August 2002 AppleGram - New Life for Older Macs

New Life for Older Macs

Hi there Buddy (or Lady - as the case may be)..., had that Mac for a couple years now? Let me ask you a couple of questions. Have you got G4 envy? Do you want a new iMac so bad you can almost feel it? Think about it..., take your time... Okay, now that I’ve got ya all worked up let’s look at the situation from a slightly different point of view. How would you like to have many, maybe most, of the usable real world benefits of buying a new computer for a fraction of the cost of the new models? You can you know, especially if you already have a PCI Power Mac (7200, 7300, 7500, 7600, 8500, 8600, 9500, 9600). And upgrading rather than buying new can be even more attractive if you have a first (Beige) or second (Blue & White) generation G3.

Trust me on this. I’m your friend, right? Yes, you can also add RAM and maybe external drives (remember the SCSI monster?) to even older pre-iMac computers, but they didn’t have expandability and upgradability designed in the way the PCI Power PC and later machines did. Remember, too, that while RAM can be added to the later Performas and early iMacs, most of the machines only have a couple of RAM slots so plan you RAM additions accordingly. You might have to pull a smaller RAM module to install a larger one. So what can you do with the leftover? I’d offer it to a friend, church, school or someone else who has the space for it.

But let’s get on with the “bigger” boxes. All of the older Macs mentioned before share some common expansion and upgrade options. These include at least three and as many as 12 slots for RAM, an expansion bay for at least one addition internal drive and an easily upgraded processor. The PCI Power Macs have eight RAM slots (12 in the 9500 and 9600) and you also get a slight additional speed increase by interleaving the RAM, making sure you have the same RAM module in slot B1 that you have in slot A1, and so on until you run out of RAM, empty slots or money. And trust me, money used to be the determining factor. When I put my 9500 based video editing workstation together in late 1996 I paid $175 each for 32 meg (megabyte) modules. Fast forward to today where not long ago Velocity Upgrades was offering 128 meg modules for these computers for $15 each! Yes, times have changed. However, remember that the price of RAM fluctuates constantly. The price can halve or double in just a couple of weeks. Plus, as this older RAM becomes increasingly scarce (it hasn’t been manufactured regularly for years) the price will certainly increase.

All of these PCI PPC boxes (except the 7200) also have their CPU (Central Processing Unit) mounted on a card that’s easily replaced. While these machines originally came with Motorola 604 processors running at 120 MHz (Megahertz), later models came with 604 processors running as fast as 350 MHz in certain 8600’s and 9600’s and even a few dual 180 MHz processor versions. While you can find 604/233 cards for very little, you’ll see a much greater performance gain by installing a G3 or G4 card. Refurbished Newer Tech (my personal favorite) G3/400 cards are available from Techno Warehouse http://www.technowarehousellc.com/pciupgrades.html for around $130 and new Sonnet Technologies G3/450 MHz cards are $150 from Other World Computing http://eshop.macsales.com.

So, first I’d add RAM (maybe $100 worth), which will really make even a relatively slow 604 based machine pretty snappy and then I’d drop in a $150 G3 processor card. Mac 7600 Installing both will definitely breath new life into an old warhorse. We currently have a 7600 with a G3/400 card, 512 meg of RAM and internal hard drives totaling around 15 gig. We use it as a housekeeping (everything including the kitchen sink) machine and it works great. I’ve also added a USB card at the whooping cost of 65 cents ($9 cost, $9 rebate, so net cost was the sales tax) so we can copy pictures from our digital camera and I may add a FireWire card if I find a good deal, say $30 or less. I seriously expect to keep this machine in use for many years.

Concerning internal drives for the PCI Power Mac, there’s good news and not so good news. SCSI Hard Drive While they all offer at least one additional internal drive bay stock from Apple they used SCSI drives. Remember SCSI? Still have bad dreams about SCSI ID conflicts, or experience weirdness even when you knew the ID’s were correct? If you want to, you can add additional SCSI drives. Other World Computing has middle of the road Quantum 4.5 gig SCSI drives for $40, high performance 9.1 gig IBM Ultra Star drives for $55 or 18 gig for around $100. They also offer a 36 gig drive for around $130.

The alternative would be to add a PCI/IDE controller card that allows the use of less expensive IDE drives in computers originally designed for SCSI, or to add several drives to the newer models. These controller cards come in two flavors, RAID and regular. No, they’re not made by Johnson & Johnson, the bug people. This RAID refers to using multiple pairs of drives configured as a single unit to increase data transfer speed and/or capacity. Not of great concern in this context, the reason I mention both is because Sonnet Tech is currently closing out their 66 MHz IDE controller cards at $50 for the regular version or $70 for the RAID capable card. The current 133 MHZ versions of these same cards sell for $130 and $200 each. Since the buss speeds on the PCI Power Macs is around 45 MHZ, and the Beige and B&W G3’s are 66 MHz, these “old” cards are ideal for the machines we’re talking about here.

So what’s the advantage going to the added hassle and apparent expense? Well, you can buy good sized IDE drives very inexpensively. How about an IBM (brand) 40 gig for $72, 60 gig for $79 or 80 gig for $91 (all from www.newegg.com)? However to use these IDE drives in the older PCI Power Macs you need a controller card. Remember, too, that since IDE drives were original equipment in most Beige and Blue & White G3’s you’ll need the IDE card only if you want to install more internal drives than your computer’s motherboard was designed to support. However before we dig into the G3’s let’s recap upgrading the PCI Power Macs.

Let’s say you have a 7600 that already has 64 meg of RAM. At current prices from Velocity Upgrades you could take that to 320 meg (adding four 64 meg modules) of RAM for $70 (4 x $15, plus shipping). Add a G3 card for around $150 and you’ll have a very peppy machine for around $225. Add a 9.1 gig drive to the 1 or 2 gig drive the machine probably came with and for well under $300 you’ll be set for quite a while. A machine like this cruises the web and would certainly take advantage of a broadband connection with ease and could handle the occasional graphics project very handily. If you need/want more storage then consider an IDE card and drive installation. Then again, at this point you’re spending close to what it would cost you to buy a decent used Beige G3 so do the math and think about it for a bit before opening the checkbook or laying down the plastic.

But let’s say you already have a Beige G3, either the Desktop or the MiniTower. The RAM situation is a bit of a mixed blessing. These boxes only have three RAM slots and originally used PC-66 RAM, but they can use PC-100 or PC-133 RAM just fine. Don’t waste your money buying 512 meg modules though because these computers (as well as the Blue & White G3) can only utilize 256 meg of each module. And neither can you use the cheap stuff that Fry’s or CompUSA plasters all over the front page of their ads. Buy from a reputable local dealer or mail order from someone like Other World, Velocity Upgrades or other Mac knowledgeable vendors listed on <www.ramseeker.com>, an excellent site that tracks RAM prices. It’s gonna be almost as cheap anyway and you‘ll not have to return it. Be sure that you get a guarantee wherever you buy. Many vendors also offer a lifetime warranty, so save your receipt. Remember my earlier comment about RAM prices being volatile? About a month ago I paid $30 each for 256 meg PC-100 modules for a B&W G3. I just checked Other World’s price and it’s currently $50 for the same module. However on Ramseeker other vendors have 256 meg modules listed as low as $35. To paraphrase something I once heard regarding closet and garage space, in my opinion there just is no such thing as too much RAM, too much hard drive or too much processor speed. Again, plan your RAM upgrade understanding that you only have three slots (four in the Blue & White) so the only way to max out either the Beige or the B&W is to put 256 meg modules in all your slots, and maybe make dangly ear rings or tie bars with the smaller sticks or donate them.

So let’s talk about processor speeds and upgrades. The Beige G3’s originally used processors starting at 233 MHz, the Blue & White G3’s 350 MHz. Not bad places to start, but easily and inexpensively improved upon. Techno Warehouse currently offers a G3/400 upgrade for $130, a G3/500 for $190 and even a G4/450 for $180. Personally I doubt that you would get the full benefit of sticking a G4 processor in any of the computers we’re discussing unless you’re doing a lot of graphics and rendering so I’d suggest getting the fastest G3 that the budget allows, after (as with the PCI boxes) loading your machine with RAM.

Adding drives is generally easier and cheaper in the G3’s, too. However, as already mentioned you may still need a drive controller card if you want to fill the inside of your computer with hard drives. I’ve actually had four hard drives in a Beige MiniTower, but I had to pull the internal Zip drive and make my own bracket to stack three drives in the front of the case while putting the fourth in the drive bay at the top of the case. I’ve also seen B&W G3’s and G4’s with as many as five hard drives mounted along the bottom of the case, but in reality that’s somewhat of a stretch for most folks.

An additional plus for the Beige G3 is that it offers both IDE and SCSI buses, so they’re great transitional machines for those of us who have a bunch of SCSI peripherals. Remember, however, that unlike earlier Macs that had separate internal and external SCSI buses, the Beige G3 has only one. They were also the last machines that offered serial (modem and printer) ports. While the Blue & White G3 doesn’t have SCSI it does offer both USB and FireWire and it was the last Mac to have an ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) connector built-in for those of us who prefer the old style keyboards and such.

Finally, keep in mind that while upgrading a CPU you already own is definitely worth considering, on the used market Beige G3’s are going for $400 and up, B&W’s for around $600. That’s for a stock unit with maybe 64 meg of RAM and probably a 4 to 6 gig hard drive. By the time you add $100 for RAM, $150 on a processor upgrade and another $100 on a bigger hard drive to the cost of the computer itself, you’re getting close to the admission price of the newer iMacs, iBooks (new or refurbished) and refurbished G4’s. FYI, Apple factory refurbished units carry the same one year warranty as new computers and I think they’re generally great buys. I’ve bought several refurbs in the past including the 7600 that we’re using six years after it was originally purchased. In any case, figure your budget then do the math on the total you’d spend and compare your performance gains versus the costs of upgrade versus buy. You might be better off buying a newer, even faster box. Of course what I want is the fastest Dual Processor box (with DVD burner, of course) available, loaded with RAM and at least 400 gig of hard drive along with a TiBook 800 so I can edit video while I’m on the road. But that’s another article. Ya’ll have fun, ya hear!!