Can you tell which Macintosh computer you have? It sounds like a silly question, but since so many Macintosh computers are now easily upgradable it might not be easy to tell without taking the computer apart.

Fortunately there are some freeware and shareware utilities available to help you find out exactly which machine you have, how fast the processor is, whether or not it has Level 2 (L2) cache, and so on.

Disclaimer: This article was written for informational purposes only. The software mentioned here is not supported by Apple Computer, Inc. Freeware and shareware software can be downloaded from many online services. Apple does not endorse or recommend any of this software.

The following information may be helpful in answering processor and clock speed questions as well as questions that might come up regarding cache RAM installed. These "gauges" are available online from Newer Technology as freeware.

Newer Technology Gauge Series

Clockometer (rhymes with thermometer)

This was created to provide you with the answers to two very simple questions. The first question is, "How fast is my computer really running?", and the second is "What CPU is in this box?"

These questions may appear to be incredibly easy to answer, but as you will soon see...they may not be. If you, or someone in your organization, has placed a clock enhancing accelerator (such as the Newer Technology MacClip or PowerClip) in a computer, then what speed is that computer running? Or better yet, what if someone installed the accelerator in one of say...ten Power Macintosh 6100 computers in the office. How do you quickly determine in which one it is installed?

In the past people have used programs such as Scott Berfield's Speedometer in order to determine speed. However, these programs don't actually provide you with a "real world" speed. Instead they give you a relative performance number which you can then compare against another relative number for some other CPU and in this manner you can get an idea of whether you are running faster or slower. Or you can just run Clockometer, and in one second you can know exactly how fast you are running.

As to the second question of, "what CPU is really in my box?", this is about to become a real issue. If you have a new Power Macintosh 9500 computer with a removable CPU card, how do you know what card is in it at any given moment? Or better yet, how do you know what speed of card is in it? Since CPU cards can have PowerPC 601 or 604 chips on them and they can be running at any speed, how do you know when you walk into a room, what is in the box that is sitting there? The answer is...you run Clockometer and you get your answer within one second.

Cache-22

This was also created to provide you with the answers to two very simple questions. The first question is, "How much L2 Cache does my computer really have?" And the second is "What CPU is in this box"? These questions appear childishly easy to answer, but as you will soon see...they may not be.

When Apple made it possible to add L2 Cache to their new line of PowerPC--based computers back in 1994, everyone saw it as a very positive step for the performance--oriented user. Now a user could add 256K, 512K or even 1 MB of Cache to their new computer. But here is where people began running into problems.

If you are the MIS Director or work for the IS Department, and you have say...twenty-five Power Macintosh computers, how do you quickly determine which ones have cache and which do not? Or better yet, how do you quickly determine which two machines have the 1 MB cache modules?

Up until now it has been a real chore. You had to take each box apart and physically inspect them for cache modules. No longer! Cache-22 provides an answer in under 6 seconds, as to what amount, if any, of L2 Cache is in a computer. It also informs you as to what CPU is in the computer you are testing. The reasons for displaying the CPU information are covered above in the Clockometer description.

If you have any questions regarding these new Gauges, or if there are Gauges you would like to see developed, then please contact us in one of the following ways:

AOL = NewerRAM

eWorld = NewerTech

AppleLink = Newer.Tech

CompuServe = 70732,760

Internet = techsupport@newertech.com

Toll Free North American 800-678-3726 World Wide Phone Number 316-685-4904 World Wide FAX Number 316-685-9368.

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