Q. I have a non-USB Power Mac, and I'm starting to get jealous
of all of my friends who have newer Macs. They can use all of the
new FireWire and USB components, but I can't. I don't want to buy a
new computer; is there any way to upgrade my Mac to use USB and
FireWire?
A. Yes, there is, as long as your Mac (or clone) has PCI slots.
You can add USB or FireWire to as easily as you add RAM to it.
Several companies make expansion cards that you can put into your
Mac via a PCI slot. (Before anyone asks, there are no USB or
FireWire cards for desktop Macs that don't have PCI slots.)
The PCI expansion cards that you can buy for your Mac that add
USB capability usually come with two or four ports. You can get one
from
MacMall, Outpost.com, or just about anywhere else
that sells Macintosh equipment. Belkin, PortGear, and many other
manufactures make USB cards for your computer. You can usually pick
one up for under US$110.
However, there are still some down sides to this upgrade. The
first one is the fact that you need to have room inside your
computer for it. Most PowerMac's have 2 or 3 free PCI slots, and
not many people fill all of them - or even one of them. The other
downside is that to put something inside your computer, you
obviously need to open it up (duh!). And sometimes this takes a
little more know-how than some people have, so you might need to
take a trip to your local Mac repair place. This might add a little
bit to the cost, but it's still cheaper then buying a new
computer.
But for some people, just USB isn't enough to keep up with all
of the other people who have cool new Graphite or Snow iMacs; these
people need FireWire, too! But don't worry, you can add these cards
to your computer just as easily as adding a USB card. You can pick
one up for about US$125 and they usually come in either 2 or 4 port
versions. MacAlly, Belkin and many others too make these add-ons as
well.
If you want to add both USB and FireWire, companies such as
Sonnet, Orange Micro, PowerLogix, and FireWire Direct make cards
that support both for under US$170.
So, in the end, getting up to snuff with the people with new
Macs isn't exactly as hard as you think, so get out there and start
upgrading!
Evan Kleiman has been writing for Low End Mac since January
1999. He also runs his own site, Evansite. Evan uses an iMac,
along with some vintage hardware. You can read more about his
computing experience in The Many Macs of
Evan Kleiman.
