[nemanirc]

I have a friend who is a Linux user who wants to give OS X a try. He can get a really cheap 9600 with 256 MB RAM. Can he install an XLR8 ZIF carrier card in it with a G3 or G4 and load OS X? Should he buy a Sonnet Card instead?

[bluedog]

Either card will work fine. Really, once you upgrade to the G3 and get a 400mHz or so its just fine for OSX. I suggest looking for a beige G3 though because at LEAST they are marginally supported by X. Sounds like your friend doesn't mind the guts and glory of Linux though and should be fine with an upgraded 9600.

Make sure it has enough ram (I suggest 256 MB or better) and a G3 upgrade for acceptable performance (I suggest 400mHz or better). I *don't* really recommend the G4 for an upgrade (the bus speed on these machines are slower anyhow and hamper performance more than anything aside from RAM).

Good luck.

[Walter J. Ferstl]

In Apple's terms, the 9600 will be an "unsupported" Mac, even if upgraded to a G3 using a third party card.

(As bluedog says, I too would not shell out the higher price of a G4 upgrade in this case).

At the URL address

http://eshop.macsales.com/OSXCenter/

you will find hints and a free software utility by Ryan Rempel, called Unsupported UtilityX, that could make installation of OS X on one of these "unsupported" Macs easier.

Regards,

Walter.

[kbbaucom]

I have an 8600 with XLR8 carrier ZIF G3 400 with OS X on it. It runs fine, except for the built-in video that I am using. I think I remember reading something about problems with the 9600's dual PCI bus and OS X though. I am not positive about that. Worst case - you might not be able to use all 6 PCI slots.