Apple Apple IIgs (1986) vs Apple Macintosh II

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Apple IIgs (1986) compared with Macintosh II

	AppleApple IIgs (1986)	AppleMacintosh II
Overview
Released
Released	1986	May 1987
Performance
Processor
Processor	65C816 2.8 MHz (Apple IIgs)	68020 16 MHz (Macintosh II)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1
Memory
Memory	256 KB or 512 KB	1 MB (better)
Storage
Storage	–	40 MB
CPU
CPU	65C816 at 2.8 MHz or 1.0 MHz, selectable by software or the user; 16-bit registers, an 8-bit data bus and a 24-bit address bus. This record covers the original 256 KB motherboard, not the later 1989 1MB/ROM 3 hardware.	Nominal 16 MHz 68020 with 68881 floating-point coprocessor and optional 68851 paged memory management unit; 0.25 KB L1 cache, no L2 cache or second processor
GPU
GPU	Apple Video Graphics Controller; 320 × 200 with 16 colours per line, or 640 × 200 with four or more colours per line, selected from a 4,096-colour palette. Also supports earlier Apple II graphics and 40- or 80-column text.	No integrated video output; one NuBus video card is needed for a display. Apple offered colour or monochrome cards and monitors separately
Memory type
Memory type	256 KB of main RAM and 128 KB ROM on the original motherboard. The 512 KB configuration uses an additional 256 KB memory card, as supplied in Apple’s August 1988 bundle; it is not the later 1MB motherboard. Apple’s later original-model support specifications list expansion to 8 MB with suitable cards; older technical procedures describe earlier expansion limits.	Eight 30-pin SIMM slots in banks of four, 120 ns or faster; Apple lists 1–20 MB across revisions, using 256 KB, 1 MB or 4 MB modules. A 4 MB module cannot go in Bank A without the SuperDrive upgrade; 256 KB ROM
Storage type
Storage type	No internal fixed storage. External Apple 3.5 Drive stores 800 KB per disk; Apple 5.25 Drive stores 143 KB per disk. Drives and disks are separate from the bare system unit.	One or two 800 KB floppy drives; Apple lists 40–80 MB internal SCSI hard drives. The two configurations represent the independently documented 1 MB floppy-only and 1 MB/40 MB factory systems; no RAM and 80 MB drive pairing inferred
Expansion slots
Expansion slots	Seven general-purpose internal slots and one dedicated memory-expansion slot. Slots share functions with built-in ports; the Control Panel selects the required slot or built-in interface.	Six 32-bit NuBus slots, one occupied when a display video card is installed
Display
Screen
Screen	None built in	None built in
Connections
Ports
Ports	Headphone jack	Headphone jack
Back ports
Back ports	Two 8-pin mini-DIN serial ports with AppleTalk support, DB-19 disk-drive port, DB-15 analogue RGB video, RCA composite video, 4-pin Apple Desktop Bus, DB-9 game port and 3.5 mm headphone output. Internal 7-pin sound-expansion connector; no built-in Ethernet, USB or Wi-Fi.	Two Apple Desktop Bus ports, DB-25 SCSI, printer and modem serial ports and stereo sound output; no built-in Ethernet or video socket
External displays
External displays	Separate Apple RGB display or compatible composite monitor. Display resolution and colour limits depend on the selected graphics mode; no screen is built into the system unit.	Requires a separately purchased NuBus video card; supported resolution and colour depth depend on that card, so no fixed display capability is asserted
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in mono speaker. Ensoniq synthesiser has 32 oscillators, 64 KB dedicated sound RAM and up to 15 simultaneous musical voices. BYTE found that the standard headphone connector also outputs mono; stereo requires additional hardware.	Built-in speaker and stereo 8-bit sound output
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Separate Apple Desktop Bus keyboard and mouse; the 1988 maker bundle includes these with the main unit. External monitor and disk drives are not part of the bare main-unit measurements.	–
Design and power
Type
Type	Compact	Compact
Weight
Weight	3.96 kg (better)	10.9 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	284 × 348 × 117 mm	475 × 366 × 140 mm
Operating system
Operating system	ProDOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	Apple’s discontinued-model specifications give the main system unit as 284 mm wide × 348 mm deep × 117 mm high and 3.96 kg, excluding monitor, keyboard, mouse and external drives.	Apple's reference dimensions are 5.5 × 18.7 × 14.4 inches and 24 lb; metric fields are rounded conversions
Power supply
Power supply	Published US supply: 107–132 V AC, 50–60 Hz. Typical 11 W and maximum 60 W electrical consumption; these figures do not establish the voltage of a UK-market supply.	Maximum 230 W; 90–270 V AC, 48–62 Hz, 1.9 A; soft power and monitor power pass-through
In the box
In the box	The original 1986 System Disk uses ProDOS 16 for 16-bit applications and ProDOS 8 for earlier 8-bit programs. Apple’s August 1988 bundle adds a 256 KB memory card and System Software 4.0 with GS/OS; that later bundle is not the original shipped software. DOS 3.3 and Pascal compatibility are documented; CP/M requires an appropriate coprocessor card. Contemporary October 1986 retail reporting establishes sale in 1986; the first on-sale month is unresolved.	Original System Software 2.0. Apple introduced the Macintosh II on 2 March 1987; contemporary reporting expected May shipments, and Wikipedia cites an 8 May Wall Street Journal report of their start