[jzkpr]

I just got a free Powermac 9650 and am unsure of how and what to update this machine with. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Regards!

[dwishbone]

here you go
http://www.apple-history.com/quickga...here=9600.html
i linked to the 9600 because the 9650 was nothing more than the Server version.

i have an 8600, the predecessor to this model. it is great. it runs X fine and has alot of upgrade options. You can get an 800 G4 for it now as well as a Radeon 7000. There are plenty of ATA controllers you can get to so you can cheaply add other drives. USB, FIrewire, and faster ethernet are available. It's not a bad system at all. I love my 8600 because it has built in A/V ports. This is great for video and audio, but I have to boot into 9 to use them :-(

[Captain Obvious]

Originally posted by jzkpr:
I just got a free Powermac 9650 and am unsure of how and what to update this machine with. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Regards!

Yes, this machine is very upgradable if you want to do it. BUT first let me ask you two things: Is this your only Mac and what do you want to do with it?

The uprades can be done very easily but the costs add up. If you want to have a second computer for surfing or word processing then you want to cap the costs before you overdo it. But with some wise investments this computer can be usable for a few more years.

[Avon]

I would not upgrade it if I where you. Cost add up fast, and it simply does not pay. The worst thing about upgrading 604 boards is the video. They always have problems dealing with the increased processor speeds. QE also does not support PCI and apple is not keen on supporting these machines much longer. I would simply leave it as is, its not all that slow really even running X.


If you want to build yourself a cheap mac, I sugest the oldest one to look into is a sawtooth G4. (Even better a Gigabit, because it supports dual processors)

You can upgrade everyting really cheap and its ALMOST modern...
At 400 mhz its still acceptable and processor upgrades are semi cheap and droping...

Flashed PC radeon 8500 - $86.00
Superdrive (DVR-104) - $250.00
LARGE IDE hard drives $100+
800 mhz processor - $450

And you have a new old school machine that can keep up with the new kids.. Kinda. At least you can do everything in X you can with a new mac.

I have a Sawtooth with everything listed above, except the Processor and Id have to say I am pretty happy with it, and have no desire for a new computer just yet.

In short, I find it a very bad Idea to upgrade 604 boards. Memory upgrade is all I would invest in.