Takky Motherboard Choice

[TylerEss]

I'm not quite sure where to go with my Takky... so here's the story.

A few years ago, when my wife and I first began dating, she rented a room in a larger house, had no computer, and had no room for one.

Consequently, I built her a 6500/225 based Takky with all the works: 128MB RAM, 12GB hard drive, external CD burner, working remote control, TV tuner, and so forth. I felt kinda bad about chopping up the Color Classic but a Takky really was the perfect computer for her situation; it was tiny, cute, affordable, and did everything she needed and more.

A few months later, she moved into my apartment and began using my G3-upgraded 9600. The Takky got placed into the closet, disused. Several years passed, and we've found several uses for the Takky, but only for a couple months at a time. Eventually, the 6500 motherboard died.

The beginnings of a nice Mystic are taking shape in my workshop and I'm considering upgrading from the SE/30 in my sig to something color-classic based. One big thing holding me back has been the cost of IDE-SCSI adaptors: I want my new Mystic to use a 16GB CompactFlash instead of a hard drive.

Red lights went off in my head: the Takky has onboard IDE. I should restore the Takky instead of the Mystic! Now I've got a problem: my Takky doesn't have a motherboard, and I'm not sure which one to choose! Each one has plusses and minuses to consider.

I'm planning on running 7.5.5, just like I already do on my SE/30. I'm a bit turned-off by the PowerPC chip, but 7.5 is 7.5 no matter what it's running on and *any* PowerPC processor would bring compatibility with later PowerPC-only software. I'm not sure if my "68k" Mac would still feel right with a PowerPC CPU though...

630: A real 68k Mac! Can probably overclock to 40+ MHz. Would need to find/buy.

62xx: Slower than the 630 board due to emulation and poor design. Compatible with PowerPC-only software. Not a 68k. Already have one in the workshop.

6500: Fast, native-PowerPC design. Compatible with PowerPC-only software. Would need to find/buy. Already have a 300MHz NewerTech L2G3. Need to build good 3.3v regulator. Not a 68k.

So, 68kMLA, which board would you choose, and why?

 

[Bolle]

6500.

if you´re doing a takky do it right!

extra PSU, TV tuner and all teh stuff.

the 62xx is crap as you said and the 630 is only 68k... if you want 68k go for a mystic to preserve the CC and be able to restore it to normal if you want to. you can overclock 575 boards to 40+ too. mine runs nicely at 42mhz with 33mhz chip.

 

[LCGuy]

Go the 6500

 

[Devon]

i would chose the 6200 board they have "special" 32 bit ics that inhance the compability iwth 68k software and the 603 has a 4 statge excution pipeline similar to the 604s altivic for ehanced proformance. i actually have a 6320/120cd in my room its the rarest and fastest of these reliable 32bit hyper technology designs. i got os8 it crashes alot so i mainly use it for tv which in for it waorks excellernt.

 

[Byrd]

The 6200 is a dog, any way you look at it. As is the 603e CPU which if you can replace with a 604 or G3 upgrade the Mac always becomes considerably faster and usable for daily tasks. The 6320 you have is PCI-based and not the fastest, you can replace your motherboard with a 6500/300 model and be flying along even more!

I'm impressed though by this "reliable 32bit hyper technology design" you speak of

JB

 

[Scott Baret]

If you're thinking AppleTalk at all on this machine, avoid the 62xx like the plague. The reason I got rid of my 5200 is because it was slower than a Classic on a network. Pretty sad considering the specs of a Classic.

 

[coius]

and the 603 has a 4 statge excution pipeline similar to the 604s altivic for ehanced proformance.

604's and 603's don't have AltiVec. That was only Present in the G4's and the G5's. So no, they don't have it. Apple Added that with the 7400 CPU. The "Dolphin" chip in the gamecube was the ONLY Pre-G4 commercial CPU (IBM does not count) to have AltiVec. Essentially, it was a G3 (PPC 750) w/ an added Double-precision AltiVec unit added onto the process. I don't recall if the Altivec was integrated into the Die, or if it was a seperate area on the same chip...

 

[techfury90]

and the 603 has a 4 statge excution pipeline similar to the 604s altivic for ehanced proformance.

604's and 603's don't have AltiVec. That was only Present in the G4's and the G5's. So no, they don't have it. Apple Added that with the 7400 CPU. The "Dolphin" chip in the gamecube was the ONLY Pre-G4 commercial CPU (IBM does not count) to have AltiVec. Essentially, it was a G3 (PPC 750) w/ an added Double-precision AltiVec unit added onto the process. I don't recall if the Altivec was integrated into the Die, or if it was a seperate area on the same chip...

Incorrect. Gekko is the chip you are thinking of, Dolphin was the GameCube's code name. The Gekko chip came out in 2001, nearly three years after the G4. Also, double-precision has nothing to do with Altivec, that's FPU related, not SIMD. However, the Gekko chip does have SIMD, but it is a custom-tailored set of SIMD instructions, grossly incompatible with Altivec (it was designed specifically for the GameCube).

 

[Devon]

wow i never heard of the gecko, also my 6320 has the old comslot 11 an PDS slot and it uses 72 pin ram so i don't think its the newer 6400 style board. still its got a huge for it 10 gig hard drive and it runs tv ok, just worried about DTV swtich cause then it wont work.