVD-ROM and CD-RW drives running Mac OS 9.x
or Mac OS X v10.1. Also compatible with PowerMac G4s
466Mhz, 533Mhz, 667Mhz, 733Mhz, 867 and 800Mhz Dual
Processor models when used with the Apple Pro Speakers".
We don't know for sure if there is a new version of
the iSub or if upgrading to Mac OSX 10.1.2 is enough
to make the iSub work.
Desk Gallery opened to other Macs!
The Cube-Zone is now opening its Desk
Gallery to other Macs than the Cube (it is still
time to send your Cube desk!). If you want to send a
picture of your desk (with a Mac), we'll publish it.
try to keep the pictures compressed (No, everybody does
not have DSL or cable...).
Readers requests
We had several request from our readers.
Q : Ben asked us if Dviator
would sell the power supply they use with their ADC adapter
separately. This power supply is the Cube power supply. We contacted
them. Here is what they say :
A:"I noticed that the
Dviator uses a Cube power supply. Do you sell that powersupply
separately?"
"Dear Sirs, thank you for your inquiry.
Unfortunately, we do not sell the DVIator power supply separately".
Claudia Elsaesser
Q : I currently own a G4 Cube with a
DVD drive built in I was wondering if you knew of any combo
drives that might fit into the Cube. Do you think that the combo
drive for the PowerBook G4 might fit into the Cube? Thanks Mitri
D
A:We heard that somebody used an
iMac slot-loading combo in a Cube... but we could not verify
it. The Titanium Combo should fit too... the hard part is to
get one.... If you have made such a hack, please, drop
us a line!
Q: Have you heard of anyone upgrading
their cube besides the dual-450/500 upgrades on xlr8.com? I
was wondering if a 733Mhz G4 card from a graphite Powermac G4
would work in a cube...Scott
A: We don't have any answer for that one.
If you have one, please, drop
us a line!
Q : What strategy would you suggest
to make a 1710AV monitor work with a Cube *without*
ADB? Joe
A: We think you need a VGA adapter to connect
that monitor to the VGA port of the Cube... However,
we can't tell you for sure since we have never seen
one of those monitors. Joe later confirmed that he
tried the adapter...and it works!
Q: I was just wondering... Considering
that applefritter
and xlr8yourmac
both have excellent info in installing a fan into a
cube, wouldn't it be therefore possible to overclock
a Cube (and/or it's video > card) to faster speeds safely?
Stefan R
A: Well we don't think it
is a good idea to overclock the Cube because of heat
issues. There is a second problem, the G4 in the Cube
cannot be overclocked at a very high frequency.... It
is better to install a dual G4 if you really want some
speed. However it is really more expensive.If anybody
has overclocked a Cube, please, drop
us a line!
Q: I have just been looking at your
site, and you mention that the cube can be upgraded to a dual
processor.. Is this correct, and where could I get the upgrade
from Regards, Keith
A:Yes it is correct. It is a hack
(unsupported).... an easy one... xlr8yourmac
posted a tutorial about that. There are two ways to do it :
to use a Sonnet card or to use a dual G4 card.
Reader feedback about the iMac G4/Cube
comparison
You missed an important fact about the
new iMac. It includes a tray loading CD ROM drive, with
an inner ring to support the new mini CDs. Now it can
play mini CDs, unlike the previous iMac and Cube. And
maybe it will be able to play Nintendo Game Cube CDs
too in the future since they are the same size...!
