September 2nd, 1999

[8:50 AM]
Sonnet Throws Down G4 Gauntlet Too
Sonnet Technologies has added their voice to the chorus of upgrade manufacturers offering G4 upgrades. Sonnet has not announced pricing or availability, but the company does say it will be offering G4 upgrades for PCI PowerMacs, PowerMac G3s, and some Blue & Whites. According to Sonnet:

Sonnet Technologies announces its most recent developments of G4 upgrades in speeds of 400, 450, and 500 MHz. This new line of G4 upgrades will be compatible with most PCI Power Macs, from 7300 Power Macs to platinum G3 models, as well as early versions of Blue and White G3s. For those who own a Blue and White G3, Sonnet will offer a free utility on its website to test for G4 upgradeability.

The new Sonnet G4 upgrades provide Motorola Power PC G4 performance with AltiVec technology. Those who run Adobe Photoshop, video authoring, and advanced scientific applications will benefit from the G4 upgrades. Installation is as simple as plugging in the new processor upgrade card in place of the old one, as is characteristic of all Sonnet upgrades. The Sonnet G4 upgrade cards will begin shipping in Q4, starting with the 400 MHz models. Pricing has not yet been set.

While Sonnet is excited to be offering the G4 technology to increase performance for specialized applications, the company remains committed to the Macintosh G3 upgrade market as well. Sonnet will maintain its robust product lines of G3 upgrade cards and will continue to introduce ever-higher speed G3 products as the processors become available. ìFor most users a G3 performs identical to a G4 at the same megahertz. For them, the G3 is certainly more cost-effective,î comments President and CEO Robert Farnsworth.

The Mac Observer Spin: It will be interesting as we get closer to product roll outs from Sonnet, Powerlogix, Newer, and XLR8 to see how pricing works. With new G4s (the Yikes! units) being aggressively priced by Apple, the upgrade market will be forced to also compete aggressively on pricing. We can assume that other manufacturers will also be announcing G4s, which means that once again, Mac users will have a wealth of upgrade options. Gotta love it!

Sonnet Technologies