Performa and iTunes

[juan123]

I'm wondering, why is it that when I play an MP3 on my Performa 6200CD in iTunes, that it only plays the mp3 and then isn't responsive at all? In some cases if I click pause I have to wait like 30 seconds for it to do the action. How can I fix this?

Running :

OS 8.6, iTunes 1.1 hacked for 8.6.

machine specs in my signature.

Thanks!

 

[Franklinstein]

It really can't be fixed: that machine is waaaaaaay too slow to do MP3s. It's more the machine's architecture than processor speed, but there's still no way to fix that thing except by upgrading its logic board with one from a 6360 or better.

All of the lovely technical details are here. It should be obvious that playback of MP3s, or any compressed format, will be unbelievably slow on that machine simply because of the layout of its logic board.

 

[QuadSix50]

For the record, I've noticed quite a bit of slowdown on my maxed our Quadra 650 whether I'm playing MP3s or streaming them from online using MpegDec. The architecture of the time wasn't capable of handling that much processing without a performance hit. And considering the limitations of the 6200 design to begin with, it would probably be just as bad.

 

[tomlee59]

As the other answers suggest, the question isn't "Why doesn't it work well?" Rather, it's "Why does it ever work?" Just be happy that you're able to run iTunes and play MP3s on that mac at all.

For best performance, turn off VM, disable unnecessary extensions, and otherwise turn off anything that steals CPU cycles. Beyond that, you've done all that can be done with a stock model. The performance that you get is what you get.

 

[trag]

As the other answers suggest, the question isn't "Why doesn't it work well?" Rather, it's "Why does it ever work?" Just be happy that you're able to run iTunes and play MP3s on that mac at all.

"The wonder is not that the bear dances so well. The wonder is that the bear dances at all."

 

[juan123]

hahaha trag.....that made me laugh.....sooo true.

 

[Quadraman]

You have to understand just how bad the design of the 6200 is to understand the problems you are experiencing. They pretty much took a Quadra motherboard and dropped a PowerPC chip on it, the problem is that the PPC does things differently than an 040, so it is not a drop in swap. Another problem with the 6200 is that the CPU has to act as a middle man between components on the motherboard. Nothing is able to communicate independently with anything else without the CPU getting involved. This takes up so many clock cycles that the 603 chip actually ran slower than the 601 in many instances, which really isn't fair to the 603 since it is a actually superior to the 601. The CPU was also saddled with regulating the timings required by the various components which all operated at different rates rather than using components that all run at the same speed. A separate multiplexing chip would have helped a lot, but they were trying to avoid the expense of adding one. Back during those days Apple made several models that seemed like they were thrown together just to clear their old parts inventory so they wouldn't have to design completely new models from scratch.

 

[LCGuy]

As the other answers suggest, the question isn't "Why doesn't it work well?" Rather, it's "Why does it ever work?" Just be happy that you're able to run iTunes and play MP3s on that mac at all.
For best performance, turn off VM, disable unnecessary extensions, and otherwise turn off anything that steals CPU cycles. Beyond that, you've done all that can be done with a stock model. The performance that you get is what you get.

Exactly. Really, with the strange design, if anything its actually quite amazing they got it to work as well as it did. As Quadraman said, its basically an LC630 with a PowerPC upgrade built in. In a nutshell, what they did was quite similar to taking a Chevy LS1 block, and putting it in an old Datsun - not impossible, but just difficult, and quirky.

 

[Charlieman]

In a nutshell, what they did was quite similar to taking a Chevy LS1 block, and putting it in an old Datsun - not impossible, but just difficult, and quirky.

Installing a GM small block engine in a Datsun 240z/260z/280z was a fairly common modification. In the UK, a similar mod would be to use the Rover V8. Whether an LS1 would fit, I don't know.

 

[Charlieman]

For best performance, turn off VM, disable unnecessary extensions...

I'd go so far as to say that unless you are sharing files, always get rid of the File Sharing extension. It can be a serious performance sucker. BTW, removing that extension only means that you cannot create a shared folder; you can still connect to shared folders on other Macs or AppleShare servers.

 

[Blessed Cheesemaker]

It seems an ignoble thing to say, but the best thing about the 6200 is the case.

Really, Apple built it so crippled that as Trag remarked, it is a wonder it works at all!

So enjoy it...I think the advice about turning off Virtual Memory is the best advice; if you can install as much real memory (128MB?) as possible, that would also be the thing to do. Also...try not to run any other intensive tasks simultaneously with running iTunes.

Good luck!