[Cotton]

My buddy has an old Quadra he wants to use to get on the net. What kinda modem does he need? He also wants to get a new HD (80 MB doesn't cut it, I suppose . .) will any SCSI HD do?? Do these machines accept G3 upgrades at all? And finally, where could he find the parts? Any help would be appreciated, as I am clueless about older macs. Thanks,

-cotton

[This message has been edited by Cotton (edited 01-17-2000).]

[gene]

Any modem really. Just make sure that it is external. (USRobotics works well)
www.megahaus.com sells Macintosh hard disks. You may want to check with them for a SCSI drive. There are also places for older (smaller) hard drives. One I know is at www.shrevesystems.com
www.sonnettech.com is one of the places that sells upgrades for 68k Macs. I didn't see a product for that particular machine so it could be "upgrade challenged" just like Quadra 840. Even if they do, it may not be a G3 upgrade. You still may want to call them.

A word of advice is not to mess with the whole thing. Upgrades may cost you a fortune and you could have your buddy buy a PPC machine for less than the cost of upgrades.

[tooki]

As the owner of a Performa 475, which uses the identical motherboard, I can give you some input:

Modem: yep, any external modem should do.

HD: any narrow SCSI (i.e 50 pin) drive will do, but beware that unless you install Mac OS 8 on it, you must partition the drive into 2GB chunks.

Processor: There is a PowerPC 601 upgrade card, but it costs as much as a used Power Mac, and in non-native applications is MUCH slower than the non-upgraded 605.


tooki

[Gregory]

Depending on which Quadra, 605, 630, 650, a 2GB HD, RAM limits, 56k USR or Supra, limits to browser choice, support, a used 7500 or above offers more, you can gradually add, or a ref'd iMac for $789, I've done what you are talking about, and it wasn't cost effective.

You just want email and limited web use... but, your friend will be happier spending a bit more. You can find 6100/7100 nubus PowerMac for $199 but they are also limiting.

I would check some of the sites and newsgroups that sell used equipment.

Low-end Mac (check MacSurfer for link) has a complete database, information on upgrading and such, newsletters. Newer's GURU for info on RAM upgrades and video support (do they want better, larger monitor too? helps).

Sun Remarketing prices are high, but get some ideas. http://www.sunrem.com/onlinecatalog

PowerON http://www.poweron.net/
Shreve www.shrevesystems.com
PowerMax www.powermax.com

Cotton: I recently upgraded a 6 series. I got a new hard drive, which doubled the old one to 500 meg for $30. I added ram (32 meg) for $40 and lastly, bought a 601 PPC upgrade. I found a used Daystar card for $100 and then got the adapter from Sonnet for $50. The total I spent was $220. I did this for my girlfriends son, who is a college student (well really I guess it was for the chick) anyway, throughout the process I REALLY wondered if it was worth spending this much money on such an old machine. Well, mine's already done, but you or your friend should think long and hard about spending this much money. By the way, the ram and the adapter were the only new parts purchased. Every now and then, you will see the adapter by itself or both the adapter and the card on used parts listings. Good luck.

I also own a Perferma 476 and have done a lot of upgrades to it over the years.

You can upgrade the RAM to 36MB (4MB on board + 32MB upgrade).

The Sonnet upgrade listed above is a clock-chipper. It will accelerate the machine's bus from 25MHz to 40MHz(?). The downside to this upgrade is if you have the 1MB VRAM upgrade, your display will be limited to only 640x480 (still at Thousands of colors). It also makes your processor run VERY hot. I installed a 486 low-profile heat sink (and thermal compound) to help out.

Any external Mac-compatible serial modem will work with this machine.

As far as hard drives, the interface is standard SCSI (5MB/second). The drive has to be half-height (or the case will not close properly). Larger capacity drives also create a LOT of heat/noise. The power supply in the 605 is a bit annemic, so you have to keep an eye on how much current the drive will consume. I would not install a huge, power-hungry drive if you also have anything installed in the PDS slot.

[Cotton]

thanks for the replys! but, alas, i have convinced my friend to get a loan and subsequently, a new iMac DV. money well spent . . .

-cotton

That's probably for the best. Good Luck.