4 ms·

I paid $3k for a PowerMac 7100 in 1994. I remember paying $1600 for an extra 32 MiB RAM around 1996. I also bought L2 cache (an external module back in those

I paid $3k for a PowerMac 7100 in 1994. I remember paying $1600 for an extra 32 MiB RAM around 1996. I also bought L2 cache (an external module back in those days), and then a G3 upgrade. It lasted me a good 10 years.

deltarholamda 4y ago
>I remember paying $1600 for an extra 32 MiB RAM around 1996 I remember doing exactly this around the same time. Back then, RAM was almost considered a durable good, because RAM prices had remained stable for so long. I thought, "well, this is expensive, but I'll get most of my money back if I ever sell the computer," and this wasn't a completely insane idea at the time.
telesilla 4y ago
My Powermac 6100 AV, bought second hand for $1500 in 1996 came with RCA connectors, I got it to make music. That purchase kickstarted my career in all things digital. Came with 200MB drive I upgraded to a whopping 2GB. I travelled with it until I got an ibook, which was much more portable for gigs!
bluedino 4y ago
>> I remember paying $1600 for an extra 32 MiB RAM around 1996 That's odd - I remember memory prices being really low around those times, and my friends and I loaded up our Windows 95 machines with 16 or 32MB for $50-$150 when it was on sale 1996 Best Buy ad for reference: https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/web03/2011/9/19/18/enhanced-buzz-1383-1316471212-32.jpg?downsize=800:*&output-format=auto&output-quality=auto https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/web...
- Cockbrand 4y ago
  While Macs did have the same specs and connectors for SIMMs as PCs, they were much more picky in terms of which modules they'd accept. You could do some research and find out which cheap modules were 100% compatible, or you could buy special Mac compatible modules for a quite notable markup from Crucial, Kingston and the like. This might explain the price difference.
scarface74 4y ago
I remember buying 32MB of RAM for my DOS Compatibility card (486Dx/2-66) that was in my 6100/60 for less than $400 in 1996 from Best Buy. My entire 6100/60 with 24MB RAM was around $2500 with the card in 1994 right after the 6100/66 came out.
- cjbprime 4y ago
  I had a 6100 with one of those 486 cards too! I bought it with the hope of playing PC games on the Mac but I don't remember any of them actually working at playable speeds. How about you?
  - scarface74 4y ago
    I was able to play Doom, Descent and most of the popular shareware games at the time. But I had to buy a separate 72 pin SIMM that attached directly to the card instead of having it share memory with the Mac.
em3rgent0rdr 4y ago
"Cache Upgrades: A 30% speed increase for $15?"

deltarholamda 4y ago

>I remember paying $1600 for an extra 32 MiB RAM around 1996 I remember doing exactly this around the same time. Back then, RAM was almost considered a durable good, because RAM prices had remained stable for so long. I thought, "well, this is expensive, but I'll get most of my money back if I ever sell the computer," and this wasn't a completely insane idea at the time.

telesilla 4y ago

My Powermac 6100 AV, bought second hand for $1500 in 1996 came with RCA connectors, I got it to make music. That purchase kickstarted my career in all things digital. Came with 200MB drive I upgraded to a whopping 2GB. I travelled with it until I got an ibook, which was much more portable for gigs!

bluedino 4y ago

>> I remember paying $1600 for an extra 32 MiB RAM around 1996 That's odd - I remember memory prices being really low around those times, and my friends and I loaded up our Windows 95 machines with 16 or 32MB for $50-$150 when it was on sale 1996 Best Buy ad for reference: https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/web03/2011/9/19/18/enhanced-buzz-1383-1316471212-32.jpg?downsize=800:*&output-format=auto&output-quality=auto https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/web...

Cockbrand 4y ago
While Macs did have the same specs and connectors for SIMMs as PCs, they were much more picky in terms of which modules they'd accept. You could do some research and find out which cheap modules were 100% compatible, or you could buy special Mac compatible modules for a quite notable markup from Crucial, Kingston and the like. This might explain the price difference.

scarface74 4y ago

I remember buying 32MB of RAM for my DOS Compatibility card (486Dx/2-66) that was in my 6100/60 for less than $400 in 1996 from Best Buy. My entire 6100/60 with 24MB RAM was around $2500 with the card in 1994 right after the 6100/66 came out.

cjbprime 4y ago
I had a 6100 with one of those 486 cards too! I bought it with the hope of playing PC games on the Mac but I don't remember any of them actually working at playable speeds. How about you?
- scarface74 4y ago
  I was able to play Doom, Descent and most of the popular shareware games at the time. But I had to buy a separate 72 pin SIMM that attached directly to the card instead of having it share memory with the Mac.

em3rgent0rdr 4y ago

"Cache Upgrades: A 30% speed increase for $15?"