Oldest mac to support ethernet

[kingcrowing]

I want to get an old mac to play around with, what is the oldest mac to support ethernet? so I can connect it to the internet, also what is the minimum OS I would need? I'd prefer an all-in-one, I've just got no idea! and I have a PCI ethernet card that I could use, but if there is somethign pre-PCI(ISA?) that would be ok too

Also, whats the oldest laptop? It looks like the 1400 pBook can do it, but you need some type of ethernet add on card?

 

[mcmillan]

I want to get an old mac to play around with, what is the oldest mac to support ethernet? so I can connect it to the internet, also what is the minimum OS I would need? I'd prefer an all-in-one, I've just got no idea! and I have a PCI ethernet card that I could use, but if there is somethign pre-PCI(ISA?) that would be ok too

Also, whats the oldest laptop? It looks like the 1400 pBook can do it, but you need some type of ethernet add on card?

I think you're looking for the 95' Power Macintosh 7200.

That site will give you info about all the Macs ever available.

 

[portent]

I think you're looking for the 95' Power Macintosh 7200.

That site will give you info about all the Macs ever available.

Lots of older Macs had ethernet, but usually through AAUI. You'd need an adapter to use a regular RJ45 cable.

 

[GimmeSlack12]

So you're looking for a machine that can only run Classic? If that is the case I'd go for an old Beige G3. Cause a 7200, or 7500 are gonna be sloooow... not to mention RAM upgrades and hard drives (SCSI) are not cheap. The Beige G3 is IDE, and RAM is cheaper, not to mention it has RJ-45 ethernet, no adapter needed. Classic Macs are cool, but the reminescing (sp?) factor will wear off fast when you see how slow those things are.

A Beige G3 has the option of running OS X too, but System 9.2.2 is what it is meant to run.

 

[RacerX]

The Quadra 700 and 900 were the first to have ethernet built in (1991). Any Mac with a Nubus slot can have ethernet added, so just about any of the modular Macs from the Macintosh II (1987) on. And there were expansion cards for the Macintosh SE, SE/30 and IIsi that provided ethernet. Same with the LC series as I recall.

Really, the only Macs that don't have the ability to support ethernet are ones without it built in and no expansion ability.

I keep a number of Nubus ethernet cards around for my systems. They're pretty much plug-n-play. I've used them in Mac II and Quadra series systems without any issues.

 

[joecool85]

I have a quadra 650 using ethernet via AAUI adapter. Minimum OS for using anything like that is 7.1, but in all reality, 8.1 is where it starts to get real good.

Oldest mac to use ethernet at all would probably be the SE.

 

[PDE]

My first powerbook, the PB 540c, had a built in ethernet port that needed some kind of small adapter. I remember how people thought it was so cool that it was built in as most PCs then had to rely on a pc card to accomplish the same thing. Anyway, the 540c was produced in 1994-95, I think?

 

[FocusAndEarnIt]

I think you're looking for the 95' Power Macintosh 7200.

That site will give you info about all the Macs ever available.

hey! I used to have that machine! It was my second mac! Yeah, it did OK on the Internet

 

[ryan42]

There's ethernet cards for the Apple IIgs.

Asante also sells serial ethernet cards IIRC.

 

[joecool85]

Actually, my LCII had a PDS ethernet card. So basically what it boils down to is that almost all macs past the 80s can hook up to ethernet one way or another. What do you intend on using it for? Old macs make great webservers (for low traffic sites of course.)

 

[bousozoku]

Certainly the 7200 and any of the other PCI Macs are the easiest with which to work. You could also do well with the various PowerComputing PowerCenter machines but you should replace the CD-ROM drive with an Apple branded one as the Mac OS 8/9 CD-ROM driver won't handle it. You can boot from 3rd party drives but those with the Apple ROM are recognised 100 %. One advantage of the PowerComputing brand is that they had the VGA connector built-in so you didn't have to buy the adapter.

 

[IndyGopher]

With a GatorBox (LocalTalk to Ethernet bridge) any macintosh, of any vintage, should be able to join an ethernet network. Failing that, there were the old SCSI to Ethernet adapters. I probably still have one in storage, somewhere.. but I know I no longer have the GatorBox.