Interview with Eric Dahlinger Newer Technology and iMac upgrades Published: 2.7.00 Updated: 2.15.00 Last week's iMAXpowr review created numerous interesting questions not covered in the review. Many readers wrote in, interested in more information about Newer Technology's iMac CPU upgrade. We put together some of these questions with a few follow-up questions of our own. IGM has compiled these questions in a Q/A interview with Newer's Communications Director, Eric Dahlinger. IGM: Where did Newer acquire the initial iMac processor cards? Newer: Rather not say IGM: Newer said it expects to ship 500 units/week. Will availability become better into the future? Newer: Possibly, over time. IGM: How much is Newer relying on customers returning their old cards to build future upgrades? Newer: We would expect that nearly all users would want $200 back when they purchase the iMAXpowr G3. We can rework these CPU cards into more iMAXpowr G3 upgrades. IGM: What are the projected rebate/return estimates? Newer: Again, we would expect that 99.9% of all users would want the $200 back in their pockets. It is very similar to the "core exchange" found in other industries such as automotive parts. These other types of core return rates are extremely high. IGM: With the 5 day $200 rebate.... Is it 5 business days? Does it include shipping days? Newer: The customer has five working days from when the product was delivered to return the original iMac CPU card to Newer Technology in Wichita, Kansas in the included shipping box and a prepaid standard overnight shipping Federal Express airbill. IGM: How long does it take to refit an upgrade with a new processor? Newer: The rework with today's automation has made the process vastly easier. The product testing element of the process is where additional time is allotted. IGM: Any interesting details on the refitting process? Newer: It is interesting (in a rather nerdy sense) that this kind of product has become possible whereas only a few years ago it would have been nearly impossible. IGM: How many processor cards did Newer purchase? Newer: Rather not say IGM: If needed, can you get more processor cards? Newer: Rather not say IGM: When will Newer start taking orders? Newer: As soon as The Newer Store website opens later this month at www.newerstore.com.[Update: The Newer Store is expected to open on 2/21/00. iMAXpowr upgrades will also begin shipping.] IGM: Will Newer recommend/solicit any service centers to perform the upgrade? Newer: After reviewing the overview video, the printed product installation manual and the video on the website, some customers might want their upgrade installed by an Apple certified service provider. We would encourage customers to use their local Apple authorized service center for installation if they choose this method. IGM: Will Newer place its installation video on the web? Newer: The installation video, which provides an overview of the process, should be on the Newer Technology website very soon. We hope to have it next week, but that's not cast in stone. IGM: Any planned future iMAXpowr upgrades? Faster G3/G4? Newer: Faster upgrades seem like a possibility when the price/performance and market demands make it practical. IGM: How about upgrades for the recent "slot-loading" iMacs? Newer: The current "slot-loading" iMacs have its processor built onto the logic board. So CPU upgrades are not possible in these machines, at least not in the conventional sense. IGM: Any plans for graphics upgrades? Newer: None IGM: Multiprocessor Upgrades? Newer: Multiprocessor upgrades in an iMac would be far too costly today. Possible, but too pricey. IGM: PowerBook G3 upgrades? Newer: While the PowerBook G3 has a visually similar CPU card to the iMac, there are enough differences that would make such an upgrade another project entirely. IGM: Any response from Apple? Newer: None so far... New Questions: IGM: What Apple firmware is used on the iMAXpowr upgrades? Newer: There are different versions of firmware updates issued by Apple and so there could be different versions of this firmware in use by various rev A through rev D iMac owners. iMAXpowr G3 ships with the *latest* firmware from Apple, which is compatible with all iMac revisions. IGM: Are there any issues with using an updated firmware version? Newer: For users of Rev. A&B iMacs, whose machines have been upgraded with either soldered-on floppy connectors or Formac's iProRAID SCSI card in the Mezzanine slot, may have problems. When you upgrade to the iMAXpowr, your iMac is updated to the latest Apple firmware. One Apple firmware update is said to disable the floppy port, although none of us have tested this. More importantly, we wonder what effect later Apple ROMs might have on the operation of the Mezzanine (aka "Perch") slot itself. Comments on product compatibility with this slot are probably best directed to those companies making products for this slot. The iMAXpowr upgrade does not disable any functionality. Apple firmware, however, may make changes the user might experience. IGM: What is the maximum amount of RAM installable on the daughter card after this upgrade? Newer: The Apple spec for a rev A iMac is 128MB and the rev B through rev D is 256MB. However, memory manufacturers such as NewerRAM offer 384MB of memory for the rev A iMacs and up to 512MB for rev B through D iMac models. Newer Technology is underway to confirm that these higher density memory modules are compatible with iMAXpowr G3. The physical memory format is not effected by the use of iMAXpowr G3 upgrade. If a memory format works with the original iMac CPU card, it should also work with iMAXpowr G3. Again testing is underway.