7100/66

[Academician]

Hey guys,

I have the opportunity to get a complete 7100/66 for practically free around here and I was wondering if it was a deal I should pursue. I don't have much space available (I own 7 computers now alone).

I read up on the system model and though I don't know what, if any, upgrades have been done to the system, let alone what OS it has. It sure seems to have a large amount of room for expansion

Barring that, do any of you believe that this system is something I should invest in? Most of my money is currently going into my Apple IIGs (and hopefully soon a small lot of Apple IIe's I plan to fix and sell), and my Centris 610 which will be beefed up to the max in a few weeks.

You guys have about 3 million times the experience I do with Macs, and your input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks :]

-Academician

 

[MacG4]

go for great machines

 

[Quadraman]

If you only have limited space for computers, I'd hold out for one that is going to be more useful and expandable. A PCI slot machine from the 7x00, 8x00, 9x00 or G3 series would probably be better for you.

 

[Unknown_K]

I have an upgraded 7100/66, its an ok machine. I say if its free or close to it grab it and check it out. If you don't like it or have no use for it then trade it off or give it away. I prefer the 8100 series.

 

[Bunsen]

Unless you have = 3 Nubus cards you really like, and want to run them in a slightly more capable system than a 68k Mac, I wouldn't bother. What Quadraman and Unknown_K said.

An 8100 is a larger (tower) but faster (80 to 110MHz) machine, with 3 Nubus and one PDS slots. Any of the PCI Macs will be a much better general use machine, especially a G3 or G4 which can run OS X. The 7100 falls into a middle ground which just says "meh" to me, especially at 66MHz. I've passed on 7100s that were "actually" free, as opposed to "practically" free.

If you like the 610 form factor and have space issues, I'd hold off for a 6100. It's the same speed (60 to 66MHz, clockable to 80MHz) as the 7100, in a 610 case. One PDS, which can be adapted to an AV or HPV video card, a DOS card, or a Nubus card. All three adapters are different, and the last is the rarest.

Best would be a 6100/66/AV so you don't have to source one of the Audiovision monitor adapters for the funky x100-only high density port. (The AV x100s come with a PDS video card with a normal Mac monitor connection) Also the motherboard video on all the x100s uses (slow) system RAM instead of VRAM, so they're dog slow rendering web pages.

If the 7100 doesn't come with the monitor adapter or an AV card, I definitely wouldn't bother.

There are cheap ($10-$30) G3 upgrades that sit in the PDS slot, which will give you a pretty nippy OS 9 machine. (But still no OS X) Most of the info at kan.org/6100 will also apply to a 7100, bearing in mind the different form factors.

 

[Bunsen]

In fact the only time I'd cross the road for a 7100 would be if it had a G3 or some interesting Nubus cards in it [] ]'>

 

[madmann]

I just finished maxing out a 7100 80 with a 400mHz g3 and 128 meg of ram. It is running 7.6.1 :b&w: . It is very fast compared to the old 601 processor. I remember this unit when it first came out in 92 what a computer! I bought this one in the late 1996 used it a few years and then i banished it to the barn. I then liberated it and upgraded it. this project has been very fun. So If you like a machine make run fast otherwise I would agree with the other posts find a nice 8600 etc. and make it run faster. [] ]'>

 

[risc_management]

I just finished maxing out a 7100 80 with a 400mHz g3 and 128 meg of ram. It is running 7.6.1 :b&w: . It is very fast compared to the old 601 processor. I remember this unit when it first came out in 92 what a computer! I bought this one in the late 1996 used it a few years and then i banished it to the barn. I then liberated it and upgraded it. this project has been very fun. So If you like a machine make run fast otherwise I would agree with the other posts find a nice 8600 etc. and make it run faster. [] ]'>

If you saw 7100s in 1992, I can only imagine how surreal 1994 and 1995 were for you.

 

[Maccess]

I just finished maxing out a 7100 80 with a 400mHz g3 and 128 meg of ram. It is running 7.6.1 :b&w: . It is very fast compared to the old 601 processor. I remember this unit when it first came out in 92 what a computer! I bought this one in the late 1996 used it a few years and then i banished it to the barn. I then liberated it and upgraded it. this project has been very fun. So If you like a machine make run fast otherwise I would agree with the other posts find a nice 8600 etc. and make it run faster. [] ]'>

A 7100/80 is sweet. 40Mhz system bus and updated ROMS that address the Nubus bug. The 8100/80 was the only other Nubus PPC to have a 40Mhz Bus, but that had the buggy ROMs.

The 9150 also had a 40Mhz bus in the 120Mhz version, but for some unknown reason, it isn't compatible with G3 PDS upgrades.

A 7100/66 is a bit slower 33Mhz with v1.0 of the ROMs. Still it's a great machine if you don't intend to use high bandwidth Nubus Cards (e.g. VideoVision).

The 6100 is likewise sweet. It can take more RAM than the 7100, up to 264 MB, but the SIMMs are hard to find.

The 8100 I'm not too fond of. I have an 8100/100 that became an 8100/110 through a board swap but that's been through three power supplies. Plus it has only a 33 Mhz Bus (the 110 has a 37Mhz Bus).

It's big, bulky and really dificult to open up. I did manage to bring out the SCSI-2 Internal Bus (to connect external hotswappable SCA80 drives), routing it through one of the Nubus slots. At its peak, it had a SpigotProAV, and external audio connectors (from the CD sound in terminals on the motherboard) and did well converting video from Analog.

 

[LCGuy]

Man...all this speak of NuBus PPCs makes me miss my 8100...i should dig it out just for shits and giggles and see if i can get it going again. (it died a year ago )

 

[Unknown_K]

I realy like the case on my 81/110 Radius, if you are going to get a Nubus PPC then that machine or a 9150 would be the best of the bunch.

 

[Maccess]

The Radius 110 uses the same board as the Power Mac 8100/110 is a different case. It's sweet in terms of its uniqueness, and hoepfully omre robust power supply.

The 9150, now that's sweet. It's faster variant 120Mhz is the fastest Nubus PPC, and it has six nubus slots in the case of a Quadra 950 and the uber-reliable 950 power supply. A design bug, however, reportedly prevents it from using G3 upgrades.

 

[Unknown_K]

The Radius 81/110 uses the standard Mac video connector while the Mac 8100/110 had that funky Audio/Video/Microphone connector so they are not the same exact motherboard. Not sure if anything else is different.

The 9150 should have 5 slots just like the Quadra 950 (same case), 4 are Nubus and 1 is PDS. The 9150 is the only PPC machine with 4 Nubus slots.

 

[Maccess]

The Radius 81/110 uses the standard Mac video connector while the Mac 8100/110 had that funky Audio/Video/Microphone connector so they are not the same exact motherboard. Not sure if anything else is different.
The 9150 should have 5 slots just like the Quadra 950 (same case), 4 are Nubus and 1 is PDS. The 9150 is the only PPC machine with 4 Nubus slots.

Thanks for the update. One of the things I've regretted not buying when I saw it at my favorite tech junk place was the cable of a defunct AppleVision 14 AV monitor. It would have been perfect for making a breakout box for any of the Nubus PPCs with Video In/Out, Audio In/Out, ADB, etc, etc.

 

[TylerEss]

Don't forget the Power/120, which was another NuBus PowerMac with a 40MHz bus. Yay clones!

 

[trag]

The 9150 also had a 40Mhz bus in the 120Mhz version, but for some unknown reason, it isn't compatible with G3 PDS upgrades.

My understanding is that the 9150 models are compatible with G3 upgrades, however, they will not work with the PDS pass-through option of the G3 cards. And the only reason they won't work with the PDS pass-through is that the PDS pass-through ribbon cable only bends in one direction, and the PDS slot in the 9150 is on the wrong side of the NuBus slots, i.e. opposite the orientation in the 7100 and 8100.

The Power Computing 8100 clones have the same issue. They work great with G3 upgrades, but if you try to install a PDS pass-through option so that you can use the HPV card or AV card, the option clunks into the bottom (left side in desktop model) of the case.