PowerLogix Takes Fruity iMacs to 900MHz


Your Tangerine iMac running at 900MHz? Surely not?

PowerLogix has released its iForce SL, a CPU upgrade for second-generation iMacs. The card features IBM's 750FX processor with 512K of L2 cache running at full processor speed.

Here's the full list of compatible models:

- 350MHz Slot Loading CD-ROM Oct. 1999 Blueberry

- DV 400MHz Slot Loading DVD-ROM Oct. 1999 Blueberry, Strawberry, Tangerine, Lime, Grape

- DV Special Edition 450MHz Slot Loading DVD-ROM Oct. 1999 Graphite

- 350MHz Slot loading CD-ROM August 2000 Indigo
DV 400MHz Slot Loading CD-ROM August 2000 Indigo, Ruby

- DV+ 450MHz Slot Loading CD-ROM August 2000 Indigo, Ruby, Sage

- DV Special Edition 500MHz Slot Loading DVD-ROM August 2000 Snow, Graphite

- 400MHz Slot Loading CD-ROM February 2001 Indigo

The upgrade is user-installable, although customers may wish to ship the motherboard to PowerLogix for installation and testing.

PowerLogix says that the 900MHz upgrade is "fully compatible with all software and hardware, including OS X."

The iForce SL upgrade comes with a 1-year warranty, and is priced at $349, including Fedex shipping for customers in the US.

Analysis: Cheaper than a new eMac, this may make sense for schools who want to run OS X on their labs of old iMacs, where 350 or 400MHz don't cut it no more. The downside is that iMac graphics cards remain unupgradeable, although a 900MHz G3 is sufficient to run OS X satisfactorily, and OS 9 even more so.

Come to think of it, that'll be faster than any factory CRT iMac Apple ever produced.