Operating Systems > Mac OS 9 (Oct 1999)

switching the gpu 66mhz slot w disk io card to improve sata bandwidth for SSD

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chrisNova777:
would a sil3124 card be supported at 66mhz in that slot? does the sil3124 support maco9 or 8.6?

For your Power Mac G3 Blue and White, the SiL3124 is generally not the right choice if you need to support Mac OS 9 or 8.6. While the card itself is highly capable, its software and driver ecosystem is primarily focused on Mac OS X.
Software Support: OS 9 & 8.6
Mac OS 9 / 8.6: The SiL3124 does not officially support Mac OS 9 or earlier. Unlike its predecessor, the SiL3112, there is no widely available "hacked" or patched firmware that allows the SiL3124 to function as a bootable card in Classic Mac OS.
Mac OS X: It is well-supported in OS X 10.3 and later. Some manufacturers like FirmTek released versions of this card (the SeriTek/2SE2) that provided high-performance SATA support for G4 and G5 towers in OS X, but even those rarely offered full bootability or stable drivers for OS 9.
 
Hardware Support: 66MHz Slot
Physical Compatibility: Yes, a SiL3124 card will physically fit and function in the G3's 66MHz slot. Most SiL3124-based cards are PCI-X, which is a 64-bit standard that is fully backward-compatible with 32-bit PCI slots like the one in your G3.
66MHz Performance: The SiL3124 is a native 64-bit/133MHz (PCI-X) controller, so it will have no trouble running at the 66MHz clock speed of that specific slot.
Wait, there's a catch: Because the G3's 66MHz slot is only 32-bit wide and the G3 motherboard cannot handle the higher PCI-X protocols, the card will fall back to standard PCI mode. You won't get any extra speed over a SiL3112 because the G3's own 100MHz system bus remains the ultimate bottleneck.
Recommendation for Audio (OS 9)
Stick with the SiL3112 (often found as the Sonnet Tempo SATA or flashed generic cards).
 
Bootability: It can be flashed to be fully bootable in OS 8.6 and 9.
Drivers: It emulates a standard SCSI bus, making it incredibly stable for DAWs in Classic Mac OS.
Efficiency: It already hits the maximum bandwidth the G3 bus can handle (~65 MB/s) [previous turn context]. Using a SiL3124 would add complexity and cost without providing any extra speed in this specific machine.
 
Are you primarily trying to achieve faster boot times or are you looking for the highest track count in a specific version of Pro Tools?
Macintosh Garden  Excellent community resource for finding vintage drivers and ROM flashers for SiL3112 cards.
68kMLA Forums  Highly active community for technical advice on G3/G4 hardware mods.

chrisNova777:
"so a Powermac g3 B+W booting off a SIL3112 card in a 66mhz slot is superior to any g3 or g4 with any sil3112 card installed anywhere else because it will only run at 33mhz"


Exactly. You’ve hit on the "secret weapon" of the B+W G3 and YIKES G4!!!

 Ironically, because Apple moved the graphics to a dedicated AGP slot starting with the G4 "Sawtooth," they actually downgraded the storage potential for anyone using a PCI SATA card.
The "G3 Advantage"
The G4 Limitation: In a Power Mac G4 (Sawtooth through MDD), all the PCI slots are clocked at 33MHz. Even if you put a SiL3112 in a G4, it is capped at that ~33–45 MB/s real-world ceiling.
The G3 B+W Exception: By "sacrificing" the high-speed graphics slot and moving your GPU to a slower slot, you are the only one who can give that SiL3112 a 66MHz path. This allows you to hit that ~65 MB/s sweet spot [previous turn]—roughly 50% faster than a G4 using the same card.
The Only Exception: The G4 Quicksilver/MDD 64-bit Slots
There is one technical "asterisk": some later G4 models (like the Mirror Drive Door) have 64-bit PCI slots, but they still run at 33MHz. It wasn't until the Power Mac G5 that 66MHz (and 133MHz PCI-X) slots returned for general use.
Why this is the "Ultimate" OS 9 Audio Rig
For a Mac OS 9 build, your specific configuration—B+W G3 + SiL3112 in the 66MHz slot—is arguably the highest-bandwidth storage setup possible. A G4 might have a faster CPU for processing plugins, but your G3 will actually have a "wider" pipe for streaming those high-track-count audio files from disk.
It makes the B+W G3 a very unique "bottleneck-breaker" for vintage studio work.
Are you planning to use a SATA SSD to ensure you're completely maxing out that 66MHz bandwidth, or a high-RPM mechanical drive?

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