is system 7.5.5 better than mac os 8.0?

[mac]

i emulate mac os 8.0, am i supposed to emulate 7.5.x?

edit: i use basilisk ii

[darthnvader]

I prefer to run OS 8.1, the last 68k OS, but if you have software that will only run in 7.5.x, then run that.

[adespoton]

7.5.5 is the last OS that will run in "dirty" 24-bit mode. For overall speed and stability, 7.6.1 is the best choice. 8.1 is the last 68k flavor, and added what could be salvaged from project Copland; but this made it slower and buggier. So, it looks nicer, but as far as actually running software, gives you nothing you didn't have with 7.6.1. All the 8.1 extensions can be loaded by 7.6.1 as well IIRC if you need something specific.

The "best to run" OSes are:

System 3.4 (Last to support 128k and 512k Macs - available for free)
System 6.0.8 (Last "bare metal" OS - available for free)
Mac OS 7.5.5 (Last to support Mac Plus and other 24-bit hardware - available for free)
Mac OS 7.6.1 (Last pure design System 7-style OS, fast and "stable")
Mac OS 8.1 (Last 68k OS)
Mac OS 8.6 (Fastest, stablest PPC OS)
Mac OS 9.0.4 (Supports Carbon, last OS to fully support Old World PPC Macs, MMU not needed)
Mac OS 9.2.2 (Best OS to run in Classic mode, last Classic Mac OS version, best OS X integration)
OS X 10.2.8 (First fully stable and enterprise-ready version of OS X)
OS X 10.4.11 (Last PPC OS X that supports Classic and G3s)
OS X 10.5.8 (Last PPC OS X that supports G5/G4s. Includes Time Machine and early FileVault, no Classic)
OS X 10.6.8 (Last Intel OS to run in 32-bit, contain Rosetta, be able to compile to all OS X targets in XCode)

Beyond that, it's best to either stick to 10.6.8 or upgrade to the latest version.

[neozeed]

I found networking in 8 to be more robust than 7, but for anything that plays weird games with the OS, stick with something basic and low. At least in the age of virtualization, having a separate profile per app is a thing.

10.2 and 10.6 were the greats of OS X. So much meh right now.