Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
What have you done with a PowerPC today?
- Thread starter 2984839
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Correct me if I am wrong, but the Lombard out of the box can't play DVD's without some DVD decoder I think, where as Pismo can ?
PowerBook G3 Lombard Repair Help: Learn How to Fix It Yourself.
Model M5343 / 333 or 400 MHz G3 processor
www.ifixit.com
Edit: VLC will however play DVDs in OS X on a Lombard that possesses a decoder.
Last edited:
I guess I am glad I never owned one. I have a Pismo G4(was G3 500).. When I got the Pismo I was surprised it came with a G4 after all the bad things I heard about the weakness the G3 had. I despised the G3 as to me, it sounded inferior to the G4. While I do have a G3 500 processor, I am never using it as it has a G4 550. I believe all PowerPC development should be focused on G4-G5 as it is currently, the G3 just doesn't have the power to do what G4 and G5 can do.
The G4 would be superior given that it was the successor to the G3 and benefited from numerous improvements - particularly the addition of Altivec which provided a tremendous performance boost in many important areas.
I disagree. Whilst the G3 has shortcomings it can still pull off good results with a bit of effort and resourcefulness.
The G3 variants in the Nintendo Gamecube, Wii and Wii-U respectively certainly have the power to achieve the tasks of a G4 and some G5's.
Last edited:
@TheShortTimer Green Ham Gaming made a video a couple years back detailing the hardware capabilities of the Wii U, and what it can achieve on the software side as a result of extensive code and asset optimization. I still think it's borderline awe inspiring that titles like FAST Racing Neo and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild can even run on something like a tri-core PowerPC 750CL (G3), albeit with great assistance from the console's AMD Radeon GX2 graphics chip all the while.
I thought it was so impressive in fact, that Nintendo and Shin'en's (along with many other talented studios) clever techniques used to get their relatively demanding software running smoothly on the resource-constrained hardware not only in an enjoyable state, but in many instances even at a stable 60 FPS (in HD, no less!), was actually what originally inspired me to dive into performance optimization here in vintage Mac land.
They definitely had technical wizards staffed and working behind the scenes of the GameCube, Wii, and Wii U software libraries. In my opinion, it's positively amazing what deep platform-specific knowledge and a healthy serving of elbow grease can achieve - which are of course now seldom-used concepts that will do wonders for any architecture, not just PowerPC.
Case in point, some of the stuff on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (both G5-based) were really impressive too, years before the Wii U became available.
I thought it was so impressive in fact, that Nintendo and Shin'en's (along with many other talented studios) clever techniques used to get their relatively demanding software running smoothly on the resource-constrained hardware not only in an enjoyable state, but in many instances even at a stable 60 FPS (in HD, no less!), was actually what originally inspired me to dive into performance optimization here in vintage Mac land.
They definitely had technical wizards staffed and working behind the scenes of the GameCube, Wii, and Wii U software libraries. In my opinion, it's positively amazing what deep platform-specific knowledge and a healthy serving of elbow grease can achieve - which are of course now seldom-used concepts that will do wonders for any architecture, not just PowerPC.
Case in point, some of the stuff on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (both G5-based) were really impressive too, years before the Wii U became available.
Last edited:
ooooo that's interesting, i never knew that. I will have to try it out when I get a chance to.
PowerBook G3 Lombard Repair Help: Learn How to Fix It Yourself.
Model M5343 / 333 or 400 MHz G3 processor
Edit: VLC will however play DVDs in OS X on a Lombard that possesses a decoder.
Thanks for that video - it was fascinating viewing!
Totally agree and as I've no doubt mentioned in other posts, I own all three PowerPC based Nintendo machines and upon first powering up my Gamecube, I was blown away by Rogue Squadron II and its full-screen FMV Star Wars footage. That was the only console I'd ever purchased brand new and it was worth the money for that impressive sight alone.
It's a shame that the Wii-U never managed to enjoy the commercial success of its predecessor - especially considering that the Wii itself was technically outclassed by the PS3 and Xbox 360 but nonetheless sold a phenomenal amount of units. There is some consolation that the Wii-U and its catalogue has been favourably reassessed of late.
This was presumably due to the Wii's unique controller concept neither the PS3 nor the Three-Sixty offered. I also presume this concept and the games that took advantage of it managed to attract quite a few non-gamers.
Last edited:
You are correct - I remember several non-gamers purchasing Wii's on the strength of Wii Sports etc.
Gosh, I recall my mother who's a pensioner and never had any interest in my childhood gaming enquiring about the console after seeing mine.
Update to my post. Tried watching a DVD with VLC in OSX on my G3 Lombard and the results were not good. My G3 has 10.4.7 installed on it and first tried VLC for power pc 0.9.10. It played the DVD but audio only, no picture. Tried changing many setting but still the same, audio only, no picture. I then tried version 0.8.6i and whilst this worked, the picture was very very laggy.
DVD in OS 9 was smoooth
I think somebody mentioned that there are 2 different version of the G3 Lombard, 400Mhz and 333Mhz with the 400Mhz having the MPEG2-decoder. I have the 333Mhz version which requires the use of the DVD-Video PC card.
Speaking of OS 9, playing DVD with DVD player 2.7 I keep getting pooping sounds - was there a fix for this ? I try to watch a DVD on my titanium under 9.2.2, and keep getting popping sounds.Update to my post. Tried watching a DVD with VLC in OSX on my G3 Lombard and the results were not good. My G3 has 10.4.7 installed on it and first tried VLC for power pc 0.9.10. It played the DVD but audio only, no picture. Tried changing many setting but still the same, audio only, no picture. I then tried version 0.8.6i and whilst this worked, the picture was very very laggy.
DVD in OS 9 was smoooth
It was a wee bit chilly this evening when I got to my work desk, but I didn’t feel like firing up the space heater. So I sent all my PowerPC Macs, save one, into running a macports “port upgrade outdated” — something I haven’t done for a few weeks. A few hours on, the G5 has easily brought the room up by two degrees and the room’s ambient temperature is now just right.
Can someone please assist with this ? Playing a DVD is giving popping sounds under 9 and 9.2.2.
Replaced the keyboard in my 12” PowerBook G4 1.5 ghz, and brought the 1.42ghz (overclocked) Mac Mini back to life running OS 9.2.2 on a 64gb SD card; both undertaken once again thanks to @Raging Dufus and his generosity. I need to strip the 12” down one of these days and replace the mold-damaged speakers, bend the keyboard back a bit to fix some minor bowing, and upgrade the anemic OWC SSD, but she runs fine enough for now.
My 2009 Mini is on the left, G4 on the right.
My 2009 Mini is on the left, G4 on the right.
Last edited:
This reminds me of a problem I had where the audio was skipping while playing DVDs in OS 9 on my Sawtooth. I solved it by turning the resolution down to 1152x870 or lower.
Currently using my recently purchased 1.9ghz iMac G5 iSight. This thing looks beautiful. I think I might use it for digitizing my records and tapes and for video capture of my older consoles given that I put it in the same room as my main stereo setup and retro video game consoles.
Pressed the power button and watched the chromatic light show, silently cursing out Apple for cheaping out in every possible regard on the 14" iBooks.