Apple Macintosh Classic II vs Apple Macintosh LC 580
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleMacintosh Classic II | AppleMacintosh LC 580 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | 1991 | 1995 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | 68030 16 MHz (Macintosh Classic II) | Motorola 68LC040 33 MHz (Macintosh LC 575) |
| CPU cores | 1 | 1 |
| Memory | 2 MB or 4 MB | 8 MB (better) |
| Storage | 40 MB to 80 MB | 500 MB (better) |
| CPU | 16 MHz 68030 with 16-bit data path, integrated PMMU and 0.5K L1 cache; no supplied FPU, L2 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 | – | Built-in video uses 1 MB DRAM soldered to the logic board, displaying 32,768 colours at 640 × 480 |
| Memory type | 2 MB onboard, expandable to 10 MB using two paired 30-pin SIMMs, 100 ns minimum; 1, 2 or 4 MB modules. 512K ROM | 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 | Apple Australia October 1991 brochure offers 2 MB RAM with 40 MB SCSI hard disk or 4 MB with 80 MB; 1.44 MB removable SuperDrive floppy in both. Original capacity units retained | 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 | No general-purpose expansion slot; original brochure describes internal maths-coprocessor connector | 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 | 9″ | 14″ |
| Resolution | 512 × 342 | 640 × 480 (better) |
| Panel | CRT | CRT |
| Refresh rate | – | 66.67 Hz |
| Display type | Built-in 9-inch monochrome CRT, 512 × 342 pixels; original Australia brochure corroborates explicit support-sheet correction to its generic 512 × 384 table | 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 | – | 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 | Headphone jack | Headphone jack |
| Front ports | – | Stereo headphone socket; front brightness and contrast controls |
| Back ports | One ADB, DB-19 external floppy, DB-25 SCSI, two serial ports, sound input and sound output; no built-in Ethernet or external video connector | 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 | – | 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 | – | Two integrated speakers; 8-bit stereo playback and mono recording at 11 or 22 kHz. Optional CD-ROM supports audio-CD playback |
| Microphones | – | Integrated microphone for monaural sound input |
| Keyboard and mouse | Keyboard and built-in monitor included in Apple Australia configurations | 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 | All-in-one | All-in-one |
| Weight | – | 18.3 kg |
| Width × depth × height | – | 343 × 419 × 455 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | Maker 16 lb; 13.2 in height × 9.7 in width × 11.2 in depth, retained in original units | 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 | Maximum 76 W, 120 V, 47–63 Hz and 0.63 A; 3.6 V lithium clock battery | Automatically configured 100–240 V AC mains; service supply operating range 90–264 V rms, 50–60 Hz ±3 Hz |
| 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 | Original system software 7.0.1. Maker introduction 21 October 1991 is not treated as exact first sale; earliest actual-sale month unresolved in bounded search, released year only. Performa 200 was a later retail packaging name, not a separately added configuration here | 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 |
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