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| Author | Best way to improve a PowerMac 7200/90 ? (Read 35997 times) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Chefsessel
32 MB  Posts: 40 
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on: May 15, 2011, 19:33
Hi all, after I saw my LC III dieing some time ago I feel I really need to get back into the System 7 Macintosh era. I'll be getting my hands on a used but refurbished PowerMac 7200/90 later this week. I don't know all the specifics yet but from what I heard it'll come pretty much in basic setup, apart from the memory upgrade to 128 MB RAM. I'm wondering now about the best upgrade path? I intend to use it solely with 7.6 and while faster is better, I don't want to lose compatibility with old games & applications. So...what are my best upgrade options? I welcome any suggestions :-) |
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dpaanlka
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1024 MB Posts: 1646
Reply #1 on: May 16, 2011, 00:00
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Cheap way to add crazy power: http://store1.sonnettech.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_92&products_id=236
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Chefsessel
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32 MB Posts: 40
Reply #2 on: May 16, 2011, 08:32
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Looks awesome. 500 Mhz G3. It should even be able to handle OSX? But how does 7.6 operate with it? Are there any software incompatibilities with the card? (thinking especially of games) Also, is there a "switch" to deactivate the card or would I have to pull it out every time? Saw there is L2 cache for sale for the 7200. Up to 1 MB. Is this is an advisable investment?
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Lichen Software
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128 MB Posts: 252 
Reply #3 on: May 16, 2011, 14:24
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Quote from: "Chefsessel" Looks awesome. 500 Mhz G3. It should even be able to handle OSX? 1. It would probably handle up to OSX 10.4.11 with the use of XPostfacto. Handle with care ... You can pooch your system. You would have to upgrade your RAM. But it will take 512 Mb. 2. Can't speak to this particular accelerator, but I have Sonnets for my PB 1400 and my 7100. Both handle 7.6.1 just fine. The sonnet driver is a universal driver for all but one model (I forget which one now). Games are always problematic as they play the bleeding edge of the system to milk performance. You can turn the card off in extensions I believe. I can't remember if this one is a CPU total replacement or one that goes in through the back door bypassing the existing processor. 3. The accelerator is only asking $29.00 or so. It comes with a 1 Mb L2 cache. I believe that this accelerator was a $200.00+ item at one time. The current price for new does not get any better. 4. Another upgrade would be a modern sized hard drive. I am sure that there are other suppliers, but AfterTheMac.com sells a 50 Gb SCSI drive that would fit in that machine I believe. I have one in my 7100. 5. To give you an indication of the type of speed boost you can expect, it is my experience that OS 7 or 8 will run about 2.5 times as fast as OSX on the same processor. So a 500 MHz G3 running OS 7 or 8 will run for most things similarly to a 1.25 GHz G3/4 running OS X. So with upgrades to memory, processor and hard drive, it becomes a fully useable system for many day to day things, especially if you take advantage of the software here :-)
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dpaanlka
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1024 MB Posts: 1646
Reply #4 on: May 16, 2011, 17:54
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Forget about Mac OS X. While it Mac OS X does indeed run on late model G3s, there's a lot more to getting it working on old pre-G3 systems, which it never even does well even with the best hacking efforts. There's more to it than a processor swap.
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Lichen Software
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128 MB Posts: 252
Reply #5 on: May 17, 2011, 03:28
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Quote from: "dpaanlka" Forget about Mac OS X. While it Mac OS X does indeed run on late model G3s, there's a lot more to getting it working on old pre-G3 systems, which it never even does well even with the best hacking efforts. There's more to it than a processor swap. Actually one of the worst machines to try to run XPostFacto on is a Beige G3. It shouldn't be, but it is. That being said, in all cases: 1. There are cases of failed installations where the machine has gone dormant, never to revive. 2. To get it to run is a first step, but you have to keep it running. And, if you change your mind, getting rid of the hacks that put it in place and going back to the original is another story entirely. 3. All of the difficulties doing it are just compounded by having an acellerator - But it isn't worth doing it without the acellerator - Catch 22 Listen to Wise dpaanlka
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Chefsessel
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32 MB Posts: 40
Reply #6 on: May 18, 2011, 11:09
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Alright, no OSX then. Not that I would really want to use it anyway (I have my lovely PowerMac G5) but it would have been nice to simply try it out. I'm a bit undecided regarding the processor upgrade card though. While it would sure cool to get more power, it might not be a good idea regarding the fact that I want to use that 7200 mostly for recreation (games, light e-mailing). What about the additional L2 cache? Is it advisable to upgrade, thus will there be a remarkable performance increase or not?
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Chefsessel
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32 MB Posts: 40
Reply #7 on: May 21, 2011, 16:19
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Okay, forget about that L2 Cache question. I got the 7200 today. And it turns out that it actually is a 7100/66  Man, Apple really did right to abandon those numbers, too confusing for people.Anyway, I just hooked it up to an LCD monitor that I got and it gives a really crisp & nice picture. It has a 1 GB hard disk, 48 MB RAM and OS 8.5 running on it. Yeah, right. That 8.5 seems a bit overkill for it, though on a first glance it seems to handle it well. I also noticed it has what appears to be a graphics card. I'll have to check. So far tried the floppy and it works fine (amazing, this thing is 16 years old!) and the CD-ROM which doesn't like to mount any disc. Neither originals nor burned CD-Rs, this could prove to be a serious threat to my plans of installing 7.6 tonight. Oh and if I'd like to hook it up via ethernet, what kind of adapter will I need? I saw that it has a port for ethernet, it's just some very old standard it seems?
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24bit
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64 MB Posts: 91
Reply #8 on: May 21, 2011, 21:19
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Hello, at least you got a PPC, a 7100 is not too bad, :-) many old Nubus cards can be used. You will need a AAUI-15 dongle to plug in a Cat5 cable. Sorry to hear about the CD ROM, but 7.6 could be installed from floppies too. In case you own a second hard drive, you might also mount the CD image with this http://macintoshgarden.org/apps/virtual-dvd-romcd-utility and install to it. Most 7100 Macs were shipped "standard" with either an AV or high performance video (or HPV) card. If you happen to have two SVHS ports on the card, it should be an AV. If you consider this: http://www.sonnettech.com/product/crescendo_nubus.html Would you eventually buy the two available items for me and mail them to my place in Europe? I would pay for the hardware and the shipping in advance, of course.
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