----- Original Message ----- From: "E McCann" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "PCI PowerMacs" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, January 26, 2003 4:22 AM Subject: Worth it?
> OK, I love my 7600-mainboard-upgraded 7200. Trying to bum around the 'net > with it, though, shows it needs a *bit* more horsepower. Not to mention > space. One way or another this thing's getting upgraded (when a bit more > money comes in) but I have to decide how far is "worth it." > > As it sits right now (and will for a little while yet) it's at a 120 Mhz > 603, 64 Mb RAM, 2 Mb VRAM, one 2 Gb and one 500 Mb hard disk, and OS 8.1 > (and Be, dual booting.) > > Option 1 is buying a good number of upgrades for the system - G3 or G4 > processor, RAM (of course,) IDE adaptor (for cheaper, large hard drives - I > don't recall, is there a *hardware* limit in these, an OS limit on > partition size, or..?) and CD-RW, the hard drive, of course, and probably a > USB adaptor. 2 Mb more VRAM to max it out, and more system RAM, would > finish up the upgrades. > > Option 2 is picking up a beige G3 and pushing *that* up farther. With IDE > built in, newer (X-supported) video cards, and what looks like a cheaper G4 > upgrade, it's tempting. If I went this route, the 7600 would *still* get a > bit of a boost (to a 200 Mhz 604, and more RAM) but would probably end up > running BeOS as a test web server, email box, etc. (Have you *ever* heard > of a BeOS virus? Thus the email box. <g>) > > As it sits right now, even a low end G3 upgrade (which is also going to be > low on cache, and the bottom end of the speed range) runs $99 list, at > least form what I can. Add the prices for an IDE controller, the RAM, the > hard disk, even $20-$25 for a basic USB card, and we're probably hitting > close to $250-$300. > > Meanwhile, looking on eBay, beige G3s (I'd probably go for a tower) are > sitting from $300-$400. If I went for a stripper (no HD or RAM) as is > occasionally offered, it's cheaper - and I have hard drives that can be > utilized, no problem. RAM's not exactly expensive, either. It would still > need USB added, of course. > > Since it's reasonably close either way, I'm looking for opinions - which > way do you think would be the best to go? > > -Eric I would lean toward a beige G3 MT. Try to get a barebones one, and it should be around $150. +G4 Zifs have been as cheap as $100 (will they work with rev. A ROM? can they use the original heat sink?), +a CD/RW could be as little as $30, +768MB of RAM for $90 (can you max out the RAM with a rev. A ROM?), +a 30GB HD for less than $50, +USB for around $20, +Raytheon VRM for maybe $15, +an 8MB video card for less than $50. My suggestions still add up to a lot of money, but the steps you take to get there aren't as expensive: *for about $30 you get 256MB for a beige G3, or 128MB for a beige PowerMac 7600 *for about $50 you get a 30GB IDE HD, but on a 7600 it costs another $60 at least to be able to use it. *the G3 is a machine that can run OS X without need of XPostFacto, if that interests you. -- PCI-PowerMacs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Sonnet & PowerLogix Upgrades - start at $169 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> PCI-PowerMacs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/pci-powermacs.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive:<http://www.mail-archive.com/pci-powermacs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
