Subject: My 6400 Upgrade experiences
Date: Friday, August 3, 2001 3:25 PM
From: Joshuha Allen
To: <zone6400@mac.com>

I am a Macintosh Technical Suppourt/ Customer Care agent in Kansas City. 
I have a Performa 6400/180. Have had this machine for a year, and it is a 
completely different beast now. I have learned quite a few interesting 
things on the way too making this machine the powerhouse it is now, and 
I'd like to share them with you.

Machine specs (now):

Power Macintosh Performa 6400/180
Sonnet Crescendo/L2 G3/400/1MB
136MB RAM
Apple Video/TV System
Apple 10/100BaseT Comm Slot II Ethernet
ATI Radeon 32MB PCI (This card RULES!)
ATI Rage II 3D PRO 4MB PCI 
Sony 15" MultiSync monitor (1280x1024xMillions-Radeon)
KDS 15" MultiSync monitor (1024x768xMillions-Rage II 3D)
Roadrunner Cable Modem service
Time Warner Cable service (through TV tuner/cable inputs)
Sega Saturn (through A/V inputs)
AV/Output (via Radeon)
Mac OS 9.1
150-Watt 2-channel stereo receiver, 2 10" Pioneer 3-way speaker system
Sony Digital camera (through S-Video inputs)

It has taken me a year to upgrade this machine to this point (my job has 
assisted me in this greatly), and it is now even more powerful than a 
stock G3/Blue-and-White! Following are my upgrade experiences:


Sonnet G3/400/1MB
_________________

Like all Sonnet upgrades, installing this was a snap. after opening my 
computer and placing the upgrade in the L2 cache slot, I booted up with 
extensions off and installed the drivers. a re-start and I was on my way 
to 400Mhz of G3 goodness! Welcome to speed, baby...

RAM
___

Installing the RAM was also a piece of cake, I simply bought 2 64MB chips 
($150 for both of them) and put them into the computer. Instantly I 
noticed a serious speed increase, and I will have to say that, other than 
upgrading the processor, this is the single biggest thing you can do to 
speed up these machines. 

ATI Vidcards
____________

These were bought with 2 purposes in mind; so I could play Quake 3 (133t 
all the way, baby!) and so I could use Lightwave 6's Modeler and Layout 
on 2 accellerated screens. In the process, I discovered that the 6400 
DOES NOT support 3 monitors; I had to quit using the onboard video. 
(Don't even try, the mouse will 'stick' on the third screen and you will 
be forced to re-start, which can get frustrating as hell, believe me!)

I have an ATI Rage 128 PRO 16MB PCI, but at the moment I can't use it b/c 
it and the Radeon together causes the processor to overheat because these 
2 cards are very hot anyway; I am going to remove the internal subwoofer 
assembly from the computer and put a couple of 3" fans on the bottom of 
the case to cool things down so I can use this videocard. (There is 
ventilation below the subwoofer assembly which I need to exhaust the hot 
air inside the computer) If this works, I will post an update for you on 
whether a Performa will suppourt 2 high end vidcards. (Spanning Quake III 
on 2 monitors would just be damn cool...if you want to know how to do 
this, email me at jallen17@kc..rr.com)

On the Radeon, Quake III runs at an average of 35-40 FPS in 1024x768 with 
all options as high as they go and Detail Textures on.

RoadRunner
__________


The cable modem is a GODSEND. Even before I got the G3 it was fast but 
now that my computer is maxed out, it is unbelieveable. Even my T1 at 
work isnt this fast (384k/Sec!)

Conclusion
__________

The 6400 can be an awesome machine that rivals any modern day G3 if you 
are willing to put a bit of patience and some money into it. I don't 
consider myself to be a Mac god or anything, but I feel I know this 
particular machine VERY intimately. If anyone ever has a question about 
the 6400 that they can't get answered here, feel free to email me at: 
mrelusive978@aol.com