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MicroMac Performer
MicroMac Performer (16 MHz 68030) in Mac SE
Luca Fornari reports:
About a year ago, a friend of mine gave me a Mac SE (you know the type 68000 8 MHz 2.5 MB RAM). A real snail, almost useless, but it was so cute I decided to keep it and put in 4 MB so I could run some software on it - mostly internet stuff.
Even pulling down a menu was a project, the pointer would trail the mouse a few seconds. Launching AOL 2.6 was a pain.
One day I saw an ad for an accelerator for the SE, Micromac's Performer. $49 for a 68030 16 MHz upgrad. $49? You can't go wrong with that, so I bought it from their web site <http://www.micromac.com>.
It arrived a few days later ,the box contained the accelerator card with a 50 pages manual very well explained. Following the instruction I install the card and the software. It takes about 15 minutes.
The card is compatible with System 6.0.7, 6.0.8, 7.0 with tune up 1.1.1, and 7.1; it will not work with 7.0.1.
After restart I notice the Mac takes a long time to boot. Once booted, though, you realize right away how much faster your Mac runs.
Almost a year later I still use the SE as a portable Mac. I bring it with me everywhere I go. I run AOL 2.6,Claris Emailer 1.0, ClarisWork 2.1, some old arcade games, Newswatcher, Excel 1.0, FileMaker Pro 2.1 and even QuarkXpress 3.2 but this one's really slow when redrawing graphics.
I use a SupraFaxModem 28.8, a Zip drive, and an external Cd-ROM drive, and never had an hardware problem.
I get occasional errors on the SE, but no more than I did before the card was installed - and usually only when using AOL (?). I bet they would go away if I'd use AOL 2.5. A few freezes occurs when using some old games and Claris Emailer.
Concluding, at $49 this is a great buy if you want to keep your compact Mac active and efficient. This card made a more or less useless Mac into a great internet machine, word processor, database, and even a great fax machine. There is also a version with FPU which should improve the speed even more, especially when redrawing the screen.
There are other cards for this machine that are faster, some with video in for plugging in a video card, but they cost a lot more.
Great card and great service.
Luca F.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 17" MacBook Pro Core Duo, Apr. 2006 - The top-end MacBook Pro includes a 1680 x 1050, 2.16 GHz Core Duo CPU, and supports Apple 30" Cinema Display.
- Group of the Day: G4 List is for those using Power Mac G4s or G4 upgrades.
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Recent Content
- Pismo WiFi Networking Issue Finally Solved?, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.24. It turns out the problems wasn't the Pismo, the Buffalo WiFi card, or Mac OS X 10.4. It was the Wireless G router - Linksys to the rescue!
- Mini VGA to S-video Adapter a No Go for eMacs, Dan Bashur, Apple, Tech, and Gaming, 11.24. You might think that Apple's Mini VGA S-video adapter is a cheap way to connect your eMac or G4 iMac to your TV. You would be wrong.
- Google Calendar with iPhone or iTouch Is Great for Scheduling, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 11.24. Web-based Google Calendar allows access and updates from any computing platform, including Mac, Windows, Linux, and iPhone OS.
- Why Spaces is My Favorite Leopard (and Snow Leopard) Feature, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.23. Spaces, a feature introduced with OS X 10.5, is like having several monitors on your Mac without the cost and space of using multiple displays.
- i5 iMac Benchmarked, Mac mini 'Shouldn't Be Overlooked', Twitter Client for Classic Mac OS, and More, Mac News Review, 11.20. Also why Apple leaves the low end to others, 10.6.2 fixes video playback problem in 27" iMac, 3D Leopard and Snow Leopard performance, and more.
- Apple's Tablet an End Run Beyond Netbooks, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 11.20. Whatever Apple has planned will leverage existing technologies while going beyond what its competitors can offer.
- Apple #4 in Reliability, Apple Tablet a Gadget for All?, HP's i7 Notebook Outdoes Mac Rivals, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.20. Also Flash 10.1 improves video on Hackintosh netbooks, thin-and-light notebooks impress, Windows XP finally on the way out, and more.
- NASA Chemical Sensor for iPhone, Smartphone Death Match, iPhone Earrings, and More, Ian R Campbell, 11.20. Also mobile phone dangers, new apps, GPS solution for iPod touch, new iPod and iPhone cases, and more.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best iPod nano Deals, 11.25. Refurb 8 GB 4G nano, $99; new, $126; refurb 16 GB, $129; new, $150; new 5G/8 GB, $134.60; 16 GB, $161.12. Shipping included.
- Best Classic Mac OS Deals, 11.25. System 6.0.8 floppies, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5, $20; 7.6 $13; 8.1, $11; 8.5, $20; 8.6, $90; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $30.
- Best 15" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.25. Used 1 GHz Combo, $400; 1.5 GHz SuperDrive, $449; 1.67 GHz hi-res, $600.
- Best G4 iMac Deals, 11.24. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $150; 800 MHz Combo, $229; 1 GHz, $289; 17" 1.25 GHz, $200; 20" 1.25 GHz, $509.
- Best MacBook Air Deals, 11.24. Used from $899; refurb from $1,099; new 1.6 GHz/120 HD, $1,150 after rebate; 1.8/64 SSD, $1,150 a/r; 1.86/128 SSD, $1,350 a/r; 2.13/128 SSD, $1,694 a/r.
- Best PowerBook G3 Deals, 11.24. Used 233 MHz WallStreet, $75; 266 MHz, $160; 400 MHz Lombard, $199; 400 MHz Pismo, $289; 500 MHz, $350.
- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.23. Used 867 MHz SuperDrive, $348; 1 GHz Combo, $379; SD, $519; 1.33 GHz, $529; 1.5 GHz Combo, $549; SuperDrive, $609.
- Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.23. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 4-core. $1,919; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.93 8-core, $4,999; new 2.26 8-core, $2,290.
- Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, 11.23. Used 802.11g AirPort Extreme, $49; 500 GB Time Capsule, $150; new, $190; 1 TB dual-band, $280; 2 TB, $469; 802.11n AirPort Extreme, $170.
- More deals in our archive.