As part of their “ The Macintosh at 25” series, Macworld asked several pundits which Mac was the best ever . The answer? The Macintosh SE/30:
There was a time when every new Macintosh equaled or bettered all aspects of every previous model. The Macintosh SE/30 came along very close to the end of that era, representing the apex of the original Macintosh form factor. Sporting every bit as much horsepower as the phenomenally expensive Macintosh IIx, the SE/30 was like a V12 engine shoehorned into a Honda Civic. Though future models with the original upright shape were released, they were all tagged with the derisive moniker Classic. The SE/30 bore no such shame. It was and is the undisputed king of the original, iconic Macs and, therefore, of all Macs for all time.—JOHN SIRACUSA
Here’s a funny tidbit about the machine:
Apple had indicated the presence of a 68030 processor by adding the letter “x” to a model’s name, but when the Macintosh SE was updated to the 68030, this posed an awkward problem, as Apple was not willing to name their new computer the “Macintosh SEx”. Thus, “SE/30” was the name chosen.