Performa

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Tech Specs

Performa 6260 and 6300

LEM Staff - 1995.10.16

The Performa 6300 (a.k.a. 6260, 6290, 6310) replaced the 6200‘s 75 MHz 603 with a faster 100 MHz 603e CPU. The 6300 was replaced with a 120 MHz model in April 1996.

Performa 6300To save money, Apple based the x200 motherboard on the Quadra 605 with its 25 MHz system bus and 32-bit memory, even though the 603 is a 64-bit chip. Apple also used an 8-bit IDE controller for the hard drive instead of the more expensive SCSI used in earlier Macs. (This is the kind of thinking that had crippled the LC with a 32-bit CPU on a 16-bit bus five years earlier.)

Because of unusual architecture, installing a 25-pin SCSI terminator to the SCSI port (if you have no SCSI devices attached) will improve network stability. Also, if you are using a serial printer and no modem, connect the printer to the modem port to avoid network problems.

Open Transport 1.2, which ships with Mac OS 8, solves many network problems.

A word of warning: The serial ports don’t support hardware handshaking, which is required for all modems 9600 bps and faster. You must use a comm slot modem for good throughput.

FWB HD Toolkit is a much better driver for the IDE hard drive than Apple’s.

Be sure to read Performa and Power Mac 5200, 5300, 6200, 6300 Issues. Then you’ll understand why we call it a Road Apple – and the worst Mac hardware ever.

Details

  • 6300 introduced 1995.10.16; discontinued
    6260 introduced 1996.06.19; discontinued
    6290 introduced 1996.01.27; discontinued
    6310 introduced 1996.02.14; discontinued
  • requires System 7.5.1 through 9.1
  • CPU: 100 MHz PPC 603e
  • Bus: 40 MHz
  • Performance: XXX (relative to SE)
  • ROM: 4 MB
  • RAM: 16 MB, expandable to 64 MB using 70ns 72-pin SIMMs (two slots, each supports a 4, 8, 16, or 32 MB SIMM), installing RAM in pairs of identical speed gives slightly more efficient performance
  • VRAM: 1 MB
  • Video: 640 x 480 at 16-bits, 832 x 624 at 8-bits
  • L2 cache: 256 KB
  • Hard drive: 1.2 GB IDE
  • CD-ROM: 8x
  • Microphone: standard 3.5mm minijack, compatible with line-level input including Apple’s PlainTalk microphone
  • ADB: 1 port for keyboard and mouse
  • DIN-8 serial ports on back of computer (modem port disabled when comm slot modem present; printer port disabled when comm slot ethernet card present)
  • SCSI: DB-25 connector on back of computer
  • video input slot
  • comm slot, occupied by 28.8 kbps modem
  • one LC PDS slot
  • Gestalt ID: 42
  • Size (HxWxD): 4.3″ x 12.6″ x 16.5″
  • Weight: 19 pounds

Accelerators & Upgrades

  • Power Mac 6360 motherboard and power supply
  • third-party video card will improve performance

Online Resources

Cautions

  • Internal HD Format: Cannot See IDE Drives (Apple Knowledge Base 18360) notes that due to changes in the way modern IDE drives are formatted at the factory, early versions of Apple HD SC Setup (ones that come with System 7.5.1 and earlier) will not recognize them. You should boot System 7.5.2 or later and use Drive Setup 1.0.3 or higher with these drives.
  • This highest PIO mode this model supports is Mode 3 (11.1 MB/s), Macintosh: Using Third Party IDE Hard Disks
  • Macs with IDE hard drive do not provide SCSI termination power, depending on external SCSI devices to provide it. For more details, see SCSI Termination Power.
  • On most models, the serial ports do not support hardware handshaking necessary for high speed (9600 bps or higher) modems. However, Global Village Teleport Platinum modems implement handshaking on the modem, providing 28.8 kbps and faster telecommunications. (The final revision of the motherboard does support hardware handshaking.)

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