The LC 550 replaced the LC 520 , increasing CPU speed from 25 MHz to 33 MHz. It was released at the same time as the 68LC040-based LC 575 .
The Performa/LC 550 uses the same motherboard as the relatively rare Colour Classic II . For those with original Color Classics , dropping in a 550 motherboard is the quickest, easiest performance upgrade known.
The LC 580 (a.k.a. Performa 580 and 588) is essentially an LC 575 with a new logic board that supports an IDE hard drive (instead of the more expensive SCSI hard drive used in earlier 500 series Macs ) and uses a less expensive monitor.
It also has a video I/O slot that can accept the original TV tuner card Apple created for the Performa series.
Specs (via Low End Mac)
Cpu: 33 MHz 68LC040
Fpu: requires replacing CPU with 68040
Performance: 10.0 (relative to SE); 29 MIPS
Ram: 4 MB on motherboard, expandable to 52 MB using a two 80ns 72-pin SIMM; first slot can accept 1 MB, 2 MB, 4 MB, 8 MB, 16 MB, or 32 MB SIMM; second slot can accept only 1 MB, 4 MB, or 16 MB SIMM
Rom: 1 MB
L2 Cache: optional, PDS
Hard Drive: 500 MB IDE
Video: 1 MB VRAM; supports 640 x 480 at 16-bits
Addressing: 32-bit
Gestalt Id: 99
Upgrade Path: Power Mac PDS card
Adb: 2 ports for keyboard and mouse
Scsi: DB-25 connector on back of computer
Serial: 2 DIN-8 RS-422 ports on back of computer
Pram Battery: 4.5V alkaline
Weight: 40.5 lb.
Internal Hd Format: Cannot See IDE Drives (Apple Knowledge Base 18360) notes that due to changes in the way modern IDE drives are formatted at the factory, early versions of Apple HD SC Setup (ones that come with System 7.5.1 and earlier) will not recognize them. You should boot System 7.5.2 or later and use Drive Setup 1.0.3 or higher with these drives.
See: Online resources and links for the Mac LC 580 (Performa 580)
Second Class Macs are Apple’s somewhat compromised hardware designs. For the most part, they’re not really bad – simply designs that didn’t meet their full potential. The LC II (a.k.a. Performa 400-430) was a slightly less crippled version of the LC .
Instead of running a 32-bit 68020 CPU on a 16-bit bus, it uses the 32-bit 68030 CPU on the same 16-bit bus. This Using a slightly modified LC motherboard instead of a new design kept costs down – and the letters LC meant Low Cost.
The biggest improvement was boosting base RAM from 2 MB to 4 MB. The downside to this is that the only way to reach the 10 MB limit is by adding two 4 MB SIMMs. Yes, that’s right – you had to have 12 MB installed so you can use 10 MB!
Specs (via Low End Mac)
Cpu: 16 MHz 68030
Fpu: 68882 (optional, uses PDS slot)
Performance: 1.7 (relative to SE, compare to 1.8 for LC , 2.9 for Mac IIx )
Ram: 4 MB on motherboard, expandable to 10 MB using a pair of 100ns 30-pin SIMMs; can use 1 MB, 2 MB, and 4 MB SIMMs (cannot address more than 10 MB, even with 12 MB installed)
L2 Cache: none
Video: 256 KB VRAM, expandable to 512 KB; supports 512 x 382 and 640 x 480 resolutions (must have 512 KB VRAM for 8-bits at 640 x 480)
“With double its predecessor’s speed and more than triple the RAM capacity, the LC III is a significant entry into the low end of Apple’s line.” MacUser, April 1993
The LC III (a.k.a. Performa 450 and code named Elsie III and Vail) is a significantly faster computer than the LC II . Running at 25 MHz on a newly designed motherboard with a 32-bit data bus, the LC III offers nearly the same performance as the Mac IIci and twice the performance of the LC and LC II.
One big difference is that the LC III uses an extended version of the 16 MHz LC PDS slot – most cards were designed for 16-bit access, so adding a video card or ethernet port makes the computer run about 1/6 less efficiently than the IIci.
Specs (via Low End Mac)
Cpu: 25 MHz 68030
Fpu: 68882 (optional)
Ram: 4 MB on motherboard, expandable to 36 MB using a single 100ns 72-pin SIMM; can use 1 MB, 2 MB, 4 MB, 8 MB, 16 MB, or 32 MB SIMM
Rom: 1 MB
L2 Cache: none
Hard Drive: 40, 80, or 160 MB
Floppy Drive: 1.4 MB double-sided
Video: 512 KB VRAM onboard, expandable to 768 KB; supports 512 x 384, 640 x 480, 640 x 870, and 832 x 624 resolutions 512 x 384: 16-bit @ 512 KB 640 x 400: 16-bit @ 512 KB 640 x 480: 8-bit @ 512 KB, 16-bit @ 768 KB 640 x 870 (portrait): 4-bit @ 512 KB, 8-bit @ 768 KB 832 x 624: 8-bit @ 512 KB, 16-bit @ 768 KB
Vram: accepts one 256 KB 100ns VRAM SIMM to upgrade VRAM to 768 KB total, other specs unknown, VRAM SIMM appears to be specific to early Macs.
Addressing: 24-bit or 32-bit
Gestalt Id: 27
Upgrade Path: Quadra 605
Adb Ports: 1
Pram Battery: 3.6V half-AA
Weight: 8.8 lb.
Serial Ports: 2 DIN-8 RS-422 ports
Scsi Ports: DB-25 connector on back of computer
Power Supply: 50W
See: Online resources and links for the Mac LC III
“With double its predecessor’s speed and more than triple the RAM capacity, the LC III is a significant entry into the low end of Apple’s line.” MacUser, April 1993
The LC III (a.k.a. Performa 450 and code named Elsie III and Vail) is a significantly faster computer than the LC II . Running at 25 MHz on a newly designed motherboard with a 32-bit data bus, the LC III offers nearly the same performance as the Mac IIci and twice the performance of the LC and LC II.
One big difference is that the LC III uses an extended version of the 16 MHz LC PDS slot – most cards were designed for 16-bit access, so adding a video card or ethernet port makes the computer run about 1/6 less efficiently than the IIci.
Specs (via Low End Mac)
Cpu: 25 MHz 68030
Fpu: 68882 (optional)
Ram: 4 MB on motherboard, expandable to 36 MB using a single 100ns 72-pin SIMM; can use 1 MB, 2 MB, 4 MB, 8 MB, 16 MB, or 32 MB SIMM
Rom: 1 MB
L2 Cache: none
Hard Drive: 40, 80, or 160 MB
Floppy Drive: 1.4 MB double-sided
Video: 512 KB VRAM onboard, expandable to 768 KB; supports 512 x 384, 640 x 480, 640 x 870, and 832 x 624 resolutions 512 x 384: 16-bit @ 512 KB 640 x 400: 16-bit @ 512 KB 640 x 480: 8-bit @ 512 KB, 16-bit @ 768 KB 640 x 870 (portrait): 4-bit @ 512 KB, 8-bit @ 768 KB 832 x 624: 8-bit @ 512 KB, 16-bit @ 768 KB
Vram: accepts one 256 KB 100ns VRAM SIMM to upgrade VRAM to 768 KB total, other specs unknown, VRAM SIMM appears to be specific to early Macs.
Addressing: 24-bit or 32-bit
Gestalt Id: 27
Upgrade Path: Quadra 605
Adb Ports: 1
Pram Battery: 3.6V half-AA
Weight: 8.8 lb.
Serial Ports: 2 DIN-8 RS-422 ports
Scsi Ports: DB-25 connector on back of computer
Power Supply: 50W
See: Online resources and links for the Mac LC III
