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Release date October 21, 1991 (1991-10-21) (MCII)
September 14, 1992 (1992-09-14) (MP200) Introductory price 1900 US$ (today $3340.90) Discontinued September 13, 1993 (1993-09-13) (MCII)
October 18, 1993 (1993-10-18) (MP200) Operating system CPU Motorola 68030 @ 16 MHz Memory 2 MB, expandable to 10 MB (100 ns 30-pin SIMM) | ||
The Apple Macintosh Classic II (also known as the Performa 200) replaced the Macintosh SE/30 in the compact Macintosh line in 1991. Like the SE/30, the Classic II was powered by a 16 MHz Motorola 68030 CPU and 40 or 80 MB hard disk, but in contrast to its predecessor, it was limited by a 16-bit data bus (the SE/30 had a 32-bit data bus) and a 10 MB memory ceiling.
Contents
While the Classic II shares a case with the earlier Classic, architecturally it is more similar to the Macintosh LC. The use of custom ICs, identical to those used in the LC, enabled the Classic II to have a lower component count than older Macs. Unlike the LC and the SE/30 before it, the Classic II did not have an internal PDS expansion slot, making it the first slotless desktop Macintosh since the Macintosh Plus.
There were two Classic II cases. Later models came with a speaker grille on the left side for enhanced sound (as pictured).
The Classic II was the last black-and-white compact Macintosh. It was also the last desktop Macintosh to include an external floppy disk drive port. Apple discontinued support for the Classic II on January 1, 2001.
Specifications
Interfaces
†The Classic II has a 50-pin internal expansion slot intended for either an FPU co-processor or additional ROM. The socket is not designed to be used for any other purpose and is not suitable for use as a general expansion slot. Apple never produced an expansion card of any kind for this slot, although at least one third-party FPU was available: the FastMath Classic II by Applied Engineering. and Sonnet offered a synchronous (16MHz) and asynchronous (50MHz) 68882 FPU.
In 2016, a group of hobbyists at the 68k Mac Liberation Army forums produced an expansion card with sockets for an FPU and a bootable, rewriteable ROM.