Apple Macintosh Color Classic II vs Apple Macintosh LC 580
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleMacintosh Color Classic II | AppleMacintosh LC 580 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | – | 1995 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | 68030 33 MHz (Macintosh Color Classic II) | Motorola 68LC040 33 MHz (Macintosh LC 575) |
| CPU cores | 1 | 1 |
| Memory | 8 MB | 8 MB |
| Storage | 160 MB | 500 MB (better) |
| CPU | 33 MHz Motorola 68030 with integrated PMMU, 32-bit data path at 33 MHz and 0.5K L1 cache; no L2 cache. Optional Motorola 68882 maths coprocessor, not supplied as standard. Exact current Apple specifications override the archived Service Source table, which incorrectly retains a 16-bit bus and 16-bit registers from the original Color Classic. | 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 | 4 MB soldered memory, one 72-pin SIMM slot and 36 MB maximum; minimum 80 ns, supported module capacities 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 MB. 1 MB ROM. Exact current maker table overrides the shared service manual’s conflicting two 30-pin SIMMs and 10 MB limit. | 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’s exact Japanese Performa 275 bundle has 8 MB RAM and a 160 MB SCSI hard drive, retained in configurations. Color Classic II support lists 80–160 MB internal disks but does not establish each factory RAM/disk pairing; no guessed combinations added. Internal 1.44 MB SuperDrive floppy, optional external CD-ROM. 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 | One LC-compatible processor-direct slot; optional Ethernet expansion card and optional 68882 coprocessor. User-removable logic board. No standard Ethernet adapter. | 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 | 10″ | 14″ |
| Resolution | 512 × 384 | 640 × 480 (better) |
| Panel | CRT | CRT |
| Refresh rate | – | 66.67 Hz |
| Display type | Built-in 10-inch colour CRT tube with 512 × 384 Macintosh resolution. Exact current maker support does not identify a separate viewable diagonal or refresh rate; the archived service manual conflicts over display size, so neither a viewable-area measurement nor refresh rate is inferred. | 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 | 256K built-in VRAM supplies 256 colours; optional additional 256K VRAM supports 32,768 colours. The Japanese Performa 275 specification confirms both modes. | 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 | Two ADB ports, DB-25 SCSI, printer and modem serial connections, and audio connections; no external video or floppy connector, USB or FireWire. Ethernet is optional through expansion. | 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 | Built-in speaker and omnidirectional microphone. Exact Japanese Performa 275 table calls the internal speaker system stereo; the archived service manual describes monophonic audio. This unresolved wording is retained without asserting stereo playback for every regional configuration. | 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 | Archived shared Service Source lists a keyboard, ADB Mouse II, ADB and power cables. The exact Japanese Performa 275 bundle includes an Apple Keyboard II and bundled Japanese At Ease, ClarisWorks, HyperCard Lite and Photo CD Sampler software; regional software and keyboards can differ. | 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 | Exact current Apple support publishes 14.5 inches high × 9.9 inches wide × 12.6 inches deep and 22.5 lb weight. The archived shared manual instead provides differently rounded metric dimensions and a 22.5–23.2 lb configuration range; those values are not silently substituted for the exact current figures. | 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 100 W; automatic 90–240 V AC, 47–63 Hz. Apple lists 0.83 A and a 3.6 V lithium clock battery. Keyboard soft-power control. | 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 Japanese system software 7.1 with System Enabler 403; Apple lists support through Mac OS 7.6.1. Current maker support gives 21 October 1993 as introduction, which does not establish first retail sale; released omitted. Apple states this system was not sold in the US. Performa 275 is a Japanese consumer bundle of this hardware, not a separate generation. The main image and additional views are original maker service illustrations, not press photographs; exact-model photographic coverage remains unresolved. | 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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