Home  >  Vintage Computers Section  >  Classic II

I call this computer "Blue Max." It is a Classic II with a modified casing. I compiled a Dot Mac slideshow to demonstrate the process I used to turn the casing from beige to glitter blue. It has 10 MB of RAM, a 250 MB hard drive, and runs System 7.0.1. The screen is perfect and has absolutely no screen burn.

I am really fond of this computer. Many deride the Classic II for its slow 16-bit/16 MHz data bus, which fails to take advantage of the full potential of its 16 MHz 68030 CPU. Others complain about its max RAM of 10 MB. I agree that the Classic II could have been a better machine but I believe the cost would have made this computer unmarketable.

The Classic II was the last of the compact, black and white Macs. It was released in 1991 as a replacement for the 8 MHz Classic and sold for $1,900. The Classic II represented the low end of Apple's model line. The Classic II is quite capable of doing some "modern" things like surfing the Internet (albeit slowly) by modem or DSL, or playing MPEG files. Unfortunately, the more modern you try to make the Classic II, the slower the computer runs due to the 16-bit data bus. I have 7.0.1 installed on The Blue Max because it runs it very quickly. I think that the Classic II was never intended to run anything as bulky as 7.5. Running System 7.5 will result in an extremely sluggish system. That is because System 7.5 has a lot more processes running in the background. System 7.5 loads many more extensions at startup and has a lot more overhead. Consider the RAM requirements for example. 7.0.1 uses 1.6 MB of RAM while 7.5 uses nearly 4 MB of RAM. 7.0.1 is very simple in comparison to 7.5 but there is something charming about its simplicity.

The Blue Max is perfect for playing old Mac games. It works great as a little word processor and is just basically cool to have around. If you haven't got a compact Mac, I would suggest you pick one up from eBay or at a thrift store. They are quite unique. Apple produced millions of compact Macs from the original 1984 128K to the 1991 Classic II (produced until September 1993). Some were better than others. The Classic II is by no means an SE/30 but I wouldn't exactly call it a "Road Apple" like Low End Mac. I do think that the Classic II is a compromised design. Apple was going for economy over power. As long as you keep the OS at 7.0.1, it performs great. In my opinion, it out-performs the Macintosh Plus, Classic, or SE with ease. However; an SE/30 would leave it in the dust.

If you must run System 7.5, I would suggest doing a custom install and only installing what is absolutely necessary. Another scheme you might use is to install System 7.0.1 and then add additional extensions if you need them (provided they work). Remember, more extensions mean a slower system.

Interesting Features to Note:
The Classic II has a reset button and a programmer's button built into the case. Compact Macs before the Classic/Classic II did not have the buttons built into the case. Previously, a bent paperclip through the side vents did the trick of clicking one of these motherboard switches. The Classic and Classic II are the hardest compact Macs to get into. Opening the casing requires a "case cracker" or a padded flathead screwdriver and hammer. The top of the casing is slightly rounded and fits together tightly. It must either be pried loose by a case cracker or tapped loose by a flathead screwdriver (with padded head) and hammer. The Classic II has holes on the side of the case for the speaker, which is mated to the analog board. The Classic did not have these holes which resulted in a muted speaker. The Classic II is the only compact B&W Macs to have a mic port. The SE, SE/30, and Plus did not have audio-in. Apple sold the Classic II with a detachable mic that could be attached to the side of the casing via a plastic mount. The mount has very sticky two-sided foam tape. The owner could stick the mic anywhere on the casing, but once there, the mount required quite a bit of force to remove and would probably result in damage to the casing. The mic is shown in the above pictures. It is the beige, round object to the left of the keyboard.

Screen Shots of the Classic II:

Click the Link:  Shot 1  Shot 2  Shot 3  Shot 4  Shot 5  Shot 6  Shot 7