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Topic |
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Christophillis
Forums Squadron Commander
USA
688 Posts |
 Posted - 06 Dec 2001 : 18:30:56
im looking to buy a 68k powerbook. Can anyone instruct me on which is the best? Mabey which model it is? Thanks...68k Macintosh Liberation Army
Christophillis-
Privite First Class
Total 68k Macs Liberated: 4 |
Captain Z
Mobile Ops Commander
USA
637 Posts |
Posted - 06 Dec 2001 : 21:40:40
First off, are you limiting your search to just 68K Powerbooks or are you looking for a Pre-G3 Powerbook.If you are looking for a 68K Powerbook, your best option is the Powerbook 540c, with PPC upgrade. Yeah, the 540c is nice without it, but that upgrade add some kick to the system. (I know, I have a 520c/PPC). The 540c in it's standard configuration, is the fastest of the 68K Powerbooks. It has the 33MHz 68LC040 processor onboard, a sweet 9.5" Active Matrix color LCD, capable of running at 640x480. The 540c also has dual expansion bays, to load double batteries to get a great 6-8hr charge, or a battery with the ever elusive PCMCIA "Card Cage" adapter, to run PC cards. RAM maxes out at 36MB (4MB onboard, 32MB expansion), or 40MB with the Apple PPC upgrade, 56MB with the NewerTech 167MHz upgrade. The main drawback: the system, fully decked out with PPC upgrade, 40MB of RAM, and dual batteries weighs in at 8 lbs., and will cost you about $370 to put together. ($100 for the system, $100 for PPC upgrade, $100 for battery, $70 for RAM) Your other primary choice is the great Powerbook Duo 280c. Released at the same time as the 540c, the 280c has a 9.5" Active Matrix color LCD, 33MHz 68LC040 processor, and 36MB RAM max out. The 280c is PPC upgradeable to a Powerbook Duo 2300c/100. This is a great option if you don't want to have a floppy drive taking up space, and something a little smaller than a regular Powerbook. Your main drawback: lacks floppy, a little more expensive to upgrade. If you are not limiting yourself to 68K Powerbooks, the one to go for is the Powerbook 3400c/240. With a sweet 240MHz PowerPC 603e processor, a RAM max of well over 100MB, CD-ROM equiped, and a great color display, this is the way to go. The upper casing also has a subwoofer built in, and the color screen is capable of going to a 800x600 at millions of colors. The main drawback: cost. The system still sells on eBay for around $300-$400. If you can't afford it and still want a PPC, go for the 1400c/166. Although not as nice as the 3400c, the 1400c has the perk of being G3 upgradeable, for when you are ready to move on up.
Drawback: some of the models lacked L2 cache, which was a major drawback on system preformence. Buyer beware. These are the systems to avoid at all cost:
Powerbook 150: May look good, but it is handicapped in many ways.
Powerbook 5300c/cs/ce: Can you say "exploding battery"?
Powerbook 190cs: a Powerbook 5300c, with a 68LC040, and explosing batteries.
Powerbook 2400c: Although nice, has structural and design flaws not worth fixing ------------------
Captain Z - Sniper
68K Macintosh Liberation Army
17 68K Macs Liberated |
~Coxy
Leader, Tactical Ops Unit
Australia
2822 Posts |
Posted - 07 Dec 2001 : 06:15:16
Although the 'exploding battery' thing is wrong...I want to add one point, the 540c can also do 16 bit color in 'widescreen' 640 x 400. ~Coxy - Leader, Tactical Operations Unit
68k Macintosh Liberation Army (now with forums!)
00013 Macs liberated. |
Christophillis
Forums Squadron Commander
USA
688 Posts |
Posted - 07 Dec 2001 : 11:01:29
I'm looking at couple powerbook 540c's... I was looking at a couple 3400c's but i need that cash for my rev. 2 blue and white
So hopefully i will have my powerbook by the end of Dec. A couple questions, can you upgrade the modem in the powerbook 540c? or not? It may be attached to the motherboard... i have no idea. Also where can i get a web browser that will work well on the 540c?
thanks.68k Macintosh Liberation Army
Christophillis-
Privite First Class
Total 68k Macs Liberated: 4 |
cinemafia
Guerrilla Recon Leader
USA
2965 Posts |
Posted - 07 Dec 2001 : 12:49:43
quote:
Originally posted by ~Coxy:
I want to add one point, the 540c can also do 16 bit color in 'widescreen' 640 x 400.
640x400 breaks down to 16x10, which isn't quite widescreen's 16x9, but sure is pretty close! Either way, 640x400 at 16-bit color looks great and can be done on either a Duo 280c or a Duo 2300c as well as a 540c. Lieutenant EL CINE, 666th poster to the
68K Macintosh Liberation Army Forums
Master of the Mac II series forums
Total 68K Macs liberated: 4 |
Captain Z
Mobile Ops Commander
USA
637 Posts |
Posted - 07 Dec 2001 : 13:59:33
As I recall, there is a modem able to be onboard, I forget the maker, but it is a 19.2kbps modem.Now I am not quite sure how possible this is, but it may be possible to get this system to the point of having Airport capabilities. All you need is the 167MHz PPC upgrade, the PCMCIA adapter, Mac OS 9 installed, a the maxed out 56MB of RAM, and a third party Airport card (I know they make one, because I set one up on a 3400c for a guy I worked for). Imagine sitting on the show floor at MacWorld holing a Powerbook 540c, and being the envy of all the TiBook and iBook users... ------------------
Captain Z - Sniper
68K Macintosh Liberation Army
17 68K Macs Liberated |
Christophillis
Forums Squadron Commander
USA
688 Posts |
Posted - 07 Dec 2001 : 19:53:38
well i don't think i need to go that far... hey i know this goes in the trading post forum, but does any one have a 500mg or higher HD that will fit in the 540c that i could buy? The reason is the one im looking at only has a 325mg HD so i think i need more space...68k Macintosh Liberation Army
Christophillis-
Privite First Class
Total 68k Macs Liberated: 4 |
cinemafia
Guerrilla Recon Leader
USA
2965 Posts |
Posted - 07 Dec 2001 : 21:10:31
The 540c, like all 68k laptops except the portable and the 190, uses rare and expensive 2.5" SCSI drives that came in sizes from 80-750MB only. I think there may be a few ultra-rare 1GB ones floating around, but don't expect them to jump out at you.666th poster to the
68K Macintosh Liberation Army Forums
Mod of the Mac II series Forums
Total 68K Macs liberated: 4 |
~Coxy
Leader, Tactical Ops Unit
Australia
2822 Posts |
Posted - 08 Dec 2001 : 06:06:18
I know what we need!!!68KMLA stickers, like the AtAT ones, for your 68k powerbook! Who owns a sticker company? ~Coxy - Leader, Tactical Operations Unit
68k Macintosh Liberation Army (now with forums!)
00013 Macs liberated. |
Christophillis
Forums Squadron Commander
USA
688 Posts |
Posted - 09 Dec 2001 : 17:43:46
Hey that is an really good idea. Not just for you powerbook, but for your 68k mac as well! As long as it's not huge or anything i'd put it on my powerbook.68k Macintosh Liberation Army
Christophillis-
Privite First Class
Total 68k Macs Liberated: 4 |
Marchie
Chaplain
USA
911 Posts |
Posted - 09 Dec 2001 : 23:39:13
Stickers are a GREAT Idea! I'm thinking I could make some with sticker sheets from OfficeMax, on either my Inkjet colour, or B&W Laser printers.... What would we want as designs? ~Marchie ~Chaplain Marchie
68k Macintosh Liberation Army ~~"We are all Mad here."~~ |
Christophillis
Forums Squadron Commander
USA
688 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2001 : 06:02:03
As starters i put up a post in the lounge about this, but it doesnt matter we can talk about it here. Umm well we could use the logo on the top of this page minus the forums word and invert the colors so it would match the powerbooks and call it good. It's just a suggestion though. That would be great if you could print them.68k Macintosh Liberation Army
Christophillis-
Privite First Class
Total 68k Macs Liberated: 4 |
Alien
Junior Member
Netherlands
269 Posts |
Posted - 11 Dec 2001 : 16:15:56
quote:
The 540c in it's standard configuration, is the fastest of the 68K Powerbooks.
Nope. The Duo 280 is faster, because it has a 32-bit data path whereas the 540's data path is 16 bits wide. And then there's the 550c with the full 68040 (w/FPU), sold only in Japan… quote:
As I recall, there is a modem able to be onboard, I forget the maker, but it is a 19.2kbps modem.
It's the GlobalVillage PowerPort Mercury. Not too rare, I have one in my 540c. But bear in mind that it is a V.32ter modem, meaning you'll be very lucky to connect at anything faster than 14k4, V.32ter being a somewhat weird "standard". ,xtG
.tsooJ RTFM |
~Coxy
Leader, Tactical Ops Unit
Australia
2822 Posts |
Posted - 14 Dec 2001 : 08:10:49
Nah, the path of the 500s was 32 bit wide.~Coxy - Leader, Tactical Operations Unit
68k Macintosh Liberation Army (now with forums!)
00013 Macs liberated. |
Christophillis
Forums Squadron Commander
USA
688 Posts |
Posted - 14 Dec 2001 : 21:14:43
Ummm.... yes data path....32bit...hmmmm well can you or can you not upgrade the 14.4 modem with a faster one?68k Macintosh Liberation Army
Christophillis-
Privite First Class
Total 68k Macs Liberated: 4 |
Alien
Junior Member
Netherlands
269 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jan 2002 : 04:04:03
Nope. Not if you want it internal, that is. You could buy a PCMCIA card gace and stick in a PC Card modem, or use an external modem, but as far as internal modems go, the GlobalVillage PowerPort Mercury is your only option.quote:
The 540c, like all 68k laptops except the portable and the 190, uses rare and expensive 2.5" SCSI drives that came in sizes from 80-750MB only.
Can't believe I missed that one earlier...  The PowerBook 150 takes a 2.5" IDE hard drive. quote:
I think there may be a few ultra-rare 1GB ones floating around, but don't expect them to jump out at you.
Booh!!:
http://store.powerbook1.com/harddrives.html#scsi ,xtG
.tsooJ RTFM |
Trash80toG-4
NIGHT STALKER
USA
2899 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jan 2002 : 14:51:02
quote:
or use an external modem, but as far as internal modems go, the GlobalVillage PowerPort Mercury is your only option.
......
Booh!!:
http://store.powerbook1.com/harddrives.html#scsi
The best portable modem solution I've run across was Newer's LinkCom 33.6. I was lamenting their decision not to upgrade, but I spotted the Addonics 56k v.90 & k56 flex Pocket Modem (pc only) that looked JUST like it. Took a chance, took one home, and verified that Addonics had OEM'd my LinkCom. A perfect cable swap later and I was connecting w/AmericaOffLine at significantly higher speeds. There were some irritating glitches convincing the Duo 2300c to ignore the internal 14.4k hogging the modem port at times, but nothing compared to AOL grief. If the Addonics is available new or you see either version used, grab it. The Addonics comes with both ps2 and std PC keyboard power adapters so you've got 2 shots at an S-Video/ADB connector graft. Add the Palm serial adapter (maybe a gender changer too?) and leave one of the keyboard adapters stock and the 56k can be hooked up to a non-Mac if necessary. The Palm/Addonics and Newer cables worked reliably with the 56k on everything I've tried, but the 33.6 required the original Newer cable on one system for some reason. I always keep a SCSI Micro Dock in the bag with the modem, but the rest of the Powerbooks wouldn't need it for ADB voltage. No battery hump, it's lighter and more compact than the original Migent Pocket Modem. PB color-matched PC modems are out there waiting for liberation! btw: My 2300c says thank you for the link.... now it's started nagging me for a 20 gig upgrade. It's been so mad at me for demoting it to fax-server status that it refuses to budge from caps-lock outside its dock in order to prevent me from inputting my password for the main partition. Now I'm afraid to remove it w/o HDD & bracket in hand, for fear the spiteful little wretch won't work in the dock after I put it back, thanks a lot! jt ;-) Edited by - Trash80toG-4 on 11 Jan 2002 14:55:57 |
Christophillis
Forums Squadron Commander
USA
688 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jan 2002 : 19:57:08
Thank you to everyone that posted here. I'm typing this from my "new" Powerbook 3400c 144mg 2.045 gig 12x cdrom that I got over Christmas for $295.00 what a steal. So I'm not really looking to but another Powerbook at the moment.68k Macintosh Liberation Army
Christophillis-
Privite First Class
Total 68k Macs Liberated: 4 |
Alien
Junior Member
Netherlands
269 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2002 : 04:29:57
quote:
My 2300c says thank you for the link.... now it's started nagging me for a 20 gig upgrade.
The 2300c is the only PowerBook that can take either SCSI or IDE internal drives. And since IDE drives are much cheaper… ,xtG
.tsooJ RTFM |
Trash80toG-4
NIGHT STALKER
USA
2899 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2002 : 09:14:20
quote:
since IDE drives are much cheaper…
Good thing too, the little piglet already ate 4 gigs worth... jt
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buying a powerbook...
68k of the Week: kastegir's PowerBook 180.