BLAZING. FAST. MAC. The Performer PDS 68030 Accelerator by MacEffects!

[@80sCompaqPC]

Finally, a newly-made and affordable accelerator option for one of my favorite Macs! This is a dream come true for me, ordered one immediately after watching your video!

[@RobToole]

After many mods, every time I think I'm closing up my SE for the last time along comes something like this to make it even cooler. You sold me Ron, purchased!

[@DavidStahlOLDHAPPyMACs]

Nice piece of hardware Great bench marks Ron

[@JeremysRetroBar]

Great video Ron! I didn't realize that this accelerator was that new. Nice of you to benchmark it for us.

[@1BitFeverDreams]

Thanks for addressing the potential game glitches at the end. Since I saw that video from Adrian about an accelerator he had pre-installed into a compact he had, we were hearing sound warpiness in some game (can't remember which). Here's a short list of games where I'd be happily surprised if they had no issue with sound (great tests to perform): Archon, Falcon F-16, Capn' Magneto, Dark Castle, Winter Games

[@kaitlyn__L]

I believe it was demoed with the Mac Tetris theme tune (also used in CuriousMarc's videos on the Soyuz clock).

[@1BitFeverDreams]

@@kaitlyn__L if Tetris is affected, than anything that plays back the studio session format is potentially affected. In other words, the free form synth that's being fed multiplexed instrument files in real time with some extensive cpu overhead to do the mixing. So Falcon F-16's title screen, Vette! And Studio Session itself

[@philippeastier7657]

My order was placed a few days ago, can't wait to try myself ! Thanks for testing !

[@RonsCompVids]

Be sure to post your thoughts on the card after you’ve had some time to test!

[@philippeastier7657]

@@RonsCompVids Have you posted your results on TinkerDifferent ? Would be good...

[@RonsCompVids]

Thank you for the reminder!

[@RudysRetroIntel]

Very cool accelerator! Thanks for sharing!

[@JeffTiberend]

I just got my hands on an Mac SE. I'm looking forward to getting this. I also wonder if there would be a way to let the Performer card do that sound instead of the mainboard. I just wish I had all my stuff from when I had my Macintosh Classic II. Now, I'm starting over. LOL

[@RonsCompVids]

Unfortunately, that's a limitation of all accelerators. The sound hardware runs at the motherboard speed... getting it onto a card would be a pretty significant technical challenge. I'm certain an Amiga-style CPU replacement using a Raspberry Pi would address it?

[@stevencarlson5422]

This is awesome and can’t wait to get mine in the mail 😊

[@alextirrellRI]

I recently saw there is also an open source project that has this same board design, but can also work with a Plus or Classic, presumably installing atop the 68000 CPU with an appropriate socket, though the Github page said the creator couldn't find any sockets that fit the Classic properly. I do see where the headers for those sockets would go on this board as well.

[@MichaelAStanhope]

biggest downside to this is that you are still stuck with the SE's 4mb RAM ceiling and it uses your only PDS slot with no passthrough. Cool upgrade though, I might have to get one for my SE Superdrive!

[@RonsCompVids]

I just wonder what cards SE users can’t do without these days? Networking is covered by the BlueSCSI, and video out can be accomplished with the MacPicoVid. Outside of the PC floppy controller, what’s left?

[@MichaelAStanhope]

@@RonsCompVids I always forget about the BlueSCSI Networking, thats the #1 reason for the PDS slot use with video being #2. So with those aside, the biggest downside to the accelerator is going to be the 4mb RAM ceiling of the SE itself. In all honesty, 4mb isn't bad, but it will keep you from running System 7.5 decently, but if you really need that, the maybe you should have a better machine with a 68040 in it :)

[@tetsujin_144]

@@RonsCompVids Personally I wouldn't want to install something like BlueSCSI. (I just don't want to add vastly more powerful modern microcontrollers to my old computers, generally...) So, yeah, networking would be the main case for me, if I actually had a network adapter.

[@RonsCompVids]

It's possible to just use the BlueSCSI as a DaynaPort networking bridge and forgo the HDD functionality.

[@RonsCompVids]

4mb is a bit of a ceiling if you're running 7.5, but I think the target OS for a SE is 6.0.8. Save the newer OSes with the aggressive memory needs for later machines accommodate more memory.

[@jackpijjin4088]

Ooo I do love upgrades to ancient machines. I have to wonder why somebody would re-case an SE into a 'mini' considering the built-in screen is part of the charm! XP

[@tetsujin_144]

I'm with you on that, but I guess if people wanted to use it primarily with LCD screens or capture systems, having the CRT in there would be kind of a waste.

[@jackpijjin4088]

@tetsujin_144 Ahhh true, for captures amd tutorials and stuff it would kinda make sense. I still prefer for things to look largely original with all the mods under the hood though, heh

[@wotsac]

It really does make sense. If youve got a nice intact machine then there's not much reason. But the motherboard on the SE is probably the most reliable part. So you can easily have a system where the analog board is toasty, or the CRT is worn out, or maybe somebody 20 years ago decided to make the case into an aquarium. Or maybe you want a little box on your desk or don't want to put wear on those parts. It's not something everyone will want to do, but I might go as far as to grab an extra SE board off eBay to be my sleeper system

[@RonsCompVids]

Consider this: You're someone with a SE motherboard, no case, PSU or CRT, but still want to put that board to some good use? Or you're someone who wants to stream vintage Macintosh gaming on real hardware, but doesn't have the space for a full "compact" Mac? Or maybe you're just someone who like to tweak and modify old Macintosh machines, and don't like having to crack the machine open all the time? There are lots of great use cases for a modern 3D printable replacement case!

[@MaggieKeizai]

Aw man, this after I shelled out a bundle on a vintage micromac accelerator! Of course, the only correct answer is to shell out for one of these, too!

[@ronservice9261]

I would be interested to see how this accelerated SE compares to the SE/30. To be honest I would not buy this card as I only use my SE for games like Dark Castle, Beyond DC, Prince of Persia and the like. I suspect they won’t run too well after the upgrade, but, I could be wrong.

[@RonsCompVids]

The biggest reason to pick up an accelerator is for business tasks. I'm curious to test some of this stuff though.

[@mickaka]

Gah! Sold out already, I’m always late to the party 😢

[@RonsCompVids]

They will no doubt do another run based on demand.

[@MacEffects88]

We set a discounted price for the first dozen orders and were surprised by demand compared to our LC / Color Classic upgrade. The first dozen are sold out but we still have some in stock and will simply keep the sale price for a week to give everyone else a chance.

[@wotsac]

It was showing sold out yesterday, but it was available today. It's a no-brainer purchase for me, with the SE being such a sturdy workhorse.

[@kirishima638]

Aren’t these accelerators always an issue in 68000 macs because of the 24bit issue?

[@RonsCompVids]

In what way?