Apple Macintosh IIsi vs Apple Macintosh LC 580

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Macintosh IIsi compared with Macintosh LC 580
AppleMacintosh IIsiAppleMacintosh LC 580
Overview
ReleasedOctober 19901995
Performance
Processor68030 20 MHz (Macintosh IIsi)Motorola 68LC040 33 MHz (Macintosh LC 575)
CPU cores11
Memory1 MB8 MB (better)
Storage–500 MB
CPU20 MHz Motorola 68030 with integrated memory management and 0.5 KB L1 cache; 68882 floating-point coprocessor optional through an expansion adapterOriginal 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
GPUBuilt-in 8-bit colour video supports 512 × 384 and 640 × 480 using 64–320 KB of system RAMBuilt-in video uses 1 MB DRAM soldered to the logic board, displaying 32,768 colours at 640 × 480
Memory type1 MB soldered to the logic board plus four 30-pin SIMM slots in one matched bank; 100 ns memory and 1–17 MB total supported by Apple; 512 KB ROM8 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 typeInternal 1.44 MB floppy drive with SCSI hard-drive options of 40 or 80 MB; Apple does not document the paired RAM and drive configurations on its support sheet500 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 slotsOne processor-direct slot can be used directly or with an optional NuBus adapter; no built-in NuBus slot or L2 cacheOne 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
ScreenNone built in14″
Resolution–640 × 480
Panel–CRT
Refresh rate–66.67 Hz
Display type–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
PortsHeadphone jackHeadphone jack
Front ports–Stereo headphone socket; front brightness and contrast controls
Back portsOne Apple Desktop Bus port, DB-15 video, DB-19 external floppy, DB-25 SCSI, printer and modem serial ports, sound output and microphone input; no built-in EthernetOne 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 displaysBuilt-in video supports an Apple colour display at 640 × 480 with 8-bit colour; a compatible expansion graphics card can extend display optionsOptional 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
SpeakersInternal speaker, stereo 8-bit sound output and mono audio inputTwo 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–Supports Apple Desktop Bus keyboards and the ADB Mouse II. Maker photograph shows a keyboard and mouse; regional education bundles vary
Design and power
TypeCompactAll-in-one
Weight4.5 kg (better)18.3 kg
Width × depth × height315 × 378 × 102 mm343 × 419 × 455 mm
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Size and weight detailApple's 4 × 12.4 × 14.9 inch and 10 lb reference dimensions; metric fields are rounded conversionsApple 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 supplyMaximum 160 W; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz; 3.6 V lithium clock battery and keyboard soft powerAutomatically 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 boxOriginal System Software 6.0.7. Apple lists 15 October 1990 as the introduction date; no separate first-sale day was foundOriginal 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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