I spent a good part of Friday installing, testing and, yes, debugging a Sonnet Encore G3/500 ZIF upgrade in my beloved beige G3. Going from 300 to 500 is a 60 percent "speed increase." Installation was a snap but I'm still fighting a couple of stability issues.Before making the change, I benchmarked a lot of the programs I have. Just about everything showed improvment, including Fly2K (not yet 100 percent stable with the new ZIF so I'm still testing it). In 2K, external rates that were 22-24 rose to 30+, and cockpit rates are over 10 for the first time ever.Descent 3 Open GL nearly doubled rates, and Falcon 4 in-cockpit rates went from 12-14 before to 18+ after. So it goes.The bad news: Fly II produces exactly the same rates after the upgrade. No other changes were made to the hardware or system config.I hope Rich's patch efforts help us. This soundly confirms the oft-stated observation that FlyII rates are similar for widely-differing Macs. When it runs the same on one computer with two different chips, something is VERY wrong. :-hmmm Bummed,

Allan,I noticed that you're still at OS 8.6. I can't verify it, but if I remember correctly, I think I may have gained just a little more horsepower when I made the jump to OS 9.1I experienced some of the same framerate improvements with Falcon 4 with the exception of the full 2-D Cockpit view especially during a campaign.Good luck... Rich@KLEWBeige G3 233 MHz DT rev.1 G4 400 MHz NewerTech upgrade OS 9.2.2 384 MB RAM ATI Radeon Mac (PCI) Thrustmaster FCS/WCS

HI Rich,I recall the discussion that people getting the best performance from Fly II Mac were running OS9.x and Radeon cards. I hear that the Apple Store still has retail versions of 9.1 if you call them. so I'll probably upgrade soon. There's no way I'm going to install OSX on this box -- it will have to wait for the next one!The new processor has settled in and is running very stable today. Stays nice and cool--highest temp reported in the core is 34 deg C, same as the old aluminum 300mHz.Took a SLC-COS ride in Fly 2k with nicely improved rates. I just wish I'd seen any improvement in II.

A follow-up that might help other who upgrade with a ZIF:The lack of stability was traced to how I installed the ZIF. The instructions say to put light finger pressure on the inboard side of the card while you lock the lifting lever in its "run" position. I found out it takes just a little more than "light pressure." I put fingers on both sides of the processor and pushed a little harder while locking the socket. It's worked fine ever since--still running at 30-34 degress C, only about 10 over room temp. Nice and fast--except for FlyII!If you ever have the need to upgrade, there are databases of user experiences at www.xlr8yourmac.com. Couldn't have done it without that site.

From what I remember from one of Rich's past post, Apple's implementation of OpenGL is the cause of the graphic bottleneck in Fly! II. It may take a combination of Rich's patch and a new OpenGL from Apple to see improved frame rates.Pete

Yep, I remember that, Pete. I bet the fix only works with OSX! I can't afford a new Mac now--that's why I went for the $200 ZIF. A lot of things I currently enjoy would not be worth the trouble in X on this old Mac. Now if the fix works with 9.1......a different story!

I'am in the same boat. A new Mac rigth now is as likely as Steve calling me up and giving me a new PowerMac!Pete