Apple · Macintosh

Macintosh Centris 650

Released 1993

A desktop Macintosh with a 25 MHz 68040-family processor, built-in video and three NuBus slots.

Type
Compact
Processor
Motorola 68040 25 MHz (Macintosh Centris 650) or Motorola 68LC040 25 MHz (Macintosh Centris 650)
Memory
4 MB
Storage
–
Screen
–
Weight
–

Performance

Processor
Motorola 68040 25 MHz (Macintosh Centris 650) or Motorola 68LC040 25 MHz (Macintosh Centris 650)
CPU cores
1
Memory
4 MB
CPU
25 MHz Motorola 68040 or 68LC040; the latter has no floating-point unit
GPU
Built-in video with 512 KB VRAM, expandable to 1 MB; supports an external monitor through a 15-pin video connector
Memory type
4 or 8 MB minimum RAM depending on configuration, with four SIMM slots; up to 136 MB
Storage type
Apple's system fact sheet lists 80–500 MB internal SCSI hard drives and a 1.44 MB floppy drive; an internal CD-ROM drive was optional
Expansion slots
Three NuBus slots and one processor-direct slot; a PDS card occupies the position of one NuBus card

Display

Screen
None built in

Design and power

Type
Compact
Width × depth × height
330 × 419 × 152 mm
Operating system
macOS
In the box
Apple's original developer note documents the 68040 and 68LC040 configurations. Current Apple support article 112207 describes a later PowerPC upgrade-card configuration and is excluded.

Connections

Back ports
Two Apple Desktop Bus ports, two serial ports, external SCSI, video, audio input and output; Apple AUI Ethernet was optional
Speakers
Built-in mono speaker with stereo audio output jack

Configurations

ProcessorMemoryStorage
Motorola 68040 25 MHz (Macintosh Centris 650)4 MB–
Motorola 68LC040 25 MHz (Macintosh Centris 650)4 MB–

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Three NuBus slots and a processor-direct slot
  • Built-in video output and room for an internal CD-ROM drive
  • Full 68040 processor with floating-point unit was available

Cons

  • Ethernet required an optional built-in interface
  • Installing a processor-direct card obstructed one NuBus slot

Closest rivals

Model
TypeProcessorMemoryStorageScreenWeightReleased
CompactMotorola 68LC040 20 MHz (Macintosh Centris 610)4 MB80 MB––1993
CompactMotorola 68040 25 MHz (Macintosh Centris 660AV)4 MB81.92 MB––1993
Compact68LC040 25 MHz (Macintosh LC 475)4 MB80 MB – 230 MB–3.99 kg1993

Sources

  1. leopard-adc.pepas.com/documentation/Hardware/Developer_Notes/Macintosh_CPUs-68K…
  2. fsck.technology/documentation/Apple/Apple%20Spec%20PDFs/Applespec/Systems/68k-D…
  3. revamp-it.ch/index.php/en/shop-en/computer-und-komplettsysteme-en/apple-macinto…

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