Creating a midpoint between the Mac II line and the Quadra series, the short-lived Centris models were introduced in February 1993. The Centris 610 introduced a new case style, one which would later be used for the Power Mac 6100. Unlike either the Mac II or Quadra lines, this model has a power switch on the front and cannot be turned on or off using the power key on the keyboard. (Many users more familiar with DOS hardware mistook the power switch for a floppy eject button - although it didn't take long to discover what the button really did.)
As a cost saving measure, the least expensive version of the Centris 610 used the less expensive 68LC040 CPU (no FPU) and left out ethernet circuitry. An easy way to increase calculation speed on this model is to replace the CPU with a full-fledged 68040.
Unlike the IIci or Quadra 700, the Centris 610 had a drive bay for a CD-ROM drive.
This model was upgraded to Quadra status in October.