Memory Upgrades: Quadra, LC, and Performa 630

Whether marked Quadra 630, LC 630, or Performa 63x, this model has 4 MB of RAM soldered to the motherboard and a single 72-pin SIMM socket for memory expansion up to 36 MB. (The DOS Compatible version and some 630s have a different motherboard with two SIMM slots and are covered on a separate page.)

Memory Upgrades: Mac LC 580, Performa 580

The Mac LC/Performa 580 shipped with 4 MB soldered on the motherboard and two 72-pin SIMM sockets for memory expansion – twice as many as the LC 550 and 575 – for up to 52 MB total system memory, the most possible in any 500-series Mac. Like other 500-series Macs, it has a slide-out motherboard.

Memory Upgrades: Mac TV

The Mac TV is pretty much a black LC 550 with a built-in TV tuner and a remote control for the TV portion of the computer. It has 4 MB soldered on the motherboard and comes from the factory with a 1 MB 72-pin SIMM in its only memory socket. Mac TV only had one […]

Memory Upgrades: Mac IIvx, IIvi; Performa 600

The Mac IIvx, Mac IIvi, and Performa 600 were odd ducks, running a 16 MHz motherboard when most of Apple’s other machines were already faster than that. Since the IIvi had a 16 MHz 68030 CPU, that wasn’t a bottleneck, but the IIvx and Performa 600 had 32 MHz CPU, which were hobbled by the […]

Memory Upgrades: Mac Classic

The Mac Classic has 1 MB of memory soldered to the motherboard. A second megabyte is added with a memory expansion board, which also has two SIMM sockets. Using these sockets, RAM can be expanded from 2 MB to 2.5 MB or 4 MB.

Memory Upgrades: Mac IIsi

The Mac IIsi is essentially a more compact version of the Mac IIci with no NuBus expansion slots and operating at a reduced CPU speed. It uses the same architecture, sharing the first 1 MB of RAM for video and computing.

Memory Upgrades: Mac IIfx

Apple broke the speed envelope with the Mac IIfx – the 40 MHz 68030 CPU on a 40 MHz data bus left everything else in the dust. Because it needed faster memory than any previous Mac, it used a special 64-pin dual-ported SIMM. It was the first Mac to ship with 4 MB of RAM.

Memory Upgrades: Mac IIci

The Mac IIci took the popular Mac IIcx design and replaced its 16 MHz logic board with a 25 MHz 68030-based design. New features included built-in video and a Level 2 (L2) cache socket. The IIci was the first Mac with “32-bit clean” ROMs.

Memory Upgrades: Mac SE/30

The Mac SE/30 shipped from the factory with 1 MB installed. It can be upgraded to 2, 4, 5, 8, 16, 17, 20, and 32 MB* configurations using 120ns or faster 1 MB or 4 MB 30-pin SIMMs – and as high as 128 MB using 16 MB SIMMs.

Memory Upgrades: Mac IIcx

The Mac IIcx was Apple’s first compact model in the Mac II series, essentially a Mac IIx with three NuBus expansion slots instead of six and a smaller power supply. Like the Mac II and IIx, it can only access 8 MB of memory under System 6 and earlier. You need to run some version […]

Memory Upgrades: Mac IIx

The Mac IIx was Apple’s first 68030-based computer. You need to run some version of System 7 to have access to the 32-bit option and use the free Mode32 utility to let the IIx run in 32-bit mode. This allows users to use more than 8 MB in the IIx.

Memory Upgrades: Mac II

The Mac II was Apple’s first modular Macintosh. Using a 68020 CPU instead of the older 68000, it can address far more memory by using 32-bit addressing. Although it took System 7 to provide the 32-bit option and Mode32 to let the Mac II operate in 32-bit mode, this allowed users to use more than […]

Memory Upgrades: Mac SE

The Mac SE shipped from the factory with 1 MB installed in the form of four 256 KB SIMMs. It can be upgraded to 2 MB, 2.5 MB, and 4 MB configurations using 150ns or faster 1 MB 30-pin SIMMs.