A Quadra after All These Years!
Hardware and Software Closure
[an error occurred while processing this directive]- August 2000 - Tip Jar
With Mac OS 8.1 installed, my Mac and I enjoyed some degree of
stability. The bugs in 8.0 had been eliminated 
for the most part. However, having 8.1 meant setting aside
40% of my 250 GB hard drive for the OS. It was necessary to use my 100
MB Zip drive to run applications such as Netscape. My 20 MB of RAM was
a being fully utilized with no margins or buffer. My Mac was working,
but it was being pushed to the limit.
At the time, I was at a crossroads: Do I buy a new Mac. To me the question was: Is my Mac maxed out? The answer was no. There were still upgrades to RAM, hard drive, MPEG and TV/Tuner cards, not to mention after-market pricing for a scanner and digital camera. My choice was to buy an iMac or upgrade.
I kept my Performa and bought the card. I now enjoyed fun watching Star Trek while working on Quicken spreadsheets. I learned to take color pictures using my video camera attached to the TV tuner card and using Quick cam digitizing video software. Yes!
Reality hit with processing movies and pictures. I need more RAM, hard drive space, and speed to manipulate photos and movies. Again the choice, an iMac or an upgrade. Below were my choices:
| ITEM | Old | New | Price |
| CPU | 68LC040 | 68040 | $40 |
| RAM | 20 MB | 36 MB | $75 |
| Hard Disk | 250 MB | 4.3 GB | $120 |
|
Total Upgrade Price |
$235 | ||
| iMac | $999 | ||
|
Serial/SCSI to USB interface |
$25+ | ||
|
Total New Mac Price |
$1024+ | ||
The price to upgrade my 1994 vintage Performa (now Quadra) was 25% of the cost of an iMac. The choice to upgrade my Performa to make it a full grown, no holds barred Quadra was easy.
At this time, my Quadra has run flawlessly for seven months. No more crashes or out of memory messages. I noticed immediate gains in performance after installing additional RAM and the 4.3 GB hard drive. The increases were very modest, but nonetheless very apparent, especially when touching up a picture using Adobe Photo Deluxe.
And now I am saving for a G4 with a 17 inch monitor, and I count pennies while watching Star Trek.
Next Time: The movies!
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 15" MacBook Pro Core Duo, Jan. 2006 - The first Intel-based MacBook launched at 1.83-2.0 GHz, had several teething problems.
- Group of the Day: System 6 is the email list for those who choose System 6.
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content
- Apple's Tablet an End Run Beyond Netbooks, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 11.20. Whatever Apple has planned will leverage existing technologies while going beyond what its competitors can offer.
- i5 iMac Benchmarked, Mac mini 'Shouldn't Be Overlooked', Twitter Client for Classic Mac OS, and More, Mac News Review, 11.20. Also why Apple leaves the low end to others, 10.6.2 fixes video playback problem in 27" iMac, 3D Leopard and Snow Leopard performance, and more.
- Apple #4 in Reliability, Apple Tablet a Gadget for All?, HP's i7 Notebook Outdoes Mac Rivals, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.20. Also Flash 10.1 improves video on Hackintosh netbooks, thin-and-light notebooks impress, Windows XP finally on the way out, and more.
- NASA Chemical Sensor for iPhone, Smartphone Death Match, iPhone Earrings, and More, Ian R Campbell, 11.20. Also mobile phone dangers, new apps, GPS solution for iPod touch, new iPod and iPhone cases, and more.
- Replacing the Hard Drive in a Clamshell iBook, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 11.19. Yes, it is one of the most difficult Apple notebooks to disassemble and reassemble, but a 10 GB hard drive just will not do.
- IBM Model F: A Great Old Keyboard with an Outdated Layout, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 11.19. Although it used a different technology than the revered IBM Model M keyboard, the Model F was a great keyboard in its own right.
- Soft Touch Keyboards, Wireless Mouse Options, Loving SeaMonkey 2, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.18. Also the future of browsing with PowerPC Macs and the multiple mouse input bug introduced with OS X 10.5.8.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
- Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
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- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.17. Used 400 MHz, $50; 933 MHz, $80; 500 dual, $60; 867 dual, $90; 1 GHz dual, $150; 1.25 GHz dual, $225; 1.42 GHz, $499.
- Best Mac OS X 10.5 Deals, 11.17. "Leopard" upgrade, $80; single user license, $135; 5 users, $173; Mac Box Set, 5 users, $230; Server, 10 users, $340; unlimited, $850. Shipping included.
- Best Mac mini Deals, 11.16. Used 1.42 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.66 GHz Core Solo, $419; 2.0 Core 2, $450; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $769; Server, $990.
- Best iBook G4 Deals, 11.16. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $210; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz, $479; SuperDrive, $498.
- Best iPod shuffle Deals, 11.16. Used 1 GB, $35; 4 GB, $65; refurb 1 GB, $39; 2 GB, $59; new 2 GB, $55, 4 GB, $75. New and refurb prices include shipping.
- More deals in our archive.
