Macintosh Quadra History (part 2)
This is the second part of a two part article.
The Macintosh Quadra was Apple’s high end Mac that pioneered new case designs, speeds and expandability. The imminent release of the Power Macintosh based on the PowerPC processor - a product of an alliance between Apple, IBM and Motorola (AIM) - the Quadra remained relevant while the Power Macintosh was being sold even out performing the new Mac. Apple repositioned the Quadra to take over the mid ranged Centris family with the release of two new computers that included audio visual features.
Originally named the Macintosh Centris 660av, the Quadra 660av combined advanced audio visual features such as digital signal processing, s-video and composite in / out with a 25MHz 68040 Motorola processor and a low profile desktop case design. The Quadra 840av released along side the 660av included slightly better audio processing and the fastest processor that any pre-PowerPC mac included at 40MHz. The familiar mini tower case used on the Quadra 800 was retained and sold for a price of $3 500.
Replacing the Centris line again, the Quadra 610 and 650 each sported 25 and 33MHz 68040 processors with the Quadra 610 gaining a full FPU over the former Centris 610 model.
The most affordable Quadra ever released - the Quadra 605 - was the first in the family to include the lower end 68LC040 processor clocked at 25MHz. A bold new case was designed similar in size to the previous low cost LC line of computers. This was the only model the case design was used on with the Quadra 605 also being sold as an LC 475 with the only difference being the case. The Quadra 605 and LC 475 shared exactly the same logic board with a jumper differentiating the two models.
The Quadra 630 was the last of the Quadra line. It repositioned the brand in below the new flag ship Power Macintosh family and merged the LC and Quadra families. The Quadra 630 was housed in a new desktop case that would form the enclosure of many of Apple’s future computers. The 630 was the first Mac to use IDE instead of SCSI for it’s internal drive interfaces. This computer marked the end of the Quadra family when it was discontinued mid 1995.
During the lead-up to the Power Macintosh line the Quadra remained at the forefront of Apple’s Macintosh family. The computer defined new case designs that would be seen throughout the Macintosh line for years to come and remained the fastest Motorolla based Macintosh available.