Apple Macintosh 512Ke vs Apple Macintosh LC 580

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Macintosh 512Ke compared with Macintosh LC 580

	AppleMacintosh 512Ke	AppleMacintosh LC 580
Overview
Released
Released	–	1995
Performance
Processor
Processor	68000 8 MHz (Macintosh 512Ke)	Motorola 68LC040 33 MHz (Macintosh LC 575)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1
Memory
Memory	512 KB	8 MB (better)
Storage
Storage	–	500 MB
CPU
CPU	Motorola MC68000, nominally 8 MHz with the exact 7.8336 MHz clock frequency published in the original owner guide and technical library; 32-bit internal architecture and 16-bit external data path. No PMMU, FPU, CPU cache or second processor.	Original Motorola 68LC040 at 33 MHz, without an integrated floating-point unit. Apple catalogue gives 66/33 MHz internal/bus clock; optional PowerPC upgrade is excluded from this configuration. Shared Service Source describes it as an updated LC 575
GPU
GPU	–	Built-in video uses 1 MB DRAM soldered to the logic board, displaying 32,768 colours at 640 × 480
Memory type
Memory type	Fixed 512 KB RAM and 128 KB ROM; no RAM slots or built-in memory expansion. The enhanced model has the larger ROM and double-sided floppy drive, without the Macintosh Plus’s expandable memory or SCSI connector.	8 MB standard in the maker catalogue: 4 MB soldered plus one 4 MB SIMM, with a second socket free. Two 72-pin 80 ns SIMM sockets, expandable to 52 MB; the single-bank socket accepts only 1, 4 or 16 MB modules. 1 MB ROM in original service specifications
Storage type
Storage type	One internal 800 KB double-sided 3.5-inch floppy drive, with optional external 400 KB or 800 KB drive. No fixed internal storage or internal CD-ROM. Apple Hard Disk 20 is an optional external device attached through the disk interface, not an internal or SCSI drive.	500 MB internal IDE hard disk in the catalogue configuration, plus manual-inject Apple SuperDrive floppy. Double-speed tray-loading internal CD-ROM is optional or included in some regional configurations; the separately marketed Performa 580CD has its own software and hardware bundle
Expansion slots
Expansion slots	None; no standard internal memory expansion. A separately included programmer’s switch can be fitted for reset and interrupt functions by application developers.	One 114-pin LC processor-direct slot, one communications slot for optional Ethernet or fax modem, one video-input slot for optional capture hardware and an internal connector for optional external video
Display
Screen size
Screen size	9″	14″
Resolution
Resolution	512 × 342	640 × 480 (better)
Panel
Panel	CRT	CRT
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	–	66.67 Hz
Display type
Display type	Built-in 9-inch monochrome bit-mapped CRT, 512 × 342 pixels. Original owner guide and technical-library sheet agree; the current Apple table’s generic 512 × 384 entry is expressly corrected by its own screen-size note. Native refresh rate unpublished in these exact sources.	Built-in 14-inch diagonal shadow-mask colour CRT, 0.28 mm dot pitch. The exact service manual calls the viewable image 11.5 inches and gives a nominal 240 × 180 mm active raster; these maker descriptions are retained separately
Display features
Display features	–	640 × 480 at 66.67 Hz in the exact timing table (66.7 Hz rounded elsewhere in the same manual); 16-bit colour
Connections
Ports
Ports	Headphone jack	Headphone jack
Front ports
Front ports	–	Stereo headphone socket; front brightness and contrast controls
Back ports
Back ports	DB-9 mouse connector, RJ11 synchronous serial keyboard bus, two DB-9 RS-232/RS-422 serial connectors, external floppy DB-19 and sound output for amplifier/headphones. No ADB, USB, FireWire, Ethernet, external video or SCSI connector. Current Apple support warns that the serial ports do not support handshaking or synchronous modems.	One ADB port; one DB-25 SCSI port supporting six external devices; two RS-232/RS-422 serial ports, with 9-pin mini-DIN modem and 8-pin mini-DIN printer connectors; mono sound input and stereo sound output
External displays
External displays	–	Optional external video connector supports mirroring on compatible 640 × 480 and 800 × 600 monitors, as listed in the shared service manual; no external video socket as standard
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in sound system; original maker guide specifies four-voice sound with 8-bit digital-to-analogue conversion at 22 kHz. No built-in microphone.	Two integrated speakers; 8-bit stereo playback and mono recording at 11 or 22 kHz. Optional CD-ROM supports audio-CD playback
Microphones
Microphones	–	Integrated microphone for monaural sound input
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Original guide describes a separate 58-key detachable keyboard, mouse, System Tools disk, Guided Tour disk and audio cassette, plus a programmer’s switch. Maker cover shows an extended keyboard with numeric keypad; gallery photos can include optional external drives, keyboards, printers and other separately supplied equipment. These are labelled rather than treated as standard computer hardware.	Supports Apple Desktop Bus keyboards and the ADB Mouse II. Maker photograph shows a keyboard and mouse; regional education bundles vary
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	7.5 kg (better)	18.3 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	246 × 276 × 346 mm	343 × 419 × 455 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	Main figures use later exact Apple technical-library metric values: 346 mm high × 246 mm wide × 276 mm deep and 7.5 kg main-unit weight. Original 1986 owner guide instead gives 344 mm height; current support retains 13.6H × 9.6W × 10.9D inches. These small maker rounding differences are retained explicitly. Keyboard and mouse excluded; original guide separately lists 1.2 kg keyboard and 0.2 kg mouse.	Apple catalogue: 455 × 343 × 419 mm (height × width × depth), 18.3 kg, varying with installed devices. Service Source rounds the same 17.9 × 13.5 × 16.5 inch case to 455 × 344 × 420 mm and 18.4 kg; headline follows the catalogue’s published metric values
Power supply
Power supply	Exact technical-library sheet specifies 105–125 V AC, 50–60 Hz and maximum 60 W for this documented voltage version; no universal-voltage claim. User-replaceable 4.5 V Eveready No. 523 or equivalent clock battery.	Automatically configured 100–240 V AC mains; service supply operating range 90–264 V rms, 50–60 Hz ±3 Hz
Power use
Power use	–	Service Source: 120 W maximum for all line and load conditions. Current support article describes a PowerPC-upgraded configuration and lists 60 W, so that figure is not transferred to the original model
In the box
In the box	Exact original guide is titled Macintosh 512K enhanced, the long name of Macintosh 512Ke. Current maker support lists introduction 14 April 1986 and discontinuation 1 September 1987; a distinct first retail-sale date has not been established, so released is omitted. The guide names Macintosh 512K enhanced System Tools; the current support table’s retrospective original-system-software entry is not adopted as a verified launch disk version. Photographs are original maker owner-guide images of this exact model, with scan colour casts and period screen contents retained.	Original 68LC040 model is offered in Apple’s April and October 1995 catalogues; the latter identifies US education-only sales and varying worldwide configurations. Current Apple support article describes an installed PowerPC 601 upgrade card. It records introduction on 3 April 1995, while contemporary Macworld says education shipping was planned for that day; exact actual first retail delivery is unconfirmed, so release retains supported year precision