In Forum: Apple Operating Systems
By User: compgeke
There is no perfect system, for OS 0-7.6 a SE/30 would be an ideal system as it's fast enough to run 7.6 no problems, but doesn't need system enablers.
For OS 8-9.1 a PowerPC 603 or 604 system is best, as they too are fast enough to run at a decent speed (with enough ram, 32 megs or more) but don't require enablers.
For Mac OS 9.2-10.2 Betas a Blue & White G3 with stock Rage 128 card is great. This system remains compatibility for most OSes.
For 10.3-10.5 a G4 tower, 450 MHz+ with a Rage 128 card is a good choice. While the G3 can technically run up to 10.4, it feels sluggish to me, while the Powermac G4 AGP Graphics I have feels a lot faster.
Now, one thing is these machines are being stuck right into the middle of their support, such as the SE/30 can run upto 8.1. I choose these sections of models for compatibility and speed reasons, I honestly don't think a 30 MHz '030 is going to be very fast at all running 8.1 for anything. PowerPC 603s can run 7.5, but with a PowerPC enabler which might cause problems. The G3 can run 8.5-10.4, but for compatibility reasons a 603 is a better choice to me as many programs from that era took advantage of them. The G4 runs OS9-10.4 as well, but being as a G3 can pick up the backend it works a bit better.
By User: compgeke
There is no perfect system, for OS 0-7.6 a SE/30 would be an ideal system as it's fast enough to run 7.6 no problems, but doesn't need system enablers.
For OS 8-9.1 a PowerPC 603 or 604 system is best, as they too are fast enough to run at a decent speed (with enough ram, 32 megs or more) but don't require enablers.
For Mac OS 9.2-10.2 Betas a Blue & White G3 with stock Rage 128 card is great. This system remains compatibility for most OSes.
For 10.3-10.5 a G4 tower, 450 MHz+ with a Rage 128 card is a good choice. While the G3 can technically run up to 10.4, it feels sluggish to me, while the Powermac G4 AGP Graphics I have feels a lot faster.
Now, one thing is these machines are being stuck right into the middle of their support, such as the SE/30 can run upto 8.1. I choose these sections of models for compatibility and speed reasons, I honestly don't think a 30 MHz '030 is going to be very fast at all running 8.1 for anything. PowerPC 603s can run 7.5, but with a PowerPC enabler which might cause problems. The G3 can run 8.5-10.4, but for compatibility reasons a 603 is a better choice to me as many programs from that era took advantage of them. The G4 runs OS9-10.4 as well, but being as a G3 can pick up the backend it works a bit better.