Task: Purchase a Classic Macintosh SE Computer
Needed: Web browser
Time: 30-60 minutes
Introduction
The classic or compact Macintosh is a must-have for any retrocomputing collection. These are the machines that really launched the graphic user interface and mouse. Apple showed us how to interact with a computer in a much more intuitive way. The original Mac debuted in 1984 with 128K of RAM, a single 800K 3.5″ floppy disk drive, and a sales price of around $2500. All of this was powered by a Motorola 68000 CPU that could address 16-bits of memory on the data bus. This original Mac was followed by the Mac 512 and the Mac Plus.
The Mac SE was released in 1987 and had several important features that distinguished it from its predecessors. First, it was expandable with boards that could accelerate or augment the stock hardware. Second, it had an additional bay for second floppy drive or a hard drive. This made working with software much more convenient. Finally, were improvements in the data bus that gave it as much as a 20% speed boost. These features make the Mac SE a great Mac to start with. I also personally like the look of it. I would add that, compared to later models such as the Mac Classic, the SE is great to have in a collection because it does not need to have the capacitors replaced. Those were much more problematic on the later 1990s Macs that used cheap electrolytic capacitors that almost always leak and damage the circuit board and components. The SE is also a little cheaper and perhaps easier to find than the more advanced and highly desirable SE/30 model. You can do everything you need to do with the SE given modern accelerator boards and SCSI drive emulators that I will cover later.
I purchased my Mac SE from Craigslist in Philadelphia and landed a really nice unit from the original owner. This was the less common FDHD model that featured dual 1.44MB floppy drives. Most Macs at that time came with 800KB drives.
Instructions
You can find Mac SEs locally or on eBay for around $150 to $200 depending on the extras. You might be able to find one cheaper and nicer locally from Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, for example. I would not pay extra for one with a hard drive since those fail easily and can be replaced by modern drive emulators such as the Floppy Emu and BlueSCSI (eBay).
Comments
I love my SE and a really happy to have it my collection. I used a Mac like this in college and graduate school in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Interestingly, the architecture of the SE was similar to the Macintosh II (also released in 1987) that came in a larger form factor and with a faster 68020 processor.
Here is a comprehensive list of specs for the SE.
Be sure and remove the battery from the circuit board! I removed the 1989 lithium battery from mine shown below (purple). Be sure and research the safest ways to work on the Macs. There are some dangerous voltages to be aware of. Note that my battery came in a holder that made it a snap to pop out. Some are soldered to the board and need to be clipped out. The battery is only needed for time and memory of settings for the keyboard and mouse, for example. You will need a special T15 Torx screwdriver to get the case off.
