Exploring a rare Macintosh Clone from 1996 - a pristine G3-upgraded UMAX SuperMac S900! (Part 1)
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- The UMAX SuperMac S900 is a beautiful relic from the very darkest days of Apple, where the foundering company attempted to license Mac OS to other manufacturers in a desperate bid to increase their dwindling market share. Although this backfired and nearly killed Apple for good, the UMAX machine is an amazing alternate-universe Macintosh with some interesting features and a surprise hiding inside...
In this series, we'll see how far we can upgrade the SuperMac S900 and maybe even bring it on to the modern internet.
Part 2: • Pushing the UMAX Super...
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Really, it was more of former CEO's John Sculley and Michael Spindler that caused Apple to fall apart in the mid 90s. In his eighteen or so months as CEO, Gil did what he could to steer Apple in the right direction, and most importantly negotiated the deal to bring back Steve.
The S900's case is interesting since it was also used by PC manufacturers, including Dell and Micron, just with different front faceplates. That bigger video card might have more RAM, or perhaps the same amount in a lower density thus requiring more chips.
Hah yeah, I've always seen most of the hate directed towards Spindler.
Also if anyone really cares, Michael Spindler passed away in 2017. His death is so obscure, that there isn’t even an exact date and not a lot of people know about it.
I guess his awful reputation from at Apple caused him to fade into obscurity.
I thought I recognized that case as a dell Case from the time!
this case, though customized by UMAX, appears to be an Antec case, used by several VARs, it's those tell table squeeze tabs, that circle on the door and the retainer screw that give it away. the interior beige structure, etc.
The case/chassis was also used by Dell in the 90's/early 2000's, for example, the Dimension 4100, though it had a different front bezel. I believe the motherboard in the SuperMac S900 is effectively ATX in design, and should work in other ATX cases, provided the I/O shield is removable. Cool find!
Aw man I didn't know that! I'm going to have to find a Dimension 4100 haha.
Or take the guts out of this one and put it in a modern case. RGB Mac! Ha ha! but please don't...
koz_tech I was thinking the same thing! The side panel door is the give away as it’s identical to the Dell Pentium III tower I have.
@@Mac84 I think Micron used a similar one with their PC's too, but I don't recall.
I looked up pictures of some of these other machines that used the same case and it's blowing my mind haha.
I got to give it to you: amidst thousands of C64 restoration videos in the retro community, you, sir, always manage to deliver a different and interesting content. This channel is criminally underrated. And, yes, the cat helps :) Merci !
Thank you so much! Man that really means a lot!
Wholesome.
Opposite of my pfp :)
I'm impressed that the makers of my crummy 2000s laptop also made this thing.
I remember UMAX from the scanner I used to have. The design on the front is the same as the feet on the scanner.
I am so glad i found this channel. Really enjoys your videos. And i am normally very very anti apple thingys and then i found your channel. Retro apple tech are tbh awesome and alot more fun to play around with than i knew. Keep it up Sir.
This a really cool video, I look forward to the rest of the series. I am going to nitpick a little bit, really because I have always believed that Gil Amelio gets a bad rap. The clone licensing started in 1995, when Michael Spindler was still CEO. By the time Amelio took over in early 1996, the damage was done, he could not have stopped it if he had wanted to. I believe that Amelio saved Apple. Spindler would have sold it for next to nothing. Amelio stopped that from happening, and made some very difficult cuts that, while it made him very unpopular at Apple, kept the company alive. What he could not do was to return it to profitability. He lacked the vision and innovation. The required Steve Jobs, who, let us remember, was brought back to Apple by Gil Amelio. Fun fact, Mac OS 8 was originally going to be released as OS 7.7. Jobs changed that to OS 8 when his attempts to renegotiate the clone licensing agreements failed. End of nitpick! ;-) I would like to ask, where do you find these machines?
I think I was way too hard on Amelio, I should probably offer him an apology is the next video :) Definitely most of the blame seems to be pointed towards Spindler for good reason.
This machine was a lucky (and expensive) eBay find!
That’s a nice thing, Amelia is still alive. I am sure he watched out UA-cam channels religiously! ;-) Nice score. I look periodically for Power Computing machines, but never UMax. I should probably just search for Macintosh clones, Anyhow, I am really looking forward to the continuation of this series.
LOL you didn't have to mention "the hot Philadelphia sun"; as soon as you said "wooder" (water) it was plain as day where you're from good sir. :D
Thanks so much for sharing this awesome find! I recognized that case from the old Dells of the same era, but I never got the opportunity to see any of those official third-party Macs before!
Cheesesteak jawn jabroni!
That's a cool machine. Man... 1 gig of RAM in 1996 is unreal! That's half the size of the hard drive! Can't wait to see the finished product.
Thank you! I couldn't even wrap my brain around 1GB of memory in 1996. I was running on 32MB.
@@ActionRetro In 1996, I was still on a 486DX-33, and I MAY have had 8 megs by then LOL.
Haha yeah we had a fancy P200 MMX... unfortunately it was a Compaq!
Actually wait, I think MMX came out in 1997,which means I was still using a 386 at the time!
@@ActionRetro LOL. I went straight from an 8088 to my 486. It was quite a leap 😂😂
Excellent video! One of the things that makes your videos extra special is that, you just start your upgrade or repair but never know if, any of it will fit correctly or work properly with your computer's current hardware and software in this case a UMAX S-900. Which, is the same thing that always happens to me when, I try to work on any vintage apple computer system. Some where during my repair or upgrade at least one or more things will always go in different direction from the way that, I had planned.
Thank you! I like to make "optimistic educated-ish guesses" about what might work in a given machine :)
Awesome idea for a series! I'll be watching!
I love how expandable the Mac of this time have been. My PowerMac 7500 had 8 slots for RAM and 3 PCI slots, and was a just midrange machine.
I never liked the disposable machines that Jobs introduced later. It's when the waste of resources started in the IT business, till today, with glued together shit made for the landfil.
Started my clone ride with the J700 and later moved to the S900e. Maxed it out and filled every slot in there. Then a friend with a music studio offered me his Daystar Genesis MP! Moved all of my upgrades and memory, PCI and drives into that. Added more memory and drives and road that to the end of the clone universe.
The notch in the DIMM sticks indicate voltage. During the 90’s we had both 5V and 3.3V 168-pin DIMM memory. Macs used 5V with some exceptions and PCs used 3.3V. It wasn’t until 1998 when pc and Mac memory was interchangeable.
Oh yeah makes sense, thanks!
My Grandmother had one of these and she though it was hilarious that the company who made this computer made a Mac better than Apple could.
Again, nice video. I wanted one of these back in the day, but I had an 8500/120 that was maxed out including a Newer Tech 400 MHz 604e PCI upgrade card. Also, you should watch my first Micron Millennia video. The case on your SuperMac, while cool on the front, is a very common OEM case design from the late 90s to the early naughties. It’s used on my Micron Millenia XI (I live in Western Idaho - Micron country) and also a shit ton of beige Dells, particularly the Dimension 4100 and the XPS T600R. What an OEM would do is design the front, and customize the carcass for their needs. Power Computing uses THE SAME CASE! So if you ever lay hands on one, you should show them side by side. They decided to keep it simple on front to cut costs. My sense of irony, always turned up to 11 notes that you could shorten Power Computing to PC. Take that FWIW.
Thanks Steven! Holy crap I didn't know this! Now I have to find one haha.
The Twin Turbo 128 is NOT a 128 MB card! We wouldn't see those 'till the 2000s!! Those are probably 4 MB each. And yup, that's a dell dimension / XPS case. I have two in my storage!
Hahaha yeah whoops! It's 8MB 😅
I was wondering if anyone else caught the Dell case.
This case looks so awesome... I'd want one just for modding.
Another great video! Once again the production quality is top notch. One weird thing though, it sounds like you use some kind of noise reduction on your voiceover. While this isn't really an issue, this kinda makes the parts where you are not speaking a bit empty. Maybe it's a good idea to add some background music? Also, it's really interesting to see these weird old "fake" macs. Unlike real macs, these clones aren't really given any attention at all on youtube.
Aw man this is really great feedback, thank you! Audio is something I'm still really trying to figure out, so this is extremely helpful.
And yeah I'm super fascinated by these clones. They're like alternate universe Macs.
lmao i found one of these in an alley in 2007 still have it use it to play escape velocity
Learning some history while we're fixing up stuff - great video!
Oh cool, a high-end Power Macintosh in a Dell Dimension 4100 case. Or is it a Micron Millenia case? Maybe an OmniTech PC case?
It's no surprise that UMAX Tech used that case for its flagship Mac clone. Definitely one of the best 90's case designs ever produced, and very popular among many computer manufacturers. You could easily swap the front bezel and rear I/O plate among a bunch of various 90s computers using that case, and no one would be any the wiser until they looked at paper labels on the back or within.
I used to have fun confusing people by booting natively into MacOS 8 using a "Dell Dimension XPS T450."
You can always try to disasamble a CD/DVD drive and try to clean the lens as well as libricate the laser trails so that they move freely
haha I feel old, had the old Power Computing Mac back in late high school.
5:26 and I can tell the secret upgrade is likely gonna be a g4 1ghz+
Those memory chips are ridiculous. PS I think the Power Computing Power Tower Pro series is a better machine and the Power Computing machine runs OS 9.02
Yeah I would love to find some of the other clones to compare!
It's crazy that it has the same ROM and startup sound! Great video btw.
Thank you!
That case reminds me of one I have for my Windows 95/NT 4 build Same tabs and side panel, just no drive door.
I bet that case was made by the same company that made the Dell cases of that era. Other than the face, it is exactly like a Dimension of that era. Including fan shroud, side panel removal, drive layout, and circle in the center of the side.
All they did is make a different front.
The E100 Mercury card combined UW SCSI and 100 Mbps ethernet on one card BUT it only works in the top PCI slot of the S900 or J700. Notice the extra tab at the end of the card connector. If you install it in a regular PCI slot, the SCSI portion works, but the ethernet does not. Also, the ethernet portion doesn't work with G3 upgrades, unless you get an extension from PowerLogix, I think. But that extension, when loaded wrong, corrupts your PRAM in such a way that the machine will only boot to black screen.
As someone else mentioned, the bigger card is the Ult. Rez. card from ixMicro (formerly IMS). It does not play well in the lower four slots of the S900. The memory is hazy, but I think if you load all the extensions for the card and then try to change resolutions it will freeze the machine if it is in a lower slot.
The twin turbo 128 that is smaller is 4MB only and a 2D card. The larger one is most likely the Ultimate Rez, look at the sticker on the eeprom top left corner close to the port for revision. That one can accelerate 3D and was great as a workstation card. You could game on it too but not too great! Both are excellent Macintosh graphics cards though. The IX3D is newer btw. Both were made by IX Micro.
I think you got Amilio mixed up with Spindler there. Spindler was the one who had the clones idea and fucked the company over, Amelio was the one who tried his best to save Apple and that included buying Next and getting Jobs back on board
Looks like one of those network cards doubles as a SCSI2 card
that really is an old school dell dimension case and used the same color. they must have used the same OEM
1gb of RAM in the 90's would have to mortgage my house for that.
imagine having 1 terabyte of ram today in your computer (not as extreme price wise as back then, but may still need to get a loan to get it)
@@ZoruaZorroark Yeah I just spent as mush as a good used car on my new build thanks to shortages of GPU's and CPU's, 5950x and RTX 3090 :(, only 32gb RAM for me.
Wow! What a machine! The expandability is something to be marveled at, it really goes to show a second or third party who knows what they are doing can really make a quality product. Apple has no reason to do this today but it'd be certainly interesting to see companies with their own spin on the mac formula.
i recognize that computer case as a one made by micron. i think i have one laying around somewhere.
Thanks for the tour. If I could have one Mac clone, this is the one I'd want. I think it's still a great-looking case design, it would be cool if it could be reproduced as a case for modern computers.
Oh yeah I love this case
The retrobrighted keyboard turned out awesome! Have you ever thought about experimenting with the UV LED strips? I've seen some videos of that. Might come in useful in the winter months or when you don't have much sun. Even might speed up the retrobright time. Can't wait for part 2!
Hah thank you! Yeah I've been toying with the idea of trying to build a retrobrite box, like what the 8 Bit Guy did.
Great video, thanks for sharing this is really unique.
Those Twin Turbos are 4 and 8MB Vram. The 128 is bit width of the core.
You need to hit up some old SPARC boxes sometimes :)
Oh yeah, do want!
I have a saved eBay search for those. no luck so far without spending too much money.
@@IanC14 it's funny because you can find SPARC T1 to T4 series machines in the $100-200 but you never see the classics that low, not even servers like the V240s :(
Great video. It does remind me how much I do not miss ribbon cables and molex connectors.
What of you put 2 of those super fast 1ghz G4 cards in here?
My first computer was a used UMAX S900. It was branded as Pulsar in Europe. Thank you very much for the video, it brought back some good memories! Also, check out the history of this machine here (if you have not done so already): www.kennedybrandt.com/supermac_insider/history/index.html
Thanks for that link!
Very cool clone Mac! I had a 9500, the case was awful. The S900 case is leaps better.
Thanks! I just recently learned that much of the S900 case is shared with other machines, including a Dell, which totally blew my mind!
In fact 40 volumes peroxide equals around 12% concentration. 40 volumes means that each mL of hydrogen peroxide releases 40mL of gaseous oxygen.
this pc uses the same chassis as a type of old dell power edge
How do you know that the CD-ROM drive supports burnt disks?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure that mid 90 CD drives did not read written discs.
They can usually read CD-Rs. The problems are much more common with CD-RWs.
With the eventual speed madness. Write speed set to high, and attempting to read at slower speeds can cause issue also. Ah the old format rw design issues. Windows audio format, adding a program so writing can be done. What file format to use. Which color would work. Formatting for the lowest common denominator, copy protection any one?
Turn on auto run or boot, on insertion?
Higher speed and more noise? What the heck?
Oh wait another manufacturer designs to a different standard file system?
Ah the memories.
Stuff Happens Sean Very Cool Clone Can't Wait For Part 2
Thanks David!
Helpful tip for those looking for quiet fans: You don't need to spend a ton of money on Noctua. Digi-Key has a pretty big selection you can filter by parameters, such as RPM and acoustics. I always keep a few of these on-hand for refurbishing power supplies:
Part #Q1077-ND, Qualtek 12V 80x25, 1600 RPM, 18.3dBA, 20CFM.
IIRC, they're around $8 apiece. This is the 2-wire version, which is ideal for PSUs, and case fans for systems that don't use a tachometer. It's nearly silent, and makes using my old 386, 486, and Pentium systems so much more pleasant. You CAN hear them, but you really have to listen for it. And, importantly, it does still pull some air through the case. On P-II and up, with hotter CPUs and graphics cards, I'll put one in the front of the case too, for a push-pull arrangement.
I also have some NMB models picked out for systems that PWM the 12V line (not the 4-pin plug that modern systems use.) Those have higher RPMs, and thus more noise at full speed. I also use those in XTs and ATs, where a fan hum is kinda part of the experience.
Finally, I do keep a couple Gelid Solutions Silent 4 / 6 / 8 around for 40mm, 60mm, and 80mm sizes where I want a really quiet fan with a tach. I've had these for a while and may find a less "PC Mods" type of alternative when I run out. They're not particularly cheap. But they are nice and quiet when replacing the old dental drill Pentium CPU coolers.
UMAX SuperMac S900! clearly shows why Mac clones always was a better option at least that´s how I see it cheaper and stronger and offers better upgrade than original mac´s from the same time period. I find old mac stuff fascinating and important part of computer history but man I will never ever like apple products.
Amazing. I had a Powercomputing Mac clone ( I remember It was power pc 500Mhz ) I still have Apus2000 and Mac Adjustable keyboard. ( Also Ti-book ) It sill works..
Wow, that UMAX has the same case Dell was using around the time period. I happen to think the front bezel on these UMAX machines is pretty ugly, but that's largely because I'm comparing it with the 9500 and 9600. If I were comparing this thing with the hideous monstrosity AIO that preceded the iMac, I'd gladly take this thing any day of the year! I just don't like doors much.
Your UMAX optical drive probably needs a new belt. Techmoan has done many videos on replacing those. The lasers can also fail, but … the belts are more common failures on drives from this point in history.
Wow, wish my server would run 2 different clocked CPU's lol
Those video cards are IXMicro TwinTurbo cards. They each have 8MB of VRAM on them. I had them in my old 8500 which I replaced with a ATI Rage128 16MB card.
If I ever come across a SuperMac S900 case (not even the whole machine), I'd love to turn it into a sleeper PC. You know if the case will fit an ATX motherboard without needing to be modified first?
That’s actually the case that Dell used in their XPS R400 series, identical except the front. That’s interesting
We need more cat clips 🥰
Been loving your content but the unskipable mid roll ads that youtube has placed is very annoying.
Oh geez, I just left it all on the defaults. I look into the settings.
@@ActionRetro thanks, i dont mind the odd midroll but on my ipad i get something like 6 or 7 unskipable adds
You is to Young to love this pcs+
And this Amazing! See inside in 5:00
I just donated a Micron P3 machine that had a similar case design. I recognized the way that side panel came off.
It looks like a 90s Dell from the back
I had a Umax c600 back in the day, installed the G3 L2 cache slot upgrade
I had a UMAX S900 back in the day. Great machine. Loved it, easy to get in and out of it.
Besides the front this case looks almost the same as my dell dimension XPS T700R from 2000
TBH the open 80mm might have better airflow than a 92mm in the shroud.
The only Mac clone I've ever seen in person is a Power Computing system placed next to a Power Mac G3 Blue and White at the nature center at Washington Crossing State Park in New Jersey. I saw it in 2017!
There's some black magic fuckery going on there, it looks thinnger from the back than from the front
That's a Dell Dimension XPS case, very wierd.
The case looks fancy (and it is actually great), but this is an "ATCX convertible mid tower case" build PaloAlto Design Group. Exactly the same case you could find in Dell, Micron, HP Vectra and Kayak in the mid-to-late 90s. The only difference is the front bezel that snaps which differs from one brand to the other. I bought this case in the retail market in 1999 (not from an OEM, unbranded). This is a very very nice tower, very well built. Oh and yes, I also own a PowerComputing Mac clone with a G3 ! Nice machine !!
Now we just need a Daystar Genesis MP and we are all set
Those things are awesome
My PC is way louder than that fan you replaced. I think tech UA-camrs have their standards set a little too high.
Everything about the raw metal case design to the hard drive location is very interesting, it's so much like my Dell Dimension v400 pentium 2 back in the day. I wonder if the case manufacturer is the same?
So PC clones a success but an Apple clone a failure weired.
The major problem with the Mac clones back in the day was that a PCI video card or any extra expansion would work in some of the 7 clones available and people were getting more frustrated and getting a PC. There was no quality control with the clones, basically a bunch of companies was creating clones just to take advantage of the Apple brand. That is why Steve Jobs stop giving licenses. I remember very well.
Never had issues with compatibility any more than the 8500/9500. Australian distributor only used stock TwinTurbo's, ATI Rage128 or the Matrox G200 with the Mac firmware and didn't have to RMA much at all. Same ratio of reliability issues with all that generation, including finding the odd dud G3 daughterboard, being unfortunate to use an IBM DeathStar, or worse thinking you'd dodged a DeathStar data issue by backing up to a Zip. The biggest issues we had were the bad grounding for audio, the razor sharp metal sheet inside the side-cover, and getting a consistent cost and supply of RAM.
I used to have a Macalley keyboard super similar to the design of the keyboard for this computer. It was half translusent and half bondi blue to match the iMac G3s aesthetic. Idk it had USB on it opposed to the one featured here.
the case seems MICRON/DELL 'ish.layout, swap in a apple mobo and scsi drives.
Oh yeah, Dell used this same case with a different front bezel.
Those RAM sticks are insane looking.
A fan that sounds like a jet? NO WAY
DELL used nearly the exact same case for their DELL XPS line of machines in the mid 90's
So you’re telling me that there are Hackintosh in 1996?
Actually had the 'Banana' clone of the Apple II which was much earlier than that. For some reason the only thing I can remember about it is the Sierra game, The Wizard and the Princess.
That is the exact same case as my Dell Dimension XPS D333, just with a different faceplate.
Looks like a refridgerator.
philadelphia wudder
Try reflowing the ram cards! Try a oven?
Oh good idea!
Found this channel and I am having a lot of fun watching the videos!
Thanks!
I used to work with one of these UMAX Mac clones...
try ubuntu ppc
Absolutely kills what apple makes on about the same high budget, kinda like what apple in general lol
wow the way the case comes off is similar to the dell dimension 4100
Oh yeah it's the same exact case, just with a different front.
@@ActionRetro that's funny so dell copied them or maybe Dell has been doing it a while XD im not that familiar with the older Dells just my 4100 and 9100
@@ducksonplays4190 Dell and UMAX actually bought the same case from a third party manufacturer, and stuck their own fronts on. I find that pretty funny lol
@@ActionRetro thats quite a neat fact, lazy companies but it is a nice case style but they still could've changed it some
The supermacs don't chime........ I like them less.... But they are still cool in themselvss
Wutter 😂
I remember seeing these back then, and so excited to build my own Mac, lol
I also love thinking about how these clones were and are better than apples own computers
The hand is incredibly annoying.
You need a Daystar Genesis MP 600 now. It was only $12k when it came out in '96
Aw man didn't that thing have four processors in it?
hi youtube veteran