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The PowerBook 1400 was released in October 1996, replacing the PowerBook 190/5300 range. It was destined to be one of the longest-running PowerBook models in Apple's history, remaining in production until 1998. One of the reasons for the 1400's popularity was its upgradeablility, something that was not available to 5300 owners, and an option which was not even open to PowerBook 3400 owners when that Mac was released in March 1997. Adding to the 1400's popularity was its good looks, its large colour screen (colour standard on all models for the first time) and - also for the first time - its option of a removable CD-ROM module. One surprise deletion from the 5300 line was the availability of a standard video out card, something which nearly every PowerBook from the 160 onward had had. However, Apple's 8-bit video card and 3rd party solutions remained an option.
 

Features:
- 603ev processor (on removable daughtercard) at 117, 133 or 166MHz
- Tappable trackpad
- 11.3" passive or active matrix colour screen
- 2 PC card slots
- Standard or optional CD ROM module (6x, 8x or 12x)
- Standard removable floppy drive expansion bay module
- 12MB RAM minimum, expandible to 64MB
- IRTalk IrDA (hardware compliant only)
- 750-2.0GB IDE hard disk drives
- 32K L1 cache; 128K L2 cache on 133 and 166MHz models
- 16 bit stereo sound in and out at 44khz
- ADB, SCSI, serial ports; port for optional video out
- Supports SCSI disk mode
 

How do models compare?

There's certainly a fairly large performance gap between the low-end and high-end PB1400s. The L2 cache on 133 and 166 models helps things along enormously.
 

Model	Base RAM	Hard disk	CD ROM	Screen
1400cs/117	12MB	750MB	Opt	Passive matrix
1400cs/117	16MB	750MB	Std	Passive matrix
1400c/117	16MB	1.1GB	Std	Active matrix
1400c/133	16MB	1.1GB	Std	Active matrix
1400cs/166	16MB	1.3GB	Std	Passive matrix
1400c/166	16MB	2.0GB	Std	Active matrix

Clearly the 1400/166 models are the ones to get as they have larger hard drives and faster CD-ROMs. But all 1400s are upgradeable via G3 cards from 3rd party manufacturers (like Vimage, Sonnet and Newer Technologies) 216MHz plus.
So one of the cheaper ways of getting a G3 PB is to buy a 1400cs/117 and put a G3 card in it. Vimage currently (as at April 1999) sell them in the US for as little as $299 for a 233MHz card.

The 1400c/133 is a bit of a sleeper. Not as many were sold as of the lower-end and higher-end models. Originally, the 133 was the top-of-the-range model, but it was quickly replaced by the 166 and disappeared from the shelves. It is still one fine PB as it gets the all-important L2 cache the 117 lacks. That makes the speed differences between 133s and 166s fairly negligible. The 117s are no faster than thr 5300ce (117MHz processor) and, in fact, the 1400cs/117 models are slower than the 5300ce due to their passive matrix screens' slower redraw. Essentially, when and if you're choosing between a 5300ce and a 1400cs/117, it will likely come down to three factors: price; necessity of a CD ROM; and screen (larger and passive matrix, or smaller and active?).
 
 

Parts interchangeability

All parts in the 1400 are readily interchangeable between models, *except* for the processor. There are some caveats here. The 166 daughtercard CPU works with the 133 models (so you can get one from someone who discards one for a G3 card), but neither the 133 nor the 166 card works with the 1400/117. The ROMs don't accept them. Now I've *heard* (but can't confirm) that the 133s and maybe the 166s *may* work with Revision 2.0 ROMs in the later 117s. If you've done this swap and can confirm or deny this, mail me here.

Everything else works. CD-ROM drives, floppy modules, RAM - all of these can be swapped easily. However,  I wouldn't recommend hot-swapping the CD-ROM drive. The ATAPI interface on the 1400 does not lend itself to hot swapability, unlike the 5300 or 3400. Shutdown the computer first before removing the CD ROM or floppy and reboot. Don't just put it to sleep. Ditto if you're using any other expansion bay modules like extra hard drives or a Zip drive.

****n.b. There is evidence that the Apple StyleWriter II (*only* the StyleWrirer II) has a problem with the 1400 that can damage/destroy the serial port. Apple is aware of the problem. Solution: Don't use one with a 1400 until this is resolved [thanks Sue Watkins for this info.].

The Persistence of Memory

Memory is unusually organised in the 1400. First things first: 8MB is soldered to the board of all models. That is fixed. Second, there is either 4MB or 8MB in a for Apple's use only slot. That is also fixed. Now, you have one slot open but that can take what's called 'stackable' RAM. Here's where it gets confusing. There are two types of RAM card:
1. Standard RAM card
2. RAM card with pass-though connector.

You can use either, but if you plan to upgrade RAM again later, buy a card with a pass-through connector (they cost about $5 more). Then you can put a card on top of it.

Cards do come in 32MB sizes, but 24+24 is the best way to go for maximum RAM. As some 3rd party firms produced cards before Apple released specifications at the 11th hour, matching 16MB and 32MB cards may not work. I have a friend with a 52MB configuration (12+24+16) which doesn't work too well apparently. Your mileage may vary. But the 24MB cards are the most common.

Some people on comp.sys.mac.portables have asked what happens if you put two 32 cards together (i.e. can you defeat the notional RAM limit of 64MB). The answer is no. You can put in 32+32, but RAM above 64MB won't be recognised as the ROM puts a cap on it and you may be subject to weird crashes and errors if you try. The short answer is: don't.
 

Upgrades:

Here's a reader's personal experience of a G3 upgrade for the 1400 (thanks to Sonny Foster for this review [August 1999]).

                     Cost of the card was $279 (US) plus $10 freight. I ordered it in Australia
                     but picked it up when I got to the US. It came in a little white box, with
                     nothing other than serial number and model number written on the outside.
                     Inside was a manual, floppy disk, G3 upgrade card, 2 x special
                     screwdrivers, anti-static strap and a heat transfer pad. Very well
                     packaged.

                     Installation was a sinch. I'm fairly comfortable with pulling apart Macs of
                     all sorts - I've built two 1400's now from parts I've managed toscum up
                     over a few months ! Anyway, the manual had pictures so even the novice
                     wouldn't have too many problems. Pop the speaker grill, unscrew 6 screws
                     whith provided Phillips head screwdriver to remove the heat sink. Now
                     daughter CPU card is exposed. Unscrew 4 hex screws with the provided screw
                     driver - I just love they way they included all the screwdrivers ! Removing
                     the daughter card in the PB1400 is a little tricky as it is a tight fit. A
                     little rocking of the card and it eventuially came out. Poped the G3
                     daughter card in it's place and put all screws back in, etc. and put the
                     unit back together.

                     I fired up my 1400 and away I went. Bootup was cut by about 1/3 the normal
                     time. I installed the software which puts in a cache extenstion and a
                     control strip module. The software is intelligent in that it will turn the
                     L2 cache off for you if you are using battery power. The L2 cache can
                     reduce working time by about 1/3 ->1/2 so if you can work without it - it's
                     worth turning off. You can over ride this feature if need be.

                     I have installed OS8.6 and haven't looked back since. My PB1400 is as
                     stable as any mac I've ever had. In fact, I've only had one or two lockups
                     which isn't too shabby.

                     I run SoftWindows 95 on my Mac as I use it at work a fair bit and connect
                     directly to the ethernet network. SoftWindows runs noticable faster by
                     around 50% increase with the L2 cache enabled.

                     Heat from my PB has slightly increased - but it's not really that bad. Can
                     still touch the unit.

                     Now for the bad point. After the upgrade, I can no longer write to PC
                     formatted floppies and use them in a PC. For some reason, whenenver I write
                     to a PC floppy and try to read it in any PC, the PC returns a message that
                     the floppy is corrupt and would I like to format it. This is bad. I often
                     transfer Word files back and fourth between a PC and Mac. I have to connect
                     to the network to do that now.

                     I wrote to Vimage and informed them of the problem. I also called them
                     whilst I was in the States. They are aware of the problem and have had a
                     number of tech. e-mails on the subject. The most recent response from them
                     was that they have made their engineers in Japan aware of the issue and are
                     awaiting a patch to fix the problem. Vimage have recently down sized their
                     staff so I'm not feeling very confident about a patch being developed at
                     all. There doesn't seem to be a work around to the problem either.
                     Interestingly the NewerTech card had the same problem but they developed a
                     patch to get around it.

                     Ok, as for speed improvements - they have been great. At least 50% quicker
                     in general use, graphics are about 1-2 times faster. I love surfing the
                     'net now as I can just zip through the pages. it was a little slow before.
                     Nortons and MacBench return about a 2-3 times increase across the board in
                     speed from my 166 MHz 603ev processor. I'm happy with the speed increase. I
                     get about 1.5-2 hours of use per battery - but my battery is getting old so
                     this might not be a good indication.

                     Overall I would rate the card about a 9. it would have got 10 if it wasn't
                     for the PC floppy issue. I'll probably drop that rating to 8 now since
                     their tech. support area has dropped significantly due to staff cuts.

                     So that's about it. Hope this is of some use to you. I like the new look of
                     your web pages - the iBook looks very sexy.

Newer 200MHz 603ev
Newer G3 cards (various speeds and 512 or 1MB cache) [www.newertech.com]
Sonnet G3 cards (ditto) [www.sonnet.com]
Vimage G3 cards (ditto) [www.vimage.com]

Note that with the G3 cards you do not get the equivalent of a G3 exactly. While the cards make the 1400 a lot faster, the system bus is only 33MHz, whereas later G3 models have 50, 66 or 83MHz busses. Second, the video is simply not as fast as the PB G3 models. But as a relatively economical upgrade - and 1400s are invariably getting cheaper, although they still hold their price point at $US1,000 or so - it's worth considering.

Considering a larger hard drive or an extra hard drive? VST makes a large range of peripherals for the 1400, including expansion bay hard drives and Zip drives. For more details, check out the PowerBook 5300 page.
 

Software

If you have problems with sweaty palms or fingers (or just high humidity), there's a trackpad fix from Apple. Get it from the 1400 folder in 'Software updates' at ftp.apple.com

**Note** The PB1400 will not run OS 7.5.5. Early 1400/117s came with the 7.5.3 CD. Later models came with 7.6 or 8.0. An upgrade to at least 7.6.1 is advised. With at least 32MB of RAM, any 1400 will happily run OS 8.5.1 (and presumably OS 8.6).
 

Other features (or things missing)

- The PB1400 doesn't tilt. No legs
- No activity LEDs for the Caps Lock button or the floppy drive
- Don't open the CD on your lap; you might break it. Also, the CD weighs more than the floppy module. Don't take it with you unless you have to.
- NiMH batteries. You'd be lucky to get 2 hours with the active matrix screen. There aren't any LiIONs available to my knowledge.

Pros:
- Good keyboard. Large and raised over the palm rest lip rather than lowered.
- Easily replaceable RAM. Pull out the grille, flip up the keyboard and that's it.
- Book covers. There's a plastic cover on the lid so you can loudly advertise how attractive your PB is to thieves.
 

Summary

The PB1400 is a good, solid mid-range laptop that can easily be user upgraded. Providing the price is reasonable, it can make a good investment. A G3-upgraded 1400 will probably retain quite a reasonable value over time.