Feedback: Mac Daniel #5

Performa 6300, 5200 questions

VR sent this letter on 28 Oct.: My 6300 with 48 megs of ram and Mac OS 8.5 runs the best it has since I brought it in June of 96.

With 8.5 there is a slight speed improvement that I notice.

The biggest improvements come with VM and that you do not need as many third party extensions, which improves the start time. VM is greatly improved. With it on I see very little memory leaks. The system memory also does not increase as much as it has with early OSes.

DG sent this letter on 28 Oct.: For people who have a 6300 (or older) and want to keep their beloved system more or less the same, there is an option . . . a board swap.

I have a 6200, so for $450 I can upgrade my system to a 6360, which has none of the infamous design problems of the older Performas. It involves a motherboard swap, which is easy because the motherboard of the Performa 62xx (and even the old 630) slides right out of the case. It also requires a power source upgrade, which might be a little tougher, but shouldn't be too bad. The price I'm quoting came from DT&T. They charge according to the system you want to upgrade to, and the parts you are sending back (note, they are not interested in defective boards that do not pass Apple's "52xx, 62xx" test).

Now the bad news (sort of). The 6360 sports a PCI slot instead of the old PDS, which is great, but for people like me who have a PDS video card, it's kind of a bummer. Also, the older Performas used SIMM memory, and the 6360 doesn't, so any extra memory you bought before will be of no use to you.

For these reasons, I'm much better off saving my pennies until I can afford a G3. I can sell the ol' gray mare for a few hundred bucks and end up spending about the same amount as it would take to get the 6360 up to the specs I want.

Still, for somebody who has a baseline 630, 6200, or even 6300, this might be a pretty darn good option.

JB sent this letter on 28 Oct.: I have a suggestion for the chap looking for a speed boost for his Performa 6300. I desired the same for my Performa 6290. The answer: Slide out the logic board from the back, and slide in a Power Mac 6500/300 logic board. (Don't forget to transfer the internal modem to the new logic board.) Once you reinstall the system software, all is perfect with no other modifications (physical or otherwise) needed. Now, I have a 300 MHz Performa 6290!

Recent Mac Daniel & Friends columns

Online with a PowerBook Duo, Julie Fugett, Mac Daniel, 11/17/1999
Time to buy an iMac?, Dan Knight, 11/15/1999
Surfing With Low RAM Macs, Manuel Mejia, 11/9/1999
6100 value, Voodoo3, Charlie Ruggiero, 11/4/1999
Getting an old Mac running, Julie Fugett, 10/26/1999
What can I do with a Mac Plus, SE, or Classic?, Manuel Mejia, 10/22/1999
Mac On? Mac Off?, Charlie Ruggiero, 10/20/1999
Mac Connectivity, Julie Fugett, 10/14/1999
Improving the LC 475, Dan Knight, 6/28/1999
Used 7500 or G3?, Dan Knight, 6/21/1999
more on the Mac Daniel index

Not sure if you should upgrade your old Mac or replace it? Check the index to see if we've already addressed your problem recently -- and look in the archive if it's not in the recent columns. If not, visit our staff page for the names of several people who may be able to help you.

Dan Knight, webmaster, Low End Mac

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Feedback: Mac Daniel #5

Performa 6300, 5200 questions

Recent Mac Daniel & Friends columns