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Apple Macintosh LC vs Apple Macintosh LC 580

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

AppleMacintosh LCAppleMacintosh LC 580
Overview
ReleasedOctober 19901995
Performance
Processor68020 16 MHz (Macintosh LC)Motorola 68LC040 33 MHz (Macintosh LC 575)
CPU cores11
Memory2 MB8 MB
Storage40 MB500 MB
CPU16 MHz Motorola 68020 with a 16-bit data path and 0.25 KB L1 cache; no standard paged memory-management unit or floating-point coprocessorOriginal 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
GPUIntegrated video has 256 KB VRAM, supporting 8-bit colour at 512 × 384 or 4-bit at 640 × 480; 512 KB VRAM upgrade permits 16-bit colour at 512 × 384 or 8-bit at 640 × 480Built-in video uses 1 MB DRAM soldered to the logic board, displaying 32,768 colours at 640 × 480
Memory type2 MB soldered to the logic board plus two 30-pin SIMM slots, populated as a matched pair; 100 ns memory and 2–10 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 type40 MB internal SCSI hard drive and 1.44 MB floppy in the standard configuration reported by Low End Mac; a dual-floppy education version was also offered500 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 LC processor-direct slot; optional 68881 floating-point card occupies itOne 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 portsApple Desktop Bus, DB-15 video, DB-25 SCSI, printer and modem serial ports, microphone input and sound output; no built-in Ethernet or external floppy portOne 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 512 × 384 and 640 × 480 Apple displays; colour depth depends on fitted VRAMOptional 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 with mono audio input and outputTwo 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 kg18.3 kg
Width × depth × height310 × 389 × 74 mm343 × 419 × 455 mm
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Size and weight detailApple's 2.9 × 12.2 × 15.3 inch and 8.8 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 50 W; 90–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz; 3.6 V lithium clock batteryAutomatically 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 introduction; Low End Mac also dates release to October 1990Original 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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