[geeks] So what is a "Frankenmac"?

[Bill Bradford]

On Tue, Jul 24, 2001 at 08:10:09AM -0700, William S. wrote:
> There was a brief discussion of the Frankenmac and it
> got me kind of interested. Someone seemed to imply
> that the term is kinda old. Is that true and how
> (obsolete?)

"frankenmac" is generally used for any mac that has been
piecemeal upgraded.

> >From what I gather a Frankenmac is an upgraded G3.

Not necessarily.  Could be an older 68K-based mac thats
been upgraded to PowerPC, or even a mac assembled out of
spare parts.

> Does that mean it is all pretty standard stuff or are
> the cases modified? 

Depends on the instance.

> Can they be upgraded to the latest
> G4 that supports Altivec? Is this the budget way to go

Cheapest, usually, but even a machine like my PM7600 with
a 400Mhz G3 will be a bit slower than a "native" G3/400
system.  Kinda like a "Pentium Overdrive" chip, if you know
what I mean.

> or is it cheaper in the long run to get a stock G4?

> Sorry so many questions. If only are few are commented
> on I will be grateful. Any pictures?

http://www.mrbill.net/pics/powermac.jpg 8-)

(it looks just like a normal desktop 76/7600 or desktop G3..)

Bill

-- 
Bill Bradford
mrbill at mrbill.net
Austin, TX