Macintosh LC 500 series

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The all-in-one case of the Macintosh LC 500 series
(LC 520 pictured)

The Macintosh LC 500 series is a series of personal computers that is a part of Apple Computer's LC line of Macintosh computers. It was Apple's mid-1990s upper low end-range series, positioned below the Centris and Quadra but above the Classic II and Color Classic models. All of these computers were also sold under the Macintosh Performa brand, in some cases under slightly different model numbers. These computers all share the same case, a new all-in-one desktop that includes a CRT screen and stereo speakers. The case is reminiscent of Apple's earlier Compact Macintosh series but considerably larger and bulkier, with a diagonal of 14 inch (in contrast to the Compact's 9- or 10-inch screens) and a bulging midsection to contain the larger logic board, in contrast to the compact Macs' sleek design.

The 500 series included four main models, the 520, 550, 575 and 580, with the 520 and 550 being very similar to each other, and the 575 and 580 sharing a new processor and motherboard but differing somewhat on the rest of the hardware. The LC models in particular became very popular in schools for their small footprint and durability. The Macintosh TV is closely related to this series, using the same case (in black instead of beige) and a motherboard similar to the Macintosh LC 550.

[edit] LC 520

The Macintosh LC 520 (codename: "Hook") was introduced in June 1993, and was the first of the LC 500 series of Macintoshes: Larger than the Compact Macintoshes (which were still available at the time with the Classic II and the Color Classic, and would remain available longer than the 520), but with a significantly larger screen. The 520 was discontinued in February 1994, when it was replaced by both the faster but otherwise essentially unchanged Macintosh LC 550 and the new, 68LC040-equipped Macintosh LC 575.

The logic board of the 520 is essentially that of the Macintosh LC III, based on a Motorola 68030 CPU and an optional Motorola 68882 FPU. The case would later be used for the LC 550, the Macintosh TV, the LC 575 and the 575's successor, the LC 580 as well. Apple later offered a logicboard upgrade package to the LC 575 logic board.^[1]

[edit] Screenshots

The Macintosh LC 520 booting into Mac OS 7.5.3

[edit] Models

• LC 520
  • Also sold to consumers as the Performa 520

[edit] LC 550

The Macintosh LC 550 (codename: "Hook 33") replaced the LC 520 in February 1994, and was discontinued in favor of either the LC 580 on the lower end or the PowerPC-based Power Macintosh 5200 LC models at the higher end. The Performa variants were in fact introduced earlier, the 550 in October 1993 and the 560 in January 1994, and remained available for more than a year longer, until April 1996.

The main difference between the 550 and the 520 is the faster 68030 CPU, clocked at 33 MHz instead of 25 MHz, with the bus speed also increasing from 25 to 33 MHz. The Performa variants differ only in the software bundle that was included, with the 550 including only consumer applications and the 560 including additional business applications. The optical drive also did not use a loading tray but instead utilized a cartridge in which the disk was first inserted and then the unit was loaded into the drive.

This motherboard is essentially the same one used in the Macintosh Color Classic II, an upgrade to the original Color Classic not available in the United States. Apple also offered the same upgrade package for the 520 to the LC 575 logic board.^[2]

[edit] Screenshots

The Macintosh LC 550 booting into Mac OS 7.5.5

[edit] Models

• LC 550
  • Also sold to consumers as the Performa 550
  • Performa 560, the Performa 550 with bundled business software

[edit] LC 575

The Macintosh LC 575 was available from 1994 to 1996. They had the same "all-in-one" case as the LC 520/550, but used a LC 475/Quadra 605-related motherboard with a Motorola 68LC040 CPU (at a speed of 33 MHz instead of 25 MHz). Note that the CPU clock is sometimes given as 66 MHz, since the clock signal is of that frequency - however, the processor itself only runs at 33 MHz. The LC 575 also introduced the comm slot, which was included in most later LC models as well. The LC variant was succeeded by the Macintosh LC 580, while the Performa variants were sold until the end of the 580 line; the LC 580 Performa variants were only available outside of the United States.

This model is a favorite motherboard donor for those wishing to upgrade the Color Classic to a faster class of processor. Apple also offered an upgrade path in the form of a PowerPC Macintosh Processor Upgrade.^[3]

[edit] Screenshots

[edit] Mac OS 7.5.5

The Macintosh LC 575 booting into Mac OS 7.5.5

[edit] Models

• LC 575
  • Also sold to consumers as the Performa 575
  • Performa 577, the Performa 575 with a 320 MB hard drive
  • Performa 578, the Performa 577 with 8 MB of RAM instead of 5 MB

[edit] Specifications

• Introduced: February 1, 1994
• Discontinued: April 3, 1995 (LC 575) / April 1, 1996 (Performa variants)
• Codename: Optimus
• CPU: Motorola 68LC040 at 33 MHz
• RAM: 5 MB (expandable to 68 MB with 1 72-pin SIMM)
• Hard drive: SCSI, 160 MB (LC 575) / 250 MB (Performa 575) / 320 MB (Performa 577, Performa 578)
• VRAM: 512 KB (640x480 8-bit, 800x600 8-bit) (expandable to 1 MB (640x480 24-bit, 800x600 15-bit) using 1 80 ns VRAM SIMM)
• Floppy drive: 1.44 MB (can read 800 KB diskettes as well)
• Optical drive: 2x CD-ROM
• ROM Size: 1 MB
• Level 1 Cache: 8 KB
• Expandability: 1 LC PDS, 1 comm slot
• Case type: LC 520 all-in-one
• Built-in Display: 14" Sony Trinitron Color CRT (supports up to 32,768 colors)
• Supported Mac OS: System 7.1.1 to 7.5.1, 7.5.3 to 7.6.1, 8.0 to 8.1
• Weight: 35.0 lbs.

[edit] LC 580

The Macintosh LC 580 was sold in 1995 and 1996. Like their immediate predecessor, the LC 575, it used the Motorola 68LC040 processor at 33 MHz. However, instead of being based on the LC 475/Quadra 605 like the 575 series was, the 580s are based on the Performa 630 series. This meant a few changes, most of them leading to lower prices, but also lower performance: Most notably, the hard drives of the 580 were IDE drives instead of SCSI drives. Also, the video RAM was no longer mounted on a SIMM, but used 1 MB of the 4 MB of main RAM soldered to the motherboard. Lastly, the Trinitron display of the 575 was replaced with a cheaper shadow mask screen. These changes were not received well by some; Remy Davison calls the 580 "an identikit of the excellent LC575, but with the guts of an alcoholic."^[4] One benefit of this change, however, was the ability to accommodate the same video capture and TV tuner cards designed for the Performa 630. This allowed LC 580 users to watch and record video, essentially performing the function of a television as well as a computer.

Like with the LC 575, the CPU clock is sometimes wrongly given as 66 MHz. The LC 580 was the last all-in-one type model to include a Motorola 68000 series processor, as it was phased out in favor of the Power Macintosh 5200 LC which featured a PowerPC processor. As with the 575, Apple also offered an upgrade path in the form of a PowerPC Macintosh Processor Upgrade.^[5] The 580 can also be upgraded with the following logicboards: 5200, 6200, 5260, 5300, 6300, 5400, 6400, 5500 & 6500.

[edit] Screenshots

[edit] Mac OS 7.5.1

[edit] Mac OS 8.1

[edit] Models

• LC 580
  • Also sold in Canada, Asia and Australia as the Performa 580CD
  • Performa 588CD, a Performa 580CD with a 500 MB hard drive, sold only in Asia and Europe

[edit] Specifications

• Introduced: April 1, 1995
• Discontinued: August 1, 1995 (LC 580) / February 1, 1996 (Performa 580CD) / May 1, 1996 (Performa 588CD)
• Codename: Dragonkid
• CPU: Motorola 68LC040 at 33 MHz
• RAM: 8 MB (expandable to 52 MB with 2 72-pin SIMM's)
• Hard drive: IDE, 250 MB or 500 MB
• VRAM: 1 MB of the 4 MB RAM soldered on the mainboard is used as video RAM
• Floppy drive: 1.44 MB (can read 800 KB diskettes as well)
• Optical drive: 4x CD-ROM
• ROM Size: 1 MB
• Level 1 Cache: 8 KB
• Expandability: 1 LC PDS, 1 comm slot
• Case type: LC 520 all-in-one
• Built-in Display: 14″ Color CRT (supports up to 32,768 colors)
• Supported Mac OS: System 7.5 to 7.5.1, 7.5.3 to 7.6.1, 8.0 to 8.1
• Weight: 35.0 lb.

Timeline of Macintosh LC models

See also: Timeline of Apple Macintosh models

• The Color Classic used the same internal LC architecture as the 520, though technically a Compact Macintosh

[edit] Sources

• Guide to the Macintosh LC 500 series, LC 520, LC 550, LC 575 and LC 580 at Low End Mac
• LC 520, LC 550, Macintosh LC 575 and Macintosh LC 580 at apple-history.com
• Apple Computer's AppleSpec:
  • LC 520 and Performa 520
  • LC 550, Performa 550 and Performa 560
• EveryMac.com:
  • LC 520 and Performa 520
  • LC 550, Performa 550 and Performa 560
  • LC 575, Performa 575, Performa 577 and Performa 578
  • LC 580, Performa 580CD and Performa 588CD

[edit] References

1. ^ Macintosh Family: Upgrade History
2. ^ Macintosh Family: Upgrade History
3. ^ Macintosh Family: Upgrade History
4. ^ Remy Davison, Insanely Great Mac: The 10 Worst Macs Ever Built
5. ^ Macintosh Family: Upgrade History