DayStar

Robert Art Morgan of Bare Feats fame drops a DayStar Turbo 601 into his IIci.

PowerCache (40 MHz 68040) in Mac II

Marconi reports:

I've been very pleased with the DayStar board. It breathed new life into my tired old Mac II and kept me (more or less) happy for a long, long time. The addition of RAM Doubler helped too. I used that as my primary Mac until the PowerMac 8500 came out, then I upgraded. The Mac II became a modest Web, Mail and Mail list server on a full-time Internet connection.

I never could, however, get the 4 MB SIMM's to work. I even bought a Mac IIx motherboard and a new adapter board for the PowerCache so I could transfer the accelerator into the IIx (avoiding the ROM bug which prevents 4 MB SIMMs in Bank A). Chimes of death every time. I ended up buying a first generation PowerMac to use for my server because I absolutely needed more RAM.

Today the Mac II with its 40 MHz, 68040 PowerCache board and 8 MB of RAM is still going strong on my home intranet. I control it with Timbuktu Pro and use it for ftp and other tasks so that I don't tie up my Powermac 8500.

Installation is pretty simple but the adapter boards that plug into your motherboard have a *lot* of pins which must all be properly alligned. The Mac II adapter has two such socket/pins sets which must be lined up, the IIx adapter has only one. (And the IIx adapter has a socket to hold the removed 68030 so that it still works when the PowerCache is removed!) I had the adapter board in and out of the Mac II many times while trying to get 4 MB SIMMs to work and always got things lined up again -- it just pays to be very careful. Handle the adapter with care to avoid bending the pins.

Go to Mac II.

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