Power Macintosh 6400 Explained

Power Macintosh 6400 / Performa 6400
Aka:"InstaTower"
Family:Power Macintosh, Performa
Developer:Apple Computer
Imagewidth:300px
Release Date:August 7, 1996
Cpu:PowerPC 603ev
Cpuspeed:180 or 200 MHz
Os:System 7.5.3 - Mac OS 9.1
With PowerPC G3 upgrade, Mac OS 9.2.2
Ram:16 MB, expandable to 136 MB
Ramtype:70 ns 168-pin DIMM
Dimensions:Height: 16inches
Width: 7.8inches
Depth: 16.9inches
Weight:44.5lb
Discontinued:August 1, 1997
Successor:Power Macintosh 6500

The Power Macintosh 6400 (also sold under variations of the name Performa 6400) is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from August 1996 to August 1997. It is the only Macintosh mini-tower system to be branded as a Performa, and alongside the Performa 6360 was the last new Performa-branded model introduced by Apple.

The 6400 and its Performa variants were discontinued in favor of the uniformly-named Power Macintosh 6500 in August 1997.

Hardware

Logic board: The logic board, code-named "Alchemy", is shared with the Power Macintosh 5400 all-in-one and Performa 6360 desktop models. Alchemy is generally believed to be superior to its 5200/6200 predecessors since it had a 64-bit data path to main memory.[1]

CPU: All 6400 models use a PowerPC 603ev processor that is soldered to the computer's logic board and cooled by a fanless heat-sink. Though initially considered non-upgradable, CPU upgrades did come to market that overrode the fixed CPU by use of the Level 2 cache slot.[2]

Sound: The new "InstaTower" case features an integrated subwoofer speaker and supports SRS surround-sound. A knob on the back of the case controls the bass level of the subwoofer; this knob only works if external speakers are connected, otherwise the internal speaker provides full sound range. There are two audio output jacks, one on the front and one on the back. Headphones plugged into the front jack will disable the internal speaker and rear jack.[3]

Expansion: There are two PCI expansion slots as well as a dedicated communications slot that supports AAUI, Ethernet and fast modem cards. The communication slot is not compatible with similar slots on other Macintosh computers. Processor Direct Slot cards are not supported.

Operating system: The Performa 6400/180 and 6400/200 were shipped with System 7.5.3 Revision 2.1; this particular release was specific to these machines as there were stability problems with System 7.5.3 Release 2 on the new hardware, especially with the video card and transferring files over LocalTalk.[4]

Models

All Performa models shipped with SurfWatch, a product from Spyglass, Inc. that provides adult content filtering capability;[5] content-control software was a significant issue at the time due to the recent passage of the Communications Decency Act in the United States.

Introduced August 5, 1996:

Introduced October 1, 1996:

Introduced November 12, 1996:

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://cdn.preterhuman.net/texts/computing/apple_hardware_devnotes/PowerMac%205400.pdf
  2. Web site: The 6400 Zone - L2 G3 Specs Comparison . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20100902094749/http://www.zone6400.com/L2G3_spec_comparison.html . September 2, 2010 . August 10, 2010.
  3. Web site: Performa/Power Macintosh 6400 and 6500 Series - Apple Service Source . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180324200452/http://tim.id.au/laptops/apple/legacy/powermac.perf_6400.6500.pdf . March 24, 2018 . October 23, 2017 . Apple.
  4. Book: Pogue, David . MacWorld Macintosh Secrets 4th edition - Chapter 6: The System Software Museum . January 1997 . 235 . October 18, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171017214028/http://www.toddp.com/classic/Software%20Install/Apple%20Support%20Documents/Macintosh%20Secrets/Mac%20Secrets%204th%20ed./ch06.pdf . October 17, 2017 . live.
  5. August 12, 1996 . Pipe-line: Announced . InfoWorld Magazine.
  6. Web site: Macintosh Performa 6400/180:Technical Specifications . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120603121927/http://support.apple.com/kb/SP376 . June 3, 2012 . September 20, 2017 . Apple.
  7. Web site: Macintosh Performa 6400/200:Technical Specifications . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120603121953/http://support.apple.com/kb/SP379 . June 3, 2012 . September 20, 2017 . Apple.
  8. Book: Pogue, David . MacWorld Mac Secrets, 5th Edition . Schorr . Joseph . 1999 . . 0-7645-4040-8 . 515–516 . Chapter 13: The PowerPC Macs, Model by Model . https://archive.org/details/macworldmacsecre00pogu/page/515.
  9. Web site: Power Macintosh 6400/200: Technical Specifications . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120603121917/http://support.apple.com/kb/SP327 . June 3, 2012 . September 20, 2017 . Apple.
  10. Web site: Apple Power Macintosh 6400/200 Specs . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170929044558/https://everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac/specs/powermac_6400_200.html . September 29, 2017 . September 28, 2017 . EveryMac.
  11. Web site: Macintosh Performa 6410:Technical Specifications . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120603121933/http://support.apple.com/kb/SP381 . June 3, 2012 . September 20, 2017 . Apple.
  12. Web site: Apple Macintosh Performa 6410/180 Specs . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170929045054/https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_performa/specs/mac_performa_6410_180.html . September 29, 2017 . September 28, 2017 . Apple.
  13. Web site: Macintosh Performa 6420:Technical Specifications . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120603121958/http://support.apple.com/kb/SP383 . June 3, 2012 . September 20, 2017 . Apple.
  14. Web site: Apple Macintosh Performa 6420/200 Specs . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220915135849/https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_performa/specs/mac_performa_6420_200.html . September 15, 2022 . September 28, 2017 . Apple.

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