Mac Daniel's Advice

Cost Effective 7200 Upgrades

Dan Knight - 1999.04.21

  1. What are cost-effective 7200 upgrades?
  2. Upgrading a 7200/75

What are cost-effective 7200 upgrades?

TLO writes: I realize my options are quite limited when considering the options for upgrading my Power Mac 7200. I recently doubled the RAM from 16 to 32 MB, added a 1.2 GB hard drive for back up, and upgraded to Mac OS 8.1. The performance results I saw were astounding!

My question is: Can I expect to see a similar performance increase by upgrading to OS 8.5, doubling my RAM and increasing my RAM cache from 512 KB to 1 MB? Any recommendations on the most cost effective upgrade given the constraints of this machine?

JM writes: I have a PowerMac 7200/90. As I look around at all of the great upgrade cards and gadgets for Macs, I've come to realize that nobody makes anything for my 7200. Am I doomed? Is the only upgrade choice available for my poor 7200 an entire motherboard replacement?

Mac Daniel responds: The best ways to upgrade a 7200 without investing in a new motherboard:

  1. Install a 1 MB level 2 cache. This can nearly double CPU performance compared with no cache - and increase it about 65% over a 256 KB cache. Cost: about $125.
  2. Make sure you have 2 MB or 4 MB of VRAM. This will improve video performance and make overall performance a bit faster compared with 1 MB of VRAM.
  3. A larger disk cache can make a world of difference. With your next RAM upgrade, seriously consider setting the disk cache to 2 MB.
  4. Speed Doubler provides better caching than Apple's disk cache, better 68K emulation for older software, and smart copying. At about $55, I consider it a must.

You will see some improvement by going to Mac OS 8.5, but the L2 cache will make the biggest difference, followed by Speed Doubler.

On the other hand, upgrading to a 7500 motherboard will let you use a 1 MB L2 cache (or even a 233-400 MHz G3 with its own cache), Speed Doubler, and lots of memory. It also provide more options for the future.

Upgrading a 7200/75

LB writes: I currently own a 7200/75 with 24 MB of RAM and a GeoPort. For the last couple of months it really has been getting on my nerves because it is so slow.

What are my options for upgrading it to a G3? Is their any company that would buy my board if I buy an upgrade card? A quick fix would be to increase the RAM to 64 MB, but it really does not help me 6 months from now.

What about cache, is that another route to go?

The GeoPort I have also seems to be slowing down, are there any upgrades for this instead of buying a new modem because I really like using the telephone options on it?

Mac Daniel responds: The best way to speed up a 7200 is to drop in a 7500 motherboard and a G3 card. Of course, that's also the most expensive way to upgrade a 7200, but there are no G3 upgrades for the 7200 motherboard.

We have several of these at work. Here's what I'd suggest:

  • Drop in a 1 MB L2 cache. If you have no cache, this will nearly double performance. If you have a 256 KB cache, which is quite common, expect it to run about two-thirds faster.
  • If you only have 1 MB of VRAM, add a second megabyte. This interleaves video memory and speeds up performance.
  • If you're using virtual memory and depend on it to run all your programs, buy real RAM instead. Virtual memory is free - and only worth what you pay for it. It works, but it really slows things down.
  • If you're still using System 7.x, upgrade to Mac OS 8.1 or 8.5.1. These are much faster on Power Macs.

Finally, dump that GeoPort (a Road Apple) and buy a real modem. The GeoPort is the Mac equivalent of a WinModem. Both are cheap imitations of real modems - they tie up your CPU during communication. A real modem will free your CPU to run the computer, not tie it up doing telecommunications.

Or, if you're not using LocalTalk, consider using the GeoPort for phone features and a real modem to fax and connect to your ISP.

That GeoPort is sucking the power from your computer.

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