Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

Poker Mac Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Mac Daniel's Advice

Power Mac 6360 or 7500

- 2001.07.20

Q. I have the chance to purchase a Power Mac 6360 (160 MHz 603e) with 32 MB RAM, 1.2 GB hard drive, 8x CD, OS 8.6) for $150 with free shipping or a Power Mac 7500/100 (100 MHz 601) with 8 MB RAM, 500 MB HD, 4x CD, OS 7.5.2 from a flea market computer shop for $100. I need to be able to run OS 8.5 or better for the software I plan to use on this Macintosh. Which is the best value?

A. It depends on how important a computer's upgrade path is to you. Straight out of the gate, the 6360 will pretty much do what you want. I'd buy as much RAM as you can afford (the 6360 tops out at 136 MB using two 64 MB 168-pin DIMMs) and an OS 8.6 CD-ROM (they're running between $20-$30 on eBay). Then you're pretty much set. A bigger hard drive would be nice, but if you manage your space well, it certainly wouldn't be required. The 6360 also has one PCI slot in case you'd like to add a better video card, a USB/FireWire card, or some other upgrade later. G3 upgrade cards are also available for the 6360's Level 2 Cache slot.

On to the 7500/100. Personally, I would go with this system, and here's why:* It has 3 PCI slots. Why compromise with one when you can have your cake and eat it too with three? I can add a nice video card, a USB/FireWire card, and have one left over for a high-end SCSI card or maybe a second video card.

  • The 7500/100 has a 50 MHz system bus, where the 6360's bus is only 40 MHz. With the faster bus you will see increased system performance with any G3 upgrades you eventually add.
  • RAM capacity. The 7500 can be upgraded to a whopping 1 GB of RAM, whereas the 6360 tops out at 136 MB.
  • The 7500's case is a dream to open up and work in. Getting into a 6300 series Macintosh is a bit more of a hassle.
  • Onboard 10Base-T and AAUI ethernet in the 7500. The 6360 has no built-in ethernet, so if you wanted to use high-speed Internet access you would either need to surrender your PCI slot to an ethernet card or begin the potentially arduous search for a Comm II slot ethernet card.

Of course, once you add up all the money you could potentially spend on upgrades, you may find yourself scouring the Net for a good deal on a used G4 Cube or iMac. Make sure you're getting the best deal - it may be worth your while to wait until you can afford the "top of the line" rather than upgrading an old machine. The 7500 is a very upgradeable workhorse, though, so it's definitely worth your consideration.

* Hey, the 7500 is listed as a Low End Mac Best Buy. Are you going to argue with Dan Knight? ;-)

Not sure if you should upgrade your old Mac or replace it? Check the Mac Daniel index to see if we've already addressed your problem.

Recent Mac Daniel columns

Links for the Day

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.

Custom Search

Amazon.com

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Video Cards
Email Lists

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.