This PowerBook G3 was the first Mac designed around the PowerPC 750 (a.k.a. G3) processor, beating the first G3 Power Macs by less than a week. It was the world’s most powerful notebook computer when it was released in late 1997. Don’t confuse the original PowerBook G3 (based on the PowerBook 3400c) with the […]
Author Archives: LEM Staff
The MaxxBoxx 960 is based on the Tsunami motherboard (also used in the Power Mac 9600) and shipped with 180-225 MHz PowerPC 604e CPUs. The cube-shaped case has 10 drive bays. MaxxBoxx clones were only sold in Germany. WARNING: This model does not support Mac OS 7.6.0. The only upgrade from 7.5.5 is directly to […]
The MaxxBoxx 930 was based on the Tsunami motherboard (also used in the Power Mac 9600) and shipped with a 233-333 MHz Power PC 604e CPU. MaxxBoxx clones are cube-shaped and have a whopping 10 drive bays. MaxxBoxx computers were only sold in Germany. Got a MaxxBoxx? Join the PCI PowerMacs email list. Variants 930/233. […]
The Millennium was essentially a Genesis MP or MP+ built from components purchased from DayStar when it left the Macintosh clone market. MacWorks sold these unauthorized (by Apple) Mac OS-compatibles primarily in the North American market. Many were sold with G3 CPUs instead of their original PPC 604 and 604e CPUs. Got a multiprocessor pre-G3 Mac or clone? Join LEM’s […]
The MaxxBoxx 730/200 is based on the Tanzania II motherboard (also used in the Power Mac 6500) and shipped with a 200 MHz PowerPC 604e CPU. The cube-shaped case has a whopping 10 drive bays. MaxxBoxx clones were only sold in Germany. Tanzania-based computers will not boot with a dead PRAM battery. Try replacing the […]
The 6000-series was the first and only Mac clone built using a CHRP (Common Hardware Reference Platform) motherboard. It was the only Mac clone with a G3 on the motherboard. It was also the last StarMax model, as Motorola exited the Mac clone business at the end of 1997. The 6000 was announced on July […]
The S910 was Umax’s most powerful, most expandable computer, differing from the S900 primarily in its use of a socketed 1 MB level 2 cache and in not having 16 MB of RAM on the motherboard. The S910 reversed the order of PCI slots compared to the S900, which helped video pros get around some […]
The MaxxBoxx 860 is based on the Nitro motherboard (also used in the Power Mac 8600) and shipped with 180-225 MHz Power PC 604e CPUs. The MaxxBoxx cube-shaped cases have a whopping 10 drive bays. MaxxBoxx clones were only sold in Germany. WARNING: This model does not support Mac OS 7.6.0. The only upgrade from […]
The PowerBook 2400c was designed to replace the discontinued Duo series – particularly the 2300c – with something very small and light (just 4.4 lb./2.0 kg). Although the keyboard is slightly smaller than usual, those who have 2400s just love these small PowerBooks. And with its 8.5″ x 10.5″ dimensions, the 2400c had the smallest footprint […]
The PowerCenter Pro was available in desktop and tower configurations, with speed ranging from 180-240 MHz using the PPC 604e processor. The CPU was on a daughter card for ease of upgrade. These computers had a 60 MHz bus speed which made them faster than comparable machines at the time. Got a Power Computing machine? […]
The 5000-series was Motorola’s second generation Mac clone. Based on the Tanzania II motherboard with a 50 MHz bus, these tower computers provide excellent performance at a reasonable price. All models include an EDI hard drive, ATAPI CD-ROM player, and five-year warranty. The StarMax 5000 and 5500 use the same tower case as the StarMax […]
The Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh (or TAM) was a radical change from existing computers. The slim unit (just 2.5″ deep) uses the same kind of LCD screen usually found in laptops. Bose Acoustimass stereo speakers surround it, along with a large subwoofer in the base power unit, for really exceptional sound. 20th Anniversary Mac 20th […]
The PowerBook 3400c, running a PowerPC 603e processor at 180 to -240 MHz, was designed as a no compromise laptop and was billed as the world’s fastest notebook computer when it was introduced in early 1997. It was also the basis for the first PowerBook G3. The 3400c was the first PowerBook based on Intel’s […]
The Power Mac 9600 was the last Mac with six PCI expansion slots. It also has 12 memory sockets and no onboard video, so one PCI slot must be occupied by a video card. It shipped from the factory with an ixMicro TwinTurbo video card especially adapted for Apple. The 300 and 350 MHz versions […]
The Power Mac 6500 replaced the slower 6400 and uses the same tower configuration. It was available in 225 MHz to 300 MHz configurations. The logic board of the 6500 is based on the “Gazelle” architecture, which is shared by the 20th Anniversary Mac and Power Mac 5500, the latter being essentially the same computer with […]
The Power Mac 5500 was the second PCI-bus Power Mac with an integrated monitor; it replaced the slower 5400. It shipped in 225, 250, and 275 MHz versions. Xemplar distributed a 225 MHz educational version in the UK as the Power Macintosh One. A black 275 MHz “Director’s Edition” was available in Australia. The 5500 was […]
Although it uses the same cleverly designed case as the Power Mac 9600, the 8600 was a less costly, less expandable machine. It has 8 DIMM sockets for memory, four less than the 9600, and three PCI slots, down from six in the 9600. The 250 and 300 MHz versions sometimes had an extra powerful […]
The Power Mac 4400 (7220 in Australia) was Apple’s attempt to build an inexpensive Mac using more industry standard components, such as a chunky PC-like case. It was also available in a PC Compatible system with a 166 MHz DOS card with a 133 MHz Cyrix PR166+ 6×86 CPU (80486 class) and 16 MB RAM. […]
The 6400 replaced the Performa 6360 and used a new tower configuration. It was available in 180 MHz and 200 MHz configurations. The neatest feature: a built-in subwoofer for very rich sound. The 6400 was replaced by the Power Mac 6500. The Performa/Power Mac 5400 is virtually identical to the 6400 – but with a […]
The PowerBook 1400, the first CD-ROM equipped notebook computer, was available in several different configurations over its lifespan, including two screen types (dual-scan and active matrix) and three processor speeds (117, 133, and 166 MHz). The 1400c has an active matrix display, while the 1400cs model uses the less expensive dual-scan passive matrix technology. (That […]
The Performa 6360 replaced the 6320‘s 120 MHz 603e with a 160 MHz 603e CPU. Fortunately, it also had an improved motherboard design that overcame the most egregious failings of the Road Apple x200 series. Although it looks like the earlier models in this series, it’s a whole different machine under the hood – complete […]
The 4000-series was Motorola’s professional-level Mac clone. Based on the Tanzania motherboard with a Power PC 604e CPU, these provide top performance at a reasonable price. All models include an EDI hard drive, an ATAPI CD-ROM player, and an unprecedented (at least in the Mac OS world) five-year warranty. Tanzania-based computers will not boot with […]
The 3000-series was Motorola’s entry-level Mac clone. Based on the Tanzania motherboard with a Power PC 603e CPU, they provided good performance at a lower price than the 604-based 4000-series. All models include an EDI hard drive, an ATAPI CD-ROM player, and an unprecedented (at least in the Mac OS world) five-year warranty. The most common […]
The SuperMac C600 (Apus 3000 series in Europe and Asia) was Umax’s least expensive minitower. Introduced at 160 MHz in August 1996, Umax was selling 280 MHz models by mid-1997. The C600 was designed around a modified Tanzania motherboard with a daughter card for 3 PCI slots and 1 Comm-2 slot. The C600 was the first […]
The PowerBase was available in low profile and minitower configurations, with speed ranging from 180-240 MHz using the PPC 603e processor. The CPU was on a daughter card for ease of upgrade. Tanzania-based computers will not boot with a dead PRAM battery. Try replacing the battery before attempting to replace the power supply on a […]
The Genesis MP+ arrived in August 1996 in dual- and quad-processor versions based on the PowerPC 604e processor, an improved version of the 604 CPU found in the earlier Genesis MP. Note that many of these were introduced only two weeks before DayStar chose to discontinue producing Mac OS computers on 25 August 1997. DayStar sold […]
The PowerTower Pro came in a tower configuration with speed ranging from 180 to 250 MHz using the PPC 604e processor. The CPU was on a daughter card for ease of upgrade. The PowerTower Pro was the first computer to use the PowerPC 604e CPU, and its 225 MHz speed when the model debuted made […]
The SuperMac J700 (Centauri in Europe and Asia) was Umax’s least expensive computer based on the PowerPC 604e processor. Very expandable, it has 4 PCI slots, 5 drive bays, 8 DIMM sockets, and a replaceable CPU. The J700 uses the same CPU daughter cards as Apple’s Power Macs from the same era, giving the SuperMac J700 […]
The SuperMac S900 (known as the Pulsar in Europe and Asia) was Umax’s first Mac clone and would remain Umax’s most powerful, most expandable computer and the last production Mac clone with 6 expansion slots until the S910 arrived. The S900 in unique in that it has a second CPU slot, but only accepts a Umax SuperMac […]
The PowerTower came in a tower configuration with speed ranging from 166-200 MHz using the PPC 604 or 604e processor. The CPU was on a daughter card for ease of upgrade. Thanks to Steve Kahng’s connections to IBM from his days with Leading Edge, Power Computing was able to acquire higher-speed PowerPC CPUs before other […]
The PowerCenter was available in low profile, desktop, and tower configurations, with speed ranging from 120-180 MHz using the PPC 604 processor. The CPU was on a daughter card for ease of upgrade. Got a Power Computing machine? Join LEM’s Powerlist Group. Got a PCI Power Mac? Join our PCI PowerMacs Group. Variants PowerCenter 120. […]
Essentially a Power Mac 7200 repackaged in Apple’s mini-tower case, the 8200 came in 100 and 120 MHz versions. Because the CPU is not on a daughter card, the only upgrade is replacing the motherboard with one from a Power Mac 8500 and adding a daughter card. As with the 7200, increasing VRAM to 2 […]
The Power Mac 7600 is identical to the 7500 – except for the processor card. The 7500 shipped with a 100 MHz PowerPC 601 CPU; the 7600 with a 120 MHz or 132 MHz PPC 604 or a 200 MHz 604e. Thanks to its daughter card design, it can be upgraded with a faster 604e, […]
The 120 MHz Power Mac 6300 and Performa 6320 replaced the 100 MHz Performa 6300‘s 100 MHz 603e CPU with a 120 MHz 603e. To save money, Apple based the x200 motherboard on the Quadra 605 with its 25 MHz system bus and 32-bit memory, even though the 603 is a 64-bit chip. Apple also used an […]
The 5400 was the first PCI-bus Power Mac with an integrated monitor. It was available in black in the UK, the first black desktop Mac since Mac TV. This model was sold as the Power Mac 5400 in the education market and under the Performa 5400 name in the consumer market. Speeds ranged from 120 […]