That title's already taken by any maxed out PowerBook 100, but the ultimate Compact Mac title is open. [
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Are the Classic and Classic II worth buying?
- Thread starter EvieSigma
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] ]'>If you already have an SE, I recommend you pass these up and either buy accessories and connecting infrastructure for all of your Macs, or some parts for the SE or another system that has been needing it.
EDIT: Either the PB100 or the Portable is probably the ultimate '000 Mac. They shipped at 16MHz and support more than just 4M of RAM.
EDIT: Either the PB100 or the Portable is probably the ultimate '000 Mac. They shipped at 16MHz and support more than just 4M of RAM.
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I would rather buy an se/30 than a classic but I'm stuck with a classic
ive got a very yellowed albeit restored SE/30 that ill be dumping on the market soon enough.
One thing to consider regarding Classics...their power consumption is much lower than that of the SE, yet they provide the benefit of the internal hard drive.
100W for the SEs vs. 76W for the Classics. (Of course, a Plus is only 60W, but those power supplies can't run a hard drive and are barely adequate as-is).
The extra 24W may not seem like much, but if you use multiples of these, it's worth noting in case you have concerns about your electrical system or just want to save a little energy.
Energy Star wasn't a thing yet when these computers came out, but the Classic II would be my candidate to wear the badge since it gives full 030 power with a hard drive and CRT for just 76W.
100W for the SEs vs. 76W for the Classics. (Of course, a Plus is only 60W, but those power supplies can't run a hard drive and are barely adequate as-is).
The extra 24W may not seem like much, but if you use multiples of these, it's worth noting in case you have concerns about your electrical system or just want to save a little energy.
Energy Star wasn't a thing yet when these computers came out, but the Classic II would be my candidate to wear the badge since it gives full 030 power with a hard drive and CRT for just 76W.
Fragility? As in, they're known fragile, or as in, you're concerned that after 25+ years they might be fragile?
I had a non-working 100 some number of years ago and it never seemed like it was going to be particularly fragile. I've got a 180 today and it's one of the sturdier Apple laptops I've ever used/had.
Note that those wattage ratings are what the power supply is *capable* of, not what it's actually putting out. I'd be rather surprised if the Classics use much less power in practice *as measured by actual draw* than their SE equivalents. Perhaps a few watts due to their use of more highly integrated circuitry but nothing to write home about. Granted a fully tricked-out with 128MB of RAM SE/30 might draw quite a lot more than a Classic II but most of the difference would be power used by the RAM itself, nothing about the system proper.
If you have a Kill-a-Watt meter and examples of the various systems lying around you're welcome to try it. The power supply in my 2006 Mac Pro is rated at something like 900 watts but the most I've seen it draw is around 250, and that's with three hard disks and 32GB of RAM in the chassis.
If you have a Kill-a-Watt meter and examples of the various systems lying around you're welcome to try it. The power supply in my 2006 Mac Pro is rated at something like 900 watts but the most I've seen it draw is around 250, and that's with three hard disks and 32GB of RAM in the chassis.
I assume they meant "fragility" in that it's hard to find a working one and keep it working, which seems to be true, not that the design itself was fragile when it was new. Tellingly the one you had yourself was "non-working".
Fragility in the sense that quite a lot of PB100s in the current year are broken in some way. I know there are various failure points for all 100 Series PowerBooks but the 100 seems to be notorious for screen issues, capacitor problems, and who knows what else. The later models (aside from plastic issues and potential bad screen caps) seem to hold up better.
