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G3Strip 1.5 (Shareware, $5) So you’ve finally got a shiny new G3 Mac or upgrade board, and you’re curious about the clock speed of your new processor, backside cache and system bus. Alas, the new Apple System Profiler 2.1.x, which reveals much more system info that prior versions, will only report the processor type and clock speed. G3Strip will report everything you every wanted to know about your G3 processor subsystem, such as the chip type, processor speed, backside cache speed, system bus speed, the value of the thermal register (didn’t know there was one, did you?) and a performance rating, represented in something called practicable increment instructions per second. One or two (if you hold down the shift key when selecting) of these values can be constantly displayed in the control strip.
In addition to displaying information, G3Strip will allow G3 users to view and adjust the size of the backside cache, and the ratio of the backside cache speed relative to the G3 clock speed. Backside cache ratios that exceed the standard ratio are shown in italics as a warning. You can select them, but in all likelihood it will lock your machine up. Fortunately, this setting is not saved in the preferences, unless another setting is changed successfully, or the system continues to run for at least a minute. For portable users, there’s a feature that will disable your cache when you are on battery power, in order to extend battery life at the expense of performance. G3Strip, despite the name, won’t leave users of other PowerPC processors out in the cold. It will display as much applicable information about processors from the 601 and up, including something called a 760. If you want to know the value of important processor settings at a glance, or want to tinker with your system to get the best possible performance, G3Strip does the trick. G3Strip is a limited form of "crippleware" which will operate for 20 system startups, enough times to determine if it does what you need. After that, you must pay the $5 shareware fee to receive a registration code. Links kykz’s Software http://www.246.ne.jp/~kykz/english.html PowerPC Processor Information |
The value of the thermal register (in degrees F or C) can be especially useful for those who engage in warranty-voiding activities to increase their processor speed beyond the original design, and want to make sure they won’t experience a meltdown.