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Macintosh Color Classic

Personal computer released by Apple Computer, Inc

Field	Value
name	Macintosh Color Classic / Color Classic II / Performa 250 / Performa 275
family	Compact, Performa
developer	Apple Computer, Inc.
image	Macintosh Colour Classic 1994 (retouched).jpg
caption	A Macintosh Colour Classic running an Italian version of System 7
release_date
price
cpu	Motorola 68030
cpu_speed	16 or 33 MHz
os	System 7.1–Mac OS 7.6.1
With 68040 upgrade, Mac OS 8.1, or with PowerPC upgrade, Mac OS 9.1
memory	4 MB onboard, upgradable to 10 MB; With logicboard upgrade: 64 MB, unofficially supports 128 MB of RAM
memory_type	100 ns 30-pin SIMM
display	10 in, 512 x 384 (switchable to 560 x 384)
dimensions	Height: 15 in
Width: 10 in
Depth: 12.66 in
weight	10.2 kg
discontinued	(CC II)
(Performa 275)
predecessor	Macintosh Classic II
successor	Macintosh LC 500 series
Power Macintosh 5200 LC
type	All-in-one

With 68040 upgrade, Mac OS 8.1, or with PowerPC upgrade, Mac OS 9.1 Width: 10 in Depth: 12.66 in (Performa 275) Power Macintosh 5200 LC

The Macintosh Color Classic (sold as the Macintosh Colour Classic in PAL regions) is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from February 1993 to May 1995 (up to January 1998 in PAL markets). It has an all-in-one design, with a small, integrated 10″ Sony Trinitron display at 512 × 384 pixel resolution. The display is capable of supporting up to thousands of colors with a video memory upgrade.

A slightly updated model, the Color Classic II, featuring the Macintosh LC 550 logic board with a 33 MHz processor, was released in Japan, Canada and some international markets in 1993, sometimes as the Performa 275.

The Color Classic is the final model of the original "compact" family of Macintosh computers, and was replaced by the larger-display Macintosh LC 500 series and Power Macintosh 5200 LC.

Hardware

The Color Classic has a Motorola 68030 CPU running at 16 MHz and has a logic board similar to the Macintosh LC II.{{cite web | access-date = October 6, 2017 | archive-date = October 7, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171007120258/http://lowendmac.com/1993/mac-color-classic/ | url-status = live

Like the Macintosh SE and SE/30 before it, the Color Classic has a single expansion slot: an LC-type Processor Direct Slot (PDS), incompatible with the SE slots. This was primarily intended for the Apple IIe Card (the primary reason for the Color Classic's switchable 560 × 384 display, essentially quadruple the IIe's 280 × 192 High-Resolution graphics), which was offered with education models of the LCs. The card allowed the LCs to emulate an Apple IIe. The combination of the low-cost color Macintosh and Apple IIe compatibility was intended to encourage the education market's transition from Apple II models to Macintoshes. Other cards, such as CPU accelerators, Ethernet and video cards were also made available for the Color Classic's Processor Direct Slot.

The Color Classic shipped with the Apple Keyboard known as an Apple Keyboard II (M0487) which featured a soft power switch on the keyboard itself. The mouse supplied was the Apple Mouse known as the Apple Desktop Bus Mouse II (M2706).

A slightly updated model, the Color Classic II, featuring the Macintosh LC 550 logic board with a 33 MHz processor, was released in Japan, Canada and some international markets in 1993, sometimes as the Performa 275. Both versions of the Color Classic have 256 KB of onboard VRAM, expandable to 512 KB by plugging a 256 KB VRAM SIMM into the onboard 68-pin VRAM slot.{{cite web | access-date = September 30, 2017 | archive-date = March 24, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180324195852/http://tim.id.au/laptops/apple/legacy/color_classic_ii.perf_275.pdf | url-status = live

The name "Color Classic" was not printed directly on the front panel, but on a separate plastic insert. This enabled the alternative spelling "Colour Classic" and "Colour Classic II" to be used in appropriate markets.

Upgrades

Powered by a Motorola 68030 processor, the Color Classic can only go up to Mac OS 7.6.1. However, some Color Classic users upgraded their machines with motherboards from Performa/LC 575 units ("Mystic" upgrade), while others have put entire Performa/LC/Quadra 630 or successor innards into them ("Takky" upgrade). Another common modification to this unit was to change the display to allow 640 × 480 resolution, which was a common requirement for many programs (especially games) to run.

With the Mystic mod, the Color Classic uses the motherboard of the Macintosh LC 575 which has a Motorola 68LC040 CPU (at a speed of 33 MHz instead of 25 MHz) and is pin compatible with the Color Classic. A Color Classic with the Mystic upgrade can go up to Mac OS 8.1 (Mac OS 8.6 and newer require PowerPC processors).

With the Takky mod, the case and connector need to be modded, but doing so will allow the use of a PowerPC 601, 603, or 604 equipped motherboard. A Color Classic with the Takky upgrade can go up to Mac OS 9.1 (Mac OS 9.2 and newer require a G3 processor). On Takky Color Classics, there is a way to upgrade the processor with a G3 CPU, but it will only go up to Mac OS 9.2.2 as Mac OS X isn't officially supported.

Models

Macintosh Performa 250{{cite web

| access-date = September 30, 2017 | archive-date = September 15, 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220915132221/https://support.apple.com/kb/SP218?locale=en_US | url-status = live

Introduced February 1, 1993 in Japan only.

Macintosh Color/Colour Classic{{cite web

| access-date = September 30, 2017 | archive-date = August 6, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120806143911/http://support.apple.com/kb/SP207 | url-status = live

Introduced February 10, 1993 in Japan, Asia, and the Americas. Introduced March 16, 1994 in PAL regions.

Also known as the Macintosh Colour Classic.

Macintosh Performa 275{{cite web

| access-date = September 30, 2017 | archive-date = January 4, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090104041754/http://support.apple.com/kb/SP219 | url-status = live

Introduced October 1, 1993 in South Korea, and September 9, 1994 in Japan.

Macintosh Color Classic II{{cite web

| access-date = September 30, 2017 | archive-date = August 8, 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140808033631/http://support.apple.com/kb/sp208 | url-status = live

Introduced October 21, 1993 in Japan, Asia, and Canada, and December 3, 1994 in PAL regions.

Also known as the Macintosh Colour Classic II.

Timelines

References

Paul Kunkel. (August 24, 2000). "A Long-Discontinued Macintosh Still Thrills Collectors to the Core - New York Times". The New York Times.
""Mystic" Upgrade Questions".
""Takky" Upgrade Questions".
""640x480" Screen Resolution Upgrade".
""G3" CPU Upgrade".
"Mac Colour Classic II (Performa 275) | Low End Mac".

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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