Date: Fri, 17 Jun 1994 08:39:48 +0700 From: eharold@sunspot.noao.edu (Elliotte Harold) Subject: update hardware faq Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware,comp.answers,news.answers From: elharo@shock.njit.edu (Elliotte Rusty Harold) Reply-To: elharo@shock.njit.edu (Elliotte Harold) Organization: Department of Mathematics, NJIT Summary: This document answers several of the most frequently asked questions about Macintosh hardware on Usenet. To avoid wasting bandwidth and as a matter of politeness please familiarize yourself with this document BEFORE posting. Subject: Macintosh hardware frequently asked questions (FAQ) Keywords: FAQ, Macintosh, mac, macintosh, Mac, hardware Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.edu Followup-To: comp.sys.mac.hardware Archive-name: macintosh/hardware-faq Version: 2.2.1 Last-modified: June 12, 1994 Frequently Asked Questions about Macintosh Hardware =================================================== comp.sys.mac.faq, part six: comp.sys.mac.hardware Copyright 1993,1994 by Elliotte Harold Please see section 5.8 of the general FAQ if you wish to redistribute, revise or republish this document in any way. Archive-name: macintosh/hardware-faq Version: 2.2.1 Last-modified: May 18, 1994 What's new in version 2.2.1: ---------------------------- 4.1: What kind of memory should I use in my Mac? The Mac IIvx can use 2 megabyte SIMMs. 5.2: All monitors are not created equal. I've added a small table of the WYSIWIG resolutions for common monitor sizes. Appendix A: I've added info about the new Powerbook 520 and 540 and the Duo 280 models. Table of Contents ================================================================== I. Maintenance 1. How do I clean a keyboard? 2. How do I clean a screen? 3. How do I clean a mouse? 4. How do I clean a floppy drive? 5. How do I clean the inside of my mac? II. Problems And Repairs 1. How do I open a compact Mac? 2. Now that I've opened my Mac how might I electrocute myself? 3. Where can I get my Mac fixed? 4. Can you recommend any good books about Mac repair? 5. The screen on my compact Mac is jittering. III. Upgrades 1. What Macs will be upgradeable to the PowerPC? 2. Can I increase the speed of my Mac by accelerating the clock? 3. Can I add an FPU to my Mac? 4. Can I replace the 68LC040 with a 68040? IV. Thanks for the Memory 1. What kind of memory should I use in my Mac? 2. Can I use PC SIMM's in my Mac? 3. What vendors have good prices on memory? 4. Do SIMMdoublers work? V. Video 1. What's VRAM? 2. All monitors are not created equal. 3. There's a horizontal line across my monitor. VI. Floppy Disks 1. What kind of floppy disks do I need for my Mac? 2. Why can't my Quadra (SE/30, Iici, etc.) read the disks from my Plus? 3. Does punching a hole in a double-density disk make a high-density disk? VII. SCSI Troubles 1. How do I put my old internal hard disk in an external case? 2. What's the cheapest/fastest/most reliable/most common removable drive? 3. What's the best CD-ROM drive? VIII. Printers 1. What's a good printer? IX. Miscellaneous hardware FAQ's 1. What power adaptor do I need to use my mac in another country? 2. How can I fix the sound on my IIsi? A. Models RETRIEVING THE ENTIRE FAQ ========================= The file you are reading now contains only hardware information. This is the SIXTH part of this FAQ. Many other topics of interest to comp.sys.mac.hardware readers are covered in other FAQ lists in the Macintosh newsgroups. The first part of this document is also posted to this newsgroup under the subject heading "Introductory Macintosh frequently asked questions (FAQ)" and includes a complete table of contents for the entire document as well as information on where to post, ftp, file decompression, trouble-shooting, and preventive maintenance. The second part is posted to comp.sys.mac.system and features many questions about system software. The third part is posted to comp.sys.mac.misc, the fourth to comp.sys.mac.apps and the fifth part to comp.sys.mac.wanted. All answer many questions that often erroneously appear in comp.sys.mac.hardware. Please familiarize yourself with all five sections of this document before posting. All pieces are available for anonymous ftp from rtfm.mit.edu [18.70.0.209] in the directory pub/usenet/news.answers/macintosh. Except for the introductory FAQ which appears in multiple newsgroups and is stored as general-faq, the name of each file has the format of the last part of the group name followed by "-faq", e.g the FAQ for comp.sys.mac.system is stored as system-faq and the FAQ for comp.sys.mac.misc is stored as misc-faq. You can also have these files mailed to you by sending an E-mail message to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with the line: send pub/usenet/news.answers/macintosh/"name" in the body text where "name" is the name of the file you want as specified above (e.g. general-faq). Send this server a message with the subject "help" for more detailed instructions. For access via Mosaic use the URL http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/macintosh/top.html ================== MAINTENANCE (1.0) ================== First a word about tools: many basic household items will serve you well when taking care of a Mac but not all. Under no circumstances should you use a Dustbuster or other common handvac to clean electronic equipment. Instead you need a specially designed vacuum cleaner with a conducting, grounded nozzle. These normally cost about $40 in electronics supply stores. Most paper towels are adequate for cleaning computer equipment. However Scott brand towels do have lower rag content than any other commonly available towel and are less likely to leave paper fibers behind on your equipment. HOW DO I CLEAN A KEYBOARD? (1.1) --------------------------------- For basic cleaning a little isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol on a Scott towel works well. Common household cleaners like Formula 409 also do a nice job. To perform a more thorough cleaning you'll need to take the keyboard apart. Depending on the type of keyboard you'll need one or more of a Phillips head screwdriver, a Torx T-15 screwdriver, and a special tool almost impossible to find when you really really need it which goes by the technical name of "key puller." Disassemble the keyboard, pull off all the keys, and use a can of compressed air or an electronics vac to clean out all the dust bunnies that have mated and grown and had children and mated again and built apartment complexes and shopping malls inside your keyboard. (I don't know why, but keyboards attract far more detritus than any other computer component.) Finally if you spilled Mountain Dew, coffee or some other liquid substance into the keyboard, clean it with lukewarm water and a soft towel. Use isopropyl alcohol on any remaining sticky spots. HOW DO I CLEAN A SCREEN? (1.2) ------------------------------- First turn off the monitor. Spray a small amount of Windex or any other common glass cleaner onto a paper towel, NOT directly onto the screen. Then wipe the paper towel over the screen. Finally wipe the screen clean with a dry paper towel. HOW DO I CLEAN A MOUSE? (1.3) ------------------------------ Poor mouse tracking is normally a sign of dirty contacts. To clean them get a cassette tape head cleaning solution from any audio store. Turn off the Mac. Then unplug the mouse. The bottom plate of the mouse that holds the ball in place can be removed by pushing down and twisting (like a child-proof medicine cap). The ball will probably fall out when the plate is removed so be ready to catch it. There's nothing quite so annoying as having to crawl around on the floor looking under the furniture for a mouse ball. Dip a cotton swab in the solution. Then rub it on the three ball contacts until they appear clean to the eye. Finally clean the ball itself with soap and water and dry it with a paper towel. HOW DO I CLEAN A FLOPPY DRIVE? (1.4) ------------------------------------- Normally you don't need to. Several companies sell floppy drive cleaning kits that consist of nothing more than a disk and some cleaning fluid for anywhere from five to twenty-five dollars. These are almost as pointless as the CD cleaning kits sold to overenthusiastic CD owners. I'd only use one of these if I was already experiencing problems that were identifiably linked to the floppy drive rather than individual disks. Cleaning a floppy drive should not be part of normal maintenance. When you do need to clean a floppy drive, Apple recommends the 3M floppy drive cleaning kit. If you have a vacuum cleaner designed for electronic equipment, you can always run it across the floppy slit, but even that is rarely necessary. Or you can disassemble the Mac and use a can of compressed air to blow the dust out of the floppy drive. Don't do this without disassembling the Mac first though since otherwise you'll just blow dust deeper inside your computer. And even when the Mac is taken apart, be careful to blow the air AWAY from the motor. If you blow air into the drive motor, you'll forcing dust into it and make the drive more likely to fail. HOW DO I CLEAN THE INSIDE OF MY MAC? (1.5) ------------------------------------------- I don't advise taking a Mac apart just to clean it; but if you've already dismantled it as part of another upgrade or repair, blowing accumulated dust away with a can of compressed air won't hurt. You can also use a specially designed computer vacuum cleaner, but don't use a normal hand vac like a Dustbuster as there's a small chance of damage to your Mac from the static electricity it builds up. On the other hand if during one of those late night football games through the halls of your office someone drop-kicked a half-full can of Mountain Dew straight through the uprights of your cubicle onto your Mac (or if you've spilled a soda or some other messy substance into the Mac in some less creative fashion), you will need to clean it out. Unplug the Mac and let it sit for at least an hour. It is essential to give all the parts of your Mac time to discharge since you'll be cleaning it with water. Take the Mac apart as described in the next section. Then clean it with lukewarm tap water. Use a soft toothbrush to clean anything that doesn't come off with water alone. Let the disassembled Mac air dry for a couple of days, (Don't even think about using a hair dryer.) and then put it back together. =========================== PROBLEMS AND REPAIRS (2.0) =========================== HOW DO I OPEN A COMPACT MAC? (2.1) ----------------------------------- You need a Torx T-15 screwdriver, at least eight inches long, available from any decent electronics supply shop, and a special tool referred to as a "Mac Cracker." (In a pinch you can use a spring loaded paper clip or even a three-sided ruler.) Before starting clear off a large, flat work area and get an ash tray, glass, or other container to hold the various small screws you need to remove. First disconnect all cables, most especially the power cable. For maximum safety you should only work on your Mac after it's been turned off for an hour so that various high-voltage capacitors have had time to fully discharge. Lay the Mac face down on a soft towel in your work space. If you're working on a Plus or earlier Mac remove the battery cover and battery. Then unscrew all the screws with the T-15 screwdriver. There are four of them on SE's and Classics, two hidden inside the handle and two above the ports on the bottom of the Mac. The Plus and earlier Macs have five screws including one under the battery cover. After the screws are removed, wedge the cracking tool into the seam and pry the two pieces of the case apart. Then carefully lift the back cover off and place it down in your work space. Finally inside you'll find a metallic RF shield covering the ports which can easily be removed. NOW THAT I'VE OPENED MY MAC HOW MIGHT I ELECTROCUTE MYSELF? (2.2) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Like most computers a Macintosh contains lots of exciting high voltage equipment that can deliver shocks ranging from mildly surprising to motherboard-frying to lethal. Since compact Macs cram the high voltage picture tube and power supply into the same cramped space shared with the motherboard, they're particularly dangerous. If you're intent on committing computer-assisted suicide, here are a few simple procedures that will greatly enhance your chance of success: * Be sure the computer and all cables are plugged in when you work on it. It's difficult (though not impossible) to get a good, solid shock without at least 120 volts of AC surging through the works. * Wear lots of metal jewelry. Long, dangling gold bracelets make the most effective unexpected electrical contact between the picture tube and your heart. * Naturally you yourself want to be nice and clean before working on your Mac so take a long shower. Don't bother to dry off though. The heat from your Mac should dry you just fine. * Pay special attention to the picture tube and flyback transformer. Fondle them. Know them. Love them. If you're still conscious take apart the power supply. (That's the silver box with the big red warning letters on it.) * Invite all your pets and small children to watch you work. However there's no reason to invite an adult who might have the presence of mind to call 911 should you be injured. WHERE CAN I GET MY MAC FIXED? (2.3) ------------------------------------ If it's been less than a year since you bought the Mac, then by all means bring it to a local Apple authorized dealer to get it fixed under warranty for free. Not all dealers are created equal, and you don't have to get your Mac repaired by the same dealer you bought it from. Ask around locally to find out which one has the best reputation for fast, dependable, hassle-free service. After the warranty has expired an Apple dealer is generally not the best (and certainly not the cheapest) place to have your Mac fixed. A typical Apple authorized repair consists of swapping out the entire malfunctioning subsystem. It's not at all uncommon for Apple dealers to repair small problems by motherboard swaps that cost almost as much or even more than a new Mac. For out of warranty repairs your best bet is an unauthorized repair shop that specializes in component level repairs. Be sure to find one that specializes in Macintosh repairs, not a PC shop that does Macs on the side. Again seek advice from local bulletin boards and user groups. If there are no reliable local repair shops, a number of mail-order repair shops advertise in the back pages of MacUser and MacWorld. Personally I find it horribly inconvenient to package and ship a Mac just to get a flyback transformer replaced, but most of these shops do offer reliable repairs at very competitive prices and many people on the net swear by one or another. CAN YOU RECOMMEND ANY GOOD BOOKS ABOUT MAC REPAIR? (2.4) --------------------------------------------------------- Larry Pina has written several excellent guides to repairing Macs. Mac Classic & SE Repair and Upgrade Secrets (Peachpit Press, $28, ISBN #1-56609-022-9) covers the SE, SE/30, Classic, and Classic II. This volume offers moderately detailed instructions for someone with prior electronics experience to diagnose common problems, do component level repairs and perform upgrades on compact Macs. Macintosh Repair and Upgrade Secrets (Hayden Books $24.95, ISBN #0-672-48452-8) is an earlier version of this book which covers compact Macs from the 128K to the SE and the Lisa. Pina's sequel, Macintosh II Repair and Upgrade secrets, $39.95, ISBN #0-13-929530-5, offers similar coverage of the Mac II family of Machines. All these books include valuable diagnostic software on a bundled disk. Before delving into this volume you should be comfortable wielding a soldering iron on expensive equipment. Finally he's also written the somewhat less technical and more detailed Dead Mac Scrolls (PeachPit Press, ISBN #0-940235-25-0, $32) which offers symptom-based procedures for diagnosing and repairing many common problems. This book includes good advice about how to find and deal with a repair shop. All four books deserve a place in the library of anyone who intends to wield a soldering iron on their Mac. THE SCREEN ON MY COMPACT MAC IS JITTERING. (2.5) ------------------------------------------------- Nine times out of ten this is a symptom of a failing flyback transformer. It may be accompanied by high-pitched whines and even the smell of burnt ozone. This is a warning that the demise of the Mac is imminent! Turn it off and don't use it again till the video is fixed. If the flyback transformer is in this bad a shape, chances are that other components either already have failed or soon will. However many expensive parts of the video subsystem are probably working just fine so this is one common problem that can often be fixed much more cheaply by a component-level repair shop than by an authorized dealer who'll likely swap out the entire video board. =============== UPGRADES (3.0) =============== WHAT MACS WILL BE UPGRADEABLE TO THE POWERPC? (3.1) ---------------------------------------------------- Apple will provide logic board replacements for all Centris, Quadra and WorkGroup Server models except the Quadra 700, 900 and 950. There should also be logic board replacements for the IIvx, IIvi, LC 475, 520, 550, and 575, Performa 475, 476, 550, and 600. Upgraded AV Macs will lose their special video capabilities, at least initially. Apple will also make available PowerPC processor upgrade boards that fit into the PDS slots of the Quadra 605, 610, 650, 700, 800, 900, and 950 as well as the Centris 610 and 650 and the Performa 475 and 476. Macs upgraded via a PDS card run at twice the speed of the system clock. Thus a 25 MHz 68040 Mac with a PDS accelerator will become a 50 MHz PowerMac. You'll be able to disable the accelerator if you have old software that's not PowerPC compatible or that just plain runs faster on the older hardware. 68030 desktop Macs with expansion slots will be upgradeable via third party accelerator cards. It is not yet known whether any upgrade will be available for Powerbooks. CAN I INCREASE THE SPEED OF MY MAC BY ACCELERATING THE CLOCK? (3.2) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Apple engineers designed the Mac IIsi to run at 25 megahertz. Apple marketeers made them reduce the speed by 20% so as not to hurt sales of the IIci. Thus with various caveats it is generally safe to accelerate a IIsi to 25 Mhz by changing the clock chip. All other Mac models were designed to run at the speeds they normally run at so "clock-chipping" them is a much iffier proposition. Compact Macs, PowerBooks and the Mac II, IIx and IIcx as well as the LC and LC II use the same oscillator to time various external circuitry as they use to time the CPU so they almost never work if the clock chip is replaced. Most other Macs seem to work for at least a while when sped up by as much as twenty percent. Somewhere beyond a twenty percent increase in clock speed most Macs experience serial port problems though the exact level of safe increase varies from Mac to Mac even within the same model and configuration. Other problems may surface over time as the extra heat generated by the faster speed increases the wear and tear on the insides of the Mac. Performing this upgrade is not for the faint of heart. It is quite complex and requires soldering, replacement of several parts, and other non-trivial procedures. If done improperly it can result in major, expensive damage to your Mac. I am not going to give detailed instructions for doing this here. If you do want to do this yourself, several text files are available at the usual ftp sites that outline the procedure. For people who are willing to open their Mac and swap out RAM or a hard drive but don't feel comfortable soldering on their motherboard, KS Labs, (614) 373-0353, offers $165 kits that more safely (no soldering) accelerate the clock. These kits include a clip-on oscillator plus a heat sink and fan to keep the faster circuitry cool. CAN I ADD AN FPU TO MY MAC? CAN I REPLACE THE 68LC040 WITH A 68040? (3.3) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All 68020 and 68030 Macs that did not ship with an FPU standard (i.e. the IIsi and LC series) have special slots that can accommodate an FPU card. All Macs that have the FPUless 680LC40 CPU run just fine if that chip is replaced with a full 68040 that includes an FPU. All PowerPC Macs include an integrated FPU. There is no way to add only an FPU to a 68000 Mac like an SE though some third party acclerators do include FPU's as well as faster CPU's. ============================ THANKS FOR THE MEMORY (4.0) ============================ WHAT KIND OF MEMORY SHOULD I USE IN MY MAC? (4.1) -------------------------------------------------- The easiest way to get this question answered is to ask your friendly, mail-order memory dealer. If you tell them what model of Mac you have, what memory you already have in your Mac, and how much you want to add, they should be able to tell you exactly what you need. Memory comes in many configurations. All desktop Macs from the Plus through the Quadra 700, 900, and 950 use 70 pin SIMMs that normally need to be added four at a time (except in the SE, the Plus and the Classics where they're added two at a time). Later Quadras, the LC III, and the Centris's use 72 pin SIMMs that can be added one SIMM at a time. PowerMacs also use 72 pin SIMMs but need them installed in pairs. All portable Macs (PowerBooks, Duos, and the Portable) have one RAM slot to hold a special card with extra RAM. The chart below gives details for each model of Mac. For each model it lists how much RAM is soldered to the motherboard, how many slots are available to hold more RAM, what size memory is available for those slots, different possible RAM configurations, what type of memory is used (30 pin SIMM, 72 pin SIMM, or card type,) the minimum speed of the RAM you should use in that model, and how many SIMMs or cards need to be replaced or added at the same time. Available Physical RAM Minimum Upgrade CPU Onboard Slots Sizes Configs (MB) Pins Speed in __________ _______ _____ _________ _____________ ____ _____ _____ Plus 0 4 256K,1M 1,2.5,4 30 150ns 2 SE 0 4 256K,1M 1,2,2.5,4 30 150ns 2 SE/30 0 8 256K,1M 1,2,4,5,8,16 30 120ns 4 4M,16M 17,20,32,64 65,68,80,128 Classic 1 3 256K,1M 1,2,2.5,4 30 120ns 2 Classic II 2 2 1M,2M,4M 2,4,6,10 30 120ns 2 Color Classic 4 2 1M,2M,4M 4,6,8,10 30 120ns 2 Mac II 0 8 256K,1M 1,2,4,5,8,17 30 120ns 4 4M,8M,16M 20,33,36,65,68 Mac IIx 0 8 256K,1M 1,2,4,5,8,16,17 30 120ns 4 4M,8M,16M 20,32,33,36,64 65,68,80,96,128 Mac IIcx 0 8 256K,1M 1,2,4,5,8,16,17 30 120ns 4 4M,8M,16M 20,32,33,36,64 65,68,80,96,128 Mac IIci 0 8 256K,512K 1,2,3,4,5,6,8 30 80ns 4 1M,4M,8M 16,17,18,20,32 16M 33,34,36,64,65 66,68,80,96,128 Mac IIsi 1 4 256K,512K 1,2,3,5,17,33 30 80ns 4 1M,4M,8M 65 16M Mac IIvi 4 4 256K,512K 4,5,6,8,20,36 30 80ns 4 1M,4M,8M 36,68 16M Mac IIvx 4 4 256K,512K 4,5,6,8,20,36 30 80ns 4 (Performa 600) 1M,4M,8M 36,68 16M Mac IIfx 0 8 1M,4M,16M 4,8,16,20,32 30 80ns 4 64,68,80,128 LC 2 2 1M,2M,4M 2,4,6,8,10 30 120ns 2 LC II 4 2 1M,2M,4M 4,6,8,10 30 120ns 2 LC III 4 1 1M,2M,4M 4,5,6,8,12,36 72 80ns 1 8M,16M,32M LC 520 4 1 1M,2M,4M 4,5,6,8,12,36 72 80ns 1 8M,16M,32MM LC 550 4 1 1M,2M,4M 4,5,6,8,12,36 72 80ns 1 8M,16M,32MM LC 575 4 1 1M,2M,4M 4,5,6,8,12,36 72 80ns 1 8M,16M,32MM Centris 610 4 2 4M,8M,16M 4,8,12,16,20,24 72 80ns 1 32M 28,36,52,68 Centris 650 8 4 4M,8M,16M 8,12,16,20,24 72 80ns 1 32M 32,40,68,72,132 Centris 660av 4 2 4M,8M,16M 4,8,12,16,20,24 72 70ns 1 32M 28,36,52,68 Quadra 605 4 1 4M,8M,16M 4,8,12,20,36 72 80ns 1 32M Quadra 610 4 2 4M,8M,16M 4,8,12,16,20,24 72 80ns 1 32M 28,36,52,68 Quadra 650 8 4 4M,8M,16M 8,12,16,20,24 72 80ns 1 32M 32,40,68,72,132 Quadra 660av 4 2 4M,8M,16M 4,8,12,16,20,24 72 70ns 1 32M 28,36,52,68 Quadra 700 4 4 1M,4M,16M 4,8,20,68 30 80ns 4 Quadra 800 8 4 4M,8M,16M 8,12,16,20,24 72 60ns 1 32M 28,32,36,40,44 48,52,56,60,64 68,72,80,84,88 104,108,112,120,132 Quadra 840av 0 4 4M,8M,16M 8,12,16,20,24 72 60ns 1 32M 28,32,36,40,44,48,52,56 60,64,68,72,76,80,84,88 96,100,104,112,128 Quadra 900 0 16 1M,4M,16M 4,8,12,16,20 30 80ns 4 24,28,32,36,40,48,52,64 64,68,72,76,80,84,88,96 100,112,128,132,136,144 148,160,192,196,208,256 Quadra 950 0 16 1M,4M,16M 4,8,12,16,20 30 80ns 4 24,28,32,36,40,48,52,64 64,68,72,76,80,84,88,96 100,112,128,132,136,144 148,160,192,196,208,256 PowerMac 6100 8 2 4M,8M,16M 8,16,24,40,68 72 80ns 2 32M PowerMac 7100 8 4 4M,8M,16M 8,16,24,32,40 72 80ns 2 32M 48,56,72,80,88 104,132 PowerMac 8100 8 8 4M,8M,16M 8,16,24,32,40 72 80ns 2 32M 48,56,64,72,80,88 96,104,112,120,128 136,144,152,160,168 176,184,208,216,232,264 Portable 1 1 1M,2M,3M,4M 1,2,3,4,5 100ns 1 PowerBook 100 2 1 2M,4M,6M 2,4,6,8 TSOP 100ns 1 PowerBook 140 2 1 2M,4M,6M 2,4,6,8 TSOP 100ns 1 PowerBook 145 2 1 2M,4M,6M 2,4,6,8 TSOP 100ns 1 PowerBook 145b 4 1 2M,4M 4,6,8 TSOP 100ns 1 PowerBook 160 4 1 4M,6M,8M 4,8,10,12 TSOP 85ns 1 10M 14 PowerBook 165c 4 1 4M,6M,8M 4,8,10,12 TSOP 85ns 1 10M 14 PowerBook 170 2 1 2M,4M,6M 2,4,6,8 TSOP 100ns 1 PowerBook 180 4 1 4M,6M,8M 4,8,10,12 TSOP 85ns 1 10M 14 PowerBook 180c 4 1 4M,6M,8M 4,8,10,12 TSOP 85ns 1 10M 14 Duo 210 4 1 4M,8M,10M 4,8,12,14,16 85ns 1 12M,14M 18,24,32 20M,28M Duo 230 4 1 4M,8M,10M 4,8,12,14,16 85ns 1 12M,14M 18,24,32 20M,28M Duo 250 4 1 4M,8M,10M 4,8,12,14,16 85ns 1 12M,14M 18,24,32 20M,28M Duo 270c 4 1 4M,8M,10M 4,8,12,14,16 85ns 1 12M,14M 18,24,32 20M,28M The Mac Classic requires an adapter card to expand the RAM from 1 MB. This card includes 1 MB of extra memory and has two SIMM slots that can either be left empty or filled with 256K or 1MB SIMMs. The slots must be filled with the same size SIMM. The Color Classic, LC, and LC II can only address 10 megabytes of real RAM even if twelve megabytes of physical RAM are installed. The Mac II requires the addition of a PMMU chip to access more than eight megs of RAM. The first bank can only hold 256K or 1MB SIMMs unless the FDHD upgrade is installed. Otherwise 4, 8, and 16 MB SIMMs have to be installed in Bank B. Furthermore these SIMMs need an extra PAL chip on each SIMM as well as the normal eight DRAM chips. The Quadra 700 requires non-composite, low-profile 16 megabyte SIMMs to fit under the internal hard drive. Composite SIMMs should also not be used on 68040 AV Macs as they are practically guaranteed to cause problems with the system due to the extra load and timing required. Specifically you need to avoid 16MB SIMMs that use 32 4M-bit DRAMs rather than 8 16M-bit DRAMs. PowerBooks use pseudo-static thin small-outline package cards (TSOP's) of varying capacities. Duo's use special low-power, self-refreshing dynamic RAM cards. Be sure to specify the model you're ordering for when buying PowerBook RAM. CAN I USE PC SIMM'S IN MY MAC? (4.2) ----------------------------------------- Yes. Nine chip PC and SUN workstation SIMM's work perfectly well in any desktop Mac that can use the equivalent eight chip Macintosh SIMM's; e.g. a IIci works with 1x9, 4x9, or 16x9 PC 80 ns PC SIMMs just as it does with 1x8, 4x8, or 16x8 80ns Mac SIMMs. The extra chip on each SIMM provides a brain dead type of error correction known as parity checking. It is unused on the Mac. Since PC SIMM's are manufactured in higher volume than Mac SIMM's, they are often cheaper despite the extra chip per SIMM. They're also easier to resell. WHAT VENDORS HAVE GOOD PRICES ON MEMORY? (4.3) ----------------------------------------------- You should certainly shop around, but I've found that the Chip Merchant, 800-426-6375 (orders), 619-268-4774 (info), consistently has the lowest prices, excellent service and a knowledgeable sales staff. DO SIMMDOUBLERS WORK? (4.4) ---------------------------- Sometimes. Problems have been reported so make sure you get a money-back guarantee before ordering. MicroMac's SIMMdoubler II will double the SIMM capacity of all Mac II models and the Performa 600; i.e. it lets you fit two SIMMs in each slot on your logic board. It also lets you use standard 4x8 SIMMs in the Mac II and IIx rather than the more expensive PAL type normally required. At $140 street a set of four is a little expensive but perhaps worth it if you have a let of extra one meg SIMMs. Sermak Technology's (800-209-7126) SimmStacks will fit two 30 pin SIMMs in one 72 pin slot. Sermak also sells SIMM doublers that fit two 72 pin SIMMs in one 72-pin slot. Since the extra height of the SIMMdoubler provides more leverage to exert force on the SIMM sockets, some users have broken SIMM slots when installing these products so be careful. Furthermore if you use more SIMMs than you have sockets, you'll be drawing more power into them than your Mac was designed to supply which might lead to problems down the road. ============ VIDEO (5.0) ============ WHAT'S VRAM? (5.1) ------------------- Video RAM is where the computer stores the images displayed on your screen. On some earlier Macs with built-in video (Mac 128, IIci) this was kept in main memory. However it's considerably more efficient and faster to store the screen image in its own separate RAM. Generally the more VRAM you have the more colors or shades of gray you can display and the larger the monitors you can use. The chart below shows the number of colors that can be displayed at a given resolution with the specified amount of VRAM. Monitor size has no direct relation to the amount of VRAM required though larger monitors normally support higher resolutions. Larger monitors just have fewer dots per inch than smaller monitors with the same resolution. Also note that simply because a particular video card or Mac has sufficient VRAM to support a given number of colors doesn't mean that it actually can though more modern cards and monitors typically do support several resolutions. Resolution 512x342 640x480 832x624 1024x768 1152x870 1280x1024 VRAM 256K 256 16 16 512K 32768 256 256 16 16 768K 32768 32768 256 256 16 16 1024K 16777216 16777216 32768 256 256 16 2048K 16777216 16777216 16777216 32768 32768 256 ALL MONITORS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL. (5.2) ------------------------------------------ Choosing a monitor used to be simple. Like the Model-T Ford you could have any color you wanted as long as it was black (and white), 9", 512 by 342 pixels, 72 dpi. The PC drones made fun of the small size and lack of color, but it was obvious to any unprejudiced person who looked at a Macintosh that its display was far superior to the CGA and EGA monitors being foisted on ignorant PC consumers. Mac monitors are no longer so simple. Now one needs to be concerned with such arcana as resolution, size, bit depth, dot pitch, and refresh rate. Size is the most obvious characteristic of a monitor. It's measured diagonally from one corner of the screen to the opposite corner. Actual monitor area is roughly proportional to the square of the diagonal length so a twenty-inch monitor is more than four times as large as a nine-inch monitor. Most manufacturers cheat on their monitor sizes by measuring from one corner of the screen (or even the case) to the other rather than from one edge of the visible display to the other. Then they round up to the nearest inch with the result that most "fourteen-inch monitors" are closer to twelve and a half inches when measured truthfully. For many years Apple was one of the more honest manufacturers, advertising it's twelve and a half inch monitor as a thirteen inch monitor while other manufacturers touted their "larger fourteen-inch" twelve and a half inch monitors. However Apple has succumbed to the pressures of the market, and like everyone else it now advertises twelve and a half inch monitors as "fourteen inch displays." Of course it's not the size that matters; it's how you use it. Resolution defines how much information can be squeezed onto the screen. Most monitors sold today are "multi-sync"; that is they are capable of displaying more than one resolution. A fifteen inch monitor at 1024 by 768 pixels displays two and a half times as much information as the same monitor at 640 by 480 pixels. However everything will appear smaller at the larger resolution since the monitor has to fit more pixels into the same space. The clearest resolution for a monitor is whatever comes closest to fitting 72 pixels (or dots) into each inch. This is the dpi rating of the monitor. 72 dpi is the proper "WYSIWIG" (Pronounced Whizzy-wig, What you see is what you get.) resolution though some people prefer to work at a higher resolution that fits more information on the screen. Here are the WYSIWIG resolutions for common monitor sizes. If you do the math you'll notice that the resolutions seem too small for the given size. That's because I've listed sizes here in their commonly advertised form rather than by the actual paintable area on the screen. Size WYSIWIG Resolution 9 512 by 342 13,14,15 640 by 480 16,17 832 by 624 20 1024 by 768 21 1152 by 870 25 1280 by 1024 Resolution and bit depth define how much you can see on your screen. Dot pitch defines how well you can see it. It's the size of each individual pixel. Larger dot pitches look fuzzier. Trinitron monitors paint the picture in lines rather than dots so this doesn't really apply to them. However the "line stripe" of a Trinitron display means virtually the same thing in practice as dot pitch does for other monitors, and most salesmen and copywriters are quite happy to confuse the two for you. Most monitors have dot pitches of .39 mm, .29 mm, or .25 mm. The larger the dot pitch the fuzzier your screen looks. .39 mm dot pitch monitors (the standard in the PC world) look bad. .29 mm dot pitch monitors are acceptable for all but the most demanding users. .25 mm is the best dot pitch available with current technology. Refresh rate also affects how clear the picture appears. 72 Hz is the standard refresh rate for Mac monitors. That means the screen is repainted 72 times a second, more than twice as fast as your TV screen. A few monitors even repaint at an 80 Hz refresh rate though I suspect that's overkill for all but the most sensitive eyes. However many cheaper PC monitors have refresh rates of 60 Hz or even less. This begins to reach the level that contributes to eyestrain. Worse yet these monitors are interlaced, which means that only half of the screen is redrawn on each pass. Interlaced monitors have a visible flicker effect, and should be avoided at all costs. Leave them on the shelves for the deluded PC users who think saving $50 on a monitor is worth spending $500 at the optometrist. Most Mac monitors are at least 69 dpi, 0.29 mm dot pitch with refresh rates of 72 Hz. This is acceptable for most work. The only common exception is the Apple Basic Color Monitor. This was Apple's VGA monitor for low cost systems and was laughed out of the marketplace. (It's the standard in the PC world which gives you some idea of the lower standards on the other side of the fence.) THERE'S A HORIZONTAL LINE ACROSS MY MONITOR. (5.3) --------------------------------------------------- All Sony Trinitron monitors have a stabilizing wire in position to cast a shadow about three quarters of the way down the screen. Larger monitors also have a wire about a third of the way down from the top of the display. There is no way to fix this short of redesigning the Trinitron tube. This line is more obvious on some monitors than others so if it seems particularly bad you can try to convince the dealer you bought it from to exchange the monitor. Other than that there's nothing that can be done about it. =================== FLOPPY DISKS (6.0) =================== WHAT KIND OF FLOPPY DISKS DO I NEED FOR MY MAC? (6.1) ------------------------------------------------------ There have been three kinds of floppy disks in the history of the Macintosh. The original 128K Thin Mac (which used to be called a classic Mac before the advent of the much superior Mac Classic) and the subsequent 512K "Fat Mac" used 400K, single-sided double-density diskettes. These disks are outdated, and it's highly unlikely you'll actually see any. If you need to exchange data with an older Macintosh, you'll need to use disks formatted as single-sided. Since very few, if any, stores still sell one-sided 3.5 inch disks anymore, it's fortunate that all Macs deal quite happily with double-sided disks formatted as single-sided. Just click the button labeled "One-sided" after you select "Erase Disk" from the Special menu. *Neat Trick alert* Sometimes disks that fail formatting as double-sided can be formatted as single-sided. Even neater trick: In System 6 the shareware init BAD can map out bad sectors on a floppy disk which lets about 70% of bad disks be formatted. (System 7 does this automatically.) Neatest trick of all: All name-brand diskettes (SONY, Maxell, etc.) come with lifetime warranties. A lot of offices keep a bad disk box for everyone to dump their bad disks in and send the disks in for replacement when they collect ten or so; but it's been my experience that if you return just a single bad disk these companies will send a whole ten pack as a replacement. With the introduction of the Mac Plus in 1986, Apple also introduced a larger disk drive capable of reading and writing 800K, "Double-Sided Double-Density" disks, DSDD for short. The only way to tell these disks from the earlier, one-sided diskettes, is by the label on the metal cover. Unformatted these are identical to the 720K disks common in the IBM world. With the Mac IIx Apple introduced what's alternately known as the Superdrive or "FDHD," short for "Floppy Drive, High Density." The FDHD (pronounced Fud-Hud) can read and write all of the previous kinds of diskettes plus double-sided high-density disks which are distinguished by two holes in the disk case rather than the normal one. The FDHD uses the extra hole to recognize a high-density disk. WHY CAN'T MY QUADRA (SE/30, IICI, ETC.) READ THE DISKS FROM MY PLUS? (6.2) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Macintosh Plus and earlier machines along with original Mac II's and some SE's do not have the high density FDHD drive necessary to properly read and format high-density disks. If you insert a blank high-density disk in a low density drive, the Mac, not knowing the difference between a double-density and a high-density floppy, will happily format your expensive 1.4 meg disk as a cheap 800K diskette. When you move this disk to a more advanced machine with a FDHD drive, the newer drive will recognize the disk as a high-density floppy by its extra hole. Since the disk has been formatted as 800K instead of as 1400K, the FDHD drive will try to read it as a 1400K disk and fail. Then it will ask if you want to initialize it. As a temporary work around place a small piece of tape over both sides of the extra hole on the high-density disk to trick the Mac into treating the disk as double-density. This is a temporary fix only, and the tape should be removed and the disk reformatted to the proper size as soon as possible. DOES PUNCHING A HOLE IN A DOUBLE-DENSITY DISK MAKE A HIGH-DENSITY DISK? (6.3) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yes, but I certainly wouldn't trust any data I intended to keep for more than the next minute or two to such a diskette. The extra hole is not the only difference between a double-density and a high-density disk. The magnetic media on a high-density disk is a different type that is much more susceptible to formatting. Double-density diskettes should only be formatted as 800K. With the plummeting prices of real high-density disks, this really shouldn't be an issue anymore. ==================== SCSI TROUBLES (7.0) ==================== HOW DO I PUT MY OLD INTERNAL HARD DISK IN AN EXTERNAL CASE? (7.1) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Alliance Peripheral Systems, 800-443-4199/816-483-6100 sells cases for old internal 3.5 inch drives for $79. The price includes instructions and technical support for the installation. WHAT'S THE CHEAPEST/FASTEST/MOST RELIABLE/MOST COMMON REMOVABLE DRIVE? (7.2) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The oldest and most established format for removable media is the Syquest 44 megabyte cartridge drive. Drives are sold by many different vendors for about $300 and cartridges cost around $60 each. However this format is showing its age. It's too small for a complete backup of most hard drives; the cartridges are big and bulky; and it's not difficult to create Photoshop, Quark, or PostScript files that are larger than one of these cartridges. Consequently most service bureaus also accept at least the Syquest 88 format. 88 megabyte Syquest drives cost about $450 and can read and write but not format the older 44 megabyte cartridges. 88 megabyte cartridges run about $90 each so they're considerably more cost-effective. Although Syquest cartridges are the most commonly used form of removable media for Macs, they do have a reputation for unreliability and data corruption. They're suitable for moving large files from your Mac to a service bureau, but not for making an important backup and certainly not for use as a second hard drive. I do not recommend Syquest 44 and 88 megabyte drives unless you must exchange disks with someone who only has a Syquest drive. Syquest recently introduced a new 270 megabyte drive that is not compatible with its more popular 44 and 88 megabyte drives (though it will read and write the less common Syquest 105 format). At only $650 for the drive and $100 per cartridge, this drive has the lowest cost per megabyte of any removable media. Furthermore it's got the largest cartridge size so it's the easiest with which to perform backups. Hard drives of 240 megabytes or less can be backed up to one of these monsters just by dragging the hard disk icon to the Syquest icon. However since these drives are relatively new their reliability in production situations is still unknown. While the size and price of these drives are very tempting I'd still like to hear a few more real world experiences before I commit to one. Somewhat more proven is the Bernoulli MultiDisk 150 from Iomega. Bernoulli has been making removable drives longer than anyone, and their drives and cartridges have a reputation for speed and reliability. I would be willing to trust an important backup to a Bernoulli disk or to use a Bernoulli disk as a second hard drive. A Bernoulli drive costs about $700 direct from Iomega (1-800-756-3959). 150 megabyte disks cost about $110 so the cost per megabyte is higher than the Syquest 270, but these drives are more tested in real world uses than Syquest 270s. An additional advantage is that these drives also read and write Bernoulli 35, 65, 90 and 105 megabyte cartridges so you can pick a cartridge size and price to fit your needs. Magneto-optical drives are another increasingly popular technology. They're slow but very reliable. Depending on the drive a cartridge can hold between 128 and 1300 megabytes. 128 megabyte drives cost about $800-$1000 and are available from the usual selection of hard drive vendors. Next to the reliability of the media the biggest attraction of these drives is the extremely low cost per megabyte ($0.32) with 128 MB disks selling for as little as $40 each in quantity. Higher capacity and higher priced optical drives have been introduced with capacities ranging from 256 megabytes to 1.3 gigabytes and prices from $1800 to $5000. Standards are still a little unclear and prices a little high among the higher capacity optical drives. I recommend waiting a few more months before investing in this technology. Regardless of standards all these drives are too slow to be used as a second hard disk. Their high reliability and capacity makes them ideal for long-term backups though. Also surprisingly popular given their limited capacity and high price are "flopticals." A floptical drive is about the size of an external floppy drive, costs around $450 and can store 21 megabytes of data on 3.5" disks that cost about $18 each. Since floptical drives can also read and write high density (but not 800K) floppies they're a reasonable choice if you need a second floppy drive. However the twenty-one megabyte disks are too small for backing up large hard drives or for transporting desktop publishing files and graphics. Furthermore at only about twice the speed of on ordinary floppy the media is slower than its competition. Since higher capacity drives in other formats cost about the same, I advise against floptical technology. WHAT'S THE BEST CD-ROM DRIVE? (7.3) ------------------------------------ There are three features you should look for in a CD-ROM drive. First and most importantly you want at least a double-speed drive. If cost is your only concern single speed drives are available for as little as $150 but they're painfully slow for most applications. You'll also sacrifice many other bells and whistles. NEC recently introduced a triple-speed CD mechanism which is sold both by them and other manufacturers. These drives cost about 50% more than a similar double speed drive. They may be useful if you mainly retrieve text, graphics and other data files from CDs. However most multimedia applications and games designed to be run from a CD are optimized to work best at double-speed and will gain little if any advantage from a triple-speed drive. Furthermore quadruple speed drives are already available (though expensive) and I suspect that most manufacturers and software vendors will jump straight to the quadruple speed format and skip the triple speed drives completely. Secondly the drive should be "multi-session, PhotoCD compatible." Many drives on the market advertised as "PhotoCD compatible" but can only read the first set of photos on a PhotoCD. Finally you want a drive with excellent audio capabilities including playback of audio CD's and digital copying of audio CD's to your hard disk. That last capability is the kicker. It's available out of the box only with the various versions of the Apple CD-300, but FWB's CD-ROM Toolkit adds support for digital audio extraction on drives based around the following mechanisms: the Chinon 535, Hitachi 6750, NEC 3x, Sony 561, and Toshiba 3301, 3401 and 4101. ================ PRINTERS (8.0) ================ WHAT'S A GOOD PRINTER? (8.1) ----------------------------- If price is your primary concern buy either a StyleWriter II or a DeskWriter 520. Both provide excellent black and white and grey scale output at a reasonable price. The StyleWriter occupies less desk space and costs a few dollars less ($250 street vs. $300 for the DeskWriter 520) while the DeskWriter has higher resolution (600 by 300 dpi vs. 360 by 360 dpi). Neither is a speed demon. If you want a faster printer with better quality but don't want to pay a lot, or if you want a minimum cost PostScript printer, the TI MicroWriter and the DEC 1150 are both good buys. Each includes 2 megabytes of RAM, PostScript Level II, 300 dpi 4 page per minute output and costs around $550 street. The MicroWriter also offers auto-switching between PostScript Level II and HP PCL 4. Either one should be plenty for personal use. If you do heavy graphics or desktop publishing work, you need a 600 dpi printer. Apple's LaserWriter Select 360 at $1400 street is an excellent printer with 600 dpi resolution, 7 megabytes of memory, upgradeable to 16 megabytes, auto-switching between PostScript Level II and PCL 4, and a built-in TrueType rasterizer. Plus it doesn't have the paper curl problem associated with the other competitor in this price range, the HP LaserJet 4M. Unfortunately the Select 360 doesn't have Ethernet or a SCSI port for external font storage so it's not ideal for workgroup use (unless your workgroup's on LocalTalk). If you want Ethernet and a SCSI port then consider Apple's LaserWriter Pro 630 ($1800 street) instead. However look for some exciting (i.e. 1200 dpi) new products in this price range from Hewlett-Packard late this summer. =================================== MISCELLANEOUS HARDWARE FAQ'S (9.0) =================================== WHAT POWER ADAPTOR DO I NEED TO USE MY MAC IN ANOTHER COUNTRY? (9.1) --------------------------------------------------------------------- All Mac CPU's since the SE EXCEPT for the Classic and Classic II have universal power supplies which work anywhere in the world. These CPU's only need a common adaptor plug to match the Mac's plug to the wall plug in the country in question. You can buy one in almost any hardware store for about three dollars. The same is true of the Duo docks, all Apple CD drives except the original AppleCD SC, all external Apple SCSI hard drives and all Apple monitors except for the 12" RGB monitor and the 14" Basic Color Monitor. Products without universal power supplies were typically sold in two models, 110V/120V at 60 Hz for Japan and North America, 220V/240V at 50 Hz everywhere else. Thus depending on the origin and destination the Classic, Classic II, Plus, 512KE, 512 and 128K Macs need an adaptor plug and either a 220V/240V to 110V/120V grounded isolation step-down transformer or a 110V/120V to 220V/240V grounded isolation step-up transformer, NOT a voltage converter (at least not unless you plan to use your Mac as a disposable egg fryer). The same kind of transformer is needed by the 12" RGB monitor, the Basic Color Monitor, StyleWriter, StyleWriter II, ImageWriter I, and LaserWriters LS, NT, SC, IINT, IINTX, IIf, IIg, 300, 310 and the original AppleCD SC. The ImageWriter II, ImageWriter LQ, LaserWriter, LaserWriter Plus, LaserWriter Pro 600 and 630, Apple Color Printer, Performa Display and all Apple scanners have power supplies that are matched not just to the voltage but also to the frequency of the host country's wall current. These should not be used in a country with a different power standard. HOW CAN I FIX THE SOUND ON MY IISI? (9.2) ------------------------------------------ When the metal fingers that connect the IIsi speakers and the motherboard get rusty, sound can blank out completely. This may not occur until the IIsi has been running for several hours. As a quick fix turn the speaker volume all the way up and then down again. This sends a small spike of electricity across the contacts and should temporarily dislodge the rust. If this doesn't work a whack on the side of the Mac may also clear the contacts enough to restore sound. For a permanent and easy fix plug a pair of external speakers into the sound out port. I've heard at least a dozen different suggestions for permanent fixes to the internal speakers. The only thing all suggestions have in common is taking the speaker subassembly out and putting it back in again. When you're having trouble with electronics, there's just no substitute for pulling everything apart and putting it back together again, and that's all you really need to do to fix the sound on your IIsi. The speaker assembly is hidden under the hard drive so take that out first. Once you've removed the hard drive, spread the four tabs that hold the speaker assembly in place and slide it out. Then clean the contacts with isopropyl alcohol. Even rubbing them hard with a paper towel or lightly with sand paper should dislodge enough rust to fix them. You can even coat the contacts with an anti-oxidant like DeoxIt or PreservIt to prevent future problems. You should be able to find some such compound at any electronics supply store. ================== Appendix A: MODELS ================== This appendix is a nearly comprehensive list of the different species of Apple Macintosh computers. At the top of each listing is the common name of the model. Any aliases it may have, either common nicknames or names under which Apple sold it in other markets follow in parentheses, e.g., Mac 128 (Thin Mac). This is followed by fourteen essential characteristics of the model which I'll elaborate on now. The first important feature is the processor in your computer, e.g., Processor: M68030 8 MHz, M68882 FPU The first number is always the central processing unit (CPU). This is the main brain of the computer and contributes more to the speed of your Mac than any other single factor. M stands for Motorola and means the chip is a member of the Motorola 68000 family. The other possibility is PPC which means the chip is a member of the PowerPC family from either Motorola, IBM or both. Generally within the same family a higher chip number means a faster chip. A 68040 is faster than a 68030 which is faster than a 68000. However Macs using the same chip can run at different clock speeds measured in megahertz (MHz). The higher the megahertz the faster the Mac. The clock speeds I list here are rounded to the nearest whole number. More precisely 8 MHz should be 7.83 MHz, 16 MHz should be 15.7 MHz and so on. If a Mac has a floating point coprocessor (FPU) or digital signal processor (DSP) that's listed here too. An FPU speeds up most scientific, mathematical, photo retouching and ray tracing software. Most other types of programs don't take advantage of it. A DSP is an even faster FPU used to make real-time audio and video feasible. M68040's and all PowerPC processors include integrated floating point units. The second feature is the system software which will operate that Mac. This is listed as a range of possible systems, e.g. System: 6.0.3-7.1 If any enablers are needed for a model, they're listed here too. Just because a particular system will run on an Mac doesn't mean you should use it. If you're using System 6, I recommend using 6.0.7 or 6.0.8 with the LaserWriter Driver 8.1, Quicktime and the Comm Toolbox. Any version of System 7 that will boot your Mac will serve equally well for most people, but you should make sure you have the latest tuneups and enablers. (See the system faq for more details.) The next field is RAM capacity, e.g. RAM: 1-128 MB, 120 ns, 8 30 pin SIMM slots For all but the earliest Macs this is given as a range from the least amount of RAM Apple sold with the machine to the maximum amount it can support with third party chips. RAM size is measured in megabytes (MB). One megabyte is 1024 kilobytes which is 1024 bytes. A byte represents one letter of text, so one megabyte is about three hundred pages of text. RAM speed is measured in nanoseconds (ns), one billionths of a second. Smaller numbers are faster. Finally I list the number of slots included for RAM (some of which may already be filled in the default configuration) and the type of memory that can be installed in these slots. For more details about RAM configurations please refer to "Thanks for the Memory", section 4.0 of this document. After RAM comes ROM, the non-volatile memory where much of the system software is stored. This is listed as a size in either kilobytes or megabytes since that's the only information that's commonly available (and more than you really need to know anyway.) Larger ROMs tend to be more recent and require less patching under newer systems. 512K and larger ROMs are 32-bit clean. 256K and larger ROMs include Color QuickDraw. Ports are the holes on the back of the Mac into which something may be plugged. ADB stands for Apple Desktop Bus. It's used for plugging in mice, trackballs, keyboards, graphics tablets, and obnoxious copy-protection dongles. ADB devices can be daisy-chained, up to three devices per ADB port. Serial ports are used for modems, printers, and LocalTalk networks. A SCSI (pronounced "Scuzzy") port is mainly used for external storage devices like hard drives, tape drives, and CD-ROMs; but there also printers, monitors, Ethernet connectors, and scanners that can attach to the SCSI bus. Mac SCSI ports are 25 pins. For more details see the SCSI section below. Most Macs have at least one sound port for hooking up external speakers and more recent Macs also have a sound in port for a microphone. These are listed as either Mono in/out or Stereo in/out depending on whether the Mac supports mono or stereo sound. Finally if there's a port for an external floppy drive, that's indicated by the word "floppy.". The Floppy field specifies what kind of internal floppy drive the model has, either 400K, 800K or SuperDrive. For more details see section 6.0, Floppies, below. Next I list the drive bays. Most Macs have exactly one bay for a 3.5 inch half-height device, almost always an internal hard drive. Some more recent Macs also have room for a half-height, five and a quarter inch, removable media drive such as a CD-ROM ar a tape backup system. Slots are spaces inside the Mac for expansion cards of many kinds including accelerators, extra serial ports, graphics cards, and more. The most-common kinds of slots are Nubus and processor direct (PDS). Nubus slots come in small (7") and full-size varieties while PDS slots tend to be specific to the model. LC PDS cards do mostly work in all LC slots, but even among Macs that have Nubus slots not all cards work in all Macs, so it's best ask a vendor if their card works in your Mac before buying. Video specifies the characteristics of any built-in monitor and the amount of VRAM for models that do not have a built-in monitor. See section 6.0 on video to find out the resolutions and color depths a given amount of VRAM supports. "None" means that you'll need to use a graphics card as well as an external monitor. Audio lists sample rates and bit depth supported by the CPU. If there's a built-in speaker and/or microphone, this is mentioned as well. Many Macs that don't have built-in stereo speakers or microphones have jacks for external speakers or microphones. These are listed under ports. Network specifies the built-in networking capability of the Mac, either LocalTalk or Ethernet. If Ethernet then the connector type is also given. Third party cards and SCSI connectors provide options for adding Ethernet to Macs that lack it. Size specifies the linear dimensions of the model as height by width by depth, then the approximate weight although this can vary depending on the size of any internal drives and cards that may be installed. This is the weight and size of the computer itself. It includes the monitor and keyboard only if they're built-in to the Mac. Finally I list the dates between which the model was sold and any special features it may have. Mac 128 (Thin Mac) Processor: M68000 8 MHz System: 1.0-2.0 RAM: 128K ROM: 64K Ports: 2 serial, floppy, mono out Floppy: 400K Bays: None Slots: None Video: built-in black and white 9" monitor, 512 by 384 resolution Audio: Mono speaker Network: None Sold: 1/84 till 4/86 Features: Keyboard Mac 512 (Fat Mac) Processor: M68000 8 MHz System: 1.0-3.3 RAM: 512K ROM: 64K Ports: 2 serial, floppy, mono out Floppy: 400K Bays: None Slots: None Video: built-in black and white 9" monitor, 512 by 384 resolution Audio: Mono speaker Network: None Sold: 9/84 till 4/86 Features: Keyboard Mac 512KE Processor: M68000 8 MHz System: 1.0-4.3 RAM: 512K ROM: 128K Ports: 2 serial, floppy, mono out Floppy: 800K Bays: None Slots: None Video: built-in black and white 9" monitor, 512 by 384 resolution Audio: Mono speaker Network: None Sold: 4/86 till 3/87 Features: Keyboard Mac Plus Processor: M68000 8 MHz System: 3.0-7.1 RAM: 1-4 MB, 150 ns, 4 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 128K Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, floppy, mono out Floppy: 800K Bays: None Slots: None Video: built-in black and white 9" monitor, 512 by 384 resolution Audio: Mono speaker Network: LocalTalk Sold: 1/86 till 10/90 Features: Keyboard Macintosh SE Processor: M68000 8 Mhz System: 3.0-7.1 RAM: 1-4 MB, 150 ns, 4 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 256K Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, floppy, 2 ADB, mono out Floppy: 1 or 2 800K or SuperDrive Bays: One for either a 3.5" internal hard drive or a second floppy drive Slots: 1 SE Expansion Bus slot Video: built-in black and white 9" monitor, 512 by 384 resolution Network: LocalTalk Sound: Mono out Sold: 3/87 till 10/90 Features: Beginning in August, 1989 SE's included a SuperDrive. SE/30 Processor: M68030 16 MHz, M68882 16 MHz FPU System: 6.0.3-7.1 RAM: 1-128 MB, 120 ns, 8 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 256K Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, floppy, 2 ADB, stereo out Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: 120 pin 030 PDS Video: built-in black and white 9" monitor, 512 by 384 resolution Audio: 8-bit, 22 kHz stereo out Network: LocalTalk Sold: 1/89 till 10/91 Features: 32 bit data bus Mac II Processor: M68020 16 MHz, M68881 16 MHz FPU System: 4.0.1-7.1 RAM: 1-68 MB, 120 ns, 8 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 256K Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, 2 ADB, stereo out Floppy: 1 or 2 800K Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: 6 Nubus Video: None Audio: Stereo speaker Network: Localtalk Sold: 3/87 till 1/90 Features: An upgrade is available that adds new ROMs and a SuperDrive. Mac IIx Processor: 16 MHz M68030 CPU, 16 MHz M68882 FPU System: 6.0.2-7.1 RAM: 1-128 MB, 120 ns, 8 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 256K Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, floppy, 2 ADB, stereo out Floppy: 1 or 2 SuperDrives Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: 6 Nubus Video: None Audio: Stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk Sold: 9/88 till 10/90 Features: Mac IIcx Processor: M68030 16 MHz, M68882 16MHz FPU System: 6.0.3-7.1 RAM: 1-128 MB, 120 ns, 8 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 256K Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, floppy, 2 ADB, stereo out Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: 3 Nubus Video: None Network: Localtalk Audio: Stereo speaker Dimension: 5.5 x 11.9 x 14.4 in, 14.0 x 30.2 x 36.5 cm Weight: 13.7 lb., 6.2 kg Sold: 3/89 till 10/90 Features: Mac IIci Processor: M68030 25 MHz, M68882 25MHz FPU System: 6.0.4-7.1 RAM: 1-128 MB, 100 ns, 8 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 512K Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, floppy, 2 ADB, stereo out Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: 3 Nubus Video: resolutions up to 640 by 870 pixels with 256 colors Audio: 8-bit, 22 kHz stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk Sold: 9/89 till 2/93 Dimension: 5.5 x 11.9 x 14.4 in, 14.0 x 30.2 x 36.5 cm Weight: 13.7 lb., 6.2 kg Features: Slot for cache card that can speed up performance as much as 50%. After October, 1991 this card was bundled with IIci's. Mac IIsi Processor: M68030 20 MHz System: 6.0.6-7.1 RAM: 2-65 MB, 80 ns, 4 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 512K Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, floppy, ADB, stereo out Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: 1 Nubus and/or PDS Video: supports resolutions of up to 640 by 870 pixels with 256 colors Audio: Mono microphone, Stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk Sold: 10/90 till 2/93 Features: Since this model was designed to be run at 25 MHz it can safely be "clock-chipped" to that higher speed. (See question 4.2) Substantial speed boosts are also possible by increasing the cache size. See question 1.3 in the system FAQ. Mac IIfx Processor: M68030 40 Mhz, M68882 FPU 40 MHz System: 6.0.5-7.1 RAM: 4-128 MB, 80 ns, 8 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 512K Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, floppy, 2 ADB, stereo out Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: 6 Nubus Video: None Audio: Stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk Sold: 3/90 till 10/91 Features: 32K static RAM cache plus lots of other special, expensive orphaned hardware designed to improve speed which software never took advantage of. Mac IIvi Processor: M68030 16 Mhz System: 7.1, System Enabler 001 1.0.1 RAM: 4-68 MB, 80 ns, 4 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, 2 ADB, stereo out Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: 3 Nubus Video: 512K-1MB VRAM Audio: Mono microphone, mono speaker Network: LocalTalk Sold: 10/92 till 10/93 Features: 32-bit data bus. Not sold in the U.S. Mac IIvx Processor: M68030 32 Mhz, M68882 FPU 32 MHz System: 7.1, System Enabler 001 1.0.1 RAM: 4-68 MB, 80 ns, 4 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, 2 ADB, mono in, stereo out Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: 3 Nubus Video: 512K-1MB VRAM Audio: Mono microphone, mono speaker Network: LocalTalk Sold: 10/92 till 10/93 Features: 32k data cache, 32 bit data bus. Since the system runs at half the speed of the CPU, this is only about as fast as the 25 MHz IIci. Performa 600 Processor: M68030 32 Mhz System: 7.1, System Enabler 001 1.0.1 RAM: 4-68 MB, 80 ns, 4 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, 2 ADB, mono in, stereo out Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: 3 Nubus Video: 512-1MB VRAM Audio: Mono microphone, mono speaker Network: LocalTalk Sold: 10/92 till 10/93 Features: 32 bit data bus. Since the system runs at half the speed of the CPU, this is only about as fast as the 20 MHz IIsi. Identical to the IIvx except for the lack of the 32k data cache and FPU. An FPU can be added. A cache cannot be. Mac Classic Processor: M68000 8 Mhz System: 6.0.6-7.1 RAM: 1-4 MB, 120 ns, 4 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 512K Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, ADB Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: None Video: built-in black and white 9" monitor, 512 by 384 resolution Audio: Mono speaker Network: LocalTalk Sold: 10/90 till 12/91 Features: Can be booted from the ROM. Mac Classic II (Performa 200) System: 6.0.8L-7.1.1 Processor: M68030 16 Mhz RAM: 4-10 MB, 120 ns, 4 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 512K Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, floppy, ADB, mono out, mono in Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: None Video: built-in black and white 9" monitor, 512 by 384 resolution Audio: 8-bit, 11 or 22 kHz, mono speaker, mono microphone Network: LocalTalk Size: 13.2 x 9.7 x 11.2 in, 17.1 lbs (33.6 x 24.6 x 28.5 cm, 7.8 kg) Sold: 10/91 till Present Features: Color Classic Processor: M68030 16 Mhz System: 7.1, System Enabler 401 1.0.5 RAM: 4-10 MB, 120 ns, 2 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, 2 ADB, mono out, mono in Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: 1 LC PDS Video built-in 10" Trinitron monitor, 512 by 384 resolution, 256 colors (expandable to 32000 colors), 76 dpi Audio: 8-bit, 22 kHz, mono speaker, mono microphone Network: LocalTalk Sold: 2/93 till Present Features: Screen Power Saver Color Classic II Processor: M68030 33 Mhz System: 7.1, System Enabler ??? RAM: 4-10 MB, 80 ns, 4 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, 2 ADB, mono out, mono in Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: 1 LC PDS Video: built-in 10" Trinitron monitor, 256 colors expandable to 32768, 76 dpi Audio: 8-bit, 22 kHz, mono speaker, mono microphone Network: LocalTalk Sold: 10/93 till Present Features: Currently sold only in the Far East. 32-bit data bus. Mac LC Processor: M68020 16 Mhz System: 6.0.6-7.1 RAM: 2-10 MB, 120 ns, 4 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 512K Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, ADB, floppy, mono out, mono in, video Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: 1 LC PDS Video: 256K-512K VRAM Audio: 8-bit, 22 kHz, mono speaker, mono microphone Network: LocalTalk Size: 3.0 x 12.2 x 15.0 in, 8.8 lbs (8.1 x 31.0 x 38.2 cm, 4.0 kg) Sold: 10/90 till 12/92 Features: Can emulate an Apple IIe with the appropriate PDS card. LC II (Performa 400, 405, 430) Processor: M68030 16 Mhz System: 6.0.8L-7.1.1 RAM: 4-10 MB, 120 ns, 4 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 512K Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, ADB, mono out, mono in, video Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: 1 LC PDS Video: 512K VRAM Audio: 8-bit, 22 kHz, mono speaker, mono microphone Network: LocalTalk Size: 3.0 x 12.2 x 15.0 in, 8.8 lbs (8.1 x 31.0 x 38.2 cm, 4.0 kg) Sold: 3/92 till 10/93 Features: Can emulate an Apple IIe with the appropriate PDS card. LC III (Performa 450) Processor: M68030 25 Mhz System: 7.1, System Enabler 003 1.0 RAM: 4-32 MB, 80 ns, 1 72 pin SIMM slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, ADB, mono out, mono in, video Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: 1 LC PDS Video: 512K-768K VRAM Audio: 8-bit, 22 kHz, mono speaker Network: LocalTalk Size: 3.2 x 12.2 x 15.0 in, 8.8 lbs (8.1 x 31.0 x 38.2 cm, 4.0 kg) Sold: 2/93 till Present Features: Can emulate an Apple IIe with the appropriate PDS card. Mac LC 520 (Performa 550) Processor: M68030 25 Mhz System: 7.1, System Enabler 403 1.0.1 RAM: 5-36 MB, 80 ns, 1 72 pin SIMM slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, ADB, stereo out, mono in Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height, 1 5.25" half-height removable Slots: 1 LC PDS Video: Built-in 14" Trinitron monitor, 640 by 480 pixels, 69 dpi Audio: 8-bit, 22 kHz, mono microphone, Stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk Size: 17.9 x 13.5 x 16.5 in., 40.5 lbs (45.5 x 34.4 x 42.0 cm, 18.4 kg) Sold: 6/93 till present Features: CD-ROM, 32 bit data bus Mac LC 550 (Performa 460) Processor: M68030 33 Mhz System: 7.1, System Enabler ??? RAM: 5-36 MB, 80 ns, 1 72 pin SIMM slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, ADB, stereo out, mono in Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height, 1 5.25" half-height removable Slots: 1 LC PDS Video: Built-in 14" Trinitron monitor, 640 by 480 pixels, 69 dpi Audio: 8-bit, 22 kHz, mono microphone, Stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk Size: 17.9 x 13.5 x 16.5 in., 40.5 lbs (45.5 x 34.4 x 42.0 cm, 18.4 kg) Sold: 1/94 till present Features: CD-ROM, 32 bit data bus Mac LC 575 Processor: M68LC040 33 Mhz System: 7.1, System Enabler ??? RAM: 8-36 MB, 80 ns, 1 72 pin SIMM slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, ADB, stereo out, mono in Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height, 1 5.25" half-height removable Slots: 1 LC PDS Video: Built-in 14" Trinitron monitor, 640 by 480 pixels, 69 dpi Audio: 8-bit, 22 kHz, mono microphone, stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk Size: 17.9 x 13.5 x 16.5 in., 40.5 lbs (45.5 x 34.4 x 42.0 cm, 18.4 kg) Sold: 2/94 till Present Features: CD-ROM (optional on Performa 460), 32 bit data bus Centris 610 Processor: M680LC40 20 Mhz System: 7.1, System Enabler 040 1.1 RAM: 8-68 MB, 80 ns, 2 72 pin SIMM slots ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, ADB, stereo out, mono in Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height, 1 5.25" half-height removable Slots: 1 7" Nubus or Quadra PDS slot Video: 512K-1MB VRAM drives all Mac monitors plus some VGA, SVGA, NTSC, and PAL monitors Audio: 22 KHz, mono microphone, stereo speaker Network: Localtalk, optional Ethernet Size: 3.4 x 16.3 x 15.6 in, 14.0 lbs (8.5 x 41.5 x 39.7 cm, 6.4 kg) Sold: 2/93 till Present Features: FPU can be added by replacing the 680LC40 with a 68040 CPU. No heat sink is necessary for this upgrade. Centris 650 Processor: M68040 25 Mhz System: 7.1, System Enabler 040 1.1 RAM: 8-136 MB, 80 ns, 4 72 pin SIMM slots ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, 2 ADB, stereo out, mono in, AAUI-15 Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height, 1 5.25" half-height removable Slots: 3 Nubus, one Quadra PDS Video: 512K-1MB VRAM drives all Mac monitors plus some VGA, SVGA, NTSC, and PAL monitors Audio: Mono microphone, stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk, Ethernet Size: 6.0 x 13.0 x 16.5 in, 25 lb (15.2 x 33.0 x 41.9 cm, 11.3 kg) Sold: 2/93 till Features: Some models have only 4 megabytes of soldered RAM and no Ethernet. These can only be expanded to 132 megabytes. Centris 660av (aka Quadra 660av) Processor: M68040 33 Mhz, 55-MHz AT&T 3210 DSP System: 7.1, System Enabler 088 1.1 RAM: 8-68 MB, 70 ns, 2 72 pin SIMM slots ROM: 2 MB Ports: Geoport, 2 serial, SCSI, ADB, stereo out, stereo in Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height, 1 5.25" half-height removable Slots: 1 7" Nubus Video: 1MB-2MB VRAM drives all Mac monitors plus some VGA, SVGA, NTSC, and PAL monitors; 2 S-Video and two composite video ports, one each for input and output. Audio: 16 bit, 8-48 kHz, mono microphone, stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk, Ethernet Size: 3.4 x 16.3 x 15.6 in, 14.0 lbs (8.5 x 41.5 x 39.7 cm, 6.4 kg) Sold: 7/93 till Present Features: PlainTalk speech recognition, video capture, Quadra 605 (LC 475, Performa 475, Performa 476) Processor: M68LC040 25 Mhz System: 7.1, System Enabler 065 1.0 RAM: 4-36 MB, 80 ns, 1 72 pin SIMM slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 ADB, SCSI, 2 serial, stereo out, mono in Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: 1 LC III PDS Video: 512K-1MB VRAM drives all Mac monitors plus some VGA, SVGA, NTSC, and PAL monitors Audio: 8-bit, 11 or 22 kHz, stereo microphone, stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk Size: 3.2 x 12.2 x 15.0 in, 8.8 lbs (8.1 x 31.0 x 38.2 cm, 4.0 kg) Sold: 10/93 till Present Features: Quadra 610 Processor: M68040 25 Mhz (M680LC40 on 8/160 models sold in the U.S.) System: 7.1, System Enabler 040 1.1 RAM: 8-72 MB, 80 ns, 2 72 pin SIMM slots ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 ADB, SCSI, 2 serial, stereo out, mono in Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height, 1 5.25" half-height removable Slots: 1 7" Nubus or Quadra PDS slot Video: 512K-1 MB VRAM drives all Mac monitors plus some VGA, SVGA, NTSC, and PAL monitors Audio: 22 KHz, Mono microphone, stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk, optional Ethernet Size: 3.4 x 16.3 x 15.6 in, 14.0 lbs (8.5 x 41.5 x 39.7 cm, 6.4 kg) Sold: 10/28/93 till Present Features: Quadra 610 DOS compatible Processor: M68LC040 25 Mhz, 486SX 25 MHz System: 7.1, System Enabler 040 1.1 RAM: 8-72 MB, 80 ns, 2 72 pin SIMM slots ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 ADB, SCSI, 2 serial, stereo out, mono in Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height, 1 5.25" half-height removable Slots: 1 7" PDS slot filled with DOS compatibility card Video: 512K-1 MB VRAM drives all Mac monitors plus some VGA, SVGA, NTSC, and PAL monitors. Dual monitor support. Audio: 22 KHz, Mono microphone, stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk, optional Ethernet Size: 3.4 x 16.3 x 15.6 in, 14.0 lbs (8.5 x 41.5 x 39.7 cm, 6.4 kg) Sold: 10/28/93 till Present Features: MS-DOS 6.2 Quadra 650 Processor: M68040 33 Mhz System: 7.1, System Enabler 040 1.1 RAM: 8-136 MB, 80 ns, 4 72 pin SIMM slots ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 serial, SCSI, 2 ADB, headphone jack Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height, 1 5.25" half-height removable Slots: 3 Nubus, one Quadra PDS Video: 512K-1 MB VRAM drives all Mac monitors plus some VGA, SVGA, NTSC, and PAL monitors Audio: 22 khz, Mono microphone, stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk, Ethernet Size: 6.0 x 13.0 x 16.5 in, 25 lb (15.2 x 33.0 x 41.9 cm, 11.3 kg) Sold: 10/28/93 till present Features: Quadra 700 Processor: M68040 25 Mhz System: 7.1 RAM: 4-128 MB, 80 ns, 4 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 ADB, 2 serial, SCSI, video, stereo out, mono in, AAUI-15 Ethernet Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height Slots: 2 Nubus, 1 Quadra PDS Video: 512K-2 MB VRAM drives all Mac monitors plus some VGA, SVGA, NTSC Audio: Mono in, stereo out, microphone Network: LocalTalk, Ethernet Dimension: 5.5 x 11.9 x 14.4 in, 14.0 x 30.2 x 36.5 cm Weight: 13.7 lb., 6.2 kg Sold: 10/91 till Features: Quadra 800 Processor: M68040 33 Mhz System: 7.1 RAM: 8-132 MB, 60 ns, 4 72 pin SIMM slots ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 ADB, 2 serial, SCSI, video, stereo out, mono in, AAUI-15 Ethernet Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" full-height, 1 5.25" half-height removable Slots: 3 NuBus, 1 Quadra PDS Video: 512K-1 MB VRAM drives all Mac monitors plus some VGA, SVGA, NTSC Audio: Mono in, stereo out Network: LocalTalk, Ethernet Size: 14.25 x 8.9 x 16 in, 25.3 lbs (30.6 x 19.6 x 39.6 cm, 11.5 kg) Sold: 2/93 till present Features: Quadra 840av Processor: M68040 40 Mhz, AT&T 3210 66 MHz DSP System: 7.1 RAM: 8-128 MB, 60 ns, 4 72 pin SIMM slots ROM: 2 MB Ports: ADB, SCSI, 2 serial, Ethernet AAUI-15, stereo in, stereo out, GeoPort, 2 S-Video and two composite video ports, one each for input and output. Slots: 3 Nubus 90, 1 Quadra PDS Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" full-height, 1 5.25" half-height removable Video: Built-in support Expandable with an extra 1 MB VRAM to 24-bit color on 16" monitors, 16-bit color on larger monitors, NTSC out, PAL out Audio: 16 bit, 8-48 kHz, mono microphone, stereo speaker Network: Ethernet, LocalTalk Size: 14.25 x 8.9 x 16 in, 25.3 lb (30.6 x 19.6 39.6 cm, 11.5 kg) Sold: 7/93 till Present Features: DMA, async SCSI, PlainTalk, video capture Quadra 900 Processor: M68040 25 Mhz System: 7.1 RAM: 4-256 MB, 80 ns, 16 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 ADB, 2 serial, SCSI, video, stereo out, stereo in, AAUI-15 Ethernet Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 3 3.5" half-height bays Slots: 5 Nubus, 1 Quadra PDS Video: 1-2 MB VRAM drives all Mac monitors plus some VGA, SVGA, NTS Audio: Mono Microphone, stereo in, stereo out Network: LocalTalk, Ethernet Size: 18.6 x 8.9 x 20.6 in, 37 lbs (47.3 x 22.4 x 52.3 cm, 17 kg) Sold: 10/91 till 5/92 Quadra 950 Processor: M68040 33 Mhz System: 7.1 RAM: 8-256 MB, 80 ns, 16 30 pin SIMM slots ROM: 1 MB Ports: 2 ADB, 2 serial, SCSI, video, stereo out, stereo in, mono in, AAUI-15 Ethernet connector Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 3 3.5" half-height bays Slots: 5 Nubus, 1 Quadra PDS Video: 1-2 MB VRAM drives all Mac monitors plus some VGA, SVGA, NTS Audio: Mono Microphone, stereo in, stereo out Network: LocalTalk, Ethernet Size: 18.6 x 8.9 x 20.6 in, 37 lbs (47.3 x 22.4 x 52.3 cm, 17 kg) Sold: 5/92 till Present Features: Mac TV Processor: M68030 32 MHz System: 7.1, System Enabler 404 1.0 RAM: 5-8 MB, 80 ns, 1 72 pin SIMM slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: SCSI, 2 serial, 2 ADB, cable, video-in, stereo out, stereo in Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height, 1 5.25" half-height removable Slots: 1 PDS occupied by TV tuner Video: 14" Trinitron, 8-bit color Audio: 8-bit, 22kHz, stereo speakers Network: LocalTalk Size: 17.5 x 13.5 x 16.5 in., 41.5 lbs (44.5 x 34.4 x 42.0 cm, 18.9 kg) Sold: 10/93 till Present Features: cable-ready, 16-bit color TV, CD-ROM, single-frame video-capture, remote control, ClarisWorks, 7 CD's, keyboard PowerMac 6100/60 Processor: PPC 601 60 MHz System: 7.1.2 RAM: 8-72 MB, 80 ns, 2 72 pin SIMM slots ROM: 4 MB Ports: ADB, SCSI, 2 GeoPort, video, stereo in, stereo out, AAUI-15 Ethernet Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height, 1 5.25" half-height removable Slots: 1 7" Nubus or PDS slot Video: DRAM based, 32,768 colors on 14" monitors, 256 colors on 16" monitors Audio: 22 KHz, mono microphone, stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk, Ethernet Size: 3.4 x 16.3 x 15.6 in, 14.0 lbs (8.5 x 41.5 x 39.7 cm, 6.4 kg) Sold: 3/14/94 till Present Features: Optional AV configuration, optional VRAM card for the PDS slot PowerMac 7100/66 Processor: PPC 601 66 MHz System: 7.1.2 RAM: 8-136 MB, 80 ns, 4 72 pin SIMM slots ROM: 4 MB Ports: 2 ADB, SCSI, 2 GeoPort, 2 video, stereo in, stereo out, AAUI-15 Ethernet Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" half-height, 1 5.25" half-height removable Slots: 3 Nubus, one PDS (occupied by AV card or VRAM card) Video: 1-2 MB VRAM drives all Mac monitors plus some VGA, SVGA, NTSC, and PAL monitors. DRAM support for a second monitor, 32,768 colors on 14" monitors, 256 colors on 16" monitors Audio: 22 khz, Mono microphone, stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk, Ethernet Size: 6.0 x 13.0 x 16.5 in, 25 lb (15.2 x 33.0 x 41.9 cm, 11.3 kg) Sold: 3/14/94 till present Features: Optional AV configuration PowerMac 8100/80 Processor: PPC 601 80 MHz System: 7.1.2 RAM: 8-264 MB, 80 ns, 8 72 pin SIMM slots ROM: 4 MB Ports: ADB, 2 GeoPort, SCSI, 2 video, stereo in, stereo out, AAUI-15 Ethernet Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 3.5" full-height, 1 5.25" half-height removable Slots: 3 NuBus, 1 PDS (occupied by AV card or VRAM card) Video: 2-4 MB VRAM drives all Mac monitors plus some VGA, SVGA, NTSC and PAL monitors. DRAM support for a second monitor, 32,768 colors on 14" monitors, 256 colors on 16" monitors Audio: stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk, Ethernet Size: 14.25 x 8.9 x 16 in, 25.3 lbs (30.6 x 19.6 x 39.6 cm, 11.5 kg) Sold: 3/14/94 till present Features: Optional AV configuration, 256K L2 cache Macintosh Portable Processor: M68000 16 MHz System: 6.0.5-7.1.1 RAM: 1-5 MB, 100 ns, 1 memory slot ROM: 256K Ports: SCSI, floppy, stereo out Floppy: 1-2 SuperDrives Bays: 1 3.5 inch half-height Slots: None Video: built-in black and white 10" monitor, 640 by 400 resolution Audio: Stereo out Network: LocalTalk Sold: 9/89 till 10/91 Features: Portables sold after March, 1991 have backlit screens. Powerbook 100 Processor: M68000 16 MHz System: 6.0.8L-7.1.1 RAM: 2-8 MB, 100 ns, 1 TSOP memory slot ROM: 256K Ports: SCSI, serial, floppy, ADB, mono out Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: None Video: built-in black and white, passive matrix, 640 by 400 pixel screen Audio: 8-bit, 11 or 22 KHz, mono speaker Network: LocalTalk Size: 2.25 x 11.25 x 9.3 in., 6.8 lbs. (5.7 x 28.6 x 23.6 cm, 3.1 kg) Sold: 10/91 till Features: The hard disk can be attached to another Mac through the PowerBook's SCSI port. Powerbook 140 Processor: M68030 16 MHz System: 7.0.1-7.1.1 RAM: 4-8 MB, 100 ns, 1 TSOP memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: ADB, 2 serial, SCSI, mono in, stereo out Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: None Video: built-in 10", B/W, passive matrix, 640 by 400 pixel screen Audio: 8-bit, 11 or 22 KHz stereo speaker, mono microphone Network: LocalTalk Battery: NiCad, 2.5 Ah, 2 to 3 hours of usage, 3 hours recharge time Size: 2.25 x 11.25 x 9.3 in., 6.8 lbs. (5.7 x 28.6 x 23.6 cm, 3.1 kg) Sold: 10/91 till 6/93 Features: Powerbook 145 Processor: M68030 25 MHz System: 7.0.1-7.1 RAM: 4-8 MB, 100 ns, 1 TSOP memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: ADB, 2 serial, SCSI, mono in, stereo out Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: None Video: built-in 10", B/W, passive matrix, 640 by 400 pixel screen Audio: 8-bit, 11 or 22 KHz, mono speaker, mono microphone Network: LocalTalk Battery: NiCad, 2.5 Ah, 2 to 3 hours of usage, 3 hours recharge time Size: 2.25 x 11.25 x 9.3 in., 6.8 lbs. (5.7 x 28.6 x 23.6 cm, 3.1 kg) Sold: 8/92 till 6/93 Features: Powerbook 145b Processor: M68030 25 MHz System: 7.0.1-7.1 RAM: 4-8 MB, 100 ns, 1 TSOP memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: ADB, 2 serial, SCSI, audio in, audio out Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: 1 Modem slot Video: built-in 10", B/W, passive matrix, 640 by 400 pixel screen Audio: 8-bit, 11 or 22 KHz, mono speaker, mono microphone Network: LocalTalk Battery: NiCad, 2 to 3 hours of usage, 3 hours recharge time Size: 2.25 x 11.25 x 9.3 in., 6.8 lbs. (5.7 x 28.6 x 23.6 cm, 3.1 kg) Sold: 6/93 till Present Features: No system disks are included with this model. Powerbook 160 Processor: M68030 25 MHz System: 7.1, System Enabler 131 1.0.3 RAM: 4-14 MB, 85 ns, 1 TSOP memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: ADB, SCSI, 2 serial, mono in, stereo out, video Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: 1 Modem slot Video: built-in 10", 16 greys, passive matrix, 640 by 400 pixels Audio: 8-bit, 11 or 22 KHz, stereo speaker, mono microphone Network: LocalTalk Battery: NiCad, 2 to 3 hours of usage, 3 hours recharge time Size: 2.25 x 11.25 x 9.3 in., 6.8 lbs. (5.7 x 28.6 x 23.6 cm, 3.1 kg) Sold: 10/92 till 8/93 Features: Powerbook 165 Processor: M68030 33 MHz Sysytem: 7.1, System Enabler 131 1.0.3 RAM: 4-14 MB, 85 ns, 1 TSOP memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: ADB, SCSI, 2 serial, mono in, stereo out, video Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: 1 modem slot Video: built-in 640 by 400 pixel passive matrix screen, 16 grays; video out for up to 256 colors at 640 by 480 on an external display Audio: 8-bit, 11 or 22 KHz, mono speaker, mono microphone Network: LocalTalk Size: 2.25 x 11.25 x 9.3 in., 6.8 lbs. (5.7 x 28.6 x 23.6 cm, 3.1 kg) Sold: 8/93 till present Features: Powerbook 165c Processor: M68030 33 MHz, M68882 FPU Sysytem: 7.1, System Enabler 131 1.0.3 RAM: 4-14 MB, 85 ns, 1 TSOP memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: ADB, SCSI, 2 serial, mono in, stereo out, video Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: 1 modem slot Video: built-in 9", 256 color, passive matrix screen, 640 by 400 pixels; video out for up to 256 colors at 640 by 480 on an external display Audio: 8-bit, 11 or 22 KHz, stereo speaker, mono microphone Network: LocalTalk Battery: NiCad, 1.5 to 2 hours of usage, 3 hours recharge time Size: 2.29 x 11.25 x 9.3 in., 7.0 lbs. (5.7 x 28.6 x 23.6 cm, 3.2 kg) Sold: 2/93 till present Features: Powerbook 170 Processor: M68030 25 MHz, M68882 FPU Sysytem: 7.0.1-7.1 RAM: 2-8 MB, 100 ns, 1 TSOP memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: ADB, 2 serial, SCSI, stereo out Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: 1 modem slot Video: Black and White, active matrix Audio: 8-bit, 11 or 22 KHz, stereo speaker, mono microphone Network: LocalTalk Sold: 10/91 till present Features: Powerbook 180 Processor: M68030 33 MHz, M68882 FPU Sysytem: 7.1, System Enabler 131 1.0.3 RAM: 4-14 MB, 85 ns, 1 TSOP memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: ADB, 2 serial, SCSI, mono in, stereo out, video-out Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: 1 Modem slot Video: built-in 10" active-matrix, 16 greys, 640 by 400 pixels, 77 dpi; video out for up to 256 colors at 640 by 480 on an external display Audio: 8-bit, 11 or 22 KHz, mono microphone, mono speaker Network: LocalTalk Battery: NiCad, 2.5 to 3 hours of usage, 3 hours recharge time Size: 2.25 x 11.25 x 9.3 in., 6.8 lbs. (5.7 x 28.6 x 23.6 cm, 3.1 kg) Sold: 10/19/92 till present Features: Powerbook 180c Processor: M68030 33 MHz, M68882 FPU Sysytem: 7.1, System Enabler 131 1.0.3 RAM: 4-14 MB, 85 ns, 1 TSOP memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: ADB, 2 serial, SCSI, mono in, stereo out, video-out Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: 1 modem slot Video: built-in 10" active-matrix, 256 colors, 640 by 400 pixels, 77 dpi; video out for up to 256 colors at 640 by 480 on an external display Audio: 8-bit, 11 or 22 KHz, mono microphone, mono speaker Network: LocalTalk Battery: Nickel-cadmium, 1 to 2 hours of usage Size: 2.25 x 11.25 x 9.3 in., 6.8 lbs. (5.7 x 28.6 x 23.6 cm, 3.1 kg) Sold: 6/93 till present Features: Powerbook 520 Processor: M68LC040 25 MHz System: 7.1.2, PowerBook 500 Series Enabler 1.0.2 RAM: 4-36 MB, 85 ns, 1 TSOP memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: ADB, serial, SCSI, stereo in, stereo out, video-out, AAUI Ethernet Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: modem slot, 68040 PDS slot, optional Type II/III PCMCIA adaptor Video: built-in 9.5" passive-matrix, 16 grays, 640 by 480 pixels, 84 dpi; video out for up to 256 colors at 832 by 624 on an external display Audio: 16-bit, 44 KHz, mono microphone, stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk Battery: one or two nickel-metal-hydride, 2 to 3 hours usage per battery Size: 2.25 x 11.5 x 9.65 in., 6.8 lbs. (5.7 x 28.6 x 23.6 cm, 3.1 kg) Sold: 5/16/94 till present Features: Trackpad Powerbook 520c Processor: M68LC040 25 MHz System: 7.1.2, PowerBook 500 Series Enabler 1.0.2 RAM: 4-36 MB, 85 ns, 1 TSOP memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: ADB, serial, SCSI, stereo in, stereo out, video-out, AAUI Ethernet Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: modem slot, 68040 PDS slot, optional Type II/III PCMCIA adaptor Video: built-in 9.5" passive-matrix, 256 colors, 640 by 480 pixels, 84 dpi; video out for up to 256 colors at 832 by 624 on an external display Audio: 16-bit, 44 KHz, mono microphone, stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk Battery: one or two nickel-metal-hydride, 2 to 3 hours usage per battery Size: 11.5 x 9.65 x 2.25 inches, 6.8 lbs. Sold: 5/16/94 till present Features: Trackpad Powerbook 540 Processor: M68LC040 33 MHz System: 7.1.2, PowerBook 500 Series Enabler 1.0.2 RAM: 4-36 MB, 85 ns, 1 TSOP memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: ADB, serial, SCSI, mono in, stereo out, video-out, AAUI Ethernet Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: modem slot, 68040 PDS slot, optional Type II/III PCMCIA adaptor Video: built-in 9.5" active-matrix, 64 grays, 640 by 480 pixels, 84 dpi; video out for up to 256 colors at 832 by 624 on an external display Audio: 16-bit, 44 KHz, mono microphone, stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk Battery: one or two nickel-metal-hydride, 2 to 3 hours usage per battery Size: 2.25 x 11.5 x 9.65 in. in., 6.8 lbs. (5.7 x 28.6 x 23.6 cm, 3.1 kg) Sold: 5/16/94 till present Features: Trackpad Powerbook 540c Processor: M68LC040 33 MHz System: 7.1.2, PowerBook 500 Series Enabler 1.0.2 RAM: 4-36 MB, 85 ns, 1 TSOP memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: ADB, serial, SCSI, stereo in, stereo out, video-out, AAUI Ethernet Floppy: SuperDrive Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: modem slot, 68040 PDS slot, optional Type II/III PCMCIA adaptor Video: built-in 9.5" active-matrix, 256 colors at 640 by 480 pixels, 32768 colors at 640 by 400 pixels, 84 dpi; video out for up to 256 colors at 832 by 624 on an external display Audio: 16-bit, 44 KHz, mono microphone, stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk Battery: one or two nickel-metal-hydride, 2 to 3 hours usage per battery Size: 2.25 x 11.5 x 9.65 in. in., 6.8 lbs. (5.7 x 28.6 x 23.6 cm, 3.1 kg) Sold: 5/16/94 till present Features: Trackpad Duo 210 Processor: M68030 33 MHz System: 7.1, PowerBook Duo Enabler 1.0 RAM: 4-24 MB, 85 ns, 1 memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: Serial Port, 152 pin PDS (for docking station) Floppy: None Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: 1 modem slot Video: built-in 9" passive-matrix 16 greys screen, 640 by 400 pixels, 85 dpi Audio: 8-bit, 11 or 22 KHz, mono microphone, mono speaker Network: LocalTalk Battery: Nickel hydride, 2 to 4 hours of usage Size: 8.5 x 10.9 x 1.4 in., 4.2 lbs. (21.6 x 27.7 x 3.6 cm, 1.9 kg) Sold: 10/92 till present Features: External floppy drives and docking stations sold separately. Duo 230 Processor: M68030 33 MHz System: 7.1, PowerBook Duo Enabler 1.0 RAM: 4-24 MB, 85 ns, 1 memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: Serial Port, 152 pin PDS (for docking station) Floppy: None Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: 1 modem slot Video: built-in 9" passive-matrix screen, 16 greys, 640 by 400 pixels, 85 dpi Audio: 8-bit, 11 or 22 KHz, mono microphone, mono speaker Network: LocalTalk Size: 8.5 x 10.9 x 1.4 in., 4.2 lbs. (21.6 x 27.7 x 3.6 cm, 1.9 kg) Sold: 10/92 till present Features: External floppy drives and docking stations sold separately. Duo 250 Processor: M68030 33 MHz System: 7.1, PowerBook Duo Enabler 1.0 RAM: 4-24 MB, 85 ns, 1 memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: Serial Port, 152 pin PDS (for docking station) Floppy: None Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: 1 modem slot Video: built-in 9" active-matrix 640 by 400 pixels, 85 dpi Audio: 8-bit, 11 or 22 KHz, mono microphone, mono speaker Network: LocalTalk Battery: Type II nickel metal hydride battery. Size: 1.5 x 10.9 x 8.5 in., 4.2 lbs. (3.8 x 27.7 x 21.6 cm, 2.2 kg) Sold: 10/93 till present Features: External floppy drive and docking stations sold separately. Duo 270c Processor: M68030 33 MHz, M68882 FPU System: 7.1, PowerBook Duo Enabler 1.0 RAM: 4-32 MB, 85 ns, 1 memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: Serial Port, 152 pin PDS (for docking station) Floppy: None Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: 1 modem slot Video: built-in 8.4 inch, 93 dpi, active matrix screen; 256 colors at 640 by 480 pixels, 32768 colors at 640 by 400 pixels Audio: 8-bit, 11 or 22 KHz, mono microphone, mono speaker Network: LocalTalk Battery: Type II nickel metal hydride battery, 2 to 4 hours usage Size: 1.5 x 10.9 x 8.5 in., 4.2 lbs. (3.8 x 27.7 x 21.6 cm, 2.2 kg) Sold: 10/93 till present Features: External floppy drive and docking stations sold separately. Duo 280 Processor: M68LC040 25 MHz System: 7.1.2, PowerBook Duo Enabler 2.0 RAM: 4-40 MB, 85 ns, 1 memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: Serial Port, 152 pin PDS (for docking station) Floppy: None Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: 1 modem slot Video: built-in 9" passive-matrix 64 greys screen, 640 by 400 pixels, 84 dpi Audio: 16-bit, 44 KHz, mono microphone, stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk Battery: Nickel hydride, 2 to 4 hours of usage Size: 8.5 x 10.9 x 1.4 in., 4.2 lbs. (21.6 x 27.7 x 3.6 cm, 1.9 kg) Sold: 10/92 till present Features: External floppy drives and docking stations sold separately. Duo 280c Processor: M68LC040 25 MHz System: 7.1.2, PowerBook Duo Enabler 2.0 RAM: 4-40 MB, 85 ns, 1 memory slot ROM: 1 MB Ports: Serial Port, 152 pin PDS (for docking station) Floppy: None Bays: 1 2.5" third-height Slots: 1 modem slot Video: built-in 9" passive-matrix 256 colors at 640 by 480 pixels, 32768 colors at 640 by 400 pixels, 84 dpi Audio: 16-bit, 44 KHz, mono microphone, stereo speaker Network: LocalTalk Battery: Type III Nickel-metal-hydride, 2 to 4 hours of usage Size: 8.5 x 10.9 x 1.4 in., 4.8 lbs. (21.6 x 27.7 x 3.6 cm, 1.9 kg) Sold: 10/92 till present Features: External floppy drives and docking stations sold separately. -- Elliotte Rusty Harold Department of Mathematics elharo@shock.njit.edu New Jersey Institute of Technology emh0362@hertz.njit.edu Newark NJ 07103 ..