Apple Macintosh 512Ke vs Apple Macintosh SE FDHD

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Macintosh 512Ke compared with Macintosh SE FDHD

	AppleMacintosh 512Ke	AppleMacintosh SE FDHD
Overview
Released
Released	–	1989
Performance
Processor
Processor	68000 8 MHz (Macintosh 512Ke)	68000 8 MHz (Macintosh SE)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1
Memory
Memory	512 KB	1 MB or 2 MB (better)
Storage
Storage	–	20 MB to 40 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.	MC68000 with 32-bit internal architecture at 7.83 MHz in the original exact FDHD brochure and service manual. Current Apple support rounds the clock to 8 MHz and specifies a 16-bit data path; the existing nominal 8 MHz SE chip record is reused. No FPU, PMMU, L1 or L2 cache, or second processor.
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.	Exact ordering configurations have 1 MB for dual-FDHD and 20 MB hard-disk systems, or 2 MB for the 40 MB hard-disk system; expandable to 4 MB. Four 30-pin SIMM sockets, 150 ns or faster, using 256 KB or 1 MB modules installed in pairs; two-chip 1 MB SIMMs are unsupported. No soldered system RAM. 256 KB ROM includes the FDHD drive routines, Hierarchical File System, QuickDraw, Macintosh Toolbox, AppleTalk, ADB and SCSI support. 256 bytes of parameter memory.
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.	Original August 1989 maker brochure explicitly offers M0029LL/A with 1 MB RAM and two 1.4 MB FDHD floppy drives; M0028LL/A with 1 MB, one FDHD drive and 20 MB internal SCSI hard disk; M0031LL/A with 2 MB, one FDHD drive and 40 MB internal SCSI hard disk. Current support calls the FDHD capacity 1.44 MB. Drive reads and writes 400 KB and 800 KB Macintosh disks as well as high-density Macintosh disks, and exchanges MS-DOS, OS/2 and ProDOS-format disks with Apple File Exchange. Capacities are retained in their original units; fixed-storage headline is omitted for the floppy-only configuration. No CD-ROM included.
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 SE-Bus processor-direct expansion slot with a 96-pin Euro-DIN connector and accessory access opening. Original exact brochure explicitly says SE/30 and NuBus cards are incompatible with this slot. Compatible optional accelerator, network, coprocessor and external-display adapter cards require their own software and hardware.
Display
Screen size
Screen size	9″	9″
Resolution
Resolution	512 × 342	512 × 342
Panel
Panel	CRT	CRT
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 9-inch, one-bit monochrome CRT at 512 × 342. Exact brochure, service manual and current support's explicit note agree; the generic current support table's 512 × 384 row is not adopted. No refresh rate is published in the sources read.
Connections
Ports
Ports	Headphone jack	Headphone jack
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.	Two ADB ports; printer and modem RS-232/RS-422 serial ports with mini-DIN-8 connectors and up to 230.4 Kbaud in the original brochure; external DB-25 SCSI; DB-19 external floppy connector; sound output for an external amplifier or speaker. AppleTalk/LocalTalk networking uses the serial ports. No built-in Ethernet, USB, FireWire, microphone input or computer-monitor video connector.
External displays
External displays	–	No built-in external-video output. An optional compatible SE-Bus external-display adapter is required; its display modes and limits are not assigned to the standard machine.
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.	Built-in sound with a four-voice generator, 8-bit digital-to-analogue conversion and 22 kHz sampling rate. One miniature sound-output port for an external amplifier; no stereo or measured loudness claim assigned.
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.	Exact ordering brochure supplies the mouse, system software, HyperCard, Guided Tour disk, owner's guide, Getting Started guide and warranty statement. Apple Keyboard or Apple Extended Keyboard is packaged and sold separately, not assumed included. The primary is the original FDHD-labelled maker brochure photograph of the single-floppy/hard-disk housing.
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	7.5 kg	–
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	246 × 276 × 346 mm	244 × 276 × 345 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.	Exact original FDHD brochure and shared service manual give 34.5 × 24.4 × 27.6 cm (height × width × depth), also printed as 13.6 × 9.6 × 10.9 inches. Current exact support instead prints a 9.69-inch width; original maker metric values are used without converting the differently rounded inch values. Weight is 7.7–9.5 kg / 17–21 lb depending on fitted hard disk or second floppy drive; no one configuration-specific weight is established, so headline mass remains omitted.
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.	Exact original brochure and shared service specify 100 W maximum, regional 90–140 or 170–270 V AC, 47–63 Hz. Current support summarises 90–270 V and 0.83 A. Maximum input is not typical operating consumption. Brochure describes a CMOS clock/calendar with a seven-year lithium battery; no guessed battery chemistry capacity is added.
Noise
Noise	–	Original exact brochure rates the cross-flow fan at 10 CFM and 38 dB without acoustic distance or weighting; this is not a measured whole-computer noise figure.
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.	System Tools 6.0.3 or later with Finder 6.1 or later, printer drivers, Apple File Exchange, HD SC Setup, Disk First Aid and Font D/A Mover; HyperCard included. Exact August 1989 current ordering brochure establishes sale in 1989, without proving first-sale month or day; Apple's introduction date is 1 August 1989. This is the FDHD hardware revision, distinct from the published original 1987 SE with 800 KB drives. Linked 1988 SE owner's guide covers the earlier 800 KB edition and must be read with the separately linked FDHD supplement; it is not specification evidence for this revision's drive capacity. No unsupported official predecessor link assigned.