> << So the bottom line is this: A "Switcher" gets an old PCI
> PMac. What are the best things to upgrade for a user (user: someone who
> will never open the case, and probably never open the system folder
> directly) >>
I have an 8500/120 is now sports a dual 200MHz 604 daughtercard, and it runs
MacOS 9.1 very well - for example I can rip a CD while iTunes plays it
without any breakup. It also captures video into QuickTime flawlessly
aswell. A great machine.
One can add a reasonable amount of performance with another 604-based
daughtercard; the 120MHz is the slowest one ever made. A 200MHz or 233MHz
will cost around AU$40 (about US$20). Bear in mind the 300MHz and 350MHz
cards DON'T work - they were for the 9600's Mach 5 architecture.
However, if your father wants to run modern apps - or MacOS X apps - then
you'll have to consider a G3 or G4 upgrade. There are plenty to choose from
- Sonnet, XLR8, PowerLogix - starting from around US$100 for a G3. These
will provide a serious power boost and also allow you do install and run
MacOS X (via XPostFacto, though, for simplicity, get a Sonnet card and use
their OS X Enabler).
Up the memory to 256Mb+. 168 pin 5v DIMMs are one of the most expensive
forms of memory (per meg) about these days but even with 128Mb of RAM the
machine will bog down under the weight of a couple of apps.
Leave the cache card there. It speeds up the system.
VRAM was 2Mb standard, some machines shipped with 4Mb. I bought mine with
6Mb, which allows it to pull 1600x1200x thousands of colours. But if your
father's anything like mine, he'll want the screen res big and chunky! You
could add another video card for dual monitor support (or better OSX
performance).
The dog-slow CD drive can be replaced with the 12x or 24x version in a 9600.
Or connect up a faster external CD burner via...
A USB or USB/Firewire card is a very worthwhile addition. Any modern printer
or scanner with Mac drivers can be connected, and adding external USB or
Firewire hard or zip drives is a damn sight easier than installing internal
SCSI ones. However, 4GB SCSI drives can be had secondhand for near-nothing
and that equals a lot of MP3s. There's room for two more Hard drives, though
you'll need a special plastic sled to do it neatly (or electrical
tape/velcro/double sided tape to do it cheaply). Best not to leave them just
flopping about in there!
It is cheaper to buy separate USB and Firewire cards than to buy a combo
card, ironically, and seeing as you've got the spare slots...
I don't know about USB working in 8.1 - I think you may need MacOS 8.6 as a
minimum. My USB card came with drivers but worked without them under 9.1.
While not blazingly fast, the 8500 can run Office 2002, all the previous
versions of Adobe's and Macromedia's products, surf the web with IE or
Mozilla.
Good luck!
Ben.
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