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Apple Macintosh LC 580 vs Apple Macintosh Quadra 900

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

AppleMacintosh LC 580AppleMacintosh Quadra 900
Overview
Released1995October 1991
Performance
ProcessorMotorola 68LC040 33 MHz (Macintosh LC 575)68040 25 MHz (Macintosh Quadra 900)
CPU cores11
Memory8 MB4 MB
Storage500 MB160 MB to 400 MB
CPUOriginal 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 57525 MHz Motorola 68040 with integrated memory-management and floating-point units and 8 KB on-chip cache; no standard L2 cache
GPUBuilt-in video uses 1 MB DRAM soldered to the logic board, displaying 32,768 colours at 640 × 480Built-in video with 1 MB VRAM, expandable to 2 MB; Apple lists 8-bit colour at 640 × 480, 832 × 624 and 1152 × 870 with standard VRAM, and 24-bit at 640 × 480 and 832 × 624 with 2 MB
Memory type8 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 specificationsSixteen 30-pin 80 ns SIMM slots in banks of four, with 4 MB standard. Apple's October 1991 catalogue supported 64 MB using 4 MB SIMMs; its later support sheet lists a 256 MB technical maximum using larger modules but notes 8 MB and 16 MB SIMMs are not supported by Apple. Original UK maker brochure explicitly advertises 256 MB using 16 MB SIMMs; that original maker qualification differs from the later support sheet's unsupported-module note.
Storage type500 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 bundleInternal 1.44 MB SuperDrive and optional 160 MB SCSI hard drive at launch; Apple listed a 400 MB version for January 1992. The case supports three further internal SCSI devices, including a removable-media device.
Expansion slotsOne 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 videoFive NuBus '90 slots and one processor-direct slot
Display
Screen size14″None built in
Resolution640 × 480–
PanelCRT–
Refresh rate66.67 Hz–
Display typeBuilt-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 features640 × 480 at 66.67 Hz in the exact timing table (66.7 Hz rounded elsewhere in the same manual); 16-bit colour–
Connections
PortsHeadphone jackEthernet, headphone jack
Front portsStereo headphone socket; front brightness and contrast controls–
Back portsOne 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 outputApple Desktop Bus, DB-15 video, DB-25 SCSI, two serial ports, AAUI Ethernet, mono sound input and stereo sound output
External displaysOptional 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 standardBuilt-in video supports Apple's monitor range, with colour depth depending on VRAM and resolution; Apple's launch catalogue also names VGA, NTSC and PAL monitor support
SpeakersTwo integrated speakers; 8-bit stereo playback and mono recording at 11 or 22 kHz. Optional CD-ROM supports audio-CD playbackInternal speaker, mono audio input and stereo sound output; Apple supplied a microphone
MicrophonesIntegrated microphone for monaural sound input–
Keyboard and mouseSupports Apple Desktop Bus keyboards and the ADB Mouse II. Maker photograph shows a keyboard and mouse; regional education bundles vary–
Design and power
TypeAll-in-oneTower
Weight18.3 kg16.7 kg
Width × depth × height343 × 419 × 455 mm226 × 523 × 473 mm
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Size and weight detailApple 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 valuesApple's 18.6 × 8.9 × 20.6 inch dimensions and 36.8 lb weight for the floppy-only model; metric fields are rounded conversions
Power supplyAutomatically configured 100–240 V AC mains; service supply operating range 90–264 V rms, 50–60 Hz ±3 HzMaximum 303 W, 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz; 3.6 V lithium clock battery and keyboard soft power
Power useService 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 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 precisionOriginal System Software 7.0.1, microphone and ADB mouse; Apple's October 1991 catalogue says the keyboard was sold separately

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