Does the SE/30 live up to the hype?

[just.in.time]

Its FDHD upgrade hack is imminent. [}] ]'>

Nice

I have an SE/30, with 20mb RAM and an Ethernet card. It’s okay, but I’d say a bit over hyped. It REALLY should have had grayscale from the factory. That, combined with its extensive use of leaky caps knocks it down in my book.

Personally, an SE FDHD makes a great and reliable System 6/7.1 B&W machine By far my favorite compact.

 

[Byrd]

I see the SE/30 as the special edition "turbo" edition of the SE - with a good chunk of RAM (20MB+) and a faster than stock HD, it performs so much better than a standard SE or Plus.  OS 7 is responsive and the crisp monochrome screen is something that will be marvelled at in terms of retro computing collections as the years go by.

Are there any B&W apps/games that make use of the '030?  None I can think of.  It is worth upgrading to faster accelerators?  No, this as you can't run anything else.

If you are looking at a more usable vintage Mac, a souped up CC is a much more capable machine.  Coupled with a 640 x 480 mod and '040 Mystic upgrade, you can run pretty much any piece of 68K software made (pending compatibility), it's small and serves as the perfect bridging Mac between older 68K and early PPC machines.  Don't forget it!

JB

 

[ArmorAlley]

Sure and You don't recommend a IIfx or an 840AV either I assume for the same reasons? Models are popular for a reason, people want to use them.

Exactly. A IIfx is nice to have but I think that a IIcx for half the price is a better deal for someone starting out.

If someone was looking for a 68K mac, I wouldn't recommend an SE/30, a IIfx or an 840av on the grounds of cost. I would recommend their less sexier siblings — SE, IIcx or a Q650. Of course, if an SE/30 is available at a reasonable price, then go for it.

I have a IIfx but it fell into my hands and for this I am thankful. I have an SE/30 too and this I got while the prices weren't too high.

SE/30s can be gotten reasonably (especially in the States). In Europe it is hard to find one for less than the equivalent of USD100. SEs can be got for 50.

There are many more more sellers offering up their old macs for silly prices. One auction site in Switzerland has a fellow offering his Plus for CHF700 (USD700) and his SE/30 for CHF400 (USD400). [https://www.ricardo.ch/de/c/sonstige-apple-mac-s-70706/]

What I have noticed is that many more Macs on sale here are pick-up only and for that I need a day or two and an expensive rail ticket to travel to get it..

 

[olePigeon]

I sold some SE/30s for between $300 and $400 on eBay.  I felt a little guilty about it.  They weren't that great of physical shape, and I made sure to post lots of pictures of any blemishes.  I retr0brited them, recapped them, installed a SCSI2SD card, and an ethernet card.  Maybe those items separately were worth it.  I dunno.

SCSI2SD card LEDs broke on 2 of them, so I had to mail out replacements.  I had soldered on a 2 pin connector to connect the HDD LED, but the connectors ripped the pads off.

 

[Unknown_K]

I sold some SE/30s for between $300 and $400 on eBay.  I felt a little guilty about it.  They weren't that great of physical shape, and I made sure to post lots of pictures of any blemishes.  I retr0brited them, recapped them, installed a SCSI2SD card, and an ethernet card.  Maybe those items separately were worth it.  I dunno.

SCSI2SD card LEDs broke on 2 of them, so I had to mail out replacements.  I had soldered on a 2 pin connector to connect the HDD LED, but the connectors ripped the pads off.

SCSI2SD are what $60 a pop, Ethernet is $120+, recap is $50, retrobrite no idea so I can see $300-400. I just looked on ebay and non working units can fetch $50 plus shipping.

 

[mwdmeyer]

I just purchased a SE/30 in Australia.

$AU316 + $50 postage.

Honestly I would have paid double for it.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Apple-Macintosh-SE-30-Working-Refurbished-Recapped/263299678156

It has: SCSI2SD ($100 + SD card), recap (I've done on LC/CC but takes a few hours, so $100+), new ROM ($50).

Plus it is in good condition and 64MB ram.

It just arrived at home today so I haven't play with it yet, but I'll let you know if it lives up to the hype.

I also own SE, CC and LCI/II/III/475. 475 is probably the best working machine I own at the moment, and it is great.

 

[Scott Baret]

When the SE/30 was current, it was well-liked for its small footprint and its power. Even in 1991, near the end of its life cycle, the only strike against it were the 32-bit dirty ROMs (fixable with Mode32). Many were upset when it was discontinued and some even wanted Apple to re-release the SE/30!!

Prices for used SE/30s have been high since the day the model was discontinued in October 1991. Even in 2000, when old Macs could be had for a dollar or two, the SE/30 was usually $10 at minimum simply because of desirability. 

For power and RAM expansion, the SE/30 is the way to go for compact Macs. However, the 030 actually will break some software from the earliest days. Since the day it was released, we've been calling the SE/30 "a IIx in a compact case", and that phrase remains true today.

Although I like the power of the SE/30, I actually have a REGULAR SE on my desk alongside my LC. I wanted an SE/30 for a long time, have had three of them, and have kept that regular SE instead. (I sold two and gave one to my cousin). Why? They are still in crazy demand AND the regular, non-030 powered SE is definitely underrated!!

The regular SE is actually the ultimate of original 68000 compacts. It never gets the recognition it deserves because of the SE/30. Think about what the SE itself has to offer: better performance than the Plus, the most reliable analog/power supply of any compact, an expansion slot (it's the only 68000 compact that can get Ethernet without a SCSI adaptor), the ability to have two floppies and a hard drive (or two if you go for that vertical bracket), FDHD compatibility if the board is upgraded, two ADB ports (no other 68000 compact has that), and a cool hard disk access light. (On the ones I use with the kids, I have some fun with those; I have one that's blue and a bunch of reds, yellows, and greens...and even have a pink I may use).

I actually prefer the front bezel of the original SE, and after looking at the SE sitting directly in front of me as I type this, I finally realized why. The SE is more symmetrical with its two larger grooves (for drives). The SE/30 lacks this. This is a personal thing for me (symmetry and color theory are a big part of my home design, which explains why my home SE has a red LED...the LC's monitor has a green one, and they are chromatic opposites or compliments).

On a less personal note, the SE is also a great choice for beginners in this hobby, something which gets overlooked, since it can be purchased with a SuperDrive and doesn't have the capacitor problems of the SE/30. Are there caps on an SE that may go in various spots? Definitely. However, it doesn't rot out on the main board like its 030 counterpart.

Basically, I feel the SE/30 is a good machine, maybe a bit hyped, but still good. However, the SE itself shouldn't have to play second fiddle to it!!

 

[Unknown_K]

The SE and SE30's are the only compacts I have. While 4MB is a bit limited on an SE it does work great for OS 6 and 7.1 and all the old programs will run. Sticking a Radius 020 accelerator inside speeds things up as well.

 

[Elfen]

I had a SE with that accelerator, Unknown_K, it make it wickedly fast! It's lost to the Sands of Time now...

My Current Compacts Macs are the Plus, Mac Classic II, and SE/30. The SE30 does live up to the hype. To get another  Mac version of it you would need a Mac IIx, IIcx or LC III with a Math Coprocessor in it. If you want a faster '030, your options would be the IIci, IIvx (I think), LC III (32MHz version) with a Math Coprocessor, or IIfx.

Just have to watch out for that battery every year and recap the board if it needs it.

 

[BadGoldEagle]

Elfen! Long time no see! How are you doing? The last time I saw you here things weren't going so well, I hope everything is fine now. Anyway, welcome back!

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

ditto that, hope you're doing well.

You guys talking about the 16MHz or 25MHz Radius accelerators? Love having the Radius16 in an SE again, that's the config of the MacSignmaker system in the shop back in the day. I lusted after the 25MHz version/TPD combo from day one. Then I wanted one of the RAM infused 030 accelerators when they came along, but I'd already moved onto the Rocket in a IIx track.

The SE/30 is fun, but unless an Xceed internal GS card falls into my lap it'll always be playing second fiddle. It can be looked at as a nice performance bump in the SE's portable, pre-Luggable package or a fairly badly lamed IIcx stationary Mac. It may be seen as heresy here, but its wonderful Slot Manager(ized) multi-card 16MHz PDS is the only thing that keeps the SE/30 out of the (Mac II family) compromised Mac column for me. A raised MaxMem ceiling, speed bumped '030 top dog in the Compact Mac column doesn't really do it for me.

 

[techknight]

When the SE/30 was current, it was well-liked for its small footprint and its power. Even in 1991, near the end of its life cycle, the only strike against it were the 32-bit dirty ROMs (fixable with Mode32). Many were upset when it was discontinued and some even wanted Apple to re-release the SE/30!!

Prices for used SE/30s have been high since the day the model was discontinued in October 1991. Even in 2000, when old Macs could be had for a dollar or two, the SE/30 was usually $10 at minimum simply because of desirability. 

Prices for the SE/30 have always been a little high, yep. I upgraded an SE to an SE/30 back in 2003 or so and the board itself was $10 on ebay. But ya know. 

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

LOL! My first SE/30 was FREE about then. I took a few minutes and set up usable bundles of the Macs and peripherals they had on hand at Goodwill and then asked the manager how much he wanted for the bare SE/30  .  .  .  he said to just take it. [] ]'>

Hardly played with it due to absurd SE/30 worship driven pricing levels for upgrades even then. Went down the storage room whirlpool and never missed it. Wound up with a DOA unit in trade for a DOD 475 a couple of years back and now it's fun to mess with it and the IIsi stuff I never wanted either  .  .  .

so it goes  .  .  .

 

[CC_333]

My first SE/30 (RIP) cost me $19.50 in 2005. That included an ImageWriter II printer and some software.

It may have been a bit on the high side, relative to overall costs for similar machines (SE, Plus, etc.), at the time, but compared to nowadays, it's a steal!

When I discuss this, I always feel like I came to this hobby just a *little* too late to be able to afford all the goodies :-/

Oh, well, that hasn't stopped me much!

c

 

[ArmorAlley]

I know what you mean.

In 2002, I remember walking by a pile of old Macs from the University of Zürich that had been given in as a part of an upgrade deal. They surely were well stocked machines. There were lots of Mac IIs there.

 

[PB145B]

Man that’d be nice if we could still get SE/30 boards for $10 each! If so I’d have a room full of them

 

[mwdmeyer]

Well for me unfortunately it does not live up to the hype. There is one simple reason for this. No colour screen.

99% of the games I want to play on it require a colour screen. So I'll be back to using the Colour Classic & LC475.

The LC475 is currently still my favourite machine.

I suspect if you didn't need colour (preferred older games or didn't do much gaming) then the SE/30 would be awesome. For me not so much...which is a bit disappointing but nothing that can be done

 

[ArmorAlley]

I agree with mwdmeyer on the LC 475.

Get the bus speed upped to 33Mhz, bring the RAM up 36MB (or more!), put in a 33MHz 68040 and get 2x 512KB VRAMs.

Put in a SCSI2SD and you have a fast, quiet mac with the speed of a Q950. And it has a nice small footprint too.

 

[just.in.time]

I have a few B&W era games that have problems when 32bit addressing is enabled on my SE/30. That, and most software that could take advantage of the speed expected a color 640*480 display really limit theSE/30. So it really is an odd machine. LC5xx series makes for a better 68030 experience, and Plus-SE makes for a better/more cost effective B&W machine.

 

[MacFox]

When I was looking around for 68k compact Macs, the original SE is the one I decided on.  Why?  I liked the design of it the most and I liked the ability to use ADB keyboards and mice.  The bad caps issue with the later compacts such as the SE/30 put me off from getting them.  I love the original SE.