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https://www.cultofmac.com/492968/today-a...ore-492968
July 18, 1994: Apple launches the Quadra, Performa and LC 630 Macintoshes, three similar computers with slight differences tailored for the professional, home and educational markets.
Buyers can configure the new 630 series of Macs for less than $2,000. Today, the idea of getting a decent multimedia computer for $3,667 (adjusted for inflation) sounds OK, but in 1994 these new Macs looked like a total steal.
The previous top-end Macs — the Quadra 700 and Quadra 900 — cost between $6,000 and $8,500. That’s the equivalent of between $11,000 and $15,583 in 2021 dollars.
Apple wanted to bring down this price while still giving users the ability to tap into exciting new technologies like a CD-ROM drive, version 2.0 of the QuickTime multimedia software, and a comm slot for a modem or Ethernet card.
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The Quadra 650 was the first Mac I ever bought. I had to get an Apple loan and have my step dad co-sign for me. His application was worse than the apple loan one.
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Hrm, I feel like that date doesn't jive since the PowerMac 6100/71/81 were released in 1994 as well.
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mikebw wrote:
Hrm, I feel like that date doesn't jive since the PowerMac 6100/71/81 were released in 1994 as well.
Apple was selling 68K powered Mac's alongside the PowerPC models for a couple years. I would have to look up to check which was the last model using a 68040 processor and when it was introduced. But if it wasn't this series, they were close to the last.
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JoeH wrote:
[quote=mikebw]
Hrm, I feel like that date doesn't jive since the PowerMac 6100/71/81 were released in 1994 as well.
Apple was selling 68K powered Mac's alongside the PowerPC models for a couple years. I would have to look up to check which was the last model using a 68040 processor and when it was introduced. But if it wasn't this series, they were close to the last.
There's a simple reason - the 6100/71/81 era machines were not major hardware leaps over their Motorola counterparts. I stand by my view that until the second gen PowerPC CPUs came out, you were paying more for often a less useful Mac.
Of course, the G3 changes all that.
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sekker wrote:
[quote=JoeH]
[quote=mikebw]
Hrm, I feel like that date doesn't jive since the PowerMac 6100/71/81 were released in 1994 as well.
Apple was selling 68K powered Mac's alongside the PowerPC models for a couple years. I would have to look up to check which was the last model using a 68040 processor and when it was introduced. But if it wasn't this series, they were close to the last.
There's a simple reason - the 6100/71/81 era machines were not major hardware leaps over their Motorola counterparts. I stand by my view that until the second gen PowerPC CPUs came out, you were paying more for often a less useful Mac.
Of course, the G3 changes all that.
Back then I lusted after the Quadra 650, but ended up buying a 7100/66 PowerMac. In retrospect, I probably would have been happier with the Quadra.
The 7100/66 had all kinds of design issues, both electrical and mechanical and was essentially a dead end platform. Apple quickly abandoned them when the 603 and 604 machines came out.
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I bought a Centris 610 and wasn’t happy with it because it did not have a math co-processor. I remember several graphic-design programs ran slower. I managed to find a 68040 from another machine that was faulty and I upgraded the processor.
I then had a 7100/80 and a 7200 after that. Both were upgraded with G3 accelerator cards. My Blue and White G3 had the infamous storage bug that was never resolved, so I had to buy a PCI board to upgrade the IDE drive.
Nearly every Mac since then was smoother sailing. Mostly. My G4 MDD overheated and I had to replace the processor on my own dime. Then, my G5 went back to Apple under warranty twice due to overheating.
I’ve had Intel iMacs, portables, and Mac minis ever since. I kinda miss the upgradeability. Those were the days when we could tinker.
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zachdog wrote:
I bought a Centris 610 and wasn’t happy with it because it did not have a math co-processor. I remember several graphic-design programs ran slower. I managed to find a 68040 from another machine that was faulty and I upgraded the processor.
I then had a 7100/80 and a 7200 after that. Both were upgraded with G3 accelerator cards. My Blue and White G3 had the infamous storage bug that was never resolved, so I had to buy a PCI board to upgrade the IDE drive.
Nearly every Mac since then was smoother sailing. Mostly. My G4 MDD overheated and I had to replace the processor on my own dime. Then, my G5 went back to Apple under warranty twice due to overheating.
I’ve had Intel iMacs, portables, and Mac minis ever since. I kinda miss the upgradeability. Those were the days when we could tinker.
Not that you'd want to buy one now, but 2009-2012 Mac Pros are relatively tinkerable.
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