powermac 8500 expansion
i just bought a 8500 av mainly because it has the A/V capabilities and because it has internal and external scsi.
im looking to expand it.
i did not buy a monitor yet.
i would like to add a very fast CDRW drive and or DVD drive and i would like to add firewire and usb ports to this thing.
i also want to add a g4 processor to this.
i would like to get at least a 17 inch trinitron quality monitor.
my main apllications will be bias peak 2.5 and digitla performer 2.7.
how should i go about this?
any help would be appreciated
im looking to expand it.
i did not buy a monitor yet.
i would like to add a very fast CDRW drive and or DVD drive and i would like to add firewire and usb ports to this thing.
i also want to add a g4 processor to this.
i would like to get at least a 17 inch trinitron quality monitor.
my main apllications will be bias peak 2.5 and digitla performer 2.7.
how should i go about this?
any help would be appreciated
Comments
Just pick up a decent analog video card and put it in a decent machine. More expensive yes, but it will work much, much better.
But if you're really insistent, I can sell you a FireWire PCI card
my main application will be bias peak 2.5 vst.
im going to using it with my sampler for SMDI dumps,in other words the 8500's SCSI capabilities will allow me to use my samplers (ensoniq asrx) scsi port to send samples to peak and edit them in the digital domain and then send them back to my sampler.
that is the main use for the 8500.
For just SCSI internal and external that is a 40 dollar SCSI card in any modern Mac (or PC)
"i just bought a 8500 av mainly because it has the A/V capabilities and because it has internal and external scsi.
im looking to expand it.
i did not buy a monitor yet.
i would like to add a very fast CDRW drive and or DVD drive and i would like to add firewire and usb ports to this thing."
===>Sure a PCI combo card IDE/Fire Wire and USB card (http://eshop.macsales.com) 180 dollars and a burner say 50 dollars
a 20 dollar optical USB mouse is a good thing as well
i also want to add a g4 processor to this.
===> G4/800 at 400 dollars or so
i would like to get at least a 17 inch trinitron quality monitor.
Sure 200 dollars and 100 dollar to get a ATI 7000 graphical card as the motherboard graphics is dog slow and 50 dollars to get a decent sized hard disk
my main apllications will be bias peak 2.5 and digitla performer 2.7.
how should i go about this?
any help would be appreciated
==> Including the monitor you have spent 1000 dollars on something that lack OS X support and is way slower than a eMac...
At least Peak 2.6 and 3.0 seem to manage with any powermac so you might do OK with the 8500 as it is. If you really need more CPU power you will fare much better with a second hand AGP G4 and a 40 dollar SCSI card or even a B&W G3 and a SCSI card then trying to get real speed out of a 8500.
Getting a 180 MHz 604E card for 20 dollars on ebay if you have the 120 and 132 MHz is a good upgrade as is some RAM but that is about it. I would avoid the 200 MHz as many of the L2 caches has problem with the 50 Mhz bus of the 200 Mhz card (own experience)
also it comes with office 2001 and appleworks already installed.
im not looking to do a lot with this computer.
i already have an imac 350mhz that im typing this on.
it doesnt have firewire otherwise i could have bought a firewire to scsi adapter.
believe me ive looked into it.
ive also had a bw powermac 300.
i bought it lest than a week after they were announce in san francisco.
i know mac.
im just making due with this 8500 until i get back on my feet.
im unemployeed.
Cache Upgrade
Proc Upgrade
The ram would be 128MB 168 Pin Mac 5V DIMM 60NS 4K EDOs
For HD and CDRW check here
The best graphics card is going to be an ATI RADEON 7000 MacEdition PCI Graphics Card. It'll run you about $100 (less on ebay)
I have 'rebuilt' dozens of macs like this but the 8500 isn't the best choice. I'd go with a G3 Tower or 95/9600 (or even a blue and white). All of these can be had uber cheap. If you are gonna slave 4 or 5 to be a 'work horse' I'd use 6100s or 7200s. Best of luck with your project mate.
And if all you need is SCSI, just buy a SCSI card. It'll be faster than the external SCSI port on the 8500, and it'll work directly with your main computer instead of having to transfer stuff between the two.
i think that will be a little easier to expand rather than a 8500.
i dont plan to run os/x on it.