PowerBook 1400c

[rudedude]

So I saw an estate sale advertised in my area on Craigslist a few days back and went to it this morning for one item in particular. On the site page for the sale they put up a picture of a PowerBook 1400, with the higher end display to boot. Naturally I casually rushed over there this morning to buy it. I got home to check out if it still works (it does) and checked out the processor speed, only to find that it has the slower 117mhz... :-/ It came with everything I could ask for though, battery (not working), original power cable (with a slight crack), 6x CD drive, and what I was really hoping for... The floppy drive. |)

So I upgraded it to OS 8.1 and played around with it but would really like to know if there is any way to upgrade the processor to the 166mhz model. I know that the 117 cannot be swapped out for the 166 directly but would like to know if I could, say, swap in a new logic board then put in the 166 (that probably wont work either though...) There must be another way... Is there?...

 

[Strimkind]

Nice score. How much RAM did it come with?

The 133mhz can be swapped directly into the 117mhz and might be the most cost effective option for an upgrade. There is also a 180mhz 603e or various G3 upgrade options, but those are less common. Having used both a 133mhz, 166mhz, and G3 233mhz, I would just find a 133mhz and save up for 64MB of ram if you don't have that already. It makes the most difference IMO.

 

[rudedude]

It came with 16mb of RAM, I think it was used as a kids laptop because of the games installed on it :lol: I do plan on upgrading the RAM to the full 64mb though, although I'm still surprised at how much I can get done on it with just the 16mb. Another thing... The speakers are amazingly loud!

 

[J English Smith]

Alas, the RAM cards are very hard to find for the 1400s. You may want to keep your eyes peeled for parts machines that have 32mb or 48mb cards inside them.

I have one 117 unit, have not found a huge difference in speed between it and my 166s for normal operations. While the 117 gets that "road apple" slam, they are still very nice for most things that you would do with a machine of this age.

The "c" screen is a big jump from the "cs" so great that yours has that.

Enjoy that keyboard...next to the Lombard/Pismo keyboard, the 1400 is my favorite laptop keyboard!

 

[ClassicHasClass]

If you plan to make it do "serious stuff," then get a G3. I couldn't imagine using my 1400c without its G3/466, but I did pay dearly for it.

If it's a machine to just play with, even the 117MHz card isn't bad (I made do with it for a number of years before getting my original G3 upgrade), and I second the recommendation to just stick with the 133MHz card rather than foof around with a logic board swap because the cache makes more of a difference in the 1400 than the CPU speed on the low end (the slow bus, among other things).

 

[J English Smith]

Yeah, the bus speed and low RAM ceiling make these mostly useful for typing near a power outlet. Since I moved on to Pismos for my daily drivers, I mostly haul the 1400s out for nighttime typing, just when I want a change from the Pismo keyboard (which is not too often).

If you can find a upgrade CPU card such as CHC has though, that's a horse of a different color...I would think the RAM top would still be a problem, though.

I so wish there was a cost-effective way to upgrade the VRAM on the Pismos...even to double from 8mb to 16mb would be such a wonderful thing. They are so robust in every other way. OK, I digress.

What will you be using your new 1400 for?

 

[rudedude]

I'll be using it for general fun, maybe gaming. But the real reason I bought it was to have an older OS system so that I could connect my eMate to it easily. I don't need to have it with the 166mhz processor :lol: I'm just the kind of person who likes to get the top specs with computers and electronics. Especially now that I actually have a little bit of an Apple collection. And when I say top specs, I mean top of what it was originally able to be bought with.

 

[ClassicHasClass]

Yes, the 1400c is not practical for heavy duty purposes without RAM Doubler. It helps a lot with Classilla and ClarisWorks, which are what the 1400 primarily runs.