16 Nov
2001
16 Nov
'01
4:18 a.m.
From: "Richard Erlacher"
<edick(a)idcomm.com>
To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org>
Subject: Re: OT: paging MAC expert(s) --- What's a Performa?
Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001 12:15:44 -0700
Organization: Erlacher Associates
Reply-to: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
Having now looked "inside," I find that
there's no Intel coprocessor, though the
doc's suggest that there should be one, so the mezzanine board has apparently
been removed. The modems are Global Village types, thoguh I don't know what the
baud rate capability is. There's a connector on the back, which I'm sure is
"stock," that has an indicator on the back of the box suggesting it's a
network
connector of some sort. It's a 4-pin mini-DIN. There are no add-on cards of
any sort inside, though there's a clearly-marked connector for the video-in
board. The SIMMs are 4 MB, i.e. they have 8 1Mx4 DRAMs on board. With a
half-GB HDD, which was "stock" with the '630, I've got to say this was
a
MINIMALLY equipped computer, though the popular functions all seem to be there.
I'm not at all certain how they (Apple) got all that functionality out of the
clearly limited resources. That was their trick for keeping costs low, however.
It makes it hard to understand why the got rid of their CEO at about that time
(/94-94), since he seemingly presided over the generation of this and similarly
high-profit machines. The stockholders should have loved that.
These were released in early '95, and the typical PC of the time had at least
twice the hard disk space and, typically, 16 or 32 MB of RAM, and I do believe
the typical PC of the time had a larger (14") monitor, yet overall system cost
was about 20% less than this model.
I'm just guessing, of course, but that's the way I seem to remember the MAC/PC
price/equipment comparison. I had routine contact with numerous MAC users back
then, in the form of teachers at my kids' middle/high schools, where I was on
several different committees and humg around the school to snoop on them quite a
bit.
Dick
Dick,
There are two versions of logic boards, one has only one slot for
ram w/ solder holes for second slot. The other one has two slots.
Both logicboards are 4MB onboard, uses seperate VRAM onboard.
Performa and LC 630 uses LC040. Quadra 630 has '040.
Not all have the DOS compatiable daughterboard by default. Some got
upgraded with it some came as stock when bought from apple, which
will say CD DOS Compatiable right on the front end.
Comm slot (small one) can either be ethernet, modem. Other slot is
for other uses.
At that time, (61,71,81)00 is in the lineup when 630ers replaced the
low end giant 610ers and IIvx (yuk). Then early 601 machines got
replaced by 603 (yuk except for 6360) and 604 (better) based
machines.
LC475 and Q605 was in that same lineup too based on LC040 25.
Personally those two pizza boxes is my favorites, cheap and small,
easy to ship and comparable to 630 in perfromance-wise and expansion.
In that early times 90-95 era, apple made many bone-headed moves and
using weird parts in strange ways that hurt performance-wise and
spawned bugs, expansion quirks.
Cheers,
Wizard
PS: Stick w/ 7.1.x if you don't expand the ram on 630 beyond 8MB.