Power Macintosh 7200/90 L2 Cache

[Becks79]

I was just wondering if anybody knows if an L2 Cache module labelled 7200/120 Only, would work in the 90MHz version.
And I get it... The label says it's for the 120MHz model, but it's the same logic board. I'm more of a PC person, so I have limited experience with Apple machines, which is why I'm asking. The slot is the same 20/35/25 type. But I'm guessing there might be some logic on board the cache module limiting it from being used in slower systems?
The module in question is this:

Apple Cache Memory for Power Macintosh POWER PC 7200/120 7MP6300 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple Cache Memory for Power Macintosh POWER PC 7200/120 7MP6300 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

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Any information would be useful, thanks

 

[Phipli]

I was just wondering if anybody knows if an L2 Cache module labelled 7200/120 Only, would work in the 90MHz version.
And I get it... The label says it's for the 120MHz model, but it's the same logic board. I'm more of a PC person, so I have limited experience with Apple machines, which is why I'm asking. The slot is the same 20/35/25 type. But I'm guessing there might be some logic on board the cache module limiting it from being used in slower systems?
The module in question is this:

Apple Cache Memory for Power Macintosh POWER PC 7200/120 7MP6300 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple Cache Memory for Power Macintosh POWER PC 7200/120 7MP6300 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Any information would be useful, thanks

They usually work, but some would be overclocked, others wouldn't, depending on the speed of the chips.

Basically, it will probably work.

 

[Phipli]

Not sure I'd pay that much for one though, might be worth just waiting for a cheaper one to show up. People pulled them out of machines all the time because they often weren't compatible with G3 upgrades assuming they're the same as the ones in 7500/8500/9500/7600/7300/8600/9600s. Just put a search on the part number.

 

[Becks79]

Not sure I'd pay that much for one though, might be worth just waiting for a cheaper one to show up. People pulled them out of machines all the time because they often weren't compatible with G3 upgrades assuming they're the same as the ones in 7500/8500/9500/7600/7300/8600/9600s. Just put a search on the part number.

Yeah. The price is okayish, but the shipping is a bit costly, and then 25% VAT on top of that. That will be more than I paid for the 7200
I wanted the 7200 just to try out a PCI Power Mac, as my current Power Mac is an 8100/110 with a MaxPowr G3 card. Finding any Nubus cards to pimp it out (like a Digidesign AudioMedia II) is either very difficult or very expensive. There's a few more options available for the 7200.
I've really been enjoying my 8100 though, so will be fun trying the 7200 out. I've got System 9 on the 8100, so will probably go with 8 for the 7200 perhaps. Maybe even some flavour of 7.

 

[Phipli]

Yeah. The price is okayish, but the shipping is a bit costly, and then 25% VAT on top of that. That will be more than I paid for the 7200
I wanted the 7200 just to try out a PCI Power Mac, as my current Power Mac is an 8100/110 with a MaxPowr G3 card. Finding any Nubus cards to pimp it out (like a Digidesign AudioMedia II) is either very difficult or very expensive. There's a few more options available for the 7200.
I've really been enjoying my 8100 though, so will be fun trying the 7200 out. I've got System 9 on the 8100, so will probably go with 8 for the 7200 perhaps. Maybe even some flavour of 7.

The 7200 case will accept an 7500 or 8500 logic board, so keep an eye out for one. It opens doors for more RAM and better CPU upgrades.

Apple 820-0719-B 256KB Cache Module Memory 1995 DIMM | eBay UK

If you are a commercial buyer from the EU with a valid UID you can pay German-VAT free and get an invoice. Please send yours VAT ID together with the declaration that you are buying for commercial purposes via Ebay message and wait for response before you pay! Small items (CPUs, RAMs, ICs, el...

ebay.us

That might work.

 

[Becks79]

Yeah, I know it can fit other logic boards, the problem is, those Sonnet Crescendo boards (or similar) are quite costly, and for that price, I could probably just dish out for the Nubus AudioMedia II board anyway, and then my 8100 would be set for doing audio

I use a MOTU Midi Timepiece AV USB for controlling my external midi gear. That works on my modern PC via USB, but it also has an Apple serial port on it, and it works a treat with my 8100. I've actually tried out Cubase VST a bit, and gotten it to control my Roland Alpha Juno 2, which was quite fun. I wonder if I could put a PCI Firewire card in the 7200 and use an old Firewire audio interface... I'm going to have to look into that.
All the old Digidesign cards command a premium price tag, but there are plenty of old Firewire audio interfaces that are being sold at almost give-away prices, because nobody uses Firewire anymore.

 

[Phipli]

Don't buy anything for a minute, I'm just trying to double check compatibility.

 

[Becks79]

Don't buy anything for a minute, I'm just trying to double check compatibility.

I'm not ordering anything tonight at least ^^

 

[Phipli]

Well, I suspect the 7500/7600/7300/8500/8600/9500/9600 cache cards work, but I'll leave it to someone who's tried it to say with absolute certainty. The pinout is the same anyway.

Sonnet Crescendo boards (or similar) are quite costly

Every now and then one sells for like £30. If you see a cheap logic board I'd suggest getting it. The 7200 is a little bit of an odd machine from the era.

Roland Alpha Juno 2

There is a classic Mac Alpha Juno patch editor somewhere... I can't see it on the archives and my copy will be buried so deep I won't find it any time soon. If I see it I'll upload it.

I wonder if I could put a PCI Firewire card in the 7200 and use an old Firewire audio interface... I'm going to have to look into that.

I tend to do that sort of thing on G3s and G4s. See if you can find yourself a Digi001... But make sure it has the cable and PCI card, if not, don't buy. They often sell cheap.

All the old Digidesign cards command a premium price tag

Not sure why the PCI AudioMedia IIIs are all £100 ATM. Note that they're not selling. They're not worth that much, it is just an eBay selling bubble.

 

[Becks79]

Yeah. I've been toying with getting an iMac G3 with some fresh colour to use as a Mac DAW PC. The point is for it to be pre-2000. Computers started getting more boring once we passed the millennium.
I never had any Macs back in the olden days, and I've been pleasantly surprised so far. Although, networking is a bit of a pain. On my Amiga 1200? SMB2 support and with Roadshow, I have always on ethernet (well, wifi via PiStorm now, but it worked via PCMCIA while I was using my Jaws II) and can just map my NAS straight to a drive on my workbench.
Mapping drives from the NAS also used to work well on Windows for Workgroups, but after some update it won't work, even after I've consoled into the NAS and forced it to accept older versions of SMB (it's supposed to allow 1.0 even). So I guess now, that's as bad as Mac OS, and I have to resort to FTP. Although, that works well enough.
That RetroGate service seems really cool, but I'm not spending a couple of thousand pounds/euros/dollar/dollarpounds (pick your poison) just to get a system to run a retro proxy. Even though it would've been super cool.

 

[Phipli]

I've been toying with getting an iMac G3

I'd suggest a tower or a Beige G3 if you want to do music stuff, plus AIOs are... Harder to fix when they go wrong. Also desktops and towers are easier to ship safely and have more slots for DigiDesign hardware.

Although, networking is a bit of a pain. On my Amiga 1200? SMB2 support and with Roadshow, I have always on ethernet (well, wifi via PiStorm now, but it worked via PCMCIA while I was using my Jaws II) and can just map my NAS straight to a drive on my workbench.
Mapping drives from the NAS also used to work well on Windows for Workgroups, but after some update it won't work, even after I've consoled into the NAS and forced it to accept older versions of SMB (it's supposed to allow 1.0 even). So I guess now, that's as bad as Mac OS, and I have to resort to FTP. Although, that works well enough.

https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/thursby-dave-621

 

[killvore]

System 7.6.1 with Speed Doubler runs really fast even on the PPC 601. Absolutely worth giving it a whirl even if you don't stick with it, it's got that 'classic' look - plus System Picker makes it easy to choose between multiple system installs if you want to switch.

The iMac G3 is like the worst of both worlds in terms of late 90s music workstations - no proper PCI, but also no G4 processor, and like Phipli said the frailest of the bunch. But, the heart wants what it wants, so if you want a G3 iMac then totally get one! This is all about vibes at the end of the day If not then I might be selling a Desktop G3 this summer after I test retrobrighting it (I've recapped it and it's in great condition but has a bit of a tan).

I'm gonna shout out the G4 Quicksilver as a DAW machine - I know it's technically 2001, but I think it should be grandfathered in. The G4 means you can run a whole bunch of Reason/VST stuff, really fun alternative DAW to play around with - it's super easy to work on when swapping components, although replacing the PSU is a bit of work when that becomes an issue. And I think they just look super cool! They're just too big for my apartment. There's one for sale, it's a bit pricey, it's only got one favorite (me), and looks like someone pillaged the RAM so you can probably make a lowball offer in a couple of weeks if you want to be cheeky: https://www.finn.no/recommerce/forsale/item/459366587

 

[Phipli]

System 7.6.1 with Speed Doubler runs really fast even on the PPC 601. Absolutely worth giving it a whirl even if you don't stick with it, it's got that 'classic' look - plus System Picker makes it easy to choose between multiple system installs if you want to switch.

Issue is the 7200 is fairly crash prone on System 7. I wouldn't recommend less than 8.6 on one because of it. Not my usual advice - I'm much more of a System 7.6.1 fan.