Macintosh Quadra 660AV

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Macintosh Quadra 660AV / Centris 660AV
Macintosh Centris 660AV.jpg
A Macintosh Centris 660AV
Also known as"Tempest"[1]
DeveloperApple Computer, Inc.
Product familyQuadra, Centris
Release dateJuly 29, 1993 (1993-07-29)
Introductory priceUS$2,300 (equivalent to $4,121 in 2020)
DiscontinuedSeptember 12, 1994 (1994-09-12)
Operating systemSystem 7.1 – Mac OS 8.1
With PowerPC upgrade Mac OS 9.1
CPUMotorola 68040 @ 25 MHz
Memory8 MB, expandable to 68 MB (60 ns 72-pin SIMM)
SuccessorMacintosh Quadra 630
Power Macintosh 6100/60AV
Related articlesMacintosh Quadra 840AV

The Macintosh Quadra 660AV (originally called the Macintosh Centris 660AV) is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer Inc. from July 1993 to September 1994. It was introduced alongside the Quadra 840AV; the "AV" after both model numbers signifies video input and output capabilities and enhanced audio.

The 660AV was discontinued a few months after the introduction of the Power Macintosh 6100/60AV. Apple sold a Power Macintosh Upgrade Card that upgrades the 660AV to match the 6100/60AV's specifications for US$1,399.[2] This and the Quadra 630 were positioned for users who were not ready to move to PowerPC.

Hardware[]

The 660AV uses the pizza box form factor of the earlier Centris 610. The 660AV has a full Motorola 68040 instead of the 610's FPU-less 68LC040.[3] Like the 840AV, the 660AV features video input/output capability and an onboard AT&T 3210 digital signal processor (here clocked at 55 MHz) to make the video handling less of a burden on the CPU.

The 660AV is the first Macintosh to include GeoPort; an optional GeoPort Telecom Adapter enables fax and modem capabilities.[1]

Some of the earliest Centris 660AVs have the older auto-inject floppy drive opening similar to the 610, but most of the Centris models and all of the Quadra models have a drive similar to the Power Macintosh 6100, lacking the auto-inject feature. These models have a deep round indentation at the center of the floppy drive slot to make it possible to fully insert the disk.

The Quadra AV Macs introduced a new universal ROM (codenamed SuperMario) that would later be used in all PowerPC systems. It includes SCSI Manager 4.3 and Sound Manager 3.0. It also is "vectorized", making it easier to patch. [4]

Models[]

Introduced July 29, 1993:

  • Macintosh Centris 660AV[5]

Introduced October 1, 1993:

  • Macintosh Quadra 660AV[3]

Reception[]

Jonathan Chevreau of the National Post said on August 7, 1993 that the Quadra 840AV and Centris 660AV were the next most interesting multimedia computers behind the new SGI Indy, putting Apple among the forefront of the birth of the major industry of desktop multimedia.[6] Byte magazine said in September 1993 that Apple and Silicon Graphics were trailblazers by setting audio and video input as default features of these two Macintosh and of the Indy desktop PCs, which "could change the way businesspeople communicate".[7]

Timeline of Macintosh Quadra and Centris models

See also: Timeline of Macintosh models
Power MacintoshMacintosh LC IIIMacintosh II seriesMacintosh Quadra 630Macintosh Quadra 950Macintosh Quadra 650Macintosh Quadra 610Macintosh Quadra 900Macintosh Quadra 840AVMacintosh Quadra 800Macintosh Quadra 700Macintosh Quadra 660AVMacintosh Quadra 650Macintosh Quadra 610Macintosh Quadra 605Macintosh IIvx


References[]

  1. ^ a b Pogue, David; Schorr, Joseph (1999). "Chapter 12: From 128K to Quadra: Mac to Mac". MacWorld Mac Secrets, 5th Edition. IDG Books. pp. 485 - 486. ISBN 0-7645-4040-8.
  2. ^ Gruman, Galen (June 1994). "Power Watch - The Latest Products for the Power Macs". Macworld. Vol. 11, no. 6. p. 43.
  3. ^ a b "Macintosh Quadra 660AV: Technical Specifications". Apple.
  4. ^ http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=12733[dead link]
  5. ^ "Macintosh Centris 660AV: Technical Specifications". Apple.
  6. ^ Chevreau, Jonathan (August 7, 1993). "The multimedia frontier". National Post. Toronto. Retrieved March 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Thompson, Tom; Smith, Ben (September 1993). "Apple, SGI blaze video trail". Byte. Vol. 18, no. 10. MultiMedia Healthcare Inc. pp. 81–82. ISSN 0360-5280. ProQuest 217797442. Retrieved March 5, 2021 – via ProQuest.

External links[]

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