Macintosh SE/30 - Upgrades

Upgrades

Although it used 32-bit data and instructions like all early Macs, the SE/30 ROM, like the IIx ROM, included some code using 24-bit addressing, rendering the ROM "32-bit dirty". This limited the actual amount of RAM that could be accessed to just 8 MB. A system extension called MODE32 enabled access to installed extra memory. Alternatively, replacing the ROM SIMM with one from a Mac IIsi or Mac IIfx makes the SE/30 "32-bit clean" and thereby enables use of up to 128 MB RAM.

A standard SE/30 can run up to System 7.5.5, since Mac OS 7.6 requires a 32-bit clean ROM.

Additionally, the SE/30 can run A/UX, Apple's older version of a Unix that was able to run Macintosh programs.

Though there was no official upgrade path for the SE/30, several third-party processor upgrades were available. A 68040 upgrade made it possible to run Mac OS 8.1, which extended the SE/30's productive life for many more years.

This machine was followed in 1991 by the Macintosh Classic II, which, despite the same processor and clock speed, was only 60% as fast as the SE/30 due to its 16-bit data path, supported no more than 10 MB of memory, lacked an internal expansion slot, and made the Motorola 68882 FPU an optional upgrade. Apple at the time de-emphasized the compact, all-in-one Macintosh in favor of a more expandable, modular system architecture, as seen in the Macintosh II and Quadra series.