Macintosh IIsi

[Cosmo]

Saw an sales add for Macintosh IIsi, 20€. 20Mhz 68030, 9Mb RAM (1+ 8) , 1.4Mb SuperDrive, NO HARD DISC nor keyboard etc. Should be clean and working perfectly.

Wondering if would be good idea to pick it up. I just don't have any SCSI drives around. Should ADB-keyboard and adapter from Performa 6400/180 work with this (or from Classic).

 

[Byrd]

I think the IIsi is an under-rated, but interesting Mac - kind of like a headless SE/30. Furthermore, it takes the same PDS cards - two of, with the right adapter. It's also easier to work on than it's cousin

JB

 

[LCGuy]

I'd grab it, the IIsi is a fun little Mac, and as Byrd said, really quite underrated. Also, you'll have no trouble with the keyboard or mouse - any ADB keyboard and mouse will work on any ADB Mac. Heck, you can even use an Apple IIGS ADB keyboard on a Mac, and you can use a Mac ADB keyboard on a IIGS.

 

[highlandcattle]

Well it looks interesting. I would pick it up ,you can use any ADB keyboard and mouse. A SCSI HD will be a bit harder to find.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

I'd definitely pick it up, I finally got one after years and years of ho-humming over it and am quite enamored of it.

Like Byrd said, it's the SE/30's cousin, but I'm not quite sure which one is more well off. The SE/30 has much more room for Memory expansion, but the IIsi has quite a lot more slot expansion options available, including every SE/30 PDS card with the exception of a few that can't handle its faster CPU/Bus, but with NuBus expansion available as well.

I'd look at it as the bottom portion of a lot better CRT than the SE/30's 9" periscope. The, fitted to the case, 12" Monitor has more pixels in Grayscale than the SE/30 has in B&W, the fitted 12" RGB Monitor throws Color into the mix and the Macintosh Portrait Display sitting on top of it is just the cat's meow, if only in gorgeous grayscale.

A SCSI HDD can't be all that hard to source, even if you have to buy another II to Quadra era Mac to share it with to get one!

 

[LCGuy]

He has a Classic, and the IIsi is from before Apple introduced System enablers. The IIsi is compatible with all the same system versions as the Classic, from System 6.07 onwards. What he could do, is find an empty external SCSI enclosure, take the HDD out of the Classic, install it in the enclosure, and use the same drive on both Macs.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

True, but external enclosures seem scarcer than modular Macs.

Sourcing something in the LC or IIcx form factor, the same fitted monitor, RAM, HDD, PRAM battery etc. would make playtime thrice the fun. One or the other stays in the closet waiting its turn to share the giblets and peripherals and the others are readily available.

 

[Cosmo]

I happen to have external SCSI-box.. without internal parts :lol: Once saved it from being thrown away and thought to save it and make an external USB-case out of it.

Haven't made up my mind of IIsi yet. Have an possible conquest ahead, Powermac G5 dualcore 2.3Ghz as well (would replace current 1.8Ghz single). I'd still would like to own an pizzabox IIsi and put it in upright position to save space.