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Macintosh Quadra 900 in front
Macintosh Quadra 900

Macintosh Quadra 900
Developer Apple Computer
Product family Macintosh Quadra
Release dateOctober 21, 1991 (1991-10-21)
Introductory priceUS$7,200 (equivalent to $15,470 in 2022)
DiscontinuedMay 18, 1992 (1992-05-18)
Operating system System 7.0.1Mac OS 8.1
CPU Motorola 68040 @ 25 MHz
Memory4 MB, expandable to 256 MB (80 ns 30-pin SIMM)
DimensionsHeight: 18.6 in (47.25 cm)
Width: 8.9 in (22.6 cm)
Depth: 20.6 in (52.32 cm)
Mass36.8 pounds (16.7 kg)
Predecessor Macintosh IIfx
Successor Macintosh Quadra 950
Related Macintosh Quadra 700

The Macintosh Quadra 900 is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from October 1991 to May 1992. It was introduced alongside the Quadra 700 as the first computers in the Quadra family of Macintosh computers using the Motorola 68040 processor. [1] It is also the first computer from Apple to be housed in an 18.6 inch (47 cm) tall mid-tower form factor, which by 1991 had gained momentum with PC manufacturers as a suitable design for departmental servers.

The Quadra 900 had a short lifespan; it was discontinued about six months after the first shipments in favor of the more powerful Quadra 950.

Hardware

The Quadra 900 was more expandable than the Quadra 700 but cost US$7,200. [1] The Quadra 900 could be upgraded to 256  megabytes of RAM, [2] an astronomical amount for the time, when a typical midrange system would come equipped with 2–4 MB. The standard, as-shipped configuration for the 900 was 4 MB. The high RAM and storage capacity, along with the expandability of five NuBus 90 slots and fast 25 MHz processor, made it a very useful computer for scientific or design work. The mid-tower case design features a single 5.25-inch drive bay initially intended to hold a tape backup drive, but was often repurposed to hold a CD-ROM or SyQuest drive during the model's operational lifespan. Featuring 16 slots for 30-pin SIMMs (installed in groups of four), [2] Quadra 900s with full complements of RAM were exceedingly rare due to the high cost (many thousands of dollars) of the SIMMs at the time.

A new three-mode key-lock system on the front panel can be set to Off, On, and Secure. When set to Off, the machine can't be powered up. In Secure mode, the floppy drive and ADB port are disabled, offering a degree of local protection. [3]

System 7.0.1 was included and supports up to Mac OS 8.1. It is the earliest Macintosh model with the ability to run Mac OS 8.[ citation needed]

With the Power Macintosh Upgrade Card installed, the Quadra 900 runs at 50 MHz and its name is reported in the System Profiler as the Power Macintosh 900. [4]

Specifications [2]

  • Processor: 25 MHz Motorola 68040
  • Processor Cache: 8 KB Level 1
  • Bus Speed: 25 MHz
  • Hard Drive: 160 or 400 MB
  • Media drives: 1.44 MB floppy drive with one 5.25" SCSI drive bay available
  • Software: Mac OS 7.0.1 - 8.1
  • Logicboard RAM: None
  • Maximum RAM: 256 MB
  • Type of RAM: 30-pin SIMM (16 slots)
  • Minimum RAM Speed: 80 ns
  • Interleaving Support: No
  • Graphics: Integrated
  • Display Connection: DB-15
  • Graphics Memory: 1 MB standard, upgradable to 2 MB via 4 VRAM slots
  • Expansion Slots: 5 - NuBus, 1 - PDS
  • Hard Drive Bus: SCSI
  • Backup Battery: 3.6 V Lithium
  • Max Watts: 303 W
  • Ports: AAUI-15 Ethernet, 1 ADB, DB-25 SCSI, 2 Serial, 3.5-mm mono input jack, 3.5-mm stereo output jack

Timeline

Timeline of Macintosh Centris, LC, Performa, and Quadra models, colored by CPU type
Macintosh Performa 6214 Macintosh Performa 6210 Macintosh Performa 6205 Macintosh Performa 6230 Macintosh Performa 6220 Macintosh Quadra 840AV Macintosh Quadra 650 Macintosh Quadra 610 Macintosh Quadra 605 Macintosh Quadra 660AV Macintosh Quadra 800 Macintosh Centris 650 Macintosh Centris 610 Macintosh Quadra 950 Macintosh Quadra 630 Macintosh Quadra 900 Macintosh Quadra 700 Macintosh Performa 6420 Macintosh Performa 6410 Macintosh Performa 5440 Macintosh Performa 5430 Macintosh Performa 5280 Macintosh Performa 6360 Macintosh Performa 5260 Macintosh Performa 6400 Macintosh Performa 6400 Macintosh Performa 5400 Macintosh Performa 5400 Macintosh Performa 6260 Macintosh Performa 5400 Macintosh Performa 5420 Macintosh Performa 5410 Macintosh Performa 5270 Macintosh Performa 5260 Macintosh Performa 6320 Macintosh Performa 6310 Macintosh Performa 6300 Macintosh Performa 6290 Macintosh Performa 5320 Macintosh Performa 5300 Macintosh Performa 6218 Macintosh Performa 6216 Macintosh Performa 6200 Macintosh Performa 6116 Macintosh Performa 5220 Macintosh Performa 5215 Macintosh Performa 5210 Macintosh Performa 5200 Macintosh Performa 640CD Macintosh Performa 580CD Macintosh Performa 588CD Macintosh Performa 638 Macintosh Performa 637 Macintosh Performa 636 Macintosh Performa 635 Macintosh Performa 631 Macintosh Performa 630 Macintosh Performa 578 Macintosh Performa 577 Macintosh Performa 575 Macintosh Performa 476 Macintosh Performa 475 Macintosh Performa 560 Macintosh Performa 550 Macintosh Performa 275 Macintosh Performa 6118 Macintosh Performa 6117 Macintosh Performa 6115 Macintosh Performa 6112 Macintosh Performa 6110 Macintosh Performa 467 Macintosh Performa 466 Macintosh Performa 460 Macintosh Performa 410 Macintosh Performa 520 Macintosh Performa 450 Macintosh Performa 430 Macintosh Performa 405 Macintosh Performa 250 Macintosh Performa 600 Macintosh Performa 400 Macintosh Performa 200 Power Macintosh 5300 LC Macintosh LC 575 Macintosh TV Macintosh LC III Macintosh LC 550 Macintosh LC 580 Macintosh LC 520 Macintosh LC 630 Macintosh LC 475 Power Macintosh 5200 LC Macintosh LC III Macintosh LC II Macintosh LC

References

  1. ^ a b Webster, Bruce F. (December 1991). "Macintosh Quadras - Power But No Pizzazz". Macworld. Vol. 8, no. 12. pp. 140–147.
  2. ^ a b c "Macintosh Quadra 900: Technical Specifications". Apple.
  3. ^ Pogue, David; Schorr, Joseph (1999). "Chapter 12: From 128K to Quadra: Mac to Mac". MacWorld Mac Secrets, 5th Edition. IDG Books. pp.  483-484. ISBN  0-7645-4040-8.
  4. ^ "Quadra 900: Technical Specifications". Apple.

External links