Thread
My new favourite 68k
Just throwing a few things around, while I had a Q630 out and playing, and I think I found my new favourite 68k 
.
A 630 with 630DOS logic board, overclocked (40MHz) full 040, comm slot ethernet, Lapis 3MB LCPDS video card for dual monitors, 148MB RAM, 10GB HD and SCSI CDR, running 8.1
Maybe. Haven't put in the CDR yet - I have plenty around to find one that'll physically match!
Dana
.A 630 with 630DOS logic board, overclocked (40MHz) full 040, comm slot ethernet, Lapis 3MB LCPDS video card for dual monitors, 148MB RAM, 10GB HD and SCSI CDR, running 8.1
Maybe. Haven't put in the CDR yet - I have plenty around to find one that'll physically match!
Dana
My new favorite 68K is the Amiga 4000 
I've taken a shine to my PB540 at the moment, getting it ready for a soon-to-arrive PCMCIA card cage. Found a spare 2GB CF card ready and waiting, full of apps and games. The quality of 5x0 Powerbook casing seems to vary - some it's cheap and brittle, others feel a bit more solid than this.
630's are nice machine - mine is of a similar spec to yours dana, along with a 486 DX4-100 Overdrive in the DOS card. If there were any more components plugged into the 630 board + DOS board + ethernet it looks like it'd topple over It's so sadly let down by rubbish stock graphics performance and colour depth though - lucky you've got that video card I tend to use my Quadra 700 over the 630, gathering a thin layer of dust.
JB
630's are nice machine - mine is of a similar spec to yours dana, along with a 486 DX4-100 Overdrive in the DOS card. If there were any more components plugged into the 630 board + DOS board + ethernet it looks like it'd topple over
It's so sadly let down by rubbish stock graphics performance and colour depth though - lucky you've got that video card I tend to use my Quadra 700 over the 630, gathering a thin layer of dust.JB
My favorite 68K Mac continues to be my Quadra 650. Been working like a champ for a good few years now and still going strong.
My favorite will probably always be the 840av, Mine's not even particularly well-endowed (it's stock except for the upgrade that brings it to 24mb of memory) but it's an amazing machine nonetheless, way fun to play with retro mac software on it. One day I'll probably get a graphics card or something for mine, but in stock condition, it runs everything I could think of wanting to do on a 68k Mac rather well.
I miss the only 68K Mac I ever had.
Someday soon though, I'll get another.
Someday soon though, I'll get another.
My enduring favourite is IIci-2. ('-2' is its personal name, as opposed to the other couple, and the look-alike IIcx and Q700.) DayStar 030/50MHz and FPU; Radius PrecisionColor 24X; Apple Portrait Display in 256 greys; AsantéFAST 10/100 NuBus NIC; partitioned 4.2GB IBM DCHS04F; running 68K pared-down 7.6.1. It mothers/fathers nearly a dozen other 68K Macs.
In between, I have other favourites/most hated, being whatever I am working on at the time. At the moment, those are two Colour Classics and two P250s, from '7.1.3' to 7.6.1.
de
In between, I have other favourites/most hated, being whatever I am working on at the time. At the moment, those are two Colour Classics and two P250s, from '7.1.3' to 7.6.1.
de
Let us know how you fare with the CD-R in the 630. I think you might have some trouble there... IIRC, they don't support SCSI Manager 4.3 (though according to Apple, they do work with SCSI Manager 4.3.1 - Support Page). Plus, SCSI on these boxes is darn slow, and termination is tricky. You might get 1x or 2x burning, but I wouldn't count on much better than that.
Let us know!
Peace,
Drew
Let us know!
Peace,
Drew
That's a very nice 630 Dana!
The Valkyrie video chip isn't the hottest thing around, but it does have a nice hardware scaling feature. I've always wanted to play Marathon with LC630 acceleration turned on... what's it like?
The Valkyrie video chip isn't the hottest thing around, but it does have a nice hardware scaling feature. I've always wanted to play Marathon with LC630 acceleration turned on... what's it like?
LC630s not supporting SCSI Manager 4.3 is an urban myth. Mine quite happily supports SCSI Manager 4.3, and does a fine job at running my external 6x24 SCSI CD-R.
IDE hard drive on a 68k Mac... EWWWWWWW
I had a 630 for a short time. Why only a short time? Because I bloody hated it. IDE on a 68k CPU sucks at the best of times. All that interrupt polling totally frags any CPU power you might have lying around. I'm a BIG advocate of SCSI on 68k machines for this very reason, Amiga and Mac. Why do you think all Apple's 'best' 68k machines were all SCSI based?
The Q630 also only has a 22KHz Audio chip and, as Tyler pointed out the video is a bit ropey. I hate the cases - they are a SoaB to work on unless you just want to change/work on the mobo. Only things it has going for it are the TV option and the extra expansion slot over the pizza boxes. Oh and it looks *okay* I guess.
I had a 630 for a short time. Why only a short time? Because I bloody hated it. IDE on a 68k CPU sucks at the best of times. All that interrupt polling totally frags any CPU power you might have lying around. I'm a BIG advocate of SCSI on 68k machines for this very reason, Amiga and Mac. Why do you think all Apple's 'best' 68k machines were all SCSI based?
The Q630 also only has a 22KHz Audio chip and, as Tyler pointed out the video is a bit ropey. I hate the cases - they are a SoaB to work on unless you just want to change/work on the mobo. Only things it has going for it are the TV option and the extra expansion slot over the pizza boxes. Oh and it looks *okay* I guess.
I'm partial to the LC 575 myself.
- Accepts 64 MB and 128 MB SIMMs
- Drop in a full 040 for FPU
- Built in Trinitron display: less wires and mess to deal with, excellent quality
- Drop in some VRAM to get Thousands of colors
- Built in space for CD-ROM
- Uses SCSI hard drive
- Comm Slot and LC PDS (drop in an Ethernet card and Apple IIe card - two computers in one, networked to boot!)
Disadvantages:
- If built in CRT fails, whole computer is useless.
- No NuBus (but what do you need it for?)
- FedEx likes to crush these type of Macs.
- Accepts 64 MB and 128 MB SIMMs
- Drop in a full 040 for FPU
- Built in Trinitron display: less wires and mess to deal with, excellent quality
- Drop in some VRAM to get Thousands of colors
- Built in space for CD-ROM
- Uses SCSI hard drive
- Comm Slot and LC PDS (drop in an Ethernet card and Apple IIe card - two computers in one, networked to boot!)
Disadvantages:
- If built in CRT fails, whole computer is useless.
- No NuBus (but what do you need it for?)
- FedEx likes to crush these type of Macs.
Currently experiencing a fondness for the Quadra 840. No doubt it'll pass and I'll return to 'old faithful' (the SE/30) sometime soon
I'm quite pleased with my LCIII, stock + 16MB RAM, 500MB HD. I'm looking forward to adding an FPU, some sort of networking card (can't stand empty expansion slots!), and possibly replacing the HD with flash. It'd be near silent and probably draw less than 10W of power...
Yes, but IDE drives used to suck back then. Load up a 630 with a decent, fast, modern unit and you'll be pleasantly surprised at the results. And to be honest, the big advantage that having onboard IDE has is that finding replacement HDDs is a lot easier...no need to hunt around on eBay for 50 pin SCSI HDDs...just grab one out of just about any PC
In terms of design, I really like the IIci. The case layout is so tidy, so servicable, and is the only working example (that I've seen) of a working screw-reduced design. It beats out a couple of models with similar cases because of the FPU and System 6 capabilities.
Over all, I think I prefer the Amiga 500. The hardware is relatively powerful and feature rich, it is a nice OS, and can run with only a floppy (so it is quiet and has the vintage feel), and is
Over all, I think I prefer the Amiga 500. The hardware is relatively powerful and feature rich, it is a nice OS, and can run with only a floppy (so it is quiet and has the vintage feel), and is
Quadra 800/840av
Greatest 68k family. Ever. 840av is the best AV machine of an era. Quadra 800- The Last True Mac
Mine has 128mb of ram and a 1gb Seagate Server HD
SuperFast on 7.5
Greatest 68k family. Ever. 840av is the best AV machine of an era. Quadra 800- The Last True Mac
Mine has 128mb of ram and a 1gb Seagate Server HD
SuperFast on 7.5
I second LCGuy's assertions. The availability of inexpensive (free), high capacity IDE drives makes the 630 more attractive than some of its scsi-only contemporaries. Give it a go with a newish drive and you will likely be pleased.Yes, but IDE drives used to suck back then. Load up a 630 with a decent, fast, modern unit and you'll be pleasantly surprised at the results. And to be honest, the big advantage that having onboard IDE has is that finding replacement HDDs is a lot easier...no need to hunt around on eBay for 50 pin SCSI HDDs...just grab one out of just about any PC
Quadra 950 for me.
8-o
The people demand teh infos!!
Quadra 800? Ack! Worse case design of the 68k line though. Even worse than the 840av because the cables are spread all over the motherboard instead of the top edge. But I *love* the look of it.
IIcx! Now THAT is a great Mac!
IIcx! Now THAT is a great Mac!
I agree the 800 case sucks.
It does look cool tho...
It does look cool tho...
My favourite 68K Mac is and always will be my late, lamented LC475.
It was my first.
Mac, that is.
(My favourite 68K machine, however, is still my Amiga 2000 [
] ]'> )
It was my first.
Mac, that is.
(My favourite 68K machine, however, is still my Amiga 2000 [
] ]'> )LOVE the 575. Probably my favorite mac of all time. As for them crushing these Macs, i bought a 575 from someone on this forum, and UPS obliterated it. Would love to replace it sometime.
http://www.danamania.com/tmp/lapisvideo.jpg
http://www.danamania.com/tmp/lapis.jpg
One o' them. No drivers, alas - the other Lapis drivers online and that people have sent me don't detect it, but it does give nice resolutions with loads of colours, and isn't terribly sluggish without acceleration.
Dana
Hi,
I've been wondering about NuBus/PDS cards for a while. Do you need to use a 90 degree adapter to make the card stand up-right in the computer?
Just curious, as i've never used a NuBus/PDS card before.
No, the LC PDS cards are designed so that when installed, they sit parallel to the board, without requiring any adaptors or anything.
Quadra/Centris 610's and PowerMac 6100's, however, use a completely different style of PDS, and require an adaptor for some cards.
Quadra/Centris 610's and PowerMac 6100's, however, use a completely different style of PDS, and require an adaptor for some cards.
My bad. I misunderstood dana's post as being about a dual-head PDS video card, forgetting the onboard video...
I've got lots of love for many of my classic Macs (along with some others, like my TRS-80 Model 100, and my DEC Rainbow), so it's hard to really pick one to stand above the rest. Some of my systems are much-loved - my SE/30 and Color Classic are used often (and are obviously popular with other collectors), my suped-up G4 Cube and TAM are very cool from an aesthetic perspective, and some of my portables (Mac Portable, eMate, etc.) are hard to beat. Honestly, I have to admit that my "favorite" is often whichever system has grabbed my attention, so with that in mind, my current top-dog has to be my recently-acquired Mac IIfx.
As you guys already know, the IIfx was an interesting (and some would say failed) experiment by Apple - to create an absolutely bleeding-edge system, using many custom parts, and to claim the crown of fastest desktop system on the market. In some ways, it was the Mac Pro of its day. Of course, the IIfx turned out to be an evolutionary dead end, and perhaps because of this, it's sometimes overlooked as a collectors system.
My IIfx has an interesting history - it was used for nearly 10 years as a CAD workstation, doing the design work for the soon-to-be-completed New Mexico Spaceport! Anyway, I've recently been spending a lot of time (and money!) on my IIfx. Since becoming part of my collection, I've added a 14" LCD monitor, SCSI-to-IDE adapter (along with a fast 40gig drive in multiple partitions), an external SCSI CD burner, a 33mHz Radius Rocket card, a SuperMac VideoSpigot board, and an FWB JackHammer SCSI booster card. While I doubt it would compete with a later system like a Quadra 840av, it's still fun to see what would have been a $15-or-$20,000 system in its day sitting on my desk.
[] ]'>
Huxley
As you guys already know, the IIfx was an interesting (and some would say failed) experiment by Apple - to create an absolutely bleeding-edge system, using many custom parts, and to claim the crown of fastest desktop system on the market. In some ways, it was the Mac Pro of its day. Of course, the IIfx turned out to be an evolutionary dead end, and perhaps because of this, it's sometimes overlooked as a collectors system.
My IIfx has an interesting history - it was used for nearly 10 years as a CAD workstation, doing the design work for the soon-to-be-completed New Mexico Spaceport! Anyway, I've recently been spending a lot of time (and money!) on my IIfx. Since becoming part of my collection, I've added a 14" LCD monitor, SCSI-to-IDE adapter (along with a fast 40gig drive in multiple partitions), an external SCSI CD burner, a 33mHz Radius Rocket card, a SuperMac VideoSpigot board, and an FWB JackHammer SCSI booster card. While I doubt it would compete with a later system like a Quadra 840av, it's still fun to see what would have been a $15-or-$20,000 system in its day sitting on my desk.
[
] ]'>Huxley
My favourite 68k Mac... That's a tough one. As far as desktops are concerned, my Classic II takes the cake. It's just such an awesome little computer! As for laptops, my PowerBook 540c is king. Fastest and highest-end 68k PowerBook ever sold in the U.S. and it still goes online